Resume

Education, experience, and skills.

Contact Information

Name Leah Lee
Professional Title Mechanical Engineering Student
Email leahlee2@illinois.edu

Professional Summary

Mechanical Engineering undergraduate at UIUC focused on vehicle systems, mechanical design, controls, and robotics hardware.

Experience

  • 2025 - present

    Champaign, IL

    Undergraduate Researcher
    Novel Mobile Robots Lab, University of Illinois
    Advised by Prof. Justin Yim
    • Design and build self-actuated surface inspection robot using vision-based tactile sensing
    • Build test rig and system model to size actuators and validate control performance
    • Create CAD models and rapid prototypes to achieve stable contact and manufacturable geometry
    • Develop closed-loop contact module using force/pressure feedback for tracking on flat, curved, and inverted surfaces
  • 2025 - present

    Champaign, IL

    Undergraduate Researcher
    RoboTouch Lab, University of Illinois
    Advised by Prof. Wenzhen Yuan
    • Develop new vision-based tactile sensor for large-area robotic surface scanning
    • Fabricate hardware using ESP32S3 and custom PCB, with multi-part molds for repeatable casting
    • Build image processing pipeline in Python using OpenCV and photometric stereo to reconstruct surface depth
    • Conference paper submitted to IROS
  • 2025 - 2025

    Seoul, South Korea

    Network Engine Team Researcher Intern
    Somansa
    • Built RAG system for ZTNA documentation using LLMs, embedding models, and chunked retrieval
    • Evaluated model performance using prompt-based tests and recorded accuracy comparisons
    • Developed Python scripts to crawl technical websites and convert PDF/HTML documents into training data
  • 2025 - present

    Champaign, IL

    Event and Lobby Staff
    Foellinger Auditorium
    • Operate audio-visual systems and manage venue layout for lectures, exams, and performances with 1,300+ attendees
  • 2025 - present

    Champaign, IL

    Vice President (2026), Secretary (2025)
    Engineering Council, Undergraduate Research in Scientific Advancement
    • Lead weekly committee meetings and manage logistics, including room reservations, scheduling, and internal documentation
    • Manage Canvas course site and coordinate directly with faculty and graduate mentors to support participant progress
    • Compile research posters, summaries, and photos to produce semester-end archive book for program documentation

Education

  • 2024 - 2027

    Champaign, IL

    BS
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    Mechanical Engineering
    • Design for Manufacturability, Numeric Control of Manufacturing Processes, Thermodynamics, Fluid Dynamics
    • Expected graduation: December 2027

Projects

  • Illini Solar Car
    • Lead design and fabrication of fairing door molds using 3D-printed tooling and carbon fiber/fiberglass composite layup
    • Manufacture and assemble composite components using sanding, trimming, surface finishing, and vacuum bagging
    • Coordinate with aero, structures, and melec teams to ensure proper fit and integration of structural components
  • ArachnoBot: ASME 1st Place, Distinguished Robotics (200+ exhibits)
    • Designed and built terrain-adaptive robot for University of Illinois Engineering Open House
    • Implemented 4-bar linkage mechanism to achieve stable movement across varied surfaces
    • Presented project to 1,000+ visitors, explaining design and demonstrating robot operation
  • Assistive Technology Development Project
    • Designed and prototyped assistive devices including vegetable slicer, ziplock bag closer, and iPad holder under one-handed accessibility constraints
    • Optimized designs for single-print, short print time, lightweight structure, and simple one-hand assembly
    • Collaborated with ASME team and IATP project manager to meet functional and safety requirements

Skills

CAD and 3D Modeling (Proficient): Fusion 360, AutoCAD, OnShape, NX, SolidWorks, Creo
Manufacturing and Prototyping (Proficient): 3D Printing (FDM/SLA), Carbon Fiber Layup, Soldering, Injection Molding, Laser Cutting, Manual Milling, CNC Mill, PCB Fabrication, Rapid Prototyping
Programming (Proficient): Python, Java, MATLAB, Simulink, Embedded Systems

Languages

English : Fluent
Korean : Native