Paulo Younse is a robotics engineer in the Robotic Systems Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. His experience resides in mechanical design, machine vision, systems engineering, system architecting, and planetary sample collection. Previous projects include development of the Mars 2020 rover sample caching architecture and sample tube hermetic seals, work on unmanned underwater vehicles at the Boeing Company, and visual navigation and control for agricultural robots at the University of Florida. He is currently the Product Delivery Manager of the Robotic Transfer Assembly System for the Mars Sample Return Capture, Containment, and Return System, as well as Co-Investigator for the Mars Returned Sample Handling Technology Development task for extracting Martian samples from sample tubes after return to Earth. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, an M.E. in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from the University of Florida, and a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Colorado State University.
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Doctor of Philosophy, Systems Engineering, 2021
Concentration: System Architecture
Dissertation: Comparative Analysis of MBSE to Traditional Approaches for Architecting Space Systems
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Master of Science, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 2005
Concentration: Robotics
Thesis: Vision-based Vehicle Guidance for Autonomous Agricultural Vehicles
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, 2002
Concentration: Mechatronics
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA (2005-Present): Robotics Engineer, Robotic Systems Group
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (2003-2005): Research Assistant, Vision-based Vehicle Guidance for Autonomous Agricultural Vehicles
The Boeing Company, Anaheim, CA (2002-2003): Mechanical Engineer, Boeing Unmanned Undersea Vehicles Group
Mechanical design for robotic space systems, robotic vehicles, robotic manipulators, limbed robots, sample acquisition technology, hermetic sealing, Mars sample science preservation, machine vision, systems engineering, system architecture, project management, field testing, educational outreach
