Pengcheng Frank Cao

“I wished to examine into all that concerns heaven and man, to penetrate the changes of the past and present, completing all as the work of one family.” – Sima Qian (司马迁)

As a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering at UC San Diego, I am passionate about solving complex engineering problems that have real-world applications and impact. My research focuses on designing, optimizing, and controlling fully-actuated multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for specific search-and-rescue missions in GPS-denied indoor environments. I have developed and implemented novel methods and algorithms for mission-oriented multi-disciplinary design optimization, robust and accurate trajectory tracking, and multi-sensor fusion for indoor navigation and collision avoidance.

I have a strong background and experience in multiple engineering disciplines, including robotics, controls, embedded systems, manufacturing, computer vision, and deep learning. I have worked as a project engineer, a research intern, and an instructor in various settings, applying and enhancing my skills in Solidworks, AutoCAD, Matlab, Simulink, ROS, Python, Java, C, C++, and C#. I also have a master’s degree in Computer Science (online) from Arizona State University, and I speak three languages: Chinese, English, and German. I am always eager to learn new technologies and tools, and to collaborate with diverse and talented teams.