I grew up in Kobe, Japan. I spent 5 wonderful years in Atlanta, GA, USA studying aerospace engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and obtaining my B.Sc. and M.Sc. 

I then lived and worked in Greensboro, NC and Germany mostly as an aerodynamics engineer in the automotive and aviation industries. 

I've defended my PhD at EPFL, Switzerland in September 2025 on soft robotic design and optimization.

In January 2026, I will be starting as an Assistant Professor at NYU Tandon's Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. 

Contact: nana dot obayashi at nyu dot edu