Cumulative Reflection

By Nicholas Stasi

11 March 2020

I began my journey at Iowa State University in the fall of 2016. I came into ISU as
an Undecided Engineering major, with lots of ambitions. I initially thought that I
would become a Chemical Engineer as the field of chemistry greatly interested me
in high school. However, after taking Chemistry 177, I discovered that I did not
enjoy chemistry, but instead gravitated towards Computer Engineering. I was
initially drawn towards programming in my Engineering 160 class and through my
roommate who was studying software engineering at the time. Once I chose
Computer Engineering as my major, I knew I was on the right path.
The first real core Computer Engineering course that I took was Cpr E 281 Digital
Logic with Professor Alexander Stoytchev. I really enjoyed Stoytchev’s teaching
style and personality and I gained a lot of core Computer Engineering skills from
that class. We worked primarily with Quartus Prime and Model Sim to create
various kinds of circuits that carried out different functions. This class forced me
to learn and really understand the concepts of Boolean logic, synchronous and
asynchronous systems, debouncing and much more. For the final project in 281, I
designed and built from scratch a functional door lock with a 4 digit passcode
capable of resetting and locking out a user after 10 unsuccessful attempts at
unlocking. This project was my first rigorous experience with design, and while it
took a toll on me at the time, I will carry that experience with me long after
graduation.
The next core Computer Engineering course I took was Cpr E 288 Embedded
Systems. This was one of my favorite classes I took at ISU, as we got to program
Roomba robots to traverse an obstacle course using IR and SONAR sensors. I also
got to work with a team on the final project, where I learned the value of good
communication and teamwork. Our team even got the shortest completion time
for the obstacle course out of the entire class (which was around 250 students).
This experience taught me valuable skills working with C and how to program
microcontrollers.
In the summer of 2018, I was blessed with the opportunity of a co-op with Collins
Aerospace in their Military GPS department doing software engineering. Through
this experience I was able to obtain a government security clearance, and work
alongside GPS professionals on cutting edge GPS technology. I took another
internship with Collins the following summer and plan on doing another
internship with them this summer, but in their hardware department. My
experiences at Collins Aerospace have opened my eyes to the world of industry
and I have gotten to see first hand how the skills I am learning in school are
applied to real life problems, and I am excited to work for them again this
summer.
One of the hardest courses I took in college was CprE 381 Computer Organization
and Assembly Level Programming. This course tested my ability to manage my
time wisely, as the labs often took over 15 hours per week to complete and the
final project was to create a functional 5 stage pipelined MIPS processor with data
forwarding and Hazard detection all in hand written VHDL. The final project called
for many late nights and several all-nighters to complete, but I learned more in
that class than any other class at Iowa State. I excelled with the coursework and
the lab and was fortunate enough to be asked to be a teacher’s assistant the
following semester, which I accepted. TA’ing the class helped me hone my
teaching skills and leadership skills as I oversaw 2 lab sections every week.
Now that I am in my fourth year, I have begun Senior Design Cpr E 491. We are
working with Doctor Santosh Pandey to create water sensor modules to monitor
algae growth in oceans and lakes. This project has allowed me to take all the
knowledge I have learned in my years at Iowa State and apply it to something I
care about. I also get to work with a team of my peers on this project, which is a
lot of fun. I am really excited to begin construction of our PCB and get a working
prototype next semester.
As my time at Iowa State University is coming to an end, I reflect on all the
priceless experiences I have had here. Not only in the classroom, but also with the
life-long friends I have made here. These years have been some of the best years
of my life so far and it saddens me to see them coming to an end. However, I am
excited for my future that has been made possible by my experiences here. I
know that I will always be a life-long learner and a life-long cyclone.