MEET THE STUDENTS

Rose
talks about ECE @ Maryland:

"I was born in Maryland, but was raised overseas. I attended Exceptional Talents High School in Shiraz, Iran, and after receiving my high school diploma, I moved back to the United States to continue my higher education.

Since elementary school, math and literature were my favorite topics. I was always passionate to learn more about mathematics. The Exceptional Talents High School provided me with a strong background in math and physics as basics of engineering. I enjoy intellectual challenges and solving complex problems. Since engineering is the best tool to employ mathematics and physics in a creative and innovative way, I believed that electrical engineering would be my best choice of major.

As a prospective student, I knew that the University of Maryland is a highly ranked, reputable engineering school, and there are many research opportunities at UMD. I transferred to the University of Maryland from Montgomery College. As a transfer student, I could transfer more credits to the University of Maryland than I could transfer to any other school, because Montgomery College follows the same curriculum as UMD does.

Before transferring to University of Maryland, I was awarded the Sonya Kovalevsky Medal, the Outstanding Mathematics Student Award, and the Clifford K. Beck Award for Excellence in Physics at Montgomery College.

I decided to study electrical engineering. I think that everything about electrical engineering is fascinating since it is the true application of math and physics. Nowadays, electrical engineering is such a broad area that its applications are observed everyday in our daily lives. I specifically liked communication and controls which employ math and logic to develop sophisticated systems, e.g., robots, neural networks analysis and applications.

Motivated students attend the ECE department. The professors are knowledgeable and helpful. The highly academic atmosphere is though friendly and diverse. Especially, the multicultural environment makes the ECE department more interesting, and also, provides knowledge of different cultures and countries.  

I believe that the research and internship opportunities at University of Maryland are a good reason to enroll in the ECE department. If students choose to attend graduate school and pursue a career in academia, the research opportunities at ECE department are their best guidance. Moreover, if they choose to work in the industry after graduation, the internships available for ECE students through the University of Maryland would prepare them for working in industry with a strong resume.

At the University of Maryland, I joined the ECE Honors Program, which provides smaller classes and better learning environment. Outside of the classroom, I participated in research projects, and spent time with my main hobby, which is poetry. I have been writing poems since the first grade of elementary schoo. So far, I have published two poetry books in English: The Beauty of Nature and Our World and Our Words.  

My experience at the University of Maryland helped me to believe in my ability to overcome challenges and excel. All the ECE advising staff is willing to help, and their advice for choosing the classes is really helpful. Also, the professors give invaluable advice for choosing technical and non-technical electives and research opportunities.   

Both Montgomery College and University of Maryland helped me in obtaining research positions. Through Montgomery College’s Honor Program, I obtained a Research for Undergraduates (REU) position at Drexel University called DREAM. Then, University of Maryland provided me with the opportunity to participate in another REU Summer Program, called the IREAP/TREND Program. I worked on Theoretical and Computational Studies of Chaos and Nonlinear Dynamics in the dynamics group under the supervision of Professor Ott, Professor Antonsen, and Professor Girvan."

After graduating, I decided to pursue a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering at MIT.

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