Well, I have so far discovered that Grad School is rather different than Undergrad college was. By this I mean that right now I'm taking a very heavy load with a whopping three classes. but there is a chance that I will only actually be taking two classes (a normal load) this semester. That depends on the grade that I got on the recent Stochastics test. I think I did will and thus will keep all three classes but you never know till you do, it is Stochastics after all. Anyway this semester I am taking 18 credits. Listed below are the classes I am taking with a short description.
Class 1 -- Stochastics
This class is the "hardest ECE class in Grad School." It is all about random processes and using statistical type methods to predict what is going to happen. Heavily mathematical. I'm taking this because I think this class is going to provide a very useful mathematical foundation for much of my future work. So far seems easy, but we've only covered one fourth to one third of the material as of yet.
Credits: 3
Meets: Monday and Wednesday 4-5:15
Class 2 -- Radar System Design
This class is all about radar systems. I am taking this one for a good overview type course about communications systems. Basically this course is all about re-enforcing what I already know. This course should be really easy if it doesn't get away from me.
Credits: 3
Meets: Thursday 4-6:45
Class 3 -- SDR
This class is all about software defined radios. I'm taking this because working with Cognitive Radios (an offshoot of SDR) I need to have the "formal" background. This course is so far a joke. Everything that has been covered I have already had a much more in depth course on. The major points of the class are repeated every time we meet. The professor who was supposed to teach this course dumped it on another professor, who got a bunch of grad students to teach various parts of the course. Only problem is the grad students largely don't know what they're talking about and tell us (the students) that. I know people who have not even turned everything in for this course and gotten an A-. I'm not worried at all, but that doesn't mean I'm completely blowing it off only that I'm not stressed about any part of this course. No tests even.
Credits: 3
Meets: Monday and Wednesday 2-3:15
Wait a second if I'm taking three classes, each three credits, that's only nine credits... Where are the other nine from?
Well I'm talking a seminar style course on how to teach college students that is one credit. I have to talk that just in case I need to teach at some point before I graduate. Before classes started there were two eight hour days of this, then three sessions throughout the semester and one writing assignment. I'm done with one of those later sessions and I have another one tomorrow. The writing assignment is something like 500 words about how you feel about the course (this course was not designed by engineers...). That's not due until November, so I'm spending my time dealing with lab projects right now.
I am also taking the one credit ECE Grad Seminar course. This one meets five times through the semester and forces us to listen to talks about cutting edge research in ECE/how to do research/companies that may want to hire us. There are no assignments. This would be the world's best way to get one credit it all the meetings weren't on Friday from 4-5:30.
Ok, so now I'm up to 11 credits (nine from classes, 2 from seminar thingies). The other seven credits are from "research hours." Basically these are official hours that I spend doing research for my dissertation. I'm a little ahead on that front, because I have a general topic and a rough plan of where I'd like to go with it. Right now I count this time towards writing papers, reading papers, reading books, and working on lab type projects.
The specifics behind what I need to do to graduate are slightly complicated and I'll probably cover those later.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Busy Busy
So last week was both the start of classes and the summer school on robotics. Now that that's done I'm down to only way to many tasks for the hours in a day, including but not limited to:
Helping to manage CWT involvement on a DARPA proposal
Taking 3 Classes
Taking 2 seminars
developing p25 functionality for PSCR based on an unseen embedded extension board
Aiding new lab minions
personal research
and associated minor lab duties
If this were industry there'd probably be one person for each of these...
Ph.D. = Light at end of tunnel...
Helping to manage CWT involvement on a DARPA proposal
Taking 3 Classes
Taking 2 seminars
developing p25 functionality for PSCR based on an unseen embedded extension board
Aiding new lab minions
personal research
and associated minor lab duties
If this were industry there'd probably be one person for each of these...
Ph.D. = Light at end of tunnel...
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Moving In
Well my lovely wife and I now have the keys to our new apartment. In the first day back (Tuesday) we rented a van from UHaul and moved 95% of our stuff out of the secret storage location. We got Alex to help us with that one. Then all three of us went out to a lovely Italian dinner. Then wifey and I dropped Alex off and proceeded directly to Wal-Mart to obtained the first round of goods we needed for our apartment. After this fruitfull trip we returned to our domicile and promptly fell asleep.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Graduation Information
Friday May 14-University Ceremony at 7:30pm Lane Stadium
-Gov. Whatsit will be talking
-Probably not a good idea to bring a backpack stuffed with knives
-I will have to enter through the South Endzone, I don't know about the rest of you
Saturday May 15-ECE Reception 11:00am-12:30pm Hokie Grill
-I would like to go to this
-My immediate thought is to walk over, but there is a couple fairly large parking lots if anyone would rather drive
Saturday May 15-The Real Deal 2:00pm Cassell Coliseum
-Doors open at 1:00pm
-All Guests should be seated at 1:30pm
-I will be sitting with the other Electrical Engineers
-All the EEs will be in Alphabetical order so I will likely be near the middle of the group
-I would like to be there around 1
-Hanicapped parking will be in the small lot by the tennis courts
-They only allow their photographers to be on the floor
-Below is a helpful diagram that shows where I will sit, where the stage is and the path I will take to get my diplomas
If there are any questions please let me know.
-Gov. Whatsit will be talking
-Probably not a good idea to bring a backpack stuffed with knives
-I will have to enter through the South Endzone, I don't know about the rest of you
Saturday May 15-ECE Reception 11:00am-12:30pm Hokie Grill
-I would like to go to this
-My immediate thought is to walk over, but there is a couple fairly large parking lots if anyone would rather drive
Saturday May 15-The Real Deal 2:00pm Cassell Coliseum
-Doors open at 1:00pm
-All Guests should be seated at 1:30pm
-I will be sitting with the other Electrical Engineers
-All the EEs will be in Alphabetical order so I will likely be near the middle of the group
-I would like to be there around 1
-Hanicapped parking will be in the small lot by the tennis courts
-They only allow their photographers to be on the floor
-Below is a helpful diagram that shows where I will sit, where the stage is and the path I will take to get my diplomas
If there are any questions please let me know.
A random update
Well it has be a long time since I've written an update for this here bloggy type thingy so here we go. I am approaching the end to my undergraduate life. I feel as though this is a rather good thing, and that in all rights I have lived 10 years within the past four. Four years were spent as a full time Electrical Engineering student (I think of this as the primary grouping), Four years were spent as a full time Computer Engineering student (the differences between Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering start of subtle but one day you notice that all of a sudden everyone in the world walks backwards, on their hands, while humming show tunes), and the final two years were spent as a full time college football player (an experience that I both very happy to have had and that I very happy is now over with). I don't count the social experiences as their own years because a student/athlete has such experiences as part of their lives. At this point I'm rather excited about my paths converging in grad school were I will only be pursuing a single major.
I'm stuck in a Documentation arc now so don't be surprised if other short messages like this appear, but for now I must to class as they say.
I'm stuck in a Documentation arc now so don't be surprised if other short messages like this appear, but for now I must to class as they say.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Another Revision
Ok so I looked over the essay I posted last night and consider input from various peoples and I have come up with the current revision. Let me know what you think:
Perhaps the best explanation of why I want to be a graduate student and what I hope to accomplish is that I want to be a “mad scientist.” I don't use the term to conjure up mental images of a crackpot or societal deviant. Rather, I use the term to highlight the passion and endless exertion in pursuit of “why.” Many people do not understand or appreciate this passion and tend to view it as abnormal. This response it what I expect and is, in many ways, what I'm going for in my graduate work. As an undergraduate engineer I have already developed such a passion for Electrical Engineering and the corresponding accusations of abnormality.
I entered Virginia Tech as an engineering student and Division I athlete. My “madness” became quickly apparent in my decision to tackle the considerable challenges offered by Bradley's Department along with those presented by Frank Beamer and company. Others would have been satisfied with being a “full time jock,” but I decided early on to pursue a double major, covering both Electrical and Computer Engineering. I knew myself well enough to know I would never be happy if I didn't challenge myself academically. In fact, I entertained the idea of adding a major in Economics to the mix, but, by this time, I could hear my true calling in life and it only involves two “E”s.
That calling was then, and still is, to be that passionate “mad scientist.” In light of this, I dropped my inconsequential past times to more thoroughly pursue my dream. I had become utterly consumed by Electrical Engineering, so much so, that I now consider my Computer Engineering degree a support degree for my EE aspirations. Thus, I took leave of Beamer's squad, to dive, head long, into Electrical Engineering. Many people say that I quit football because I couldn't balance the time demands of sports and school. I simply laugh, thinking of the many ways in which my life became more hectic after football.
Since leaving the football team: I worked in two nationally recognized research labs, became involved in various Engineering clubs, increased both my GPA and course load, and got engaged, all of which demand a considerable time investment. However, it was my work in the research labs that fueled my desire for graduate work the most. I worked in the Autonomous Systems and Control Laboratory (ASCL) on the second floor of Whittemore for a year following my departure from the ranks of student-athletes.
In the ASCL I met a group of “mad scientists,” led by, perhaps, the model for the term. During my time with these folks, the ASCL was developing self contained autonomous submarines for the purpose of mapping underwater environments. These people were looking beyond all the naysayers to pursue knowledge that has the potential to revolutionize navigation. It's the sort of world changing work that the average person would simply never think of. It is also an example of the work that Electrical Engineers do everyday, driving their knowledge beyond the limits of conventional thinking to satisfy their own passions. In short, these people exemplify what I mean when I use the term “mad scientist.”
At the ASCL, I was exposed to life as one of those “mad scientists” and I loved it. For a long time I dreamed about being in a research lab, pushing out the boundaries of science, fueled by an unquenchable drive to discover the unknown. I got a small taste of that dream at the ASCL. Although, I was mostly involved in the more down to earth tasks, I knew that the advances made in this small lab had application far beyond the depths of some murky lake. I was aware that the techniques developed there could and would apply to all kinds of things, many of which lie beyond our imagination. Perhaps the ASCL will one day deliver driverless transportation or housemaid robots that don't walk through coffee tables. Either way, the ASCL is making a difference by turning today's fiction into reality one step at a time.
While working in the ASCL, a professor convinced me to give some thought to an area of Electrical Engineering that I had never really considered before: communications. I'd never really thought of the importance of providing systems to connect people before. However, the area seemed to embody many of the aspects of Electrical Engineering that I had grown to love. This area held a special attraction for me, as well, because I didn't know that much about it. So, once again driven by the possibility of new knowledge, I wished the world of path-finding robots well, and continued my journey to a new world know as the CWT.
At the Center for Wireless Telecommunications (CWT), I met a truly fascinating technology: Cognitive Radio. This systems can sense its environment and react intelligently. This is, therefore, the quincentennial “mad scientist” technology in that it takes a passion for learning from its designer. The interest in bestowing my love of learning onto a machine is what drove me initially to the ASCL. It is also apparently what drove the invention of Cognitive Radio.
Working in the CWT, I experienced a whole new level of my conception of “mad scientists.” This group is developing a system that senses its wireless environment and then proceeds to design the best possible means of communication, all without the aid of a human brain. It's a system that operates in a world completely beyond the senses of humans. The researchers in this lab are truly driven by a passion for exploring and mastering an unknown realm.
The CWT already developed a cognitive radio that can avoid jammers and remember the clever things it has thought of in the past. Currently, a few of the challenges the lab is tackling are: developing smart communication networks that manage themselves, providing communications that only occupy unused sections of the wireless spectrum, and allowing public safety personal to stay connected even without an infrastructure in place. These are only some of the big picture projects the lab is taking on and I already get to play a small part. This exactly the sort of work I can dive into more deeply as a graduate student.
In the work of the CWT, the thinking part of their system is separate from the radio part. That means the thinking part, the Cognitive Engine, could be applied to other situations, completely independent of radios or even any communications. This technology already has the potential to completely revamp the entire communications infrastructure. Even more exciting, though, are the unexplored possibilities of using the Cognitive Engine for other purposes. There are endless possibilities to this work. This is precisely the sort of thing that demands the passion and drive of a budding “mad scientist.”
It is the passionate for exploration of the unknown, the drive to make the impossible a reality, and the willingness to continue to ask “why” in the face of conventional wisdom that forms my view of the “mad scientist.” I have grown to appreciate the nature and work of “mad scientists” through my work in research labs. Many can recite facts or equations, but few possess the passion of the “mad scientist”. The passion of a true “mad scientist” drives me to continue my education through graduate school.
Perhaps the best explanation of why I want to be a graduate student and what I hope to accomplish is that I want to be a “mad scientist.” I don't use the term to conjure up mental images of a crackpot or societal deviant. Rather, I use the term to highlight the passion and endless exertion in pursuit of “why.” Many people do not understand or appreciate this passion and tend to view it as abnormal. This response it what I expect and is, in many ways, what I'm going for in my graduate work. As an undergraduate engineer I have already developed such a passion for Electrical Engineering and the corresponding accusations of abnormality.
I entered Virginia Tech as an engineering student and Division I athlete. My “madness” became quickly apparent in my decision to tackle the considerable challenges offered by Bradley's Department along with those presented by Frank Beamer and company. Others would have been satisfied with being a “full time jock,” but I decided early on to pursue a double major, covering both Electrical and Computer Engineering. I knew myself well enough to know I would never be happy if I didn't challenge myself academically. In fact, I entertained the idea of adding a major in Economics to the mix, but, by this time, I could hear my true calling in life and it only involves two “E”s.
That calling was then, and still is, to be that passionate “mad scientist.” In light of this, I dropped my inconsequential past times to more thoroughly pursue my dream. I had become utterly consumed by Electrical Engineering, so much so, that I now consider my Computer Engineering degree a support degree for my EE aspirations. Thus, I took leave of Beamer's squad, to dive, head long, into Electrical Engineering. Many people say that I quit football because I couldn't balance the time demands of sports and school. I simply laugh, thinking of the many ways in which my life became more hectic after football.
Since leaving the football team: I worked in two nationally recognized research labs, became involved in various Engineering clubs, increased both my GPA and course load, and got engaged, all of which demand a considerable time investment. However, it was my work in the research labs that fueled my desire for graduate work the most. I worked in the Autonomous Systems and Control Laboratory (ASCL) on the second floor of Whittemore for a year following my departure from the ranks of student-athletes.
In the ASCL I met a group of “mad scientists,” led by, perhaps, the model for the term. During my time with these folks, the ASCL was developing self contained autonomous submarines for the purpose of mapping underwater environments. These people were looking beyond all the naysayers to pursue knowledge that has the potential to revolutionize navigation. It's the sort of world changing work that the average person would simply never think of. It is also an example of the work that Electrical Engineers do everyday, driving their knowledge beyond the limits of conventional thinking to satisfy their own passions. In short, these people exemplify what I mean when I use the term “mad scientist.”
At the ASCL, I was exposed to life as one of those “mad scientists” and I loved it. For a long time I dreamed about being in a research lab, pushing out the boundaries of science, fueled by an unquenchable drive to discover the unknown. I got a small taste of that dream at the ASCL. Although, I was mostly involved in the more down to earth tasks, I knew that the advances made in this small lab had application far beyond the depths of some murky lake. I was aware that the techniques developed there could and would apply to all kinds of things, many of which lie beyond our imagination. Perhaps the ASCL will one day deliver driverless transportation or housemaid robots that don't walk through coffee tables. Either way, the ASCL is making a difference by turning today's fiction into reality one step at a time.
While working in the ASCL, a professor convinced me to give some thought to an area of Electrical Engineering that I had never really considered before: communications. I'd never really thought of the importance of providing systems to connect people before. However, the area seemed to embody many of the aspects of Electrical Engineering that I had grown to love. This area held a special attraction for me, as well, because I didn't know that much about it. So, once again driven by the possibility of new knowledge, I wished the world of path-finding robots well, and continued my journey to a new world know as the CWT.
At the Center for Wireless Telecommunications (CWT), I met a truly fascinating technology: Cognitive Radio. This systems can sense its environment and react intelligently. This is, therefore, the quincentennial “mad scientist” technology in that it takes a passion for learning from its designer. The interest in bestowing my love of learning onto a machine is what drove me initially to the ASCL. It is also apparently what drove the invention of Cognitive Radio.
Working in the CWT, I experienced a whole new level of my conception of “mad scientists.” This group is developing a system that senses its wireless environment and then proceeds to design the best possible means of communication, all without the aid of a human brain. It's a system that operates in a world completely beyond the senses of humans. The researchers in this lab are truly driven by a passion for exploring and mastering an unknown realm.
The CWT already developed a cognitive radio that can avoid jammers and remember the clever things it has thought of in the past. Currently, a few of the challenges the lab is tackling are: developing smart communication networks that manage themselves, providing communications that only occupy unused sections of the wireless spectrum, and allowing public safety personal to stay connected even without an infrastructure in place. These are only some of the big picture projects the lab is taking on and I already get to play a small part. This exactly the sort of work I can dive into more deeply as a graduate student.
In the work of the CWT, the thinking part of their system is separate from the radio part. That means the thinking part, the Cognitive Engine, could be applied to other situations, completely independent of radios or even any communications. This technology already has the potential to completely revamp the entire communications infrastructure. Even more exciting, though, are the unexplored possibilities of using the Cognitive Engine for other purposes. There are endless possibilities to this work. This is precisely the sort of thing that demands the passion and drive of a budding “mad scientist.”
It is the passionate for exploration of the unknown, the drive to make the impossible a reality, and the willingness to continue to ask “why” in the face of conventional wisdom that forms my view of the “mad scientist.” I have grown to appreciate the nature and work of “mad scientists” through my work in research labs. Many can recite facts or equations, but few possess the passion of the “mad scientist”. The passion of a true “mad scientist” drives me to continue my education through graduate school.
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