Hi, my name is
Zixuan (Helen) Liu.
I build at the intersection of AI, robotics & space.
I'm a student at the University of Texas at Austin studying Informatics (Human Centered Data Science), driven by building things that expand what's possible — from $20K-funded AI vision systems at global circuit board factories, to coaching VEX IQ World Champions across three continents.
01. About Me
Hello! I'm Helen — a builder at the intersection of AI, robotics, and space exploration. My journey started with a decade of VEX robotics competitions, where I went on to win 30+ champion titles including five World Championship qualifications and a #1 ranking in VEX AI.
Since then I've worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, led a Moon Base simulation team with Caltech talent, founded the Dallas NASA Space Apps Challenge location (600+ participants), and headed a $20K-funded AI image detection project at one of the world's top PCB factories.
I'm currently at UT Austin pursuing an accelerated B.S. in Informatics, and training vision-language-action policies for Stanford's BEHAVIOR robotics challenge. When I'm not coding or mentoring, you'll find me in the pool, analyzing stock charts, or making STEM content (127K+ YouTube views).
Technologies I've been working with:
- Python
- R
- C++
- Java
- Machine Learning
- Computer Vision
- Robotics / ROS
- GitHub
- YOLOv8
- Data Analysis
- Blender
- VSCode / Xcode
02. Experience
Marketing Operations Administrative Assistant @ Long Turn INC.
Aug 2025 – Present · Paid Position
- Supported the launch and growth of a U.S.-based trading company specializing in connecting clients with high-quality printed circuit boards (PCBs).
- Managed marketing operations including content creation, branding, and digital outreach to expand client relationships internationally.
- Assisted in administrative functions such as client communications, scheduling, and coordination between international teams.
- Developed marketing materials and operational workflows to streamline business processes and enhance efficiency.
AI Image Detection Project Lead & Founder @ LongChang Circuit Technology Co., LTD
Jun 2024 – Mar 2025 · Paid Position
- Proposed the project plan to board of executives at one of the world's top circuit board factories and received $20,000 in funding to head the project.
- Formed and trained a group of 8 college and high school talents to create image detection software identifying defects and false-positives in PCB image scans.
- Completed software will be incorporated with imaging hardware and utilized on real-time production lines during Final Quality Checks (FQCs).
Robotics Team Mentor & Global Coach Trainer @ Magikid Robotics Lab HQ
Nov 2023 – Aug 2025 · Paid Position
- Mentored 4 teams from USA, China, and Australia for the 2023–2024 VEX World Championship.
- Guided teams to become 2023–2024 World Champions, MS World Championship Finalists, and World Top 10 Skills ranks, with 3 Division Champion titles and multiple Judge awards.
- Organized weekly international coach training meetings and translated curriculum for Magikid Head Coach.
Moon Base Simulation Project Lead @ NASA Affiliated Research Team
Nov 2022 – Feb 2023
- Led a team of NASA interns and Caltech talents to develop models for NASA's future space civilization settlements.
- Co-founded the Moon Base Construction Simulation Development Team.
- Managed R&D of realistic simulations for lunar construction bases including the Artemis Moon Base.
Hybrid Volunteer Researcher & Exoplanet Researcher @ NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Nov 2021 – Sep 2022 · Caltech Cahill Lab Jun–Aug 2022
- Developed Aerospace/robotics projects spanning software, statistical analysis, and hardware development at JPL.
- Researched viable classification systems for exoplanets with the Caltech Cahill Astrophysics & Astronomy Laboratory.
- Oversaw data cleansing, processing, analysis/visualization; participated in ensemble model training and feature engineering.
Education
University of Texas at Austin
Accelerated B.S. in Informatics — Human Centered Data Science
- Expected Graduation: 2028
Rick Reedy High School
Multidisciplinary Endorsement Honors
- Weighted GPA: 5.03 | College GPA: 3.943
- SAT: 710 EBRW / 770 Math
Stanford University
Stanford Summer Session
- CS106B Programming Abstractions — Grade: B
- Intro to Making / Electrical Engineering — Grade: A
Collin College
Dual Credit Program
- Art History — A | English Composition — A
- U.S. History — A | Government — B
03. Some Things I've Built
Featured Project · In Progress
Stanford BEHAVIOR Challenge — Robot Vision-Language-Action Policy
Training a π0.5 vision-language-action policy to carry out long-horizon household tasks in simulation, for Stanford's 2026 BEHAVIOR Challenge. Built the full pipeline end to end on rented cloud GPUs: dataset conversion across incompatible LeRobot formats, LoRA fine-tuning, and a WebSocket policy server driving evaluation inside NVIDIA Isaac Sim.
- JAX
- π0.5 / LoRA
- OmniGibson
- Isaac Sim
- Python
Featured Project
AI Image Detection — PCB Defect System
Proposed and led a $20K-funded project at one of the world's top circuit board factories to build an AI computer vision system identifying defects and false-positives in PCB image scans. Formed and trained a team of 8 to build production-ready software for real-time quality checks.
