Xiangjian (Aaron) Zeng

About Me

I am a Ph.D. student in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, working with Dr. Laura Lewis in the Lewis Lab. My current research designs machine-learning-based auditory stimulation algorithms to promote cerebrospinal fluid circulation during sleep and enhance waste clearance, exploring new potential interventions for brain aging. I received an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University (2023) and a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a minor in Cognitive Science from UC San Diego (2020, Magna Cum Laude). Across labs at MIT, Pitt, CMU, and UCSD, I have worked on computational neuroscience, neural decoding, medical devices, and signal processing. My research objective is to study brain physiology with computational modeling and build functional neuromodulation systems with engineering toolsets. Since my last interaction with fabrication dates back to my freshman year in undergrad, I am taking this course for my minor to hopefully recouple some of that lost knowledge. Whether that will be eventually useful for my research I am not sure, but it seems like a great opportunity to make something fun! Worst case when our AI overlords take over, they will still need someone who can build their bodies.