Now
Co-Founder · EE/Firmware, Slingshot
Electrical Engineering — UCLA, Class of 2029
Ryan
Tao
I take hardware from first principles to a finished device — RF, analog, PCB, firmware, and DSP. I'm co-founding a wearables startup as its EE & firmware lead, and I build things like a working X-band radar speed gun.
RYAN TAOUCLA · EE '29
Major
Electrical Engineering
Focus
RF · Embedded · PCB
Class
UCLA 2029
Base
Los Angeles, CA
01
About
I'm a second-year Electrical Engineering student at UCLA — salutatorian of my high-school class — who does his best thinking with a soldering iron and an oscilloscope nearby. I'm drawn to the hard middle of a system: where RF meets analog, where firmware meets a real sensor, where a signal has to survive the trip from the physical world to a clean number on a screen.
I'm the co-founder and electrical / firmware lead of Slingshot, a basketball training-load wearable, where I own a 4-layer mixed-signal board and its embedded systems end to end. Alongside that I research real-time computer vision at UCLA's i2bl Lab and build flight electronics for the UCLA Rocket Project. I also speak Mandarin at a professional working level.
02
Selected Work
// click any project for the full build
01 · Flagship
Co-Founder & EE / Firmware Lead
Slingshot
Basketball training-load BLE wearable · Mar 2026 – Present
A matchbook-sized 4-layer mixed-signal sensor pod worn on a compression sleeve — fusing motion and heart-rate into a single training-load score. As one of two engineers, I own the board and firmware end to end — schematic, layout, power tree, sensor bring-up, and BLE.
4-Layer PCBnRF52840 · BLEPower electronicsSensor fusion
View the build →
02 · Flagship
Solo build · End-to-end system
X-Band Doppler Radar Speed Gun
RF → analog → DSP → embedded → readout · June 2026
A handheld radar speed gun that measures vehicle speed in real time — from a 10.525 GHz X-band module, through a custom analog chain, into a real-time FFT pipeline, to a live OLED readout. Standalone on a power bank, no computer required.
X-band RFReal-time FFTRP2350LTspice-verified
View the build →
Research & more projects
ResearchNov 2025 – Present
Ferrofluid Computer Vision
i2bl Lab · UCLA
Real-time CV that segments and localizes ferrofluid and magnetic sources from live video, then closes the loop to steer ferrofluid across a microfluidic chip.
Read more →Project · TeamJan 2026 – Present
Rocket Altimeter Avionics
UCLA Rocket Project
Avionics for a rocket altimeter — sensor integration, signal conditioning, and data acquisition, validating altitude for real-time telemetry and post-flight analysis.
Read more →ResearchMay 2024 – Oct 2024
IoT Network Security
Cal Poly Pomona
Studied cybersecurity threats in IoT networks with Python and ML across millions of test cases, presenting findings as visual reports and a research poster.
Read more →Experience & leadership
03
Skills
Hardware & PCB
Schematic capturePCB layout4-layer mixed-signalPower electronics / PMICDC-DC buck-boostLi-Po charging & fuel gaugingRF / 2.4 GHz layoutGround-plane integrityDFMBOM & sourcingI²C / SPI / QSPIBring-up & debug (SWD/J-Link)
Embedded & Firmware
Embedded C/C++Nordic nRF52840RP2350 / Pico 2BLEPlatformIOSensor driversUSB CDCFlash loggingSensor fusionReal-time FFT / DSP
RF & Signals
Doppler radarX-bandAnalog signal conditioningBiasing & AC couplingLTspiceFFTADC samplingNyquist & resolution
Software
Python · NumPyJavaJavaScriptC#Web BluetoothHTML / CSSReactGit
CAD & Tools
Autodesk Fusion (ECAD + MCAD)JLCPCBSolidWorksFusion 360AudacityVercel
Domains & Spoken
Computer VisionMachine LearningData AnalysisEnglishMandarin — Professional
04
Education
University of California, Los Angeles
Expected June 2029B.S. Electrical Engineering · Samueli School of Engineering
Relevant coursework
Calc of Several Variables I/IIDifferential EquationsLinear Algebra (in progress)Physics: MechanicsOscillations, Waves & FieldsElectrodynamics & Optics (in progress)Intro to Computer Science
Glen A. Wilson High School
May 2025Engineering & Computer Science Pathways
Honors & awards
Engineering Scholarship
John Richard Leffler Scholarship
UCLA Samueli School of Engineering — a merit award endowed specifically for electronic engineering.
Engineering Scholarship
Muriel K. & Robert B. Allan Fund
UCLA Samueli School of Engineering — a merit scholarship for students in the school of engineering.
Academic Honor
Salutatorian
Glen A. Wilson High School — second in the graduating class, GPA 4.8.
Let's build something
The fastest way to reach me is email. Happy to talk hardware, walk through any project in more depth, or chat about working together.