 MEET THE STUDENTS
|
Kevin's Three Favorite Things about the ECE Department:
1) Faculty mentoring: Even before I became a Research Assistant, my academic advisor set aside time to meet with me and invited me to get involved in the lab. He also took the initiative to help find a summer internship for me. I became of his Research Assistants, and he took time to meet with me weekly to discuss my research and provide very helpful suggestions and direction.
2) The people! The graduate students are fun, and enjoy getting together. The staff is friendly and quickly responds to questions and concerns.
3) The opportunities. There's so much interesting research being conducted by faculty who are well respected in their respective fields.
Advice to Incoming Students:
Make sure you have a good foundation in mathematics and undergraduate engineering. It wouldn't hurt to brush up before arriving! Also, make an effort to meet the other graduate students, attend social gatherings, etc. The ECE Graduate Student Association works hard to provide some wonderful opportunities to hang out with fellow grad students, and it's worth doing!
|
|
Kevin
talks about ECE @ Maryland:
"I was born and raised in Escondido, CA, and attended the U.S. Naval Academy, where I graduated in 1997 with a B.S. in Systems Engineering. Upon graduation, I was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy. I served seven years of active duty, including a tour as the Strike Officer on a destroyer.
I originally was attracted to Maryland's ECE department because the program was highly ranked and had a broad spectrum of research activities. Since I did not yet know what specific area I wanted to focus on, I liked the idea that there were many options to choose from. When I visited, I was impressed by how welcoming the department was and how Professor Krishnaprasad set apart more than an hour of his time to meet with me and then introduce me to current graduate students.
I have done research at Maryland in the Intelligent Servosystems Lab. I am interested in control of groups/swarms of robots, especially the applications to Unmanned Vehicles.
I have been particularly grateful for my opportunity to serve as a Teaching Assistant, and found that the interaction with students very stimulating and fulfilling. I was honored to receive an award from the Center for Teaching Excellence as a Distinguished Teaching Assistant.
The students are hard working, friendly, and ambitious. Rather than cutthroat competition, I found an eagerness to share ideas and encourage one another's work.
Professors are approachable, dedicated to quality research, and experienced as lecturers.
I plan to pursue a position as a university professor, as I feel like it would be the perfect blend of my love for teaching and my love for engineering. The ECE program has helped me to pursue this goal by challenging me with difficult courses that lay an excellent groundwork of knowledge."
↑ Back to Top
|
