James Lin

Education

Downingtown STEM AcademyDowningtown, PA

IB Diploma Programme candidateExpected June 2027

GPA: 3.93 (unweighted) | SAT: 1550 (790 Math)
Higher Level: Physics, Design Technology, Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches, Economics

NASA SEES, UT Austin Center for Space ResearchAustin, TX

High School Research InternSummer 2025

Selected as 1 of about 80 students from more than 3,000 applicants nationwide
Led CAD for a proof-of-concept Titan airship; designed the gondola, rear vectoring propeller, and skis in Fusion 360
Modeled airflow in Earth and Titan conditions with Autodesk CFD
Presented the team's research at the AGU Fall Meeting in New Orleans
Co-wrote a microgravity air filtration proposal; named runner-up out of about 100 and selected as the alternate team

Engineering Content CreatorInstagram @jameslarpsandmakescoolstuff | X @JamesMakes29

IndependentOngoing

Document my engineering builds for 10,000+ followers across platforms, with 4M+ total views
Followed by Jeff Bezos on X
Sponsored by Bambu Lab, LDO Motors, and Cytron Technologies with parts and equipment

Zwei RestaurantExton, PA

Front Desk, Server, Busser2019 – 2026

Worked about 20 hours a week at the family restaurant taking orders, running the front desk, and bussing tables
Designed and 3D printed fixes for the restaurant and handled small repairs and printer issues

FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship: Alliance Captain, Lovelace Division; Sustain Award (Team 7244 Out of the Box Robotics, drive team and CAD)
TSA National Conference: 3rd of 187, Geospatial Technology
TSA State Conference: 3rd of 70+, CAD Engineering
Delaware Valley Science Fairs: 3rd of about 50 team projects; West Pharmaceuticals Best Team Award ($700)

Differential Swerve Drive: Four-module drivetrain on 8 NEMA17 steppers, driven from a phone over WiFi
Robot Arm and Nitinol Claw: Gear-driven stepper arm with a shape-memory-alloy claw, validated with FEA
Mechanical Integrator: Disk-and-wheel integrator with a belt-driven differential, plus a math write-up
Eye-Operated Switch: IB Design Technology IA for students with multiple disabilities (in progress)
Ultralight Drone: Generatively designed arms checked with FEA; flight controller tuned in Betaflight

Class Council, Vice President (Grades 11–12)
stemHACKs, Vice President; CAD workshops helped 3 students qualify for TSA States
Campfire Chester County Hackathon, Organizer of a 6-hour game jam with 25+ participants
Chester County Library Makerspace, Weekly Volunteer; teach CAD, slicing, and 3D printing, maintain the Ender 5 and Voron 2.4, and built a machine that turns plastic bottles into filament
National Honor Society, Member (Grades 11–12)

CAD and Simulation: Fusion 360 (including generative design), Onshape, SolidWorks, Autodesk FEA and CFD
Fabrication: FDM 3D printing (Bambu, Voron, Ender), 3D printer building and maintenance
Electronics and Programming: ESP32, Arduino, stepper drivers, Betaflight, Python, Java, Swift