About Me

I am passionate about mobile robotic systems design and implementation. I am part of the Autonomous Space Robotics Laboratory at the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS). I have worked on cutting edge optics research and helped to develop new technologies for cold fusion power. I was involved in FIRST Tech Challenge for 4 years in High School. At UVic, I was the Chief Engineer of the UVic AERO club.

Contact Details

Alec Krawciw
4108 Longview Dr.
Victoria, BC V8N 2K7 CA
(250) 213-6705
aleckrawciw@gmail.com

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Education

University of Toronto

Doctor of Philosophy • September 2023 - Present

I am part of the Autonomous Space Robotics Laboratory under the supervision of professor Tim Barfoot. My research focuses on long-term localization and perception of robots in unstructured environments.

University of Toronto

Master of Aerospace Engineering • September 2022 - 2023

I was offered a direct transfer from the Master's program into the doctoral program.

University of Victoria

Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering • September 2017 - April 2022

Undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in software development. I received UVic's Governor General's Silver Medal for graduating with the highest GPA of any student at UVic in 2022. I have learned solids, fluids, controls and electronics as part of my degree. In my final years, I have focussed on advanced dynamics, controls and robotics. I have a GPA of 8.98/9.0. I have been active in extracurricular engineering clubs as part of my degree.

Mount Douglas Secondary School

Highschool Graduation • June 2017

Highschool graduation. 97% graduation cumulative average through 4 years. Honour roll and scholarship cup for highest graduating GPA. Named top science student in grade 12.

Work

Gregory C. Marshall Naval Architecture Ltd.

Systems Developer• January 2021 - August 2021

Greg Marshall Design is a naval architecture firm specializing in designing large scale yachts, as well as craft for the coast guard and others. Based on my background with aerial vehicles, I was selected to design an electric hydrofoiling catamaran boat. Independently, I performed CAD/FEA analysis of the vehicle's structure. Next, I manufactured and assembled the chassis and developed custom control system software in C and Python. The boat used a novel quad-foil configuration to lift the hulls out of the water.

General Fusion Inc

Mechanical Engineering Coop• June 2020 - August 2020

General Fusion is transforming how the world is energized by developing the first commercially-viable fusion power plant. While at General Fusion, I designed new equipment for fusion reactor experiments. I have manufactured custom parts on mills, lathes and 3D printers. Finally, I developed a new control system code in Python for Photon Doppler Velocimetry laser systems.

National Research Council of Canada - Hertzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre

Optical Engineering Coop • January 2019 - April 2019

NRC's Hertzburg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre is Canada's leading reasearch centre dedicated to the design of cutting edge telescope design and astronomy. I worked as part of the optical engineering team developing a new type of sensor that could be used for future extremely large telescopes such as the Thirty Meter Telescope Some of my work included designing and assembling optical test benches. I used MATLAB to develop a control system for a Flattened Pyramid Wavefront Sensor. I developed C++ drivers for hardware such as DAQ cards and high-speed cameras to enable coordinated control.

Science Venture

Youth STEM Mentor • May 2018 - August 2018

Science Venture is a summer and in school program that aims to inspire youth to pursue careers in Science, Technology Engineering and Math. I developed engineering curricula and ran school workshops and summer camps for hundreds of Victoria elementary and middle school students.

Volunteering

FIRST Tech Challenge Tech Team

Software Developer• May 2020 - Present

FIRST Tech Challenge is a worldwide engineering competition for students grade 7 - 12. Due to COVID-19, there was a desire to develop an open platform to enable isolated team members to learn programming. I worked with the Tech Team to develop an integrated cloud-hosted robot simulator solution emulated the whole robot kernel.

FIRST Robotics British Columbia

Event Volunteer • January 2015 - Present

FIRST Robotics BC runs robotics events for students from kindergarten to grade 12. I have served many roles organizing and running events in the Victoria area. I designed workshops ranging from robot design to teamwork to programming and team finances. I developed a web app for sharing high fives to make online award ceremonies more exciting during the COVID-19 pandemic. When teams wanted to celebrate, they could send a high five. The app is available on Github.

Publications

Change of Scenery: Unsupervised LiDAR Change Detection for Mobile Robots

A. Krawciw, J. Sehn, T. Barfoot, “Change of Scenery: Unsupervised LiDAR Change Detection for Mobile Robots,” Submitted to International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2024. Available: https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.10924#

Flattened Pyramid Wavefront Sensor Demonstration with a Regular Pyramid

A. Krawciw, O. Lardière, et al, “Flattened Pyramid Wavefront Sensor Demonstration with a Regular Pyramid,” in AO4ELT6 Proc. Quebec City QC, 2019. Available: http://ao4elt6.copl.ulaval.ca/proceedings/401-Z3gL-241.pdf

Certifications

BC Drivers License

Class 5 • January 2021

Transport Canada RPAS Drone Pilot License

Advanced RPAS License• January 2022

Industry Canada Amateur Radio License

Basic HAM Radio License VA7AKL• December 2018

Skills

I have gained a wide variety of experience in mechanical engineering and computer science. These highlighted skills have been acquired and applied from previous work terms, classes, and engineering teams. I am keen to learn new skills in every project and job I complete.

  • Solidworks
  • Matlab
  • Ansys Simulations
  • CSS
  • HTML5
  • Python
  • Mills and Lathes
  • SLA and FDM 3D printing

Get In Touch.

I am excited about any projects in engineering field. If you would like to contact me to discuss my experience further, please email below or call my number listed.

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