Cesar Rodriguez

University of Southern California Class of 2022, Biophysics

Cesar_Rodriguez_Biophysics_USC - Cesar Rodriguez.jpg

Cesar Rodriguez is a student in the class of 2022 at the University of Southern California (USC), studying Biophysics in his hometown Los Angeles, California. His continuous involvement in projects to improve social equity is inspired by the lack of educational, health, and mental wellness resources in underprivileged communities. In addition, his enthusiasm for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics motivated his nonlinear pursuit of interdisciplinary education. Cesar is a lifelong learner currently developing a gamified productivity app that encourages and inspires self-motivated knowledge exploration.

Cesar spent three years in the Geomicrobiology and Biophysics labs at USC. Passionate about sustainability and closing product lifecycles, he has participated in Geomicrobe research involving quantitative/analytical studies of carbon and nitrogen cycling in microbial systems. In his work at the biophysics lab, he experimented with bacteria synthetically designed to produce nanoparticles investigating their formation using qualitative and quantitative data of the engineered bacterium’s biofilm. When research labs became inaccessible during the Covid-19 pandemic, he expanded his skills to include design in procedural computer graphics. In early 2021, he began creating animations to generate STEAM educational content for the researchers he worked with and BrainMind.

Accomplishments on the ASPT:

  • Helped design a variety of digital materials and products

  • Edited and created educational content

Skills:

  • 3D and 2D Computer Generated Graphics

  • 3D modeling, sculpting, animation

  • XR simulations (learning)

  • Swift, C++ (learning), Python

  • iOS Development

  • Video/Photo editing, UX/UI design

  • Geographical Interface Software

Sectors of Interest:

  • Biotechnology

  • Synthetic microbiology and materials science

  • Brain science and computers

  • Design of simulated environments using extended reality (XR)

  • Research in gamification for education

  • Social Justice

Current Location

Los Angeles, California