Experience·June 2024 – August 2024·Yokohama, Japan
Space Robotics Lab @ Keio University
High School Research Intern
I interned at Keio University, where I designed and fabricated a custom benchtop apparatus to automate cell cultivation for a biomedical study — translating a lab's experimental needs into a working physical system under the mentorship of a PhD student.
OnShape · CNC Machining · Precision Manufacturing · Documentation
The project required turning open-ended experimental requirements into a reliable piece of lab hardware. I designed the full apparatus — roughly 50cm × 50cm × 30cm — in OnShape, working through iterations with my mentor to balance mechanical function against what could actually be built and kept running reliably in a working lab.
Fabrication meant learning to run professional machine tools for rapid prototyping and precision manufacturing I hadn't touched before. The final apparatus combined custom-machined aluminum parts with Dynamixel motors and Misumi lead screws to drive the automated cultivation process.
I closed out the internship by documenting the full engineering process and presenting the project's timeline and technical results to a panel of over 30 graduate students and professors — my first experience defending engineering decisions to an audience of specialists.