Growing up, Lam Ha played video games and loved the idea of working with computers – so much so that he would help his dad fix them back home in Vietnam. It eventually led him to study at Miami University of Ohio’s College of Engineering and Computing (CEC).
Here, students put their theory to the test by participating in research. This summer, Ha, a computer engineering major worked in a lab where he collaborated with Dr. Bryan Van Scoy and Dr. Peter Jamieson to explore robot characterization.
“I worked with an existing wheeled robot system of a senior design project from the previous school year. I developed a system using an overhead camera to track its position and map it onto a 2D coordinate system,” Ha says.
“I also used that system to conduct two experiments recording the robot’s behaviors in response to different commands under different conditions and efficiently collected over 1,000 data entries.”
Barbara Tsitey, a computer science major from Ghana, was just as enlightened. She worked with Dr. Jamieson on an open-source electronic platform to characterize two sensors – ultrasonic and infrared.
Soon, they are set to become Miami University of Ohio’s CEC graduates – future professionals who are ready for their careers and to improve the world around them.
That is the impact of CEC’s Engaged Learning approach. Here, 2,800 students participate in funded research alongside faculty who inspire, encourage and push them to forge their own paths. These dedicated mentors guide students as they pursue patents, develop a research grant proposal through the Undergraduate Research Award Program, and publish scholarly articles, among many others.
Since the faculty houses departments focusing on various engineering and computing disciplines, CEC continues to develop new programs to meet market demands. Take the Robotics Engineering program, for example. Students train in the fundamentals of electrical, computer, mechanical engineering, and computer science.
That’s not all. CEC students achieve more beyond publishing papers and winning awards. Through research opportunities, they work directly with leading faculty inside state-of-the-art labs to create innovative solutions – from software to GPS, chemical processes, and the power grid.
In small classes with a 17:1 student-faculty ratio, students like Tsitey and Ha are gaining technical skills to improve societies, accelerate the social benefits of technological innovation and understand how to reinvent ourselves in a rapidly changing world.
Beyond the classroom, they are preparing to seamlessly transition into the real world through access to local industry leaders like P&G, GE Aviation, and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. In short, they are preparing for success in the corporate world, niche businesses, and other specialized industries.
The “Miami University of Ohio” factor
Situated in southwestern Ohio, the university is located in Oxford, Ohio, near the Cincinnati Metropolitan area that houses the headquarters of many Fortune 500 companies – the ideal hub for CEC students to discover their purpose, build their connections, and prepare for a lifetime of success.
CEC graduates attract the attention of reputable employers – for good reasons. Its engineering program ranks No. 2 among the US’s national public (non-doctoral) universities. The university is ranked among the top 50 national public universities by US News & World Report.
It’s little surprise that CEC has a successful graduate track record. Graduates can be found in companies like Amazon, Boeing and Google or in top graduate programs in the country, with an average starting salary of US$69,264.
There are also plenty of undergraduate pathways for you to choose from, including majors in biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, engineering management, software engineering, robotics engineering, manufacturing engineering, and mechanical engineering.
For graduate students, there are Master of Science programs for computer science, chemical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical engineering.
Ready to start your journey to engineering and computer science mastery? Click here to discover how you can do just that at Miami University of Ohio.
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