Ronan Wallace

I am a research engineer investigating conservation technology in environmental monitoring and cultural preservation. Specifically, I am interested in (1) novel 3D modeling technqiues for documenting local climate impacts and (2) embedded sensor systems for data acquistion.

Keywords:   3D computer vision,   embedded systems,   spatial journalism.

News

[04/2024]   Awarded the Fulbright Research Grant to Nepal for 2024-2025.
[02/2024]   Published my first primary-authored publication in a peer-reviewed journal!
[12/2023]   Awarded the Changemaker of 2023 Award.
[11/2023]   Selected for CyArk's Heritage Documentation Training Grant. Thank you CyArk!
[10/2023]   Awarded the Alice Rowan Swanson Fellowship.

Research Portfolio

Selected works from the last few years.

Floods of Lubra

Visualizing climate damage in the Himalayas of Nepal.
Advised by Dr. Susan Fox (Macalester College), Dr. Ryan Kastner (UC San Diego), and Dr. Isabelle Onians (SIT)
Funded by Fulbright Research Grant Nepal 2024; Alice Rowan Swanson Fellowship 2023; and Jan Serie Research Fellowship 2022.
[Publication] [Honor's Thesis] [News Article]
[LinkTree] [Photo Gallery]

FishSense

Upgraded processing bandwith on underwater camera for fish detection and health monitoring.
Advised by Dr. Ryan Kastner and Dr. Curt Schurgers
Funded by NSF-REU 2021
[Publication] [Deployment] [Presentation]

Myon, the Humanoid Robot.

Computer vision research for object detection.
Advised by Dr. Manfred Hild and Dr. Benjamin Panreck
Funded by DAAD RISE Germany 2021
[Lab]

On Losing Meaning

Built a robotic art sculpture from scratch for a commissioned exhibit in Saudi Arabia.
Advised by Dr. Manfred Hild and Dr. Benjamin Panreck
Funded by DAAD RISE Germany 2021
[Exhibit]

AI for Forest Elephants

Edge-computing and audio classification for detecting gunshots and poaching in central Africa.
Collaborators — Cornell University, Rainforest Connection, & FruitPunch AI
[Publication]

Mangrove Monitoring

Calculating mangrove biomass with machine learning.
Advised by Dr. Ryan Kastner and Dr. Curt Schurgers
Funded by NSF-REU 2021
[Presentation] [Lab]

Photogrammetry & Radiance Fields

Modeling physical heritage and environmnets vulnerable to climate change.
[Models]

Education

• 
  Macalester College — Bachelor's in Computer Science  (GPA 3.9/4.0) 2018—2022
  Honors, Summa Cum Laude, QuestBridge Scholar
• 
  School For International Training — Study Abroad   (GPA 4.0/4.0) 2022
  Nepal: Tibetan & Himalayan Peoples Program
• 
  Clark College 2016—2018
  Running Start Program

Experience

• 
  Fulbright Research Scholar, Nepal 2024—Present
  U.S. Fulbright Student Program — Institution of International Eduction, USA
• 
  Project Founder & Lead Engineer 2022—Present
  Engineers For Exploration Lab — University of California-San Diego, USA
• 
  Alice Rowan Swanson Fellow 2023
  Independent Human Rights Fellowship in Nepal — School For International Training, USA
• 
  Jan Serie Research Fellow 2022
  Independent Research Fellowship in Nepal — Macalester College, USA
• 
  DAAD RISE Fellow — Neurorobotics Research Intern 2021
  Neurorobotics Research Lab — Berliner Hochschule für Technik, Germany
• 
  NSF-REU Fellow — Embedded Systems Research Intern 2021
  Engineers For Exploration Lab — University of California-San Diego, USA
• 
  IT Assistant 2018—2022
  Campus-wide software & equipment support — Macalester College, USA
• 
  Teaching Assistant 2019—2020
  Python; Algorithms Design & Analysis — Macalester College, USA

Volunteering

• 
  Mentor 2018—Present
  See Mentorship & Resources
• 
  Machine Learning Engineer 2023
  Cornell University, Rainforest Connection, and FruitPunch AI
• 
  QuestBridge Executive Board Member 2018—2019
  On-campus Chapter — Macalester College, USA

Training

• 
  Reality Capture Trainee 2023
  Heritage Documentation Training Grant — CyArk, USA
• 
  Google Cloud Platform Trainee 2020
  Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Summer Program — Macalester College, USA

Publications

• [5]   Wallace, R., Gurung, Y. T., and Kastner, R. (2024). "Relocating Lubra Village and Visualizing Himalayan Flood Damages with Remote Sensing." Journal of Critical Global Issues: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 5.   [Link]
• [4]   FruitPunch AI, et al. (2023). “Protecting Forest Elephants Through Audio Monitoring.” FruitPunch AI.   [Link]
• [3]   Wallace, R. (2022). "Utilizing Remote Sensing Technology to Relocate Lubra Village and Visualize Flood Damages." Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Honors Projects. 73.   [Link]
• [2]   Wallace, R. and Gurung, Y. T., (2022). "Mustang Forced to Adapat to Climate Change." Nepali Times.   [Link]
• [1]   Tueller, P., et al., (2021). "FishSense: Underwater RGBD Imaging for Fish Measurement." OCEANS 2021: San Diego – Porto, San Diego, CA, USA, 2021, pp. 1-5.   [Link]

Conferences & Talks

Presentations

Guest Lectures

Workshops

Awards, Honors, & Fellowships

Fellowships

Scholarships

Awards & Honors

Mentorship & Resources

Since 2018, I've mentored students in applying to programs like QuestBridge, DAAD RISE, NSF-REU, and Fulbright. Every year, I send reminders of application openings and deadlines, provide personal guidance in the application processes, offer feedback to essay statements, and share my successful/rejected applications in their entirety. In terms of research, I advise students in creating research projects that achieve personal growth and positive social impact while aligning with career development.

Recently, I joined QuestBridge's Mentorship Program as an alumni mentor. Having traversed these paths on my own before, I find fulfillment in developing personal relationships with other students, and offer myself as an open resource in research, academia, and career development. If you or anyone you know would benefit from this, please reach out via email or LinkedIn anytime.