Gaspar J. Montoya

About Gaspar!

Gaspar is a third year Computer Engineering student minoring in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. Originally from Los Angeles, California, he has spent over a year working in Dr. Venki’s research lab, gaining hands on experience in advanced engineering and research projects. He is passionate about building innovative systems and applying AI to real world problems. Outside of academics, he enjoys playing tennis. Gaspar aspires to earn a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and contribute to the future of aerospace and autonomous technologies.

Current Roles:

Gaspar is currently designing and building advanced UAV systems as an undergraduate researcher. His latest project focuses on developing an autonomous UAV equipped with multispectral and thermal imaging sensors to capture high resolution environmental data for analysis and real world research applications. He contributes across the full workflow, including system integration, sensor setup, and testing to support reliable data collection.

In addition to aerial systems, Gaspar is also working with a Unitree GO2 EDU quadruped robot equipped with a LiDAR sensor to collect ground level vegetation data.

Research interests:

• Designing UAVs
• Efficient onboard computation of image and acoustic data on UAVs
• Autonomous indoor UAV/Robot navigation
• Flight Controller development
• Machine Learning for Microcontrollers

Education:

• B.S in Computer Engineering — University of of Nevada, Las Vegas (expected May 2027)