Mechanical Engineering Student
Nate Polishook
Robotics and mechatronics engineer with broad mechanical‑engineering range.
I design, build, and test physical hardware, from CAD and mechanism design to fabrication and embedded control. I focus on robotics and mechatronics while staying fluent across the full mechanical-engineering toolkit.
- School
- Rutgers University School of Engineering, Honors College
- Degree
- Mechanical Engineering B.S.
- Class
- 2029
Who I am
I design and build real, working hardware, then I figure out how to make it better, faster, smarter. Drones and 3D printing hooked me as a kid, and that itch to optimize never went away. Now I'm a Mechanical Engineering student at Rutgers, working as a Robot Wrangler at Kovari Industries, a robotics startup building hospitality robots. I build out robot hardware end to end, soldering control boards, wiring power distribution across 24V and 48V bus bars, and fabricating parts with laser cutters and 3D printers, and I run teleoperation sessions to generate training data that feeds directly into the robots' learning pipeline. I'm also a Research Intern at Koehler Instrument Company, researching AI-driven combustion optimization for alternative fuels.
I integrate AI into my projects and workflows, not because it's trendy, but because I want to operate at the highest level possible as an engineer. Same mindset drove a wastewater ML project, where I owned the experimental design end to end.
I don't believe in doing things the slow way if a faster, smarter way exists. I'm always looking for the next hard problem to build my way through.
Selected work
Tools and capabilities
CAD & Fabrication
- Fusion 360
- Onshape
- Design for Manufacturability (DFM)
- CNC machining/programming
- 3D printing (FDM)
- Carbon-fiber fabrication
- Precision machining (bending, tapping, countersinking, chamfering)
Electronics & Robotics
- Soldering (PCB, JST, actuators, power electronics)
- Power distribution (24V/48V bus bars, DC-DC converters, XT30 connectors)
- KiCad & EasyEDA
- Circuit wiring
- Embedded component assembly
- Teleoperation systems
- Robot hardware integration
- Mechanical troubleshooting and diagnostic
Technical & Analytical
- Python
- MATLAB
- Excel
- Machine learning & regression modeling
- Experimental design & data analysis
- Statics
- Dynamics
- Thermodynamics
- Heat Transfer
- Calculus-based modeling & analysis
AI & Emerging Tools
- AI-assisted workflow design
- Agentic AI systems
- AI-assisted data analysis (Anthropic and Google certified)
Research
Peer-reviewed and forthcoming research work.
- In ProgressComing 2026
Lubrication Challenges in Space
Investigating the performance of space-grade lubricants exposed to zero gravity, radiation, thermal cycling, and hard vacuums.
- In ProgressComing 2026
Lubrication Challenges in Electric Vehicles
- Published, Petrol-Online2026
Machines that Listen to Engines: AI-Driven Optimization of Combustion Using Alternative Fuels
Koehler Instrument Company
- Published, Petrol-Online2026
The Rise of Artificial Photosynthesis as a Resourceful Source of Alternative Energy
Koehler Instrument Company
Where I have worked
June 2026 to Present
San Francisco, CA
Mechatronics Engineering Intern
Kovari Industries- Designed and 3D-printed a ZED mini camera mount in Onshape across 2 mount iterations, engineering 0.3mm screw-hole tolerances and iterating imported geometry to correct an off-center offset and align the camera to the robot's centerline
- Soldered a 6-wire magnetometer harness using CAT5e twisted-pair cable, routing power, ground, and I2C (SDA/SCL) lines through capacitor-stabilized connections into a JST interface for direct Jetson Orin integration
- Developed full CAM toolpaths in Fusion 360 for all 7 robot arm parts on a Tormach 1100 MX CNC mill, iterating cutting strategies using adaptive toolpaths to reduce total machining time by 50%
- Cut wire assembly time by 20% by designing and 3D-printing 4 XT30 wire holders and cable management components in Onshape to replace a silicone-based hold method
February 2026 to Present
Remote
Petroleum Research Intern
Koehler Instrument Company- Authored 2 technical research papers on petroleum-testing and instrumentation topics, synthesizing 30+ pieces of literature and experimental data into publication-ready documents
- Developed and curated 18 figures and comparative performance tables, including 9 original visualizations and 9 sourced from technical literature, analyzing catalyst efficiency, energy conversion rates, and scalability
- Synthesized literature across 5 neural network architectures (ANN, LSTM, surrogate models, GPR, PIML), identifying surrogate frameworks that cut experimental test points by 80% over conventional optimization
- Facilitated 3 rounds of revisions with 2 PhD-level staff, incorporating technical feedback that improved figure design and publication accuracy by 35% or reduced review time by 25%
January 2026 to April 2026
New Brunswick, NJ
Project Lead
Wastewater Treatment ML Model, Rutgers School of Engineering- Owned parameter selection and experimental design within a 5-member team, coordinating meeting schedules and rehearsal sessions to prepare the team's final presentation
- Led the team in developing and benchmarking machine learning regression models to predict water quality outputs across a multi-stage wastewater treatment system (full methodology and results on the project page)
Academics
Class of 2029
Rutgers University School of Engineering, Honors College
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
New Brunswick, NJ
GPA: 3.95
Activities and societies: Rutgers Formula Racing, Chem E Car, ASME, Sigma Pi Fraternity
Get in touch
Open to robotics, mechatronics, and mechanical-engineering internships, or if you just want to talk engineering. The fastest way to reach me is email.