Paulo Younse, a member of the Technical Robotic Hardware Systems Group at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., will be visiting Bainbridge Island schools from Wednesday, April 16 to Friday, April 18 to inspire students and share with them his experiences in such an exciting and innovative field.

He will also be the guest speaker at the Bainbridge Schools Foundation annual breakfast fundraiser Thursday, April 17 at Bainbridge Performing Arts.

As part of his job, Younse designs new types of robots for future NASA missions that will explore the solar system.

Some recent projects include working on the latest Mars Rover “Curiosity,” as well as developing techniques to collect Martian rock samples to bring back to Earth for future proposed Mars return missions.

He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and a master’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Florida. He has a passion for teaching and has taught about space exploration at an orphanage in Tanzania, lectured on astronomy to children in Costa Rica and Honduras, and organized robotics activities for planetariums in Malaysia and Korea.

In his free time, Younse enjoys excavating dinosaur fossils for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, running marathons, salsa dancing, and underwater archaeology. In 2013 he starred in the SyFy television show “Robot Combat League” as the robotics technician for Team Commander.

The Bainbridge Schools Foundation has funded over $100,000 toward robotics in elementary grades through high school.

“I look forward to meeting Paulo and introducing him to our community,” said Vicky Marsing, BSF’s executive director.

Tickets for the annual Breakfast fundraiser on are available now at www.BainbridgeSchoolsFoundation.org.

During his visit, Younse will be sharing his experiences as a robotics engineer with students at all seven Bainbridge schools.

He has also made himself available to meet with after-school clubs so interested students can ask questions and learn more about his work.