March Featured Alum of the Month: Russell Graf

March Featured Alum of the Month: Russell Graf

What do you do in your job? What is your work like?

I currently work as a Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering graduate student researcher in the Human/Robotics/Vehicle Intergration and Performance lab with Professor Stephen Robinson developing robotic capabilities for assessing plant health in space habitats. Some of my current projects are a vacuum gripper to assist in multispectral imaging for plant health assessment, using a robot arm as a random positioning machine to simulate microgravity for plants, and developing machine learning tools for plant manipulation. Much of my work centers around using ROS2 (Robot Operating System), an open-source software tool for robotics research. I do most of my work in the lab, either in simulation or using a real robot arm.

How did your UC Davis education prepare you for this work? 

My education at UC Davis taught me resilience and discipline when courses and workload were tough. I learned, perhaps most importantly, how to independently set goals and plans for achieving them, which gave me confidence knowing that, with effort, I can succeed. When transitioning from physics to engineering, the discipline and confidence I gained from my UC Davis education reassured me that if I dedicated myself, I could adapt, and I did. I don’t see myself yet as entirely successful with regard to my current goals, but my UC Davis education is the reason I am confident I will be.

Are there opportunities our current students could pursue, which you found helpful for advancing your career? Or do you have any other advice for undergraduates in our program?

If you are an engineering student, pursue internships. If you are a physics student, pursue undergraduate research. Ask various professors whose research you’re interested in if you can work with them. Attend office hours to build relationships with your professors. Sometimes professors will not consider you for an undergraduate research role until your third year; if this is the case, ask what you can do to prepare in the meantime, and do it. Doing undergraduate research as a physics student is almost essential if you have aspirations for graduate school, both from an admissions standpoint, as well as from a preparedness standpoint. Working as an undergraduate researcher with Professor Wetzel was also my most cherished time spent as an undergraduate.