Michael Munder

Advisor: Professor David Wettergreen - Creating the next-generation Zoë2 rover for field deployment, leveraging the design from Zoë1 in NASA's Life in the Atacama Project - Helping design a power system with dedicated bus lines for high-voltage motors and low-voltage sensors - Developing battery management for efficient charging and potentially swappable batteries - Optimizing wire routing, weight reduction, and modularity for a compact, pickup-truck-compatible design - Enhancing operator-focused usability and scalable upgrades, including future solar power integration

- Interned under Professor Amir Barati Farimani at Carnegie Mellon’s Machine Learning Lab - Developed transformer-based models for protein structure prediction - Utilized AlphaFold for accurate protein structure determination - Implemented multimodal approaches for predicting protein properties in drug discovery and protein engineering - Worked with PyTorch to build and optimize deep learning models

- Investigated the role of antibiotic resistance genes (blaTEM and PHDA) in Los Angeles wastewater, using samples provided by LA County Department of Health - Processed eDNA from influent and effluent samples using bead beating, centrifugation and filtration - Developed and optimized PCR protocols and designed primers via primerBLAST to target resistance markers, using 16S rRNA gene primers as controls - Analyzed amplified DNA through gel electrophoresis to verify gene presence and prevalence in treated and untreated samples - Research findings were submitted to the LA Department of Health for data collection, as public publication was restricted

- Participated in the Genes in Space Science Competition with a classmate, where we crafted a space-tailored Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) protocol for assessing hydroponic growing conditions in space - The experiment provided insights into sustainable food production on long-duration space missions - Planned and executed the project, demonstrating key skills in research, creative problem-solving, and molecular biology