ECE Student Profile: Nathan Hodges

Nathan Hodges, M.Eng Student at UofL

I chose UofL’s SSoE for a couple of reasons. Primarily, my brother-in-law is a SSoE alumnus who recommended the school to me and gave me a rundown of his experience that excited me. Secondarily, I was attracted to the 5-year M.Eng plan with industry experience, as I’m sure many prospective engineering students are. In my time at the University, I’ve been tossed into subject after subject, adding and sharpening tools to my ever-expanding tool-kit of engineering expertise. From the sleepy 8 AM calculus classes to the high-class benches of the MNTC Cleanroom, my experiences have truly run the gambit of engineering topics, including the design and fabrication of MEMS-scale devices and circuits, attempting to implement Spectre attacks on old devices, and building, programming, and controlling a little robot to do things like trace shapes on the ground. I’ve also been granted the opportunity to do research with elite colleagues for the past year. I’ve helped with commercial comparisons of pressure sensing technologies and with troubleshooting wearable devices, and my thesis-level research focuses on fundamental comparisons of pressure sensing technologies, namely force sensors and metal foil strain gauges, to determine their potential as a sort of “robot skin” for physical human-robot interaction. Following my educational career at UofL, I hope to build a career working with analog and/or digital systems design or with robotics. Later in my career I hope to apply my expertise to working with aircraft, but that’s just a lifelong dream of mine. I’m excited for what the future holds, and I’m grateful for UofL’s role in helping me prepare.