Why UC Merced?
To be frank, UC Merced was one of two schools I was accepted into. There are a few reasons I chose to go to UCM. First, the class size was small, which meant there were more opportunities to talk with professors and get into research. Second, UCM is a part of the UC system, which is one of the top public university systems in the world. Third, I thought the field of agriculture and robotics was interesting and something I wanted to get into.
My time at UC Merced has had its fair share of ups and downs, but I have no regrets about choosing this school. My future path has been heavily influenced by the people I've interacted with and the projects I've worked on at this school. I can't imagine a mediocre high school student like me getting the same kinds of opportunities at other institutions.
Why Your Major?
I initially chose Computer Science as a major because I liked the idea that you only needed a computer and a dream to change the world with software. During my time at UCM, I developed an interest in using software to automate games and robots. Now, I would say I chose Computer Science because I want to create autonomous robots that can plan and reason about the world in order to solve tasks that are difficult for humans.
Inspiration and Mentors
Of course, I’d like to thank my parents for always supporting me throughout my college journey. I have been fortunate to learn from so many professors and researchers at UCM. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Stefano Carpin for allowing me to take his graduate reinforcement learning course in my sophomore year, which marked the beginning of my journey in robotics. After I passed his course, Dr. Carpin accepted me into his lab, and with his guidance, I was able to publish research and work on farm robotics. His mentorship has greatly shaped my career path, and the experience I gained in his lab helped me land a position at Bonsai Robotics working on farm autonomy. I would also like to thank Dr. Ross Greer, who has taught me a great deal about computer vision, robotics, and research. He has always been willing to take the time to talk and offer thoughtful advice on any question I've had about robotics and autonomy. I'd like to shout out all the members of the Carpin Lab, especially Marcos Zuzuarregui, who has been a great friend and mentor I could always rely on. Lastly, I'd like to thank Derek Hollenbeck, with whom I've had many discussions about control theory and environmental modeling.
Memorable Academic Experience
The first paper I ever wrote and published. The process of being given a research problem, surveying the field, theorizing and evaluating solutions. These are all skills I will hone for the remainder of my time as an engineer and researcher. The timeline was also fun. I had gotten results good enough to publish two weeks before the paper deadline. I spent the next 14 days figuring out how to write a paper from scratch. It didn't help that I was balancing other commitments like my Capstone project with LLNL. Ultimately, with the help of Dr. Carpin and Marcos, we were able to submit the paper just 10 minutes before the submission window closed. I wish I could say I learned how to manage my time from this experience, but the only thing that's changed is that I have to finish even more work in a limited time frame.
What's Next?
I am joining Bonsai Robotics as a Robotics Engineer intern to work on autonomous robots for farms. I plan to spend some time in industry before preparing to get a PhD to research at the cutting edge of machine learning and robotics.
Anything else?
If any UCM CS undergraduates happen to read this, some advice:
- Try to get into a research lab as early as you can, even in your first or second year. If that doesn’t work out, build a technical project on your own or with friends. This gives you real experience and can help you land an internship in your first two summers, which is tough since the UC Merced name alone won’t carry you very far yet.
- If you're trying to transfer, start planning as early as possible. Many schools have specific course requirements that aren’t in the standard UCM CS roadmap. Make sure you're aware of them. A strong project or research background (see #1) will also help your application stand out.
- Consider taking graduate courses as an undergraduate if you're genuinely interested in the subject. I took two at UCM, and they were some of the best learning experiences I've had. This also helped me land a position in a research lab.
- I honestly didn't have the best experience with CS clubs at UCM (shoutout to the Hololive club though). It's hard to find people who are motivated to show up and work on technical projects. I hope future students at UCM can improve this. Find as many motivated people as you can and help each other out.
I doubt many people will actually read these, but if you ever need advice, feel free to email me or connect on LinkedIn (/saeed-anas).
