hey!
I'm Abhigya (pronounced uh-big-yuh) Goel, a Presidential and Viterbi Scholar studying Computer Engineering and Computer Science at USC. Most of my work revolves around the intersection between how software meets the physical world. My interests lie in hardware, drones, and design. Besides the tech scene, I'm into politics, cooking, and terribly skateboarding.
This summer I'll be at RTX working on embedded software and firmware development for the AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar. Before that, I've worked on telemetry visualization for lunar quadrupeds and data engineering for large-scale federal AI tracking.
When I'm not interning or at a lab, I mess around with whatever's cool: an autonomous quadcopter that made it to ISEF, a browser-based multi-agent AI physical therapist powered by Claude, and a Jetson-powered sensory-adaptation headset that took Best Hardware at a16z's AI for Good hackathon. If it's got a shot at helping people, I'm building it.
Take a look around the site and check out my work, and feel free to reach out at abhigyagoel10@gmail.com if you're interested in speaking!
Work Experience
RTX (Raytheon)
Embedded Software Engineering Intern
- Developing real-time embedded C++ on Linux/RTOS for the AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar under a Secret-cleared program
- Integrating and testing radar signal processing firmware, executing CI/CD via Jenkins and Atlassian tooling
George Mason University, Community Informatics Lab
Data Engineering Intern
- Built Python data pipeline automating REST API scraping of 50+ articles daily and BigQuery ingestion of federal AI use and policy news, enabling real-time tracking of U.S. government AI adoption across 20+ agencies
- Built SLM-powered NLP deduplication using sentence-transformers and cosine similarity to cluster 15,000+ datapoints by topic across sources, reducing 30% redundancy
- Containerized with Docker and deployed on Google Cloud Run, automating daily ETL via Cloud Scheduler with GCP Secret Manager and fault-tolerant recovery
Robot Locomotion and Navigation Dynamics Laboratory
Research Fellow
- Developed multi-node ROS2 pipeline processing quadruped robot gait telemetry in real-time, estimating lunar terrain stiffness using forward kinematics and Jacobian-based force calculations
- Built Foxglove visualization for live terrain stiffness heatmaps with uncertainty overlays from custom ROS2 message types
- Presented to NASA Ames researchers to support continued funding and collaboration for lunar terrain analysis research
Minvest
UI/UX and Frontend Development Intern
- Led UI/UX strategy for investment startup, conducting system redesign through analytics, increasing user retention by 65%
- Designed 40+ Figma mobile & web wireframes, translating into production interfaces using React & TypeScript
- Architected frontend standards & component library adopted by 5+ engineers, reducing feature development cycle by 40%
theCoderSchool
Code and Robotics Coach
- Designed 3-month embedded systems curriculum teaching Arduino programming, circuit design, and sensor integration
- Taught 15+ students to build autonomous robots using motor control, ultrasonic sensing, and decision logic
George Mason University
Research Intern & Quantum Education Development Intern
- Presented research on integration of quantum machine learning and quantum sensing to develop quantum-enabled drones at Quantum World Congress 2023
- Developed quantum computer engineering curriculum for "Quantum in Your Classroom" initiative to spread quantum education in DC, MD, VA area
Projects
Autonomous Disaster-Response Quadcopter
Drone that flies autonomously into disaster zones, builds a 3D map of the wreckage for assessment, and spots trapped humans. Sub-$1000 build performs LiDAR-based obstacle avoidance, generates 3D photogrammetric environment reconstructions, and runs onboard real-time human detection.
Vero
Multi-agent AI physical therapist that watches users do rehab exercises through their camera and coaches them out loud in real time. Six parallel Claude agents handle diagnostic intake, clinical reasoning, and live form analysis using Claude Vision over MediaPipe pose estimation. ElevenLabs powers voice intake and spoken coaching.
Vyz
Wearable that automatically dampens overwhelming light and noise in real time for people with sensory processing challenges like autism or ADHD. Built on an NVIDIA Jetson Nano with GPT-3.5 generating personalized sensory interventions from live sensor data. A React Native companion app lets users set sensitivity thresholds and trigger interventions remotely.
Chambers
Web app that runs biweekly practices for the USC Trojan Debate Society. Debaters check in through their phones; a custom pairing algorithm matches them by skill and pushes round info to each debater live. Tracks attendance and logs every session for review. Used by 60+ debaters biweekly, replacing hours of manual coordination per practice.
CO₂ Detection CubeSat
Compact satellite designed to monitor carbon emissions over Loudoun County from low orbit. Led a multidisciplinary team to integrate Arduino sensor arrays into a 3D-printed structural frame for orbital deployment, with custom firmware for real-time telemetry and environmental data collection.
Extracurriculars
College
Claude Builder Club
Member
Trojan Debate Society
Director of Curriculum
Trojan Debate Society
Director of Community Service
Advanced Robotic Combat (ARC)
Electrical Engineering Lead
High School
Riverside Debate Team
President / Co-Captain
Riverside Cyberpatriot Team
President of Education
Riverside Data Science Club
Co-President / Co-founder
Academies of Loudoun Makerspace Club
Member
Awards








Coursework
CS
Introduces the student to standard data structures (linear structures such as linked lists, (balanced) trees, priority queues, and hashtables), using the C++ programming language.
