Juan Pacheco Garcia
Co-President
Juan is a senior mechanical engineer from Barranquilla, Colombia. Before becoming co-president of Rice Robotics Club, Juan served as Project Manager and NASA-CAD Lead. This year his main focus is on background paper work and procedure for the club. He enjoys everything engineering to the point of continuing his education through his application for a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. As co-president of RRC, he hopes to give members the opportunity to gain technical skills and research experience through club activities.
Jared Verdejo
Co-President
Jared is a junior who is currently pursuing a major in the field of mechanical engineering. He is a native Houstonian, and has pursued a career in robotics since his early years. He has been a member of the Rice Robotics club since his freshman year, working on manufacturing and design for the Melty Brain combat robot. He is currently focused on balancing his responsibilities as a co-president of RRC with his pursuit for opportunities outside of Rice to delve into the manufacturing/design world of engineering.
Sophie Rowlett
Secretary
Sophie is a junior pursuing a degree in bioengineering from Nashville, Tennessee. Before becoming secretary, Sophie was a member of the RRC for three years, including during her leave of absence from Rice during the 2020-2021 school year. She is focusing on helping the club grow and providing new students with opportunities to learn more about engineering and get hands-on experience.
James Ding
Treasurer
James is a sophomore majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He has spent his entire life in Taipei, Taiwan before coming to Rice. Last year, he worked on a battery cartridge design that is now used by NASA. This year, he furthered his involvement in the club by being the treasurer and subteam lead for the NASA Client Project. He enjoys plane spotting, playing Minecraft, and learning about the semiconductor industry.
Kaiyu Hang
Faculty Advisor
I am an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Rice University, where I direct the Robotics and Physical Interactions Lab (RobotΠ Lab). I am broadly interested in robotic systems that can physically interact with other robots, people, and the world. By developing algorithms in optimization, planning, learning, estimation, and control, my research is focused on efficient, robust, and generalizable manipulation systems, addressing problems that range from small scale grasping and in-hand manipulation, to large scale dual-arm manipulation, mobile manipulation, and multi-robot manipulation.
Before joining Rice CS, I finished my postdoc at Yale University, completed my Ph.D./M.Sc. at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and received my B.Eng. from Xi'an Jiaotong University.
Before joining Rice CS, I finished my postdoc at Yale University, completed my Ph.D./M.Sc. at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and received my B.Eng. from Xi'an Jiaotong University.
