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Michael Ward

School: UCLA - B.S. Computer Science & Engineering and Philosophy
Contact: michaelward1916@ucla.edu
GitHub: https://github.com/Mykol-Word
Last Updated: April 2026
About

I'm a third year undergraduate at UCLA studying Computer Science & Engineering and Philosophy. I focus on embedded systems, robotics, machine learning, and hardware-software integration. In philosophy, my main interest is moral philosophy.

My non-academic interests are weight-lifting, climbing, game development/modding, and playing video games. I'm pretty bad at all but the last of these.

Experience

Embedded Software Engineering Intern

[PUMA Info]

Flight Works, Inc.

June 2025 – Present

Developed space-grade embedded C firmware. Worked on the ASCENT-based Propulsion Unit with Modular Applications (PUMA).

Micromouse Project-Lead

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) at UCLA

April 2024 – June 2025

Co-led the Micromouse at UCLA program, mentoring 80+ students. Created assignments and gave lectures on motors, PID, maze algorithms, and IR sensors.

Compiler Research Intern

PolyArch Research Group

January 2025 – Present

Contributing to an open-source compiler targeting dataflow, CGRA, and spatial architectures using MLIR, Polygeist, and Clang/LLVM.

Cool Projects
▶ Embedded Systems

Micromouse

[GitHub][21.64 (sec) Completion]
October 2023 - May 2025

Autonomous maze-solving robot built from scratch with custom PCBs. 5th place at AAMC24, 3rd at AAMC25.

FPGA Digital Design and Verification

[GitHub]
October 2024 - March 2025

Digital hardware design and verification using SystemVerilog on an Altera DE10-Lite FPGA. Built an ALU and slot machine, with custom I2C and VGA drivers.

▶ Game Development

Slick Nick

[Play ‘Slick Nick’]
February 2026

Fast paced, endless runner made in Unity for the Big Mode 2026 game jam. Handled much of the player controller programming, along with several models and shaders. Scored top 15% in all categories and top 10% in fun.

Runner Boy

[GitHub]
January 2025

Endless runner built in C# using s&box (Facepunch’s Source 2 engine). Features dynamic obstacles, score tracking, and difficulty scaling.

’MoreHats’ Mod

[GitHub][Mod Page]
August 2025

Mod for ‘Last Train Outta Wormtown’ that adds several custom hats. Models made in Blender, packaged in Unity, and injected into the game via BepInEx.

▶ Software Developemet

Terminal Task Manager

[GitHub]
February 2025

Lightweight terminal task manager in C++. Tasks persist to a local file via a custom format and parser, with commands to add, delete, archive, and modify.

Personal Website

[GitHub][Self Reference?]
October 2025

This site. Retro-styled with a (new) fruitiger-aero aesthetic, built in Astro almost entirely via Claude Code.