Bio

Jacob Carrade is a senior mechanical engineering student at UCSB. After developing a passion for engineering and design in high school he decided to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering at UC Santa Barbara. With a keen interest in electromechanical systems, he made that the focus of his coursework while in school, taking multiple classes in both robotics and controls. During his Junior year, he worked with some classmates to develop a prototype for a remote control bike lock, which won "Most Marketable Design" at the end-of-the-year Design Fair (and garnered a number of requests from friends and family for a final product).

For his senior Capstone project, he and his team worked to develop a low-budget system which could be mounted onto a commercial drone to provide a pilot (or eventually an autonomous control system) with the feedback necessary to navigate dense forest canopies. Jacob has a desire to create products and designs which can be used to better the world we live in. This ideology is a key aspect of what drew him to this Capstone project, which is intended to improve tracking of endangered bird populations. Outside of school, he has been working since June of 2016 as an intern at Toyon Research Corporation in Goleta. In his free time he enjoys hiking, biking, and photography.