MEET THE STUDENTS

Enlu
talks about ECE @ Maryland:

"I was born and grew up in Hangzhou, a scenic city in China. I got my Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Zhejiang University, China, and then came to University of Maryland for graduate study.

I was initially attracted to engineering after seeing a lot of amazing high-tech products being developed. Many of these high-tech developments were closely related to electrons, circuits and computers, so I decided to focus on electrical and computer engineering when I went to college.

I wanted to major in Controls when applying to graduate schools. I was particularly attracted to the University of Maryland ECE department, because the Controls program here is very strong, and the Institute of Systems Research (ISR) provides an interdisciplinary and very active environment for research in control.

I am currently in the Ph.D. program with a major in Controls and minor in Communication. My expected graduation date is August, 2009. Controls is an old yet still very exciting area. It is rich in theory, but emerging large-scale problems are calling for new tools and modern computing power is enabling numerical methods. My research interests are in theoretical and numerical methods for stochastic filtering and partially observable Markov decision processes.

I will spend ten exciting weeks as a summer intern at the San Diego Supercomputer Center, where I expect to apply theories and my algorithms to solving real-life large scale problems. 

The atmosphere in the ECE department is open-minded and friendly. Professors always welcome questions and ideas from students. Students easily make friends with each other. I think my three years at the University of Maryland has made me more out-going, confident and open-minded.

My advisors Prof. Marcus and Prof. Fu have being taught me a lot in research and how to succeed as a human in general. They are strict, yet very patient with me on research. They also provide me many opportunities, such as attending conferences and doing summer interns in national research labs. I have taken four courses from Prof. Krishnaprasad and have written a paper with him. His lectures are insightful and always challenge me to do my best. He is also very inspiring when I go to ask him questions or discuss problems. Prof. Tits is not only a great teacher but also a good friend. I have learned a lot from him in class and also had much fun with him in skiing, ice skating, playing ping pong, and coffee hour.

Outside the classroom, I hang out with my friends and do all kinds of sports activities.  I also love traveling and exploration. I have traveled to various places in and outside the U.S. either by myself or with friends.

I hope to become a faculty member after getting my Ph.D. degree. I love doing research, and I’ve seen from many professors what a wonderful and satisfying life it is to be a professor. I’ve seen their passion in research and teaching, how they advance technology and society, and how they pass on their knowledge and wisdom to generations after generations. The ECE program is very supportive of its students to pursue academic careers. Each year the department holds a seminar that invites professors at Maryland and alumni that are now professors at other universities to come to share their experiences with and give advice to students. Last year, the Engineering School founded the Future Faculty Program in order to prepare promising Ph.D. students to become faculty members in the future. I was lucky to be selected as a future faculty fellow and participating in this program is very helpful for my career development."

↑ Back to Top