RÉSUMÉ / ACCESSIBLE HTML VERSION
Benjamin “Ben” Bernsteen
Electrical Engineering student building and testing embedded, optical, robotic, and electro-mechanical systems, with interests in aerospace hardware, instrumentation, controls, sensors, and experimental research.
Education
Florida State University
Electrical EngineeringUndergraduate work focused on hardware systems, experimental research, digital logic, instrumentation, and electro-mechanical integration.
Experience
Undergraduate Research · Optical Diagnostics
Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion · FSUSupports self-aligning focusing schlieren development through optical alignment, analytical MATLAB plots, system evaluation, and experimental visualization work.
Hardware Captain
FTC Team 16255 · Minerva WarriorsContributed to competition robot hardware and electro-mechanical integration while helping diagnose mechanical, electrical, and autonomous-system interactions under event constraints.
Information Technology Intern
U.S. Consulate General GuadalajaraCompleted a full-time technical internship supporting troubleshooting, end users, and technology infrastructure in an operational environment.
Public Diplomacy Intern
U.S. Consulate General GuadalajaraProduced technical media, visual communication, event documentation, and coordinated deliverables. This role is presented as communication experience, not engineering work.
Selected projects
Self-Aligning Focusing Schlieren Research
Research ContributionContributed to development and testing of a self-aligning focusing schlieren setup using analytical plots, optical geometry, physical alignment, and visualization experiments.
Connected analytical optical relationships with alignment decisions and recorded experimental imagery.
FTC Team 16255 Minerva Warriors
CompletedContributed to competition robot hardware and integration, then iterated across mechanical, electrical, and autonomous-system interactions under event constraints.
Team developed a five-specimen autonomous routine and a system capable of up to 17 cycles; ranked approximately #43 worldwide during the relevant period.
Built a finite-state traffic controller in Verilog, encoded safety in output logic, and validated the design through simulation and DE10-Lite LED hardware.
Implemented mutually exclusive traffic phases and checked the sequence through simulation and physical output behavior.
Ultrasonic Sensor and Servo PCB
PrototypeDesigned a KiCad PCB integrating HC-SR04, servo, and microcontroller connections, then completed ERC, DRC, copper-zone, and Gerber preparation.
Completed the design files and manufacturing-output preparation; fabrication and full hardware validation are not claimed.
Technical evidence
Verilog & finite-state machines
FPGA development
C / C++
MATLAB
KiCad & PCB design
Arduino & microcontrollers
Sensors & instrumentation
Optical alignment & imaging
Experimental testing
Electro-mechanical integration
Hardware debugging
Technical documentation
This is an accessible portfolio résumé, not a substitute for Ben’s final one-page recruiting PDF. Replace the clearly labeled placeholder PDF when the approved résumé is supplied.