Undergraduate Student
Background
Hi, I’m Diego—a third-year Mechanical Engineering student at UCSB. I’m a hands-on tinkerer, easily swept up by “the bug” for just about anything that sparks my curiosity. Whether I’m fixing bikes at the school bike shop or exploring the great outdoors, I’m happiest when I’m working with my hands and solving problems. I also serve as Vice President of our Formula SAE Racing team, where I design and manufacture components for the suspension assembly. On top of that, I teach machining to aspiring engineers through UCSB’s introductory machining course. And don’t even get me started on physics—I could talk about it forever (seriously, consider yourself warned!).
Research
I’m in the business of metal powder atomization—a field that feeds my curiosity about the physics and materials science driving metal 3D printing. One of the big challenges we face is figuring out how specific parameters in metal atomization shape the properties of the final 3D-printable material. Right now, it’s a bit like knowing how to bake a cake without fully understanding why the ingredient ratios work.To help solve this, I’m working on ways for our lab to collect as much data as possible. My main focus is on expanding the capabilities of our metal powderization machine so we can process a wider variety of materials, and do it faster.The idea is that by increasing the lab’s output, we’ll have more opportunities to spot patterns in the data. And if we gather enough data, I want to take it a step further and use machine learning to uncover the deeper formulas and insights behind our 3D-printed creations.
Education
- 2022-Present - B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara