Tell us a little bit about your specialization and what led you to pursue it.

I specialize in Machine Learning. I have had an interest in artificial intelligence since I chose engineering as a profession for myself. I have always loved the idea of a society where you can simply talk to your home and adjust the settings of the house or get a question answered. I have dreamed of developing a system like this or a fully-functional artificial intelligence in a video game, and machine learning is the first step into the field of AI.

What made you want to join aMDI?

I wanted to work through my Master’s program, and I was led to aMDI by a professor that I still work with here. The medical device industry is so diverse. I saw it as an incredible learning experience and an avenue to explore my areas of expertise.

Most significant work at aMDI so far:

The Sterilogy project. This project has been so diverse in every way and I’ve learned so much. This project has taught me a lot about PCB development, embedded programming, and wireless communication. I have taken one of the components of it from concept, finding on-the-shelf solutions, to writing all the software for it and designing the PCB to fit it. It’s been a great learning experience and I’m proud of the work I’ve done on it.

Career goals for the future:

I hope to find myself in a position in either the medical device, video game development, or computer component industry, working in machine learning and artificial intelligence. I believe I would like to start with medical devices, where I am working now, and then later transition into the video game development or computer component fields. I have always enjoyed building computers and playing video games, so those fields best suit my interests.

Professional experience in the bag already:

My professional experience includes my year and a half at aMDI as well as three semesters of co-op at Twisthink, a small engineering design firm in Holland. Both experiences have given me a very wide variety of skills and taught me a lot.

Favorite non-work-related memory at aMDI:

My favorite memory at aMDI is the Thanksgiving feast we had in 2017. Dr. Nowak suggested we do a cultural heritage feast, and so everybody chose one of their heritage nationalities and cooked a popular dish from there. I made Polish golabki for the first time, and it turned out surprisingly well! All of the food everybody brought was delicious, we all played board games and catch phrase, and it was a fun event all around.

Outside of school and work, how do you prefer to spend your time?

In the winter, I ski as often as my funds allow and was on Grand Valley’s ski and snowboard team for 5 years, including holding the President position this last year. I also enjoy going to the beach during the summer. Outside of that, I spend a lot of time playing video games or board games with my friends.

If you were not an engineer, what career would you choose?

I considered the field of architecture for a long time. I think the design of buildings and cities is awesome and I even took some architecture design classes in high school. I would have loved to work in this kind of development environment where it is a mix of creativity and engineering.

Finally, what is the weirdest food you have ever tried?

I am not all that adventurous when it comes to food. However, seeing as I am not a fan of seafood, the weirdest food I have ever tried is mussels. My favorite vacation destination is St. Augustine, Florida, and my family loves seafood. They convinced me to take a mussel directly out of the shell, and I found it very disturbing. They were surprisingly tasty.

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