“The partnership and scholarship with Uber Eats allowed me to work while completing this degree and not worry about adding debt or another bill,” says Liardo, who is completing a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. “Finding out ASU is ranked higher than the engineering schools here at the University of Central Florida and the University of Florida was definitely the tipping point.”
He chose to major in electrical engineering to satisfy his fascination with all aspects of electrical and electronic technology. Liardo says he couldn’t find another degree program that covered power systems, electromagnetics, quantum physics, hardware, electronics and software.
“I think it’s interesting that electrical engineering is at least partially involved in the creation of almost every artificial object on Earth,” he says.
During his degree program, Liardo conducted research to predict blood sugar levels of those with diabetes five minutes in the future under Krishnendu Chakrabarty, Fulton Professor of Microelectronics; Farshad Firouzi, a Fulton Schools electrical engineering adjunct faculty member; and Aritra Ray, Chakrabarty’s doctoral student from his time as a faculty member at Duke University.
For Liardo’s senior capstone project, he and his teammates built a mobile power station with USB, 12-volt and AC outlets to power electrical devices with a battery charged by foot pedals like a bicycle. He credits project mentor Martin Reisslein, a professor of electrical and computer engineering in the Fulton Schools, as a key influence in the project’s success.
“The Mobile Power Station project is my first official engineering project, and Professor Reisslein’s expertise and guidance in systems engineering was critical in helping me learn the lessons of setting realistic goals, meeting deadlines, effective technical communication and project management,” Liardo says.
After graduation, Liardo plans to start working as an electrical engineer in his home state of Florida, where he’s applying for jobs.
Over the course of his career, he aims to contribute to an ambitious project to advance societal capabilities and knowledge such as reaching planetary net zero carbon emissions, space travel or extending the human life span. Embracing the entrepreneurial Sun Devil spirit, Liardo also hopes to one day commercialize his ambitious engineering goals.
Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ fall 2023 class here.
Degree: BSE in electrical engineering
Hometown: Winter Springs, Florida
Previous institutions: Winter Springs High School, University of Illinois Springfield (Online)
Favorites hobby: Powerlifting
Favorite band: The Story So Far, and Real Friends
Favorite TV show: "The Mandalorian"
Favorite book: "A Long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah
Favorite Geeky possession: A 3D NFT from the derivative collection I created, "Actual 3D Punks"
