Nickolas Walling

University of Bristol Postgraduate Award - Biorobotics

Nickolas grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana and moved to Houston to study at Rice University. He graduated magna cum laude in 2018 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, a minor in Computational and Applied Mathematics, and a certificate in Languages and Intercultural Communication. Following his graduation Nickolas spent a year conducting research on soft, biomimetic actuators at Kyoto University and has since worked at Houston Mechatronics Inc., a pioneering subsea robotics company. Nickolas is passionate about interdisciplinary work and is looking forward to bringing his interests in chemistry, linguistics, and robotics together as a part of the first ever cohort of the MSc Biorobotics program at Bristol. Working alongside life scientists and fellow engineers, he hopes to gain a better understanding of robotics and biological principles so that he can continue to look to nature as inspiration for solving some of engineering’s toughest problems. Outside of engineering, Nickolas loves performing, theatre, dancing, singing—you name it, and is looking forward to getting back out onto a stage. Having recently bought a pair of roller skates, he can’t wait to skate around Bristol and get to know the best spots where he can enjoy life on eight wheels.