Cody Gonzalez earned two associate’s degrees from Riverside City College (RCC), California, in 2013 — an A.S. in math and science and an A.A. in humanities, arts and philosophy. In 2016, he received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Riverside. At Pennsylvania State University (PSU), he earned his master’s degree in 2021 in mechanical engineering and is both a PhD candidate set to graduate in December 2021 and a postdoctoral scholar. He is a member of the Priya Lab, where his postdoc duties focus on investigating the wireless energy transfer for recharging of Unmanned Aerial Systems to extend flight duration and enable more successful scouting missions. He also leads two graduate students and two researchers in industry to investigate multi-energy harvesters for wireless energy recharging. He has worked as a graduate research assistant in the Energy Design and Optimization Lab & Mechatronics Research Lab, studied in the Rotation in Energy Nanostructure Research Group, and completed an internship at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He has served as president, vice president, and secretary of the Multicultural Engineering Graduate Association at PSU. As a faculty member, he will focus on improving engagement of marginalized groups in engineering. He hopes to form a collaboration between mechanical engineering and engineering education to improve holistic and active learning-driven teaching.

Research Interests

Multifunctional materials in soft robotics