Jakub Rudnicki
Jakub Rudnicki
Jakub is from Warsaw, Poland, where he graduated from the Classical School with International A-Levels in Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics, Art, Polish and Spanish. At Columbia, he plans to major in Biomedical Engineering.
Jakub's first engineering project came in 2023, when he competed in the European Space Agency's CanSat competition as the mechanical engineer on Satelink, a long-range radio communication microsatellite. He engineered a microsatellite within the standard 350 ml CanSat format, designed to demonstrate reliable long-range communication under strict spatial and power constraints, and led the mechanical design process, accommodating for evolving circuit architectures and mission parameters. The satellite successfully completed its primary and secondary missions throughout launch.
The following year, as Design Lead and Hardware Engineer for Samsung's Solve for Tomorrow competition, Jakub designed and prototyped a wearable device enabling continuous patient monitoring in Polish emergency rooms. He engineered the complete circuit architecture, integrating sensors for oscillometric blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, 3-lead ECG, and body temperature into a single compact unit, and worked closely with emergency room doctors and paramedics, demonstrating the system's potential to accelerate triage in overcrowded hospital settings. The project was recognised by Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow competition and received a commendation from the national center of emergency healthcare
In the summer of 2025, Jakub collaborated with Puspadi Bali, a non-profit supporting people with disabilities, to design and prototype affordable prosthetic limbs using recycled PP and HDPE plastics. He built and tested two prototypes, a trabecular lattice structure inspired by human bone and a solid shell design with variable wall thickness, and introduced 3D printing to the workshop as a new tool for streamlining the production and delivery of essential prosthetics to patients.
On a more personal note, Jakub likes to dive, hike and while you are reading this he is probably still learning how to cook.
At Columbia, Jakub hopes to continue working on medical devices and to improve the lives of others through innovative, human-centered engineering.