Alexander Castrellon

About me

I'm an Electrical & Mechatronics Engineering student from Panama, now at John Brown University in Arkansas. Automation and power are what I want to work on.

Mathematics, coding, graphic design, languages and athletics are my passions, and I ask a lot of questions. I'm here to build the technical skills that solve real problems, and to use them to serve my community.

Automation
Power
Digital electronics
Graphic design
Service

Alexander Castrellon smiling in his room at John Brown University

Education

From the IB in Panama to engineering in Arkansas.

Mar 2022 – Dec 2024

Academia Bilingüe Panamá para el Futuro

Ciudad del Saber, Panama

International Baccalaureate and National Science Baccalaureate, at a presidential project in Panama that educates promising students.

Aug 2025 – May 2029 In progress

John Brown University

Siloam Springs, Arkansas

B.S. Electrical & Mechatronics Engineering. Walton International Scholarship Program.

Projects

Hardware, code and design, from an FPGA board to a school magazine.

Engineering

Nero01, water-quality robot

World Robot Olympiad, Panama nationals, top 8

This was my school's first robotics team. With two teammates, we had one month to build a mobile robot that measures water quality. Eric built the chassis and Ashley calibrated the sensors. I wrote the website that showed the Arduino's sensor readings live.

We qualified at regionals and went on to nationals, where some judges only spoke English, so we presented in English.

Arduino
Sensors
Web

2023

Design

Design supervisor, Academy Legends

School magazine

I joined as a designer in my first year, after an interview and a test, and became design supervisor the next year. I handled layout and visual content and helped the other designers. We published several editions with a multidisciplinary team.

Editorial design
Layout

2022 – 2024

Engineering

Bit-serial ALU on an FPGA board

Processor Digital Electronics, John Brown University

I built a sequential calculation circuit bit by bit. Then I designed a bit-serial Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) and its data path, and implemented them on an Altera DE2-115 board.

FPGA
Digital logic
Altera DE2-115

Spring 2026

Research

Microplastics on Panama's Pacific coast

Pacific coast of Panama

Studied the presence of microplastics along Panama's Pacific coast.

2024

Beyond class

Service and sport, with people I care about.

Service

Panama Mission Trip

2025, 2026

I have gone twice. We visited public schools in high-risk neighborhoods, gave talks to children about Christ, and handed out food.

Service

Hogar Luz y Vida

2024

At this home for older adults in Paraíso, we spent the day with residents, walked with them to a park beside the Panama Canal, and donated food and supplies.

Service

Camino de Cruces

2024

Over two days we restored the park rangers' house in this historic national park. We repainted the walls and the stone border, and cleaned the grounds.

Activity

Track and field

2023 – 2024

In my first year I ran 3 km in about 13 minutes, the fastest time in my class, and made the school team the next year. We trained daily for CODICADER, but national strikes closed schools before the event.

The following year I took second place in the 150 m at School Runners, hosted by the International School of Panama. At the CODICADER regionals I ran the 100 m and 200 m. I didn't reach my goals there, and I learned how much mindset shapes performance.

Activity