<p>Alan Cao is an undergraduate electrical engineering student interested in dynamic controls for&nbsp;embedded systems. Eager to&nbsp;use&nbsp;his analytical skills to tackle some of the hardest questions of this day and age, Alan chose&nbsp;to pursue a degree at UC Santa Barbara. Alan's passion for&nbsp;dynamic systems control&nbsp;and networking, led him to&nbsp;join&nbsp;Katie&nbsp;Byl’s&nbsp;research group where he worked on&nbsp;developing algorithms&nbsp;and&nbsp;automatic control&nbsp;schemes&nbsp;for prototype&nbsp;robotics. Alan plans to attend graduate school in the future.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Alan was drawn to work on the NOAA UAV project as a means of constructing a complex controlled embedded system. Alan’s teamwork and communication skills enabled him to be an effective engineer with respect to&nbsp;designing a system with environmental feedback, as well as developing software interfaces to allow a commercial drone to navigate through dense tree canopies. Outside of school, Alan&nbsp;worked at Cisco on the ASIC verification team in San Jose, California. In his free time, Alan enjoys playing soccer, painting, and producing music.</p>