Alexander Yuan

Software Engineering Intern @ SpaceX

Computer Science @ Yale University

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About Me

Hi, welcome to my personal website! I am currently a senior at Yale University pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science. College has been a time of great discovery and challenge in every possible way, and I have explored numerous fields and interests during my time here. It has allowed me to discover what I am truly passionate about, and while they may change, my current interests include operating systems, database management systems, artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer system security, object-oriented design, and full-stack web development.

When I'm not in the classroom, I enjoy playing water polo, practicing the piano, swimming, cooking, spending time with friends, and engaging in competitive matches of Super Smash Bros with my suitemates. Feel free to reach out!

Education

Aug 2021 - May 2025

Yale University

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

  • GPA: 3.93/4.0; Major: 4.0/4.0
  • Activities and societies: Yale Men's Water Polo Team, Code Haven, Yale Computer Society, YHack, Yale Undergraduate Diversified Investments, Yale Machine Learning, Mathcounts Outreach
  • Relevant Coursework:
    • CPSC 201: Introduction to Computer Science
    • CPSC 202: Mathematical Tools for Computer Science
    • CPSC 223: Data Structures and Programming Techniques
    • CPSC 290: Directed Research
    • CPSC 323: Introduction to Systems Programming & Computer Organization
    • CPSC 327: Object-Oriented Programming
    • CPSC 365: Algorithms
    • CPSC 419: Full Stack Web Programming
    • CPSC 465: Theory of Distributed Systems
    • CPSC 484: Human-Computer Interaction
    • CPSC 490: Senior Thesis
    • CPSC 511: Computer System Security
    • CPSC 513: Building Game Engines
    • CPSC 522: Operating Systems
    • CPSC 540: Database Design and Implementation
    • CPSC 574: Computational Intelligence for Games
    • CPSC 581: Introduction to Machine Learning
Aug 2020 - May 2021

Florida State University

Dual Enrollment

  • GPA: 4.0/4.0
  • Relevant Coursework:
    • CGS 2100: Microcomputer Applications for Business/Economics
    • CGS 3066: Web Programming and Design
    • COP 2258: Problem-Solving w/ Object-Oriented Programming
    • PSB 2000: Introduction to Brain and Behavior
    • STA 2122: Introduction to Applied Statistics
Aug 2017 - May 2021

Lawton Chiles High School

High School Diploma

  • GPA: UW - 4.0/4.0; W - 4.77/5.00
  • Graduated Summa Cum Laude (Valedictorian)
  • Activities and societies: Varsity Swimming (Team Captain, 2020 FHSAA Swimming State Championship Bronze Medalist - 200 Freestyle Relay, USA Swimming Futures Championships Qualifier - 400 Medley Relay), Mu Alpha Theta (Secretary), App Development Club (Vice President), Science Olympiad, National Honor Society
  • Relevant Coursework:
    • AP Calculus BC (5)
    • AP Chemistry (5)
    • AP Computer Science A (5)
    • AP Computer Science Principles (5)
    • AP Environmental Science (5)
    • AP Macroeconomics (5)
    • AP Microeconomics (5)
    • AP Music Theory (5)
    • AP Physics 1 (5)
    • AP Physics 2 (5)
    • AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism (5)
    • AP Psychology (5)
    • AP Statistics (5)
    • AP United States History (5)

Experience

Software Engineering Intern

SpaceX

May 2024 - Aug 2024
  • Supported Starlink flight operations with the TT&C team to ensure continuous Wi-Fi for over 3 million users
  • Deployed to production a satellite gateway contact prioritization algorithm with C++ and Kubernetes, leveraging telemetry inputs for fully automated ground communication during load shed, launch, and software update events
  • Designed a UI for operator-driven manual priority adjustments using Python, Angular, TypeScript, and PostgreSQL

Algorithms Teaching Assistant

Yale Department of Computer Science

Jan 2024 - May 2024
  • Led sessions on algorithms for 150+ students, covering divide-and-conquer, graph, greedy, and dynamic programming
  • Used Python/Java to teach algorithm implementation and efficiency and PollEv for interactive learning and feedback

Software Engineering Intern

NASA - National Aeronotics and Space Administration

June 2023 - Aug 2023
  • Developed an app end-to-end using C, C++, JSON, Linux, streaming, and Core Flight System (cFS) that predicts the Remaining Useful Life of an autonomous drone's onboard battery and generates a real-time adaptive flight plan
  • Deployed code on FAA-NASA certified drone, achieving project goals within 1yr timeline for forest fire mitigation
  • Adhered to formal software development protocol for NASA's Class C: Mission Support Software flight approval

Undergraduate Research Intern

Yale Social Robotics Lab

May 2022 - Dec 2022
  • Topic: Perception Technologies for a Socially Assistive Robot to Combat Anxiety with Prof. Brian Scassellati
  • Worked on the feature rollout of Ommie, a robot that provides anxiety support through deep breathing exercises
  • Used Raspberry Pi, ROS, and Python to integrate sensors (IMU, Thermal and RGB Camera, Radar) within Ommie for the creation of a custom dataset for deep breathing analysis–the first of its kind to be publicly available
  • Built long short-term memory and gated recurrent unit ML models using PyTorch for respiration phase recognition

Tobin Research Assistant

Yale School of the Environment

Feb 2022 - May 2022
  • Topic: Remote Sensing and Measuring the Impact of Kenyan Resettlement Schemes with Prof. Luke Sanford
  • Implemented an image recognition algorithm to automate the extraction of over 7 million entries of Kenyan population and migration data from scanned documents and images.
  • Created shapefiles by merging this data with existing satellite data and built a CNN model in R to measure the impact of resettlement on economic, demographic, and environmental health outcomes.

Projects

Wave Engine

A versatile game engine designed to create dynamic, user-driven experiences, including customizable Polygon (Geometry) Dash games.

DETAILS

Yost and Yound

A full-stack web application that facilitates the returning of lost/found objects to their rightful owners among the Yale community.

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Cats4Wellness

A self-care platform built on Microsoft Kinect that promotes mental well-being by encouraging users to engage in healthy habits and stress-reducing activities.

DETAILS

Alpha-Gomoku

An implementation of the Gomoku game with an AI agent enhanced by Parallel Monte Carlo Tree Search and Genetic Algorithms with an 83% average win rate.

DETAILS

The Shell

The backend logic for the “Bash” Unix shell program using the fork/execvp model in C with functionality for file redirection, pipelines, conditionals, backgrounding, subcommands, and reaping zombie processes.

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Deep Learning for Predicting Parkinson's Disease

LSTM and GRU deep learning models that achieve a 95% accuracy rate in predicting Parkinson’s ”Freezing of Gait” (FOG) by analyzing motion data from the Daphnet FOG dataset.

DETAILS

Skills

Programming Languages

Python
C++
C
Java
JavaScript
HTML/CSS
SQL
R

Frameworks & Developer Tools

Flask
React
Node.js
RESTful
PyTorch
Tensorflow
Protobuf
Kubernetes
Git
AWS
Jupyter
Latex
VSCode
ROS
Linux
Windows