2024 – 2025 Undergraduate Research Student Cohort
Kevin Castaneda Guerra
Spring 2024 – present
Bio: Kevin Castañeda is a Texas State University sophomore pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He enjoys dissecting and comprehending objects’ structural and functional components to gain a deeper insight into their design and functionality. As he embarks on his first research project, he is excited about the learning journey ahead, eager to absorb the intricacies of the research procedures and contribute his creative perspective to the team’s collaborative efforts.
Project: Mobile Robot for Animal Tracking
Jamal A. Close
Spring 2024 – present
Bio: Jamal Close is a Texas State University Junior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He is part of the IEEE program at Texas State and enjoys working with robotics. Through research, he intends to grow his coding skills and valuable knowledge of hardware design. With this knowledge, he hopes to pursue more projects in the future through the collaboration of different ideas.
Project: Mobile Robot for Animal Tracking
Baxter Gonzalez
Spring 2024 – present
Bio: Baxter Gonzalez is a Texas State University Junior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology. He is an officer of the Texas State Robotics Club and is the current lead of the mechanical design team for the R5 competition team. His passions lie in robotics, computer vision, and research. He enjoys finding exciting and novel applications for robotics in new fields. Through research, he hopes to expand his mechanical design and fabrication skillsets. He is excited to contribute to the project and further the investigation in all ways that he can.
Project: Mobile Robot for Animal Tracking
Jillian Grubenhoff
Spring 2024 – present
Bio: Jillian Grubenhoff is a Texas State University freshman pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in applied mathematics. She is a member of the Honors College at Texas State and SWE. Although this is her first research project, she is eager to gain more knowledge and experience in the engineering field and contribute to the team’s research and design efforts. She enjoys working on complex math and engineering problems and seeking to understand the different components and systems integrated into a design.
Project: Mobile Robot for Animal Tracking
Elysia Jimenez
Fall 2024 – present
Bio: Elysia Jimenez is a Texas State University Senior pursuing a bachelor’s in animal science with a Pre-Veterinary Concentration. She is a member of the Honors College and a Microbiology lab instructor. She enjoys working with animals and gaining more experiences that give her a more developed view of the world of agriculture. While driving in the path of veterinary medicine, she is eager to be a part of her first research project and gain a new perspective by working alongside other researchers.
Project: Mobile Robot for Animal Tracking
Isabela Willis
Fall 2024 – present
Bio: Isabela Willis is a junior at Texas State University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. With a growing interest in robotics and manufacturing techniques, Isabela is excited to start her first research project. She is eager to expand her understanding of mechanical systems and develop her hands-on skills. Passionate about finding practical solutions and innovative approaches, Isabela looks forward to contributing her enthusiasm and fresh perspective to the research team and exploring new opportunities within the field.
Project: Mobile Robot for Animal Tracking
Volunteering Cohort
Tanvir Ahmed
Fall 2023 – present
Bio: Tanvir Ahmed is a graduate mechanical engineer pursuing his master’s in mechanical and manufacturing engineering at Texas State University. He loves to work at the intersection of science and applied technology. His research focuses on Engineering Design, Robotics, and the Manufacturing Technology sector. He enjoys traveling to new destinations, designing graphics, and editing videos alongside his academic pursuits. He loves to work with a team, whether leading it or following instructions of the leader, because he believes that by maximizing the diverse skill sets of different individuals, a balanced team can achieve unprecedented results.
Project: Smart Collar for Cattle Health Monitoring
Alexandra Gilmore
Fall 2024 – present
Bio: Alexandra Gilmore is a junior mechanical engineering major at Texas State University. She is passionate about problem-solving and innovation, and she enjoys this opportunity to work with this team on this continuous technical project. She is excited to join into the research, to allow for deeper analysis into creative functional and efficient design solutions.
Project: Mobile Robot for Animal Tracking
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture 2023-2027