Alex Janis

Background

About Alex Janis

I am currently a Master's student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Mechanical Engineering-Research. Throughout my undergraduate degree, I focused on robotics and automation as much as I could. When I studied abroad in Madrid, Spain, I took a course on machine learning which taught me how to utilize artificial intelligence for data analysis. I also took a robotics course at UW-Madison where I saw those same machine learning tools used in modern robots. I honed my skills with ROS, Python, and robot kinematics for both mobile and manipulator robots. I intend to use the knowledge gained through my undergraduate and graduate degrees to design robots that will solve real-world problems and help real people, like designing safer robots for industrial manufacturing. For the past two years, I have fulfilled this personal goal by helping people as a technical staff member at the Design Innovation Lab at Wendt. I have helped with the design and fabrication process for many research projects such as the Genetic Symphonies art exhibition by Sharon Tang and design projects for our INTEREGR170 course. I love working with students to figure out what to do next or how to solve the latest issue with their design. In the end, when they feel the excitement and pride of success, I feel it too. Working at the Design Innovation Lab and getting to be a part of these projects was the highlight of my time as an undergraduate mechanical engineer. I have worked in research before at both the BADGER Lab and with WiPPL, but I am excited to choose and lead my research project during my Master's degree program. I am currently working as a Fabrication Fellow at the Design Innovation Lab to continue to help others with their projects while having more responsibility in the space.