Leonard Chau | Mechanical Engineering @ SFSU | Expected: Spring 2026
LinkedIn • Website • [email protected]
Building low-cost automated microscopes that make advanced imaging accessible:
- StentorCam - Robotic imaging system for high-throughput behavioral assays (~1/20th the cost of commercial systems)
- FluorCam - Open-source fluorescence and IR dark-field imaging platform (~$500 vs $20k+ commercial systems)
- 3D-Cam - Single-camera depth reconstruction using mirror reflections (in development)
All built with Raspberry Pi, Python + OpenCV, custom 3D-printed components, and iterative problem-solving across mechanical, optical, and computational domains.
- Typewriter Restoration - Reverse-engineering and 3D-printing replacement type elements using parametric OpenSCAD models
- Silent Thermal Typewriter - Designing a quiet "typewriter" using an HP45 printhead
- RF Experiments - Crystal radios, big loop antennas, high-inductance coils
- Tensegrity Structures - Built display-quality prototypes now exhibited on campus
Design & Manufacturing: Fusion 360, SolidWorks, OpenSCAD • FDM/SLA 3D printing • Reverse engineering
Programming: Python, C++, MATLAB • OpenCV for image processing • Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP32
Fabrication: TIG/MIG/Stick welding • Machining • Optics • Electronics
- Undergraduate researcher in bioengineering (PI: Raymond Esquerra, PhD.)
- Machine shop assistant at SFSU - helping students translate ideas into functioning prototypes
- VP of Tau Beta Pi (revived chapter, grew from 5 to 30+ members)
- VP of 3D Printing Club - mentoring peers in design and fabrication
My engineering identity is fundamentally hands-on. I believe ideas become real only through iteration and tactile problem-solving—whether TIG-welding aluminum assemblies, aligning optical mounts, or debugging embedded control code. I'm most engaged when theory meets tool steel, circuit board, or printed part.
I'm drawn to systems-level integration: uniting mechanical structure, optical precision, and embedded control into cohesive, reliable instruments. My goal is to develop robotic and mechatronic systems that enhance experimental precision while remaining accessible and adaptable—platforms that merge advanced mechanics with embedded sensing and control, capable of collecting, interpreting, and optimizing their own data.
Ultimately, I want to democratize high-precision engineering and bridge the gap between research discovery and real-world application. Progress in engineering often begins not with simulation results but with the sound of a tool engaging material—discovery is built, tested, and refined by hand.
Always down to talk imaging, radios, mechanics, or strange inventions.