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Kea Francis kfranci6@vols.utk.edu Undergraduate Research/Teaching Assistant Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering

Kea Francis is a senior in the Mechanical Engineering department at UTK. Her current project is focused on updating RAPIRO, a social robot used to help train children with communication needs. She is interested in the use of social robotics in industrial and household settings.

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Spencer McDonald smcdon16@vols.utk.edu Undergraduate Research Assistant Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering

Spencer McDonald is a Junior, dual majoring in Aerospace Engineering and Mathematics. Research is conducted with Humanoid Robot (HR-OS1). He is currently designing a framework for the HR-OS1 in Python and C++, so that it can ultimately be controlled by MATLAB. Spencer is interested in Aerospace Controls, Autonomous Systems, and Robotics.