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About me
I am Charles Xiao, a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). I am advised by Professor Elliot Hawkes and was awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in 2020. Broadly speaking, my research focuses on designing energy efficient mechanisms; I work on soft robotic actuators, heat switches, and jumping mechanisms, but I am interested in a wide variety of topics. A comprehensive list of my publications can be found on my Google Scholar.
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Prior to UCSB, I majored in mechanical engineering and minored in physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). While there, I conducted undergraduate research in robo-physics with Professor Daniel Goldman and became interested in soft robotics through a class project on designing a gripper for fruit picking. In addition, I completed internships at Kickr Design and SoftWear Automation.
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Outside of engineering, I like to listening to narrative essay, news, economics, and science podcasts. I also enjoy endurance running and cycling. In 2019, I finished Paris-Brest-Paris, a 1200 km cycling event, and in 2022 ran the Marin Ultra Challenge 50 miler. Currently, I am trying to standup on a surfboard. I am also an Eagle Scout.