Nathan Tsao
Machine learning research engineer with two years of academic research (MS @ UT Austin) and internship experience (NASA). Seeking full-time machine learning engineer position.
Skills
Relevant Coursework
Education
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
August 2023 - May 2025University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
GPA: 3.74.
Thesis: Neural Port-Hamiltonian Differential Algebraic Equations
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
August 2019 - May 2022University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, IL
GPA: 3.87
Work Experience
Autonomous Aircraft Operations Research Intern
June 2025 - August 2025NASA Ames Research Center
Mountain View, CA
Researching how traffic following behavior in dense airspaces effect aircraft performance metrics.
Developing GPU-accelerated multi-modal traffic simulation of the Bay Area to guide infrastructure development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
Hardware Engineering Intern
June 2022 - September 2022Berkeley Lights
Berkeley, CA
Developed mechanical and electrical design of temperature calibration sensor for the OptoSelect chip.
Automated data acquisition and calibration pipeline using Python scripts.
Research Experience
Graduate Research Assistant
December 2023 - May 2025University of Texas at Austin: Autonomous Systems Group
Austin, TX
Developed a scalable electrical circuit modeling framework using compositional machine learning models.
Created low-energy and fast-inference human activity recognition algorithm for batteryless sensors.
Publications:
- Cyrus Neary*, Nathan Tsao*, and Ufuk Topcu. Neural Port-Hamiltonian Differential Algebraic Equations for Compositional Learning of Electrical Networks. Under review at CDC 2025.
- Geffen Cooper*, Nathan Tsao*, Filippos Fotiadis, Ufuk Topcu, Radu Marculescu. Learning from Sparse and Asynchronous Data Streams for Batteryless Sensors. Under review at NeurIPS 2025.
Visiting Research Assistant
May 2022 - January 2023University of California, Berkeley: Hybrid Robotics Group
Berkeley, CA
Led team to design the hardware and RL controller design of an actuated tail for quadruped robots.
Created inexpensive 3D-printed quasi-direct-drive actuators with custom FOC motor controller.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
January 2022 - May 2022University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: RoboDesign Lab
Urbana, IL
Prototyped a low-cost force-sensing humanoid robot foot using elastomers and Hall sensors.
Honors and Awards
Dr. J. Parker Lamb Endowed Presidential Fellowship
2023University of Texas at Austin
Nominated by the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Highest Honors
2022University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Awarded to students with at least a 3.8 Illinois GPA and continual commitment to service and education.
Dean's List
2019-2022University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Awarded to undergraduate students in the top 20 percent of their college class.
Teaching Experience
ASE 370C Feedback Control Systems
January 2025 - May 2025University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
Graduate Teaching Assistant
ME 314D Dynamics
September 2023 - December 2023University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
Graduate Teaching Assistant