Materials Engineer, ECE Researcher & Systems Experimentalist

Carol Sanders


Graduate researcher in Electrical & Computer Engineering, currently applying to Materials Science Ph.D. programs. Former U.S. Air Force Computer & Satellite Communications Specialist. Building at the intersection of biomedical signals, RF electronics, embedded systems, and astrophotography.

UCSC — M.S. ECE (in progress) Materials Science Ph.D. — applying nEXO Particle Physics IEEE Computer Society SLAC National Lab OpenDaylight SDN U.S. Air Force — Veteran
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Background

I'm a graduate researcher in Electrical & Computer Engineering working at the intersection of biomedical signals and hardware — surface electromyography, RF electronics, autonomous robotics and the embedded systems that tie them together.

Before graduate school I served as a U.S. Air Force Computer & Satellite Communications Specialist, and spent 15+ years in software engineering — full-stack web, test automation, and analytics. That systems-thinking background still shapes how I build.

Education
2024 — now
UCSC

Currently completing graduate coursework and research toward the M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering — mechatronics, embedded systems, signal processing. Degree not yet conferred; applications to Materials Science Ph.D. programs are underway.

Research
2022 — now
Research Experience

Graduate researcher in ECE at UCSC — surface EMG acquisition & biotechnology, sEMG biofeedback, embedded ML pipelines, RF instrumentation. Previously a summer research intern in the Intelligent Computing and Embedded Systems (ICE) Lab at San Francisco State University, directed by Dr. Xiaorong Zhang — human-machine interfaces, neural-controlled artificial limbs, and embedded systems — and a contributor to the nEXO neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment at SLAC National Lab.

Industry
2022 — now
Full-stack Developer · Andersen Corporation

End-user application delivery with React, Vue & Node.js — external APIs, Firestore/Firebase data, and UI, in an agile scrum team.

Education
2019 — 2021
Skyline College

Associate of Science, with coursework focused on electrical engineering and materials science — the mathematics, physics, and circuits foundation for graduate work in ECE.

Industry
2018 — 2022
Front-end Developer · Urban Tech Center

Front-end lead on volunteer delivery teams for a tech-education non-profit; prototyping to post-delivery support, plus technology mentoring.

Service
1987 — 2006
U.S. Air Force — Veteran

Combat Computer Communications Specialist & Electronics Technician — comms systems deployment and management.

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Projects

Electronics · RF Engineering
FM Broadcast Transmitter — Repair & Analysis

PLL-synthesized broadcast FM transmitter repair and RF analysis, with an interactive wire schematic, channel calculator, and full repair report.

View Project
Mechatronics
Cat Laser Robot

Autonomous laser entertainment robot. Servo-driven pan/tilt with motion-pattern programming.

Mechatronics
Autonomous Robot

Mobile autonomous platform with sensor fusion for obstacle avoidance and path navigation.

Biomedical · Embedded
sEMG Biofeedback Massager

Surface EMG signal acquisition with Xmega A1U Xpro MCU driving smart shiatsu timing via ML pipeline.

Software
InventoryU

Asset tracking app for home residents. Photograph items with your phone or tablet, organize by room, and export a full inventory report — before disaster strikes.

View App
Software · Maps
Dream Job Journey

Explore potential employment locations by activity and job type. A personal job-trip diary for career dreamers.

View on GitHub
Research
nEXO Particle Physics

Research intern contributing to the nEXO neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment. Prior work at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Education · Self-Study
Study Tools

Self-paced courses and exam-review apps — ODE Launchpad, Linear Algebra Launchpad, and a Materials Science comprehensive prep tool. Now hosted on CAS Labs.

View on CAS Labs
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Interests & Hobbies

🥋
Martial Arts
Choy Lai Fut
📡
Astrophotography
Gallery on Flickr
Electronics
Embedded systems & RF
IEEE
Computer Society member
🔬
Independent Research
Materials science, physics, signal processing
🛡
Privacy Consulting
Threat modeling for nonprofits
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Technology News

IEEE Collabratec
IEEE Professional Network

Active member of the IEEE Computer Society. Engaging with the global engineering community on embedded systems, networking, and emerging technologies.

IEEE Collabratec Profile
Open Source
Open Source vs. Proprietary Software

Open source software offers low-cost licensing and significantly lower development, hosting, and maintenance costs compared to commercial CMS or Microsoft-stack alternatives.

Read More
Photonics Research
1.6 Tb/s Low-Emission Internet

European researchers using photonics to develop a 1.6 Tb/s internet backbone that cuts power consumption by 50% per Gb/s — a major step toward sustainable networking.

Read More