Fostering Your Interests Through Endless Exploration
Michael Nunes, E’25, mechanical engineering, MS’26, robotics, has always loved building and creating. From woodworking with his grandfather to studying mechanical engineering at Northeastern, Nunes has fostered his fervor for engineering with two remarkable co-ops and his involvement in engineering-focused student organizations.
Nunes at graduation.
Michael Nunes said his passion for building things started when he was younger and used to explore crafting things out of wood with his grandfather. He recalled that together they used to fabricate anything from clocks to go-karts, which ignited his interest in creating and building. In high school, Nunes participated in FIRST Robotics, a fast-paced robotics league, where the group would be tasked to build a robot for a competition each year. He said his involvement in this club cemented his interest in mechanical engineering and his love of creating.
Nunes said mechanical engineering was the best path for him because of how expansive his passions and interests are. He said he could see himself pursuing anything from aerospace to sustainability in energy conversion, and mechanical engineering offers that flexibility. Nunes participated in the aerospace program on Northeastern University’s Seattle campus to broaden his knowledge on the subject and discovered his zeal for it. This led to adding an aerospace minor to his degree during his undergraduate studies.
Completing his second co-op at Amazon Robotics is what solidified Nunes’s fascination with robotics, and he knew he wanted to deepen his knowledge in the subject with an advanced degree. Taking advantage of the renowned PlusOne program that affords a student a master’s degree in half the time, he decided to pursue an MS in robotics. Nunes credits his success with the numerous benefits of the Plus One program, including how the truncated timeline allows him to enter the workforce quickly. Additionally, the program lets undergraduate students start taking master’s level courses during their bachelor’s, which Nunes said helped him determine if robotics was really the subject he wanted to pursue.
In the Classroom
Nunes thoroughly enjoyed many of the courses taken during both his undergraduate and master’s studies. With “Aeronautical Propulsion,” a class he took while on the Seattle campus, he loved that the coursework was centered around finding solutions to real-world problems. Nunes said one of his favorite classes was “Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics”, although he believed this to be one of his hardest classes. In this course, Nunes said he enriched his understanding of the software ANSYS, a valuable structural analysis tool, which immensely helped him during his second co-op. Nunes also thinks the course offered a lot of industry-level knowledge about analysis, and everything he learned has been invaluable for his future career aspirations.
A few of the courses that Nunes found extremely fascinating were “Elasticity and Plasticity” and “Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing,” which allowed him to get a stronger grasp on structural analysis and improve his ability with various software programs prevalent in his field. Nunes is currently taking “Robotic Sensing and Navigation,” which he finds gripping, even while stretching him beyond his comfort zone and usual classwork. In this course, he has been learning ROS2, a GPS navigation framework, as well as other tools that will be beneficial for his future in the aerospace industry.
Co-op Experiences
Nunes completed two enriching co-ops at SharkNinja and Amazon Robotics. At SharkNinja, Nunes served as a mechanical engineering intern in research and development for thermal and control systems. Working specifically with designing new coffee machine makers while testing and researching new ideas, he also made sure the machines were functional and ready for shelving.
Nunes and his co-worker at Amazon Robotics.
For his second co-op, Nunes worked at Amazon Robotics as a hardware engineer. He worked specifically with the shelving racks for Amazon’s fulfillment centers, as well as on cost reduction efforts and structural analysis regarding the fulfillment process and assembly. With automation as a core element of Amazon’s fulfillment department, this co-op experience inspired Nunes to pursue a master’s in robotics and get more involved in the field.
Nunes is grateful for both of his co-op experiences and everything he learned from them. He said being able to apply what he has learned in the classroom to a real work experience has taken his skill set to the next level, and he can clearly see how the two realms connect. Nunes also mentioned that it has been a fulfilling experience to see the fruit of his efforts actualized and used in the real world. He said, “Seeing the impact that you make at an industry level is really cool, and it makes engineering so exciting.”
Extracurriculars
Nunes at MultiGP’s International Open.
Nunes has been involved with two student organizations during his time at Northeastern: AerospaceNU and the Mars Rover Team. He said that joining engineering clubs has been instrumental to his success at Northeastern, and he has participated in many incredible opportunities because of his involvement in these organizations.
With AerospaceNU, Nunes has been a member of the rocketry team for three years. Additionally, he served as the club’s treasurer during his fourth year of undergraduate studies. He has worked on a lot of incredible projects, from drones to guided descent rockets to a two-stage separation rocket. Nunes is especially proud of a project titled “Wyatt,” which involved him building a guided descent rocket. Last year, Nunes worked on racing drones, and he was able to compete with them in two events. One of the competitions was the Collegiate Drone Racing event in North Carolina, and the other was the MultiGP’s International Open. Nunes said that being a member of AerospaceNU has taught him many valuable skills, including how to use software like FEA and CAD.
Nunes’ rover his team built for their capstone project.
Nunes is also a part of the Mars Rover team; he ended up joining the club because of his senior capstone project, where his team built a new rover drive system for the Mars Rover team. His team built five main sub-assemblies for the rover drive system. The sub-assemblies included a new motor drive system, a swerve drive system, an extendable wheelbase, a rocker-bogie system and a new wheel design. Nunes continued to work with the Mars Rover team to develop his project, and the new rover will eventually take part in an upcoming competition. He has enjoyed working on this project immensely and says, “Capstone is a really great opportunity to do something that you love and you’re passionate about.”
Future Perspectives
Nunes will graduate with his master’s in robotics in 2026. He hopes to work in the aerospace industry, making rockets more sustainable, faster and cost-effective, or in sustainable transportation, working on the design and assembly of cars that are less harmful to the environment. Nunes is excited to graduate and put all the skills and knowledge he has learned from his academic and professional experiences to use and make an impact in the aerospace and transportation industries.