Prescott Student Blog: Libin

The Robot Competition went far better than I had expected. I fell sick on Friday and had to miss the Lab and on Monday and Tuesday, I totally forgot that we had open lab times to get our robot to do something. The claw to get hold of the golf balls was to be tweaked and optimized for getting maximum balls in without losing them when it moves backwards and the complete programming was to be done.
My partner did a great job with programming and tweaking the claw and came up with a great idea to get hold of those golf balls. She made up for my delay and we did really work as much as possible on Wednesday during the open lab timings. Adding a few rubber bands helped to contain the ball while the LEGO NXT Mindstorm Robots took a turn and followed the black lines.
The competition was on Thursday and we were to compete with 3 other teams. We did fairly well by getting 3 balls out of 5 in our first two attempts. In the last attempt, however, we could only get in a single golf ball. Still, we made it back to our spot every single time and earned the 2 bonus points every time. The lowest scores were to be dropped and we had an average score of more than 8, which was really good. The scores were the sum of total no. of the balls put in by both the teams and the bonus points if the robot, or part of it, gets back to the starting point. We scored a total of 20 points and the lowest was 3. So that basically is 8.5 as an average score.
EGR 101 is turning out to be a fun filled class. We are going to have a Lighter than Air Vehicle competition really soon and it sure sounds amazing to be a part of. However, I have heard that this time the teams are going to be selected by the Professors themselves 
The last class of EGR101 is listed as Game: Who Wants to be a Millionaire. It sounds strange and interesting! Will keep you all updated about it.

Posted by Libin at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The International Student Association here in ERAU is an organization that has all international students as well as those interested in it as members. The organization has a lot of activities and programs going on throughout the month. Since, I have been here the ISA has organized a lot of dinners, YMCA Rock Climbing, A trip to Slide Rock in Sedona and awareness programs for a lot of causes. It is a great way to get to know the town really good. The last time, I went to the ISA Dinner too. It was in the Asian Buffet in Prescott Valley. The elected President, Secretary etc. were informed about their position during the dinner. We gathered at the Hass Commons and car pooled to reach the restaurant. It was a great dinner.
The ISA has meetings almost every Tuesday where upcoming programs are planned out and details about it are discussed. There is probably going to be representatives of the ISA during the Open house just as it was during the Activity Fair.
ISA also plays a role in organizing summer programs and study abroad programs. It is a great way to get your humanities credits covered along with experiencing a totally different culture. ERAU presently has plans to have study abroad programs at Rome, China, Japan, Germany and some other countries too.
It’s an organization that keeps you connected to your own people and helps in every possible way to help international students to adjust. During my first week at Prescott, I already had information about all the food joints in Prescott, how to obtain my Driver’s License and SSN., details about the banks and financial institutions and Prescott as a city itself. We also had our breakfast, dinner and lunch organized by ISA during the first four days. ISA also took us on a trip to the Downtown and Walmart.
There are already programs for a Grand Canyon Trip this month and a ski-trip at Flagstaff this winter.

Posted by Libin at 5:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Admissions Open House
Being a student blogger, I get to work for the Admissions’ Open House this Saturday. The whole student body who volunteered to work got a free T-Shirt today and was told about the work they will be doing beginning 6.30 in the morning and going on till at least 5 in the evening. I would be working with the Club Fair at the Lower hangar from 8.30 AM. I might also be a part of the group for helping out the prospective students for the COE Presentations. The whole Admissions team is really excited for the Open House. It is going to be one of the main events where the prospective students get to know what is in store for them for the next 4-5 years of their life. Believe me, I have no regrets getting rejected by major colleges in US, rejecting a great college in India and being here to get my BS Degree in Aerospace Engineering. It had to be the place. You get hands on experience from the first day of your class. You learn MATLAB, the language that is setting standards for the programming side of aviation industry, get a bit further with projects in UNIV 101 and also make a long term commitment with projects like the ERAU Jet car where you get to learn a lot of stuff that will never be taught in a class. Each and every example in my Physics 2 and Calculus are related directly to the problems/situations/circumstances in various aerospace (nautics) projects and topics. Waves in Physics 2 class helped me to understand that resonance can and will prove to be fatal for aircrafts, the problems in reentry for manned space projects and various other small but important information. Every professor has a background in aviation industry. They have great links and are ready to spend a lot of time with us to help us out in projects, classes or any other crazy ideas we think about.
Academics are pretty strong here with exams every now and then. However, there is much more to Embry Riddle than being a school that stringently focuses on aviation industry. The Student Government Association(SGA) always come up with great ideas to have a fantastic time during weekends. We had a poker tournament recently where the winner took home a PS3. It is going to host a Pool Tournament soon. We got new equipments for the same. I am in my first semester, and have already seen the college getting three new arcades and 3 new XBOX 360 consoles. The college takes the feedback of students very seriously.
The courses like Prelim and Details sticks to the stringent rules, policies and methods of working as those in the ‘real world’. Seniors clock more than 40 hours working on their Detail project in a week. However, the work gets you so involved that you will keep asking for more.
Getting 2 on-campus jobs, having a good scholarship as an International student, getting a lot of credits transferred , getting involved in one of the biggest college projects, working on your own independent projects and getting funded for that, having free tutoring, having the greatest links with the industry as a student, having a huge student body that shares your aspirations and ideas and having professors who are highly qualified and experienced is something that you can only get at Embry Riddle as a freshman.
Go ahead, apply here and get into a great path to do everything you have dreamt of. I am doing so now!

