Speaker Spotlight

Ethan Hong is a high school student, robotics researcher, and maker who believes the most meaningful technology begins with empathy. For him, engineering has never been about building the most advanced machine, but understanding the people it’s meant to serve.

His fascination with robotics grew into a passion for creating technologies that improve everyday lives. As a student researcher at UCLA’s Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa), Ethan has contributed to projects ranging from humanoid robot soccer to educational robotics. Regardless of the technology, he keeps returning to the same question: who does this help, and how can it make their lives better? That question has guided his work more than any particular robot or algorithm.

That perspective led him to found Project FoodAngel, an initiative developing autonomous robots to support food distribution for people experiencing homelessness. What began as a simple idea has grown into a collaborative effort involving student volunteers, researchers, food banks, and community organizations. Ethan has shared the project’s story at international robotics conferences, and the original FoodAngel robot now resides in the permanent collection of the Seoul Robot & AI Museum.

Beyond engineering, Ethan competes for his varsity basketball and track teams, watches films, and travels the world studying history, particularly the World Wars.

Despite these experiences, Ethan still sees himself first as a student: someone who enjoys asking questions, building things, and learning from others. Through his TEDx talk, he invites us to rethink technology not as a replacement for human connection, but as a way to strengthen it.