This is the personal website of Rodrigo Padilla, showcasing professional/personal projects, photos of Athena, and my hobbies! Feel free to keep reading to learn more about my personal background.
Athena and Rodrigo
Background:
Apt 27 to the house with the red door:
I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California to Ma Guadalupe Rodriguez and Rodrigo Padilla (senior). My upbringing allowed me a lot of liberty to explore my surrounding, interact with other children in our apartment complex, and live happier than I ever could. A core memory from Apt 27 is when the neighborhood kids would knock on my door asking my mom if I could go out and play but I couldn’t until I finished my homework. For this reason, I would always complete it as soon as I got home!
My family in Disneyland 2003!
Being uprooted from Apt 27 initially came with growing pains since I left the safety and comfort of my upbring but it came with more rewards. At the house with the red door, a majority of my developement occured. Here I was able to nurture my creativity through my life lone pastions of:
- Photography
- Numismastist
- Horticulturist
- Playing the guitar
- Soccer
- Swim
- Waterpolo
- Culinary Enthusiast
- Tinkering
- Pokemon master
CSUN:
Entering college I did not know what was my passion since I had little exposure available jobs and opportunities. For this reason I dedicated myself to working as a lifeguard and for my father in his cleaning company. While this meant I put less efforts into school, I still tried to find something that brought me joy.
In my sophomore I started exploring different clubs, taking career quiz, and talking several people to see what interested me. This lead me to mechanical engineering where I saw unlimited possibilities. Finding mechanical engineering inspired me to become curious and explore new frontiers! This is when I found the ASME clubs, volunteered to capstone projects (i.e., morphing wing and aircraft design), and participated in my own research. My passion in mechanical engineering and research manifested a desire to pursue high education too.
Before deciding to leave to U of I to pursue my Ph.D. I joined the aircraft design team at CSUN! My team was filled with excellent engineers who inspired me everyday to do my best. Begin the aerodyanmics team lead I put in countless hours into our project and I am greatful of everything I learned with them!
U of I:
Now I am at the University of Idaho! Nearly completing my Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with my work being on experiemental fluids of flags. The rich multi-physics captured has been a challenge since naturely you are dealing with the notorious Navier-Stokes equations along with a constantly deforming structure! As I finish my Ph.D., I look forward to the future projects I will be able to work on and all the new friends I will make on the way.