- Computer Vision
- Python
- Image Processing
- Machine Learning
Featured Project
Space Robot Challenge Website
Founded and created SpaceRobotChallenge.org — an interactive website featuring 3D models of robots and mechanical systems deployed in space missions, encouraging young talent to prototype their own designs. Received $2,000 in project funding.
- Web Development
- 3D Modeling
- Blender
Other Noteworthy Projects
Moon Base Construction Simulation
Co-founded the NASA Moon Base Simulation Development Team with NASA interns and Caltech talent. Developed realistic models for Artemis-era lunar settlement infrastructure.
- Simulation
- NASA
- Caltech
Aeroponic Cultivation System
Led a team of 7 to develop a detailed, realistic aeroponics and soil-free cultivation solution for space — continuation of the 2021 NASA Space Apps Global Winning project.
- NASA Space Apps
- Research
NASA Space Apps Club — Founder
Founded and led the NASA Space Apps Club at Reedy HS. Hosted 200+ students across 2022–2024 competitions. Teams won several global and local awards.
- Leadership
- STEM
- NASA
STEM YouTube Channels
Personal channel teaching mechanical concepts — 127,000+ views, 360+ subscribers. Also managed Magikid Lab's marketing channels accumulating 136,000+ combined views.
- Content Creation
- STEM Education
Earth Circumference Measurement
Led a team of 2 under JPL professor Dr. Jonathan H. Jiang to conduct an Eratosthenes-method experiment measuring Earth's circumference using shadow angles.
- Physics
- JPL
- Caltech
Technical Analysis Trading
10+ years of personal trading experience using TradingView and Robinhood. Managing $9,000+ equity portfolio with technical analysis strategies since 2017.
- TradingView
- Robinhood
- Finance
04. Achievements
Awards & Honors
NASA HQ Winner's Panel Speaker
One of four presenters invited to speak at NASA Headquarters celebrating global winners of the NASA Space Apps Challenge. Only winning team from California.
Mar 2023Global Winner — Galactic Impact Award, NASA Space Apps
Top global award for the project with the most potential to impact lives on Earth and in space.
Oct 2021VEX IQ Champion — 30+ Titles, 5× World Qualifier
Ranked #1 in VEX AI at Caltech International Open. CA & TX State Champion two-year streaks. Global Think Award 2022. VEX AI's first Open Source GitHub repo.
2021 – 2025Kaggle Discussion Expert — Rank 1,153 / 29,529
1 Gold, 3 Silver, 56 Bronze Medals for ML/Data Science discussions and dataset contributions.
Aug 2022 – PresentGoogle Girl-Powered Tournament Finalist — 2nd Place
Won at Division and Grand-Finals levels of the 2022 Google Girl-Powered VRC event.
Jul 2022CESASC STEM Essay Contest — 3rd Place Scholarship
Scholarship from the Association of Chinese-American Engineers and Scientists of Southern California.
Jun 2022National Recognition Awardee — College Board
Aug 20242019 Water Polo National Champion
Right Side Driver, Los Angeles Premier Water Polo Team. Won CA Regional championships.
2019Certifications
Inside LVMH Certification
Creation & Branding and Retail & Customer Experience specializations.
Jul 2024
Elements of Data Science
Official AWS training covering the detailed elements of data science.
Mar 2024Math for Machine Learning
Official AWS certification mastering mathematical foundations of ML.
Mar 2024Machine Learning for Leaders
Full course on leadership strategy in machine learning projects.
Dec 2022
Python Certification
Official Kaggle certification for the Python programming language.
Aug 2022
Robotics Head Referee Certification
Certified to judge local and international VEX robotics competitions.
May 2022Volunteering
NASA Space Apps Challenge — Dallas Lead
350+ Hours · Dec 2021 – Present
Over 4+ years, brought 600+ participants to the International Competition at the Dallas location. Secured $5,000+ in sponsorships. Led teams of up to 14. Teams won Global Finalist and Global Honorable Mention Awards.
REC Certified Head Referee
20+ Hours · Jan 2023 – Present
Certified head referee for Texas regional robotics competitions.
Reedy HS Club Founder — 3 Clubs
100+ Hours · Oct 2022 – May 2025
Founded NASA Space Apps Club, Secretary of Bollywood Club, Economist presenter for Academic Decathlon Club.
Seminar Host — Space & Lunar Explorations
CESASC · 20+ Hours · Jan 2023
Organized a space/lunar explorations seminar in Frisco, TX. Recruited 100+ participants.
VEX IQ World Championship — Tournament Manager
REC Foundation · May 2022
Managed overall pace, organization, and display of the VEX IQ World Championship for individual divisions.
Local & Worlds Skills Referee
VEX Robotics · 50+ Hours · 2022 – 2024
Refereed the skills portion of VEX competitions across 5+ local and world championship events.
05. What's Next?
Get In Touch
I'm always open to new opportunities, collaborations, or a conversation about AI, robotics, and space. Whether you have a question or just want to say hello — my inbox is open.
Say Hello