Michael Lee builds things.

Biomedical engineering student at the University of San Diego. Custom PCBs, embedded firmware, CAD, and woodwork — designed, built, and documented in a garage workshop in San Diego.

See the work Resume (PDF)

Projects

Ripple

Interactive light installation · Engineering research, University of San Diego · Summer 2026

A stomp-triggered light installation. An accelerometer on a custom PCB senses each hit, drives a 144-LED strip, and streams live motion data over Wi-Fi to TouchDesigner.

  • Custom PCB: ESP32-C6 microcontroller + ADXL345 accelerometer over I2C
  • C++ firmware — sensor self-calibration, threshold-based impact detection, real-time LED control
  • Live OSC/UDP streaming to TouchDesigner, with a standalone offline mode
  • Fusion 360 enclosure, hand-built wooden frame, full reproducible build documentation
Custom PCB with ESP32-C6 and ADXL345
The custom mini PCB
Electronics sled with battery and LED strip
Electronics + LED sled
Solder bridge forcing I2C mode on the ADXL345
The VCC–CS bridge that forces I2C mode
Wooden enclosure frame
Enclosure frame

Racing Simulator + Wireless Wheel

Personal project · 2025 – 2026

A full sim-racing rig built from scratch — and a 3D-printed, Formula-style steering wheel that works as a standalone wireless controller.

  • Wheel: pushbuttons, rotary encoders, and shifter paddles read by an onboard microcontroller
  • Quick-release hub; wireless — no cable through the steering column
  • Wooden chassis integrating racing seat, pedal assembly, and wheelbase mount
3D-printed steering wheel, front
Wheel — button face
3D-printed steering wheel, rear with paddles
Paddles + quick-release
Racing simulator rig
The rig
Simulator detail
Detail

Motorized Crane

Course project · 2025

A fully functional crane built from an Arduino car kit — motor control for boom lift and rotation, a 3D-printed base and counterweight, and a laser-cut wooden structure.

Arduino-powered motorized crane
Boom up

Guitar Speaker Cabinet

Woodworking · 2025

A hardwood guitar cab with hand-cut dovetail corners and hand-finished panels — built with hand tools, from rough boards to finished cabinet.

The full build as one timelapse: planing the boards flat, cutting the dovetails, mounting the speaker, applying the finish.

Hardwood guitar speaker cabinet
The finished cab
The build, start to finish

Event Photo & Video

MBeauty Clinic by Dr. Tess · 2026 – present

Photo and video coverage of medical-education seminars and brand launch events, including live clinical demonstrations. Footage runs through a scripted batch color pipeline (S-Log3 → Rec.709) I built for consistent delivery.

Event photography sample
Event coverage

About

I'm a biomedical engineering student at the University of San Diego (class of 2029), on the pre-med track. In summer 2026 I built Ripple as a paid research project at USD's Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering.

I like projects that cross layers: circuit to firmware to enclosure, or lumber to finished instrument. Everything here was designed and built by me, and documented well enough that someone else could build it again.

Toolbox

  • C/C++ · embedded (ESP32, Arduino)
  • Python · data analysis
  • Fusion 360 · 3D printing
  • PCB assembly · soldering
  • Woodworking
  • Photo / video · color grading

Contact

Open to biotech and engineering internships in San Diego.

[email protected]