Randal “RJ” Richards.
I design it, then I build and test it.

I'm RJ, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Georgia, graduating December 2026. I'm drawn to problems that don't stop at the CAD screen, where you have to model it, analyze it, then make it actually work in the real world.

My range runs from field engineering on a utility grid-hardening program and aerospace optimization on a Lockheed Martin-sponsored capstone, to co-founding a tour business with my mom in the Virgin Islands. When a build needs a skill I don't have yet, I teach it to myself. I learned soldering, power electronics, and embedded firmware on my own to build a walking robot in five days.

What ties it together is the full loop of design, build, and test, and communicating the work clearly enough that anyone in the room understands it.