Sets, functions, series. Big-O notation and algorithm analysis. Propositional and first-order logic. Counting and discrete probability. Graphs and basic graph algorithms. Basic number theory.
Basic datatypes, assignments, control statements (if, switch, for, while), input/output (printf, scanf, cin, cout), functions, arrays, structures, recursion, dynamic memory, file handling. Programming in C/C++.
Fundamental concepts of algorithmic thinking as a primer to programming. Introduction to C++.
Introduction to hardware, operating systems, signal processing and control, network protocols, mobile applications, databases, cloud computing, machine learning and security for the Internet of Things.
Information representations, embedded programming, digital and serial I/O, analog-to-digital conversion, and interrupt mechanisms. Elementary analog, logic and state-machine design.
Introduction to the profession of engineering. Ethical, political and societal consequences of engineering innovations and the impact of engineering on everyday life. Team projects and guest lectures.
Phys
Matrices, systems of linear equations, vector spaces, inner products and norms, linear transformations, eigenvalues. Applications such as singular value decomposition, image compression, graphs, networks and linear programming.
Matrices, systems of linear equations, vector spaces, linear transformations, eigenvalues, systems of linear differential equations.
Trigonometric functions; applications of integration; techniques of integration; indeterminate forms; infinite series; Taylor series; polar coordinates. Engineering and physics applications.
Statics and dynamics of particles and rigid bodies, conservation principles, gravitation, simple harmonic oscillators, thermodynamics, heat engines, entropy.
Hum
Academic writing, emphasizing analysis and argumentation, rhetorical judgment, critical reasoning, creative insight, the careful use of evidence, ethical perspectives, logical organization, stylistic and grammatical fluency.
Directed individual research studies of contemporary problems. Supervised laboratory experience.
Introduction to psychological science, including historical and contemporary approaches. Behavior examined from biological, cognitive, social, developmental, and personality perspectives. Disorders and treatments.
Key moments in the development of Russian culture since its westernization in the early eighteenth century to the present day. Focus on works of literature, art and other products of the culture that have significantly influenced Russian self-understanding as well as the ways in which Russians perceive the rest of the world.
The multifaceted history of the creative act, its analysis, production, and context as a representation of human experience.
Personal
Here's some stuff I'm currently into.
Debate
I've debated since middle school, competing in the PF WACFL circuit back home at Riverside. During college I picked up British Parliamentary debate, and I enjoy the challenge of its impromptu nature and just engaging in long debates about topics I haven't really thought of before. In today's polarized environment, I think its especially important to teach people how to critically engage with topics and hold genuine, good faith debate on issues.
Skateboarding
Custom Keyboards
Very niche hobby, but they do sound really nice and make typing more fun.
PC Hardware
I built my own setup back in 2020 (amidst the insane supply-chain shortages) and it was a very long 8 month rabbit hole where I got really into hardware and computing. I think that exploration shaped much of my passions for engineering and its process (I built three failed computers before I got a working station).
Cooking
During the pandemic, I went really deep into cooking videos on YouTube (shoutout Binging with Babish) and I love how versatile and creative you can get with it. I really like bagels right now, I've probably made around 70 within the last two months.
Here's some stuff I've made
Video Games
Multiplayer
Rocket League, Marvel Rivals, Fortnite, Apex Legends
Single Player
Batman: Arkham Knight, Control, Ghost of Tsushima, Ghostrunner, God of War, God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon Zero Dawn, Jedi Fallen Order, Jedi Survivor, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Uncharted 4
Media
TV & Animation
Atlanta, ATSV, Beef, Big Hero 6, Black Mirror, Breaking Bad, Coco, Cyberpunk, Dave, Euphoria, Gen V, Invincible, JJK0, Pantheon, Peacemaker, Ratatouille, Shameless, Silicon Valley, Snowfall, The Bear, The Book of Boba Fett, The Boys, The Incredibles, The Mandalorian, The Office, The Studio, Tulsa King, Turbo, WALL-E, X-Men '97
Live Action
Air, Annabelle, Arrival, Back to the Future, Blackberry, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Companion, Dune, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Ford v Ferrari, Frankenstein, Heretic, It, Joker, La La Land, Life of Pi, Marty Supreme, Materialists, Mickey 17, Mid90s, Oppenheimer, Parasite, Pixels, Saltburn, Sinners, Smile, Superbad, The Great Gatsby, The Internship, The Man Who Knew Infinity, The Martian, The Substance, Venom, Whiplash
MCU
I think every single movie here is valid outside of a few from Phase 4.
Hindi Movies
3 Idiots, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Bang Bang, Barfi!, Bodyguard, Chennai Express, Chhichhore, Dangal, Dhadak 2, English Vinglish, Golmaal, Gully Boy, Happy New Year, Hera Pheri, Hey Babyy, Hindi Medium, Housefull, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Krrish, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Lagaan, Main Hoon Na, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Om Shanti Om, OMG, PK, Ra.One, Robot, Super 30, Wake Up Sid, Welcome, White Tiger, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara