Sunday, August 23, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Essay Update Again
Many thanks to all of you that contributed. Even the "need more emphasis on desire to be mad scientist" comments proved helpful. So here is the latest update, again with instructions include so you all know what I have to do with this essay.
Applicants are asked to provide a 3 - 4 page, double-spaced personal statement which includes the following:
* Why do you want to undertake graduate work?
* What do you expect to derive from your program of study?
* If you have a concentration in mind, briefly outline your interests in this area.
* What do you expect to contribute as a student and subsequently as a member of the profession?
Since the 19th Century Electrical Engineers have changed the world more than any other group of professionals. Almost all of the advances of the modern age are in some way based on the work of Electrical Engineers, including the use of electricity, radioes, and computers. I have experienced some of the cutting edge of this group during my work in some of the research labs at Virginia Tech. I have so far worked in both the Autonomous Systems Control Lab at Virginia Tech (ASCL) [check name] and the Center for Wireless Telecommunications at Virginia Tech (CWT). Each lab focuses on a different aspect of the broad and influencial field of Electrical Engineering. The ASCL workes on autonmous aquatic vehicles, where the CWT workes on cognitive radios.
In my work at the ASCL I worked on developing a submarine that sensed its environment to decided how to move through it based on a set of mission goals, as discribed by the operator. At this lab I worked more as an outsider offering help to Graduate Students, but the level of inaction with the Graduate students was enough to pick up a falvor of Graduate student life. Most of the work I did her was support of the research projects going on in the lab by mantaining and reconfiguring the hardware of the submarine, however in this work I saw first hand the sort of research projects that were going on within the lab.
In the CWT I take on the role of a "Junior Graduate Student" in many ways. Once again I am working in support of the various research projects of the labs, but the nature of these projects is different. There is not a heirarchy of work in CWT; rather, all the work done in the lab is of a higher level. I am more connected to research done in this lab, more involved in the research. I have already started to consider taking on my own research project within the lab, much in the same way that the true Graduate students of the lab do. Within the CWT I have advanced the experience gained from the ASCL to come closer to life as a Graduate student, with a little more freedom and responsibility that than of an undergrad.
In both of these labs I was experiencing life as a graduate student, but more importantly to me I was advancing a life long dream. In both cases of my lab work, I was helping to design systems that sense their environment and react in a useful way. This is what I wanted my life to be about for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I viewed Engineers as the people that made science useful to people; since then I have not experienced anything that would make me reconsider this view point. As I continued my education I discovered Electrical Engineering, a profession that has made the largest impact in research history and certainly has the potential to continue reshaping the world for decades to come. I became enthralled with the idea of creating systems to take care of the work that I didn't want to consider.
This combine with my interest in working a research lab on the leading edge of knowledge, drives me to my goal of acheiving a Ph.D in Electrical Engineering. I know that this is the best way to achieve my goals of changing the world. Already in my work in the ASCL and CWT I have experienced systems that have the potentail to impact the entire world. The implications of developing even a submarine that can autonmously map waterways or a radio that can intelligently navigate a wireless specturm are endless. Beyond even that, though, I see the possibility of extending the knowledge gained through these endevours to impact everything. If I can help to master the techniques required to design systems that can dynamically access various bandwidths to provide efficient and durable usage of the wireless specturm, I believe those same techniques can then be extended to design a system that, given a clearly defined task, can go on to gather all the required information and provided a efficient and reliable way of completing its goals.
These systems will certainly change everything that they can be integrated into, providing a more "optimal" outcome with least effort from humans. This will allow humans to spend their time and effort on more difficult problems or tasks that are less clearly defined. Naturally all of this is decades away, but these are the exciting possibilities of the work I would like to do in Electrical Engineering. Part of the sucess of computers is based on a concept know as abstraction, the separation of outcome from implementation; I believe abstraction can be applied to some of the cutting edge research being done in communications and controls to provide general thinking systems.
Applicants are asked to provide a 3 - 4 page, double-spaced personal statement which includes the following:
* Why do you want to undertake graduate work?
* What do you expect to derive from your program of study?
* If you have a concentration in mind, briefly outline your interests in this area.
* What do you expect to contribute as a student and subsequently as a member of the profession?
Since the 19th Century Electrical Engineers have changed the world more than any other group of professionals. Almost all of the advances of the modern age are in some way based on the work of Electrical Engineers, including the use of electricity, radioes, and computers. I have experienced some of the cutting edge of this group during my work in some of the research labs at Virginia Tech. I have so far worked in both the Autonomous Systems Control Lab at Virginia Tech (ASCL) [check name] and the Center for Wireless Telecommunications at Virginia Tech (CWT). Each lab focuses on a different aspect of the broad and influencial field of Electrical Engineering. The ASCL workes on autonmous aquatic vehicles, where the CWT workes on cognitive radios.
In my work at the ASCL I worked on developing a submarine that sensed its environment to decided how to move through it based on a set of mission goals, as discribed by the operator. At this lab I worked more as an outsider offering help to Graduate Students, but the level of inaction with the Graduate students was enough to pick up a falvor of Graduate student life. Most of the work I did her was support of the research projects going on in the lab by mantaining and reconfiguring the hardware of the submarine, however in this work I saw first hand the sort of research projects that were going on within the lab.
In the CWT I take on the role of a "Junior Graduate Student" in many ways. Once again I am working in support of the various research projects of the labs, but the nature of these projects is different. There is not a heirarchy of work in CWT; rather, all the work done in the lab is of a higher level. I am more connected to research done in this lab, more involved in the research. I have already started to consider taking on my own research project within the lab, much in the same way that the true Graduate students of the lab do. Within the CWT I have advanced the experience gained from the ASCL to come closer to life as a Graduate student, with a little more freedom and responsibility that than of an undergrad.
In both of these labs I was experiencing life as a graduate student, but more importantly to me I was advancing a life long dream. In both cases of my lab work, I was helping to design systems that sense their environment and react in a useful way. This is what I wanted my life to be about for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I viewed Engineers as the people that made science useful to people; since then I have not experienced anything that would make me reconsider this view point. As I continued my education I discovered Electrical Engineering, a profession that has made the largest impact in research history and certainly has the potential to continue reshaping the world for decades to come. I became enthralled with the idea of creating systems to take care of the work that I didn't want to consider.
This combine with my interest in working a research lab on the leading edge of knowledge, drives me to my goal of acheiving a Ph.D in Electrical Engineering. I know that this is the best way to achieve my goals of changing the world. Already in my work in the ASCL and CWT I have experienced systems that have the potentail to impact the entire world. The implications of developing even a submarine that can autonmously map waterways or a radio that can intelligently navigate a wireless specturm are endless. Beyond even that, though, I see the possibility of extending the knowledge gained through these endevours to impact everything. If I can help to master the techniques required to design systems that can dynamically access various bandwidths to provide efficient and durable usage of the wireless specturm, I believe those same techniques can then be extended to design a system that, given a clearly defined task, can go on to gather all the required information and provided a efficient and reliable way of completing its goals.
These systems will certainly change everything that they can be integrated into, providing a more "optimal" outcome with least effort from humans. This will allow humans to spend their time and effort on more difficult problems or tasks that are less clearly defined. Naturally all of this is decades away, but these are the exciting possibilities of the work I would like to do in Electrical Engineering. Part of the sucess of computers is based on a concept know as abstraction, the separation of outcome from implementation; I believe abstraction can be applied to some of the cutting edge research being done in communications and controls to provide general thinking systems.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Grad School Essay Update
At this point I've jotted down a few notes about my grad school essay. I've included the instructions for the essay to provide a framework to judge my notes. Comments are welcomed, perhaps even encouraged. I tend to use run on sentences in the style of many of the great authors, who I am definitely not, so I was making an effort to avoid such. If you feel this is a mistake let me know. Also if there are any points I should elaborate on, that would probably be more helpful.
Applicants are asked to provide a 3 - 4 page, double-spaced personal statement which includes the following:
* Why do you want to undertake graduate work?
* What do you expect to derive from your program of study?
* If you have a concentration in mind, briefly outline your interests in this area.
* What do you expect to contribute as a student and subsequently as a member of the profession?
It's always been a dream of mine to attend graduate school. For my entire life I've had a love of learning that drives to continue my education. In my life I will get my Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, if for no other reason than to gain all the knowledge that I can. I've know that I was going to be an Engineer for a long time now. After I came to college and started my Engineering education, I've become entranced. I feel as though I have found exactly what I was made to do. Everything about this career field seems to be a perfect fit for me. I could not at this imagine at this point a life that did not involve me working as an Electrical Engineer, and I know that a large part of that work is continuing life long education. Graduate work will not fulfill this goal, rather it would provide a sturdy foundation for continuing the pursuit of that goal.
I hope to expand my knowledge
Applicants are asked to provide a 3 - 4 page, double-spaced personal statement which includes the following:
* Why do you want to undertake graduate work?
* What do you expect to derive from your program of study?
* If you have a concentration in mind, briefly outline your interests in this area.
* What do you expect to contribute as a student and subsequently as a member of the profession?
It's always been a dream of mine to attend graduate school. For my entire life I've had a love of learning that drives to continue my education. In my life I will get my Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, if for no other reason than to gain all the knowledge that I can. I've know that I was going to be an Engineer for a long time now. After I came to college and started my Engineering education, I've become entranced. I feel as though I have found exactly what I was made to do. Everything about this career field seems to be a perfect fit for me. I could not at this imagine at this point a life that did not involve me working as an Electrical Engineer, and I know that a large part of that work is continuing life long education. Graduate work will not fulfill this goal, rather it would provide a sturdy foundation for continuing the pursuit of that goal.
I hope to expand my knowledge
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Grad School Essay
Well the last thing that I have to do before submitted my application is write a Goal Statement essay. As this moves along I'll be posting...I guess you could call them drafts here and I'm expecting that you all will offer comments upon them.
