Ellie

B.S. Aeronautics & Astronautics · Stanford University

Minor in maths, 3.9 GPA. Mostly solid mechanics, dynamics and systems engineering on the aero side, with embedded systems and a fair bit of MATLAB on the other.

AI Engineering Intern · Alpha School

• Ran a head-to-head between dense and split 162M-parameter models — fact recall, multi-hop reasoning, how efficiently they learn, and the ways they fall over. Presented the capacity-competition argument to company leadership and some Stanford school officials, which was more nerve-wracking than the work itself.
• Put together an agent-assisted workflow for building and validating training runs, so three model families could go through without babysitting each one.
• Shipped a production Anki fork with my own spaced-repetition scheduler in its Rust backend. Came out a top performer of the sixty interns, which I did not see coming.

Undergraduate Researcher · Structures & Composites Lab

• Working on control systems for "fly-by-feel" UAVs — real-time state estimation and feedback — alongside a team of five PhD and postdoctoral researchers.
• Fatigue testing Boeing composite coupons to failure, watching where cracks start and how fast they travel under cyclic loading.
• Pulling the sensor data apart in MATLAB to map strain and stress over time, then reporting it back in lab presentations.

Structures, Systems & Avionics · Stanford Student Space Initiative

• Designing and building satellite structures, mostly the reaction wheel assembly that points the thing.
• Avionics integration across six-odd subteams — sensors and embedded systems for launch data.

Core Structures · Stanford Flight Club (Tornado Drones)

• Built the whole UAV airframe as a parametric Fusion 360 model, so everything actually fits together.
• Leaned on generative design to take 28% off the airframe mass without giving up stability or the ability to manufacture it.

Independent Researcher · National Graphene Research & Development Center

• Looked at graphene/aluminium interfaces for aircraft using first-principles calculations. Simulated four candidate 2D reinforcements and found two that bond about 20× more strongly than graphene itself. Ended up published in RSC: Materials Advances.

B.S. Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering · Stanford University

Minor in Mathematics · 3.9 GPA

• Aerospace — Intro to Aeronautics & Astronautics, Solid Mechanics, Dynamics, Engineering of Systems
• Mathematics — Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Continuous Methods
• CS / EE — Embedded Systems, Programming Abstractions, MATLAB for Scientific & Computational Analysis

“Reinforcement of Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites Through Graphene and Graphene-like Monolayers: A First-Principles Study,” Ellie Zhang and Xuan Luo, RSC: Materials Advances, 2024, 5, 9596–9603.

Undergraduate Researcher · Structures and Composites Lab

• Developed real-time state estimation and feedback control approaches for “Fly-by-Feel” unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with a team of 5 PhD and postdoctoral researchers.
• Fatigue-tested Boeing composite coupons to failure, characterizing crack initiation and growth thresholds under cyclic loading.
• Process and interpret sensor data in MATLAB, mapping strain and stress responses over time and reporting in lab presentations.

AI Engineering Intern · Alpha School

• Compared dense vs. split 162M-parameter language models across fact recall, multi-hop reasoning, sample efficiency, and failure behavior, presenting to company leadership and Stanford school officials the project’s capacity-competition premise.
• Developed an agent-assisted engineering workflow to build and validate training runs across three model families.
• Shipped production Anki fork with a custom spaced-repetition scheduler Rust backend, named a Top Performer out of 60 interns.

Structures, Systems & Avionics Member · Stanford Student Space Initiative (Satellites)

• Designed and fabricated aerospace structures and flight hardware, focused on reaction wheel assembly for attitude control.
• Collaborated across 6+ subteams on satellite integration, working with sensors and embedded systems for launch data collection.
• Tested and debugged system and subsystem components across multiple iterative design reviews.

Core Structures Member · Stanford Flight Club (Tornado Drones)

• Engineered the full UAV airframe as a parametric Fusion 360 model, ensuring fit and integration of all components.
• Iterated using generative design function to reduce airframe mass 28% while holding stability and manufacturability constraints.
• Integrated avionics, transmissions, and control systems within design constraints of fellow team members.

Independent Researcher · National Graphene Research and Development Center

• Modeled graphene/aluminum interfaces for aircraft alloys with first-principles calculations and doping strategies.
• Simulated four candidate 2D reinforcements for graphene structures, identifying two that bond 20× stronger than graphene.

Amateur High-Power Rocketry · Level 2 Certification (in progress)

• Designed and simulated a 3.9 in diameter rocket on a 54 mm motor in OpenRocket for Level 2 high-power rocketry certification, verifying stability margin and predicted apogee.
• Fabricated airframe and fin components via laser cutting, epoxy bonding, 3D printing, and carbon-fiber layup.
• Built a custom avionics bay and programmed a flight computer for dual-deploy parachute recovery.

Junior Docent and Guide · March Field Air Museum

• Led interactive tours for 100+ daily visitors, presenting aviation history and aircraft technology.
• Trained 6 new docents to lead museum tours independently and built the tour script and exhibit briefing they now use.
• Earned FCC Technician license and operated amateur (HAM) radio communications for the Frank Zizo Radio Room.

Regional Director · Innoverge Program

• Direct chess and math programs providing STEM education to 200+ underserved students.
• Expanded outreach through partnerships with the Redlands Boys & Girls Club and International Children Education Association.