<p>Alexander Chen is a fourth year&nbsp;mechanical engineering student with an interest in fluid dynamics&nbsp;and&nbsp;control systems.&nbsp;Alex was first exposed to engineering when he joined a program in high school called DATA (Design and Technology Academy). There he learned about&nbsp;machining, AutoCAD and basic circuits. Alex worked hands-on with the&nbsp;design and building of&nbsp;theater props and an automated trash compactor for his high school. To pursue his passion for engineering, Alex enrolled at UCSB to obtain his degree in Mechanical Engineering.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Following his interest in control systems, Alex took the lead in&nbsp;systems programming&nbsp;for&nbsp;his Capstone project. His role on the team included&nbsp;integrating hardware with&nbsp;Arduino&nbsp;software, and programming a PID control system to track and follow the air bearing. Capstone has given him&nbsp;the valuable opportunity to work alongside a team of&nbsp;highly motivated students, UCSB faculty, and professional engineers to&nbsp;design and build a product for&nbsp;Northrop Grumman&nbsp;Astro-Aerospace.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>In addition to Capstone, Alex spends his time working in a microfluidics lab at UCSB. Alex researches the use of acoustics as a quick and&nbsp;cost-effective&nbsp;method to detect adulteration in olive oil. Alex has a strong&nbsp;enthusiasm for learning. And working in a lab has given Alex the chance to learn and develop&nbsp;new skills including laser cutting,&nbsp;vibrometry&nbsp;and soft lithography.&nbsp;</p>