Cumulative Reflection

When I came to Iowa State I knew very little about how electrical systems worked but with a
passion to understand every aspect of how these seemingly magic systems worked. I knew that it
would be very challenging but was committed to taking every opportunity to ask questions and
dive deep into projects to really understand what the professors felt was important to understand.
I knew that the faculty and curriculum at Iowa State was exemplary and could provide me with
the tools necessary to succeed.
The first tool Iowa State has provided to me is the ability to plan the problem solving process and
solve engineering problems. Many classes assign homework problems that dont allow for the
application of one formula but you must use several formulas to get you to the solution. This
allowed me to learn how to plan the steps that I was going to use to solve a problem and then
break the problem into manageable pieces. Then I could focus on researching the correct process
to find a solution to this step. These types of problems also allow you to really understand what
is truly happening rather than just memorizing a formula to solve the problem. A good example
of this is the CPRE 381 class I took here at Iowa State. In the lab we built a computer by using
and,or,xor, xand, and not gates. We split the problem into several different sections such as
building memory registers and adders before finally brining all the pieces together into a working
computer.
Classes at Iowa State have also taught me to effectively work in teams. Most of our labs require
that you work in groups of two. This allows you to ask each other questions and teach each other
things that the other group member doesnt understand. I believe that you really understand
material when you can teach others the most important aspects. Additionally it taught me to
delegate tasks so that each member of the lab team could focus on what they do best.
Another important part of my education is that we were able to tie concepts learned in classes to
contemporary issues and our ethical responsibilities in classes such as EE 394. We studied ethical
cases in history like the Ford pinto disaster and wrote reflections about what we thought was the
best course of action.
In order to solve problems in class, we sometimes had to go to outside sources. I believe that in
the real world you will rarely know all the answers to your problems and all the answers will
rarely be in one place. You must learn to ask the right questions and find the best resources on
the matter. I often would find background information on topics on Wikipedia or YouTube and
then follow the links to more detailed information on specifics of the problem. Additionally I
often went to professors office hours where they had more time to go into depth and explain
tricks for problems that I was solving. Lastly I often went to supplemental instruction sessions
through the university given by students who have already passed the class. Additionally the
HKN help room provides you access to students who have taken the class before and can usually
explain the basics of your problem.

As part of my learning experience, I participated in several extracurricular activities. Freshman

year, I participated in an independent study about superconductors with Mani Mina. I was able to
see the possibilities of a very interesting electrical engineering field before I had gone too indepth in my studies of electrical engineering. Seeing these possibilities really helped to inspire
me to continue in EE and persevere through the tough classes with the knowledge of the cool
things that could be built with the tools I was developing in myself. Additionally I worked on the
Micro-Air Vehicle project through the M2:I program at Iowa State. This project was to make a
dragon-fly type flying vehicle with flapping wings. The project mostly consisted of aerospace
engineers so it was interesting trying to understand their needs and explain my needs to them in
order to build a functioning vehicle. Both of these experiences taught me how cool the projects
are that we actually apply the knowledge learned in classes to. This will keep me interested in
pursuing new projects and continuing to engage in the learning necessary to build them in the
future.
In addition to extracurricular activities, I have begun several projects on my own outside of
school. I have started the construction of an electric longboard. It will have batteries and an
electric motor as well as a wireless speed controller. I designed it to be capable of speeds up to
12 mph and to be capable of regenerative braking. I have also started a project with a raspberry
pi to develop a home server with an external hard drive connected to the raspberry pi to allow for
storage of all my documents and media in one central location and access to it possible from all
my devices.
All in all I believe I learned a lot from my time at Iowa State. If I were to change anything, I
believe I would become involved in more clubs early on and continue in them through my
experience at Iowa State. I got a little caught up in the day-to day grind and forgot to make time
for more external learning experiences. Additionally I would recommend that the college work to
stress contemporary issues and ethical requirements in all classes so that we can more effectively
apply them to what we are learning. I would also recommend perhaps doing a senior design type
project every year to learn to more effectively work with larger teams and work with a company
on a real world project more frequently.