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
- 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)
- 3D printing (FDM)
- Carbon-fiber fabrication
- Precision machining (bending, tapping, countersinking, chamfering, angle grinding)
Electronics & Robotics
- Soldering (PCB, JST, actuators, power electronics)
- Power distribution (24V/48V bus bars, DC-DC converters, XT30 connectors)
- 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.
- Published, Petrol-Online2026
The Rise of Artificial Photosynthesis as a Resourceful Source of Alternative Energy
Koehler Instrument Company
- Forthcoming2026
AI Optimization of Combustion Using Alternative Fuels
Koehler Instrument Company
Where I have worked
June 2026 to Present
San Francisco, CA
Robot Wrangler, Data & Manufacturing Operations Intern
Kovari Industries
- Operated robots via teleoperation to generate labeled demonstration data for the imitation-learning pipeline behind autonomous garment folding, reaching 90% task accuracy on towel and t-shirt folding
- Assembled custom robotic hands from 15+ 3D-printed components, soldering connectors and control boards while tuning gear tolerances for smooth articulation
- Wired full robot power distribution from on/off switch through dual bus bars (24V/48V) to 720W DC-DC converter, soldering XT30 junctions and daisy-chaining the circuit
- Fabricated precision robot parts through shop machining (bending, tapping, countersinking, chamfering) using SolidWorks, set up a Tormach 1100 CNC mill and began developing CAM programs to accelerate iteration cycles
February 2026 to Present
Remote
Petroleum Research Intern
Koehler Instrument Company
- Authored 2 technical research papers on petroleum-testing and instrumentation topics, synthesizing 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
- Researched 5 neural network architectures and advanced AI optimization techniques to model combustion performance of alternative fuels, producing original custom figures to visualize and communicate key findings
- Coordinated with 2 PhD-level staff across 3 rounds of revisions, incorporating technical feedback on figure design and content accuracy to sharpen clarity for publication
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
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
New Brunswick, NJ
GPA: 3.95
Activities and societies: 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.