For now I will post the Guidelines:
Applicants are asked to provide a 3 - 4 page, double-spaced personal statement which includes the following:
* Why do you want to undertake graduate work?
* What do you expect to derive from your program of study?
* If you have a concentration in mind, briefly outline your interests in this area.
* What do you expect to contribute as a student and subsequently as a member of the profession?
For now I will post the Guidelines:
Applicants are asked to provide a 3 - 4 page, double-spaced personal statement which includes the following:
* Why do you want to undertake graduate work?
* What do you expect to derive from your program of study?
* If you have a concentration in mind, briefly outline your interests in this area.
* What do you expect to contribute as a student and subsequently as a member of the profession?
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Chapter Of Me at the CWT
Well today as many of you probably know I went to talk to Prof. Bostian about working for him this summer. Here is what I found out.
I will being working for Dr. Bostian starting pretty much now. He will be paying $11.25 an hour, at least for the summer/until he gets more funding, for a maximum of 20 hours per week. Right now my tasks are to get as up to speed on Cognitive Radios as I can. This includes mostly becoming an expert at GNU Radio and reading an information package he gave me.
Dr. Bostian's stated goals for me and the other two undergrads he is taking on are to experience the life of a Graduate Student and to become familiar with the workings of his lab so we can take over when we become grad students.
Pretty darn cool. I know both of the other undergrads I'd be working with-one better than the other. I have my own spot in Bostian's lab, well right now it's temporary but I'll be upgrading as space becomes available.
I'm fairly excited-even if it does mean that I have to change the operating system on my computer again...
I will being working for Dr. Bostian starting pretty much now. He will be paying $11.25 an hour, at least for the summer/until he gets more funding, for a maximum of 20 hours per week. Right now my tasks are to get as up to speed on Cognitive Radios as I can. This includes mostly becoming an expert at GNU Radio and reading an information package he gave me.
Dr. Bostian's stated goals for me and the other two undergrads he is taking on are to experience the life of a Graduate Student and to become familiar with the workings of his lab so we can take over when we become grad students.
Pretty darn cool. I know both of the other undergrads I'd be working with-one better than the other. I have my own spot in Bostian's lab, well right now it's temporary but I'll be upgrading as space becomes available.
I'm fairly excited-even if it does mean that I have to change the operating system on my computer again...
Monday, June 8, 2009
And Now for Something Completely different
Well, I've taken further advantage of the unlimited text messages I have with this phone to set up mobile posting to this blog from my phone.
But now for something completely different.
I'm reading this book called Dreaming in Code by Scott Rosenberg. It was highly recommended by Prof. Bostain. So far I'm more than half way through and it's really interesting but definitely for a more computer savy/interested reader. It's a chronicle of the development of a program call Chandler that's supposed to provide a flexible solution to storing and sharing information on a computer. In truth though it's more about the perils related to ambitious programing projects.
It highlights many of the things that you wouldn't necessarily think of as problematic when it comes to software. The book points out interesting bits like Brook's law which tells us that software projects only slow down when we throw more labor at the problem; definitely the sort thing that is good to remember.
Anyway as I'm not finished with it yet and I don't want to write a summary of the book for you all that's all on that.
I've started to play around with python and so far it seems easy and fairly useful, but I'm running into the same problems that I always hit with programing languages and such-the documentation is too dense and I can't think of a use for it right away. I know that I seem impatience here, but I feel that if I don't start practice with a language (any kind really) I'll forget stuff about it faster than I'll learn. Maybe if I get good at python and I have plenty of thing (read as the following will never happen...) I'll write my own tutorial that teaches the language by having the user write programs as they go. Perhaps I'll spend enough time with it to do something cool, and perhaps not.
Oh well, The time has come to talk of many things: of shoes and ships and sealing-wax, of cabbages and kings, and why the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings.
But now for something completely different.
I'm reading this book called Dreaming in Code by Scott Rosenberg. It was highly recommended by Prof. Bostain. So far I'm more than half way through and it's really interesting but definitely for a more computer savy/interested reader. It's a chronicle of the development of a program call Chandler that's supposed to provide a flexible solution to storing and sharing information on a computer. In truth though it's more about the perils related to ambitious programing projects.
It highlights many of the things that you wouldn't necessarily think of as problematic when it comes to software. The book points out interesting bits like Brook's law which tells us that software projects only slow down when we throw more labor at the problem; definitely the sort thing that is good to remember.
Anyway as I'm not finished with it yet and I don't want to write a summary of the book for you all that's all on that.
I've started to play around with python and so far it seems easy and fairly useful, but I'm running into the same problems that I always hit with programing languages and such-the documentation is too dense and I can't think of a use for it right away. I know that I seem impatience here, but I feel that if I don't start practice with a language (any kind really) I'll forget stuff about it faster than I'll learn. Maybe if I get good at python and I have plenty of thing (read as the following will never happen...) I'll write my own tutorial that teaches the language by having the user write programs as they go. Perhaps I'll spend enough time with it to do something cool, and perhaps not.
Oh well, The time has come to talk of many things: of shoes and ships and sealing-wax, of cabbages and kings, and why the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
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