Posted by Libin at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had to make a huge schedule change to fit my MET Credits for PS150(Physics1) and my work schedule at the Machine Shop.
I am no longer in the same classes as my suitemates other than UNIV 101. In this class, we would be making rockets. It sounds like fun..however much information is lacking in order to confirm that ;). UNIV 101 is a class that is in addition to the credits required to be an Aeronautical Engineer (Yeah!) but it is really very useful. It comprehends activities that is more like an engineering projects, talks with the important people of the campus like Dean Kula (Dean of Students), Vicki Fox (The person who will advise you at least once if you need a job after you graduate), Andy Fraher (Summer Exchange Programs, Study Abroad Programs etc) and various professors who share their own academic and work experiences.
I have 14 credits transferred now. So, I can easily plan my 4 years in ERAU with some internships, projects, independent study or/and research, if possible.
The best thing going on right now is my work at the Machine Shop. Adam, a senior graduating this semester, is helping me out to start with. We have almost every machine that will be needed to create wooden, metallic and plastic models needed for wind tunnel testing and the senior capstone projects. It is the place that the seniors and juniors will work at for the Prelim and Details course projects. Adam allowed me to unwind and look into a small engine…The work engineers should do instead of learning the equations in Math and Sciences. I feel that though the sciences make a great engineer, having a hands- on experience makes a better one. I feel very comfortable in the academic field in ERAU. However, it is the practical and experimental part that I will face difficulties with. That is the reason I was persistent of getting a job at the Machine Shop. Right now, Adam’s team is working on the capstone project. I get to see how the wings are created and sanded. It is great to watch and learn! The fuselage and stabilizers are being made now.
Now, I am basically working for around 20 hours a week while studying. I received my first pay check today( Party!!!).
I also joined a handful of clubs. I joined AIAA and SAE Clubs in ERAU, Music Club and the Further, Faster and Higher Club and the Jet Dragster Project.. AIAA and SAE are international organizations that are focused mainly in the field of aero research and automobiles, respectively. It is a great source to know more about the industry and also to learn about the projects and the potential work in the field. It is also a great bridge to the professional life. The Further, Faster and Higher Club is right now making an UAV with foldable wings and surveillance systems. It would be launched out of a fiberglass tube and will hover/fly at an altitude of 1000 feet. This is a neat project. The Club has already started with the work. The Jet Dragster is probably the biggest project in the whole campus. It has been done by Daytona Campus already.
The next post will be about the best class of my semester: EGR 101. The Introduction to Engineering class.

Posted by Libin at 8:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The dorms are the place where one spends most of the college life. The dorms at ERAU are great. It has all the required necessities and a bit more. Of course, it is not as great as home but still it is fun.
Our suite has 3 rooms with 2 guys in each and a living room which presently houses a PS3, Wii and 29” TV..It is fun. The weekends are spent mostly in the living room, the downtown and at the Lower Hangar playing Pool. The Hall 5(Javelina) is the most recently renovated one with new furniture...Its no more the Ghetto Hall.
On 18th August 2008 at 0200AM and 0400AM, some guys burnt popcorns in the microwave and I thus came to know that a popcorn can set off a fire alarm! Everyone was out at the middle of the sleep waiting for the ear splitting noise to cut off. The Result: I slept in my Calculus Class. However, I know the topics from High School so it helped.
We are working on the rocket. Hope it turns out to be great!
We also go to the Downtown some of the weekends. Prescott is a neat city. It has great restraints that provide all kind of food. India, Thai, American (of course), Continental, Italian, Mexican..you name it. It is a necessity for an international student like me.
We are going to have a trip to Sedona soon on Aug 27. There are ISA Elections going on. I was nominated for both President and Secretary. However, I was late in sending in the blurb and the photo for it. So, I think I won’t make it to either position. It would be good if I make it. However, even if I don’t it would be good. Then, I can focus on the semester, my clubs and the work a bit more, learn more about the ISA(International Student Association) and reapply for the position next year.
Hope the college applicants reading this are going head on with their college applications. If you want to build the rover that takes the man to Mars in the coming years, make the next supersonic aircraft, build the next highly efficient shuttle or satellite, create the UAV that lays the benchmark to success THIS IS THE PLACE.
There are too many resources and opportunities available here. Make the best of it and you would be scaling great heights throughout!

Posted by Libin at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)