InternViews #8: Namai Chandra

What inspired you to pursue studies/a career in your field?
My sheer interest in electronics and mechanical design was sparked almost single-handedly by the movie Iron Man 3. It completely changed my perspective and encouraged me to start developing things on my own. Slowly, that led me from making projects with microcontrollers and cardboard to moving from “cardboard-aided design” to CAD when my super supportive parents got me a 3D printer in 10th grade. That refined my projects even further, and it became a self-sustaining journey as I started documenting most of my projects on YouTube. That is basically how it all started.

What made you apply to RIGI or want to work on a robotics-related project?
I came across the RIGI program when I had very specifically tasked myself with interning at a top research institute during the summer of 2026. I saw the CELLnROLL project and found the description to be a peculiar mix of industry, startup, and research experiences. The journey gave me enough freedom to experiment and explore, while still being specific enough to ensure that I always had a clear goal in mind that I was working toward.

Namai at the lab

What’s one surprising or unexpected thing you learned during your internship?
This is not necessarily something I was unaware of, but I truly experienced it during my stay, and now that I am back, it feels even more prominent: Parkinson’s Law, “work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion.” Interestingly, I almost experienced the converse during the internship. I was able to balance so much more, whether it was the summer semester I had taken up, internship work, research projects, exploring Europe, working on the go, or simply hanging out with the other interns. Now that the hustling is over, all I have is my coursework and applications, and somehow that seems to take up almost all of my time. During the summer, I really felt like I was able to multitask while doing well across everything, and I am sure the new and supportive environment at MPI was a huge contributor to that.

What was your favorite part of the RIGI program?
As much as I would like to mention my project, the people I met, my supervisors, or my team, if I were to answer this question holistically, the best part of the program was simply the life I lived during those three months. That collection of 89 days became one of the best phases of my life because I felt like I could do and experience everything while living independently, occasionally cooking for myself, exploring new places, and spending time with people from around the world. I still miss a good German döner.

What do you like to do when you’re not researching, studying, or working?
Travel! I am quite sure I made the most of my stay: 7 countries and 15 cities, and a lot of it was strategic. Whether it was meeting up with my friends from EPFL and planning my Switzerland trip around that, or visiting Vienna so that I could attend the holy grail of ICRA ’26, I really tried to make the most of my European summer whenever I was not studying or working.

Do you have a favorite memory from your time in Stuttgart?
One of my favorite memories is all of us hanging out on my room balcony, having pizza together, and later spending time at the UniBar with my friends. I also cannot forget the visits to the city center or simply having coffee together in the kitchen after a hectic first half of the day. Those small everyday moments are probably what I miss the most.

Namai and other RIGI interns enjoying pizza time

Which inanimate tool or piece of equipment you used in the lab would be the WORST roommate if it were human, and why?
My Dell work laptop. That thing was so slow that I am sure it would be sleeping forever. To interpret what it was trying to do, I would probably need to hire an interpreter, and the lovely OS was just the cherry on top ;)

What’s next for you after RIGI?
Applying to, and hopefully getting into, graduate school. Before that, more specifically, I will be joining UC Berkeley as a Visiting Student Researcher to continue working on morphing robots. This is also closely aligned with my prior publication and research work.

Any advice for future RIGI interns?
Good luck, and do not focus too much on getting everything right from the first day. Start prototyping from day one because you will really feel the head start later. The three months are going to disappear in the snap of a finger before you know it. On the logistics side, if you are coming from outside Europe, make sure you bring an EU plug adapter (and please go to the city center O2 stop on day 1 to get your sim). Also, plan your internship well, take a city every other weekend, travel, explore, and learn as much as you can.