Elias Nicolas
Mechanical Engineering · Data Science · Physics
“Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life.”— Marcus Aurelius
I'm currently a student enrolled in the dual degree engineering program at the University of Redlands with a passion for building. I will be receiving a B.A. in Physics and Data Science (double major) from Redlands along with a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis after everything is all said and done. I am consistently improving my CAD and FEA workflow as I continue my education, and am well versed in Python for data analytics. Recently, I have been experimenting with AI coding tools like Claude Code and Cursor to expand upon my projects software so I can focus on the physical side of things.
I am actively seeking internship and research opportunities for the 2027 year where I can apply my technical skills and leadership experience to real-world challenges at a place looking for someone young to make an impact.
Outside of academics and engineering, I love to stay active by running and exercising as I want to live a balanced life. Recently I have taken up gardening as a hobby in my free time to source better ingredients for my meals.
Curation of Campus Involvement and Professional Experience
Machine Learning Research Assistant
- Developed a RAG workflow to detect missing evidence in NASA technical documents and flag unresolved parts
- Designed targeted retrieval to recover information across unsupported documents within a fixed compute budget
Student Ambassador
Mechanical Engineering Intern
- Designed a hydraulic tool for the plant's press end cap repairs to reduce the floor workers needed from 3 to 2
- Procured a replacement part of my design for the plant's 60 in. Ring Roller through a third-party machine shop
- Reverse-engineered 10 undocumented business assets in Inventor to be used by facilities for future repairs
- Laid out a building relocation for the maintenance team in AutoCAD to maximize a 7000 sq. ft storage space
Makerspace Assistant
- Optimizes 3D mesh geometry for successful CNC milling and 3D printing fabrication for various requests
- Maintains lab equipment and troubleshoots hardware for 3D Printers, Laser Cutters, and CNC Mills
Mechanical Engineer
- Worked in an interdisciplinary team to deliver a chassis designed in Siemens NX for our lunar mission concept
- Ensured the deliverable was less than $150M allocated by tracking the total materials cost in Microsoft Excel
Club President
- Led the CAD design of a smart GCP (Ground Control Point) to be utilized by faculty when drone mapping areas
- Raised $5k+ in funding to be utilized for projects including: FPV drones, AI smart cars, and high-powered rockets
AI and Automation Extern
- Configured AI workflows to automate data extraction and document classification using Python and NLP tools
- Assessed top open source AI models for document processing and recommended key optimization strategies
Club President
Volunteer Center Intern
- Utilized Microsoft Excel to complete data entry for various volunteer events to track student engagement
- Spearheaded community outreach campaigns with 100+ volunteers recruited for various organizations
Academic Presence
San Francisco Spring 2026 Bulldog Trek
Visited Stripe, Nixon Peabody, The Rickshaw Shop, Guide Dogs for the Blind, and Marin Community Action. Connected with some cool people and got some great career insight for my future in robotics.
Spacevision 2025
Got to meet some of the most influential people in the aerospace sector, connected with peers doing amazing work at other chapters, and got to see a panel regarding the use of robotics in space (my favorite panel of the conference).
Esri Developer and Technology Summit 2026
Met some talented software engineers and data analysts doing some amazing things in the GIS sector. It was really intriguing to see how Esri products are being utilized from Virtual Reality to Drone Applications as it really broadened my view of GIS as a whole
Selected Work
Autonomous Hexapod with Lidar Navigation
In Progress
Japan Natural Disaster Analysis Dashboard
Complete
Academics
3.8 / 4.0
Cumulative · 4.0 Scale
- Calculus I, II, III
- Linear Algebra
- Differential Equations
- Physics I, II, III
- Electronic Circuits
- Data Structures & Algorithms
- Machine Learning
- Java Programming
- Maroon and Grey Student Ambassador
- Redlands Robotics and Drone Club
- SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) Redlands Chapter
- Hispanic Student Leader
- Spring 2026 Bulldog Trek Participant
- Town & Gown Scholar
- Jack L. Osborn Memorial Scholarship
- Wiens Family Scholarship
- SBCPOA Scholarship
- HSF Scholar
- Dean's List
Technical Skills
Mechanical Engineering
Programming
Data Science & ML
Tools & Platforms
Let's Work
Together.
Open to internship opportunities, research collaborations, and projects.