Posts by Eric

Hi Guys!

Today I would like to post about CEAS or The College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

For those of you who don’t know, CEAS is home to seven academic departments on campus. Those departments are: Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Technology and Society.

While CEAS may just seem like a name more than an experience, CEAS provides us engineering majors with the opportunities of a lifetime. Within CEAS there are many research opportunities to undertake that are unavailable anywhere else. For example, thanks to CEAS, I work in the world’s first virtual reality cube pictured below. Along with these research opportunities, CEAS allows us engineering majors to be exempt from some DECs (not half bad if you ask me ).

CEWIT Virtual Reality Deck

But more than CEAS itself, I want to write this post about the people that work within CEAS. Those faculty and staff members have truly helped me succeed here at Stony Brook University. They truly care about each and every student that walk through their doors.

When I was a freshman, I had one dream I wanted to accomplish before I left Stony Brook University. I wanted to study abroad in Tokyo, Japan. Being fluent in Japanese, I figured that study abroad was the next logical step in my academic career. However, one of the obstacles holding me back was the intense course load of computer science. There were so many courses to take before I graduated, I didn’t even think study abroad was possible. One day, I went into CEAS academic advising distraught, thinking I wouldn’t be able to achieve my dream. However, when I spoke with a CEAS academic advisor, they reassured me that study abroad was indeed possible. That advisor even helped me lay out my schedule from freshman until senior year that would allow me to study abroad and accomplish everything that I wanted to while still graduating on time. That advisor truly cared about my ambitions and reassured me that SBU was the right place to be.

It is the opportunities, faculty, and advisors mentioned above that make me proud to be a seawolf. You are really never alone in this academic journey. With a little help from your advisors, your professors, and even your friends, you will be able to survive the CEAS and succeed here at SBU.

Until next time.

-Eric

Hi Guys!

I know it has been awhile since my last post, but I’m back, and I’ve got a lot to say. Today, I want to talk to you guys about finding inspiration where you least expect it.

Here at Stony Brook, we have a group of classes known as DECs. For those of you who don’t know, DECs are simply courses in a variety of subject matter that we must take before we are able to graduate. Coming in as a freshman, I was not looking forward to the DECs. I was a computer science major; I thought that classes in english, philosophy, and foreign culture would just distract me from my major, but boy was I wrong.

As the semesters passed, I quickly figured out ways to enjoy the DECs while remaining focused on my major. For the writing DECs, I did my research projects on humanoid robotics, for the philosophy DEC I took “Logic and Critical Reasoning,” which goes hand and hand with computer science, and for the foreign culture and history DECs, I took “Literature of Japan” and “Modern Japan” respectively, which played to my strengths.

While it seemed like the DECs were going smoothly, there was one DEC that I had always avoided, the theater and arts DEC. I was not interested in theater , and I might have been a drummer, but I had no interest in writing piano composions or learning how to read music. I was at a standstill. But last semester, I decided to get this DEC over with and signed up for a class called “Theater and Technology.”

The first day I did not know what to expect, I figured we would be learning about things like green-screens and stage design tools. But what I found was completely different. When I rolled into my first day of class, the professor asked if there were any coders in the room. Being a computer science major, I raised my hand. He told me that, for the semester, I would be hacking a Microsoft Kinect and making it do things that would benefit the theatrical world. Given that I am a human-computer interaction specialist, I knew at that moment that I would enjoy this class. I began experimenting with the Kinect and cutting edge brainwave technology that allows a computer program to know the user’s emotions.

Fast forward to the current semester and the technology that I developed in that 100 level theater class is now being showcased all over New York City. This coming summer, my software is being showcased at various venues in the United States, Poland, Germany, and Belgium.

I had never expected to find such an amazing opportunity in a theater class that I was taking as a DEC. For me, this was a lesson in the interconnectivity between every major on campus. Any class is applicable to your major in some way, shape, or form, you just have to keep an open mind. Never judge a class by its name or its subject, because its opportunities may surprise you. Always keep an open mind while you’re here, and look for inspiration in the unexpected.

Until next time!

Eric

Hi Guys,

I know it’s been awhile. Amid the chaos of Hurricane Sandy and Winter Storm Athena (Why did they name a winter storm?) I’ve had 6 midterms pushed into 1 week and 2 days. Fun stuff.

I wanted to post a very important lesson that both Sandy and Athena taught me these past couple of weeks. Stony Brook is more than just an academic institution, it is a community. The school is more than just going to class, it is about the friends you make while you are here. Here’s my proof:

Being a disabled student, I mainly rely on automatic doors and my scooter to get around from building to building. Two problems with that:

1) Automatic doors don’t work with no power
2) My scooter can’t go in the rain or the snow. If it does I get electrocuted.

So, during these storms I was pretty much stuck indoors. But during that time I realized that I had an amazing group of friends here at SBU. My suitemates would get me food and even open doors for me when I needed them to. (Note: I had to promise them free computer consultation for life, but that’s a deal I’m willing to take.) My other friends around campus and even the RHD of my residence hall made sure I was taken care of. For that, I am eternally grateful.

But more than just helping me, my community of friends at Stony Brook made disastrous situations seem fun. While we had power in our week off and during the winter storm, my suitemates and I watched at least 15 movies on Netflix and we enjoyed every minute of it, we played video games we were never able to beat and beat them as a team. Of course we were supposed to be studying, but whose keeping track? Just kidding. We studied…somewhat.

That week and a half gave me some of the best memories I have in my 3 years here at Stony Brook. It was a stress free week that I truly needed during this busy semester.

I guess that’s why I’ve kept the same suitemates since freshmen year.

The point I’m trying to make with this post is that Stony Brook is more than the classes you take, it’s more than the major you choose. It’s the friends you make and the memories you make with those friends that truly counts.

So make SBU all it can be. Make friends that can last a lifetime and will turn bad situations into good ones.

…and with that I get back to studying for my three tests in two days next week.

Until next time,

Eric

Hi guys! My name is Eric Engoron and I am one of SBU’s new SB Bloggers. I am currently a Junior Computer Science Major/Japanese Minor with a concentration in human-computer interaction. When I’m not sitting in my room coding, I participate in Yang Hall Council , the Japanese Student Organization, the Stony Brook Robotics team, and occasionally the Stony Brook Computing Society. I also help out the Japanese department as a Japanese tutor.

I look forward to making blog posts this semester and I hope I can enrich your life in some way, shape, or form.

Until next time,

Eric