Miguel Blanco

My name is Miguel Blanco, I’m from Venezuela and moved 4 years ago to Houston, Texas. I’m currently a rising sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering at the Honors College of the University of Houston. I’m focused on learning more about mechanical design, understanding the basics and seeking to improve my CAD skills as well as my expertise with G-code with CNC mills and 3D printers. This summer I will be working in the Foam Robotics Lab of Dr. Nancy Pollard under the guidance of Phd. student Dominik Bauer. We will be testing different parameters of soft-material hands and and how changes in geometry can modify their position and force controls. This will be my first time going outside of Houston, and I’m very excited to experince all of the opportunities I will encounter in RISS and all of the incredible and brilliant people I will connect with. I want to thank Dr. Nancy Pollard, Dr. Rachel Burcin, and Morgan Grimm and all of the other people involved in this program for providing all RISS scholars with this lifetime opportunity. It feels like a dream come true. It’s a great honor to be a RISS scholar and I’m eagerly looking to make the best out of it!