What makes you a Difference Maker?
What makes me a Difference Maker is my dedication to the Intelligent Systems Club (ISC) and influencing students on campus through STEM outreach volunteering. As the president of ISC, I have participated in numerous activities where I teach students about what I’ve learned thus far in my education. I’m also the leader of the ISC Arduino Workshop, which aims to teach anyone on campus the basics of robots. I host the Arduino Workshop on a weekly basis and teach participants things such as programming, wiring and robot control. The goal of the workshop is for each member to create their own remote controlled car, which can be controlled by a mobile phone.
My participation in various autonomous robot competitions through ISC also makes me a Difference Maker. I’ve represented the university in two autonomous robotic competitions during my time in ISC. My team and I won the 2016 Autonomous Snowplow Competition and placed third in the 2016 Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition.
Highlight your campus achievements:
-Placed First in the 2016 St. Paul Autonomous Snowplow Competition: Team Yeti I participated in the Autonomous Snowplow Competition in 2016 and 2017 which was held in St. Paul, MN. The competition was judged based off of a team's ability to build and program an autonomous snowplow, which is capable of removing snow from a sidewalk and a driveway. My team and I placed first in the 2016 competition after a come from behind victory. We placed second in the 2017 competition as well. I participate in this competition as a representative of the university and the ISC which is known for building autonomous vehicles.
Placed Third Overall in the 2016 Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition: Team Ohm
I participated in the 2016 Intelligent Ground Vehicle competition, which was held at Oakland University. The competition was judged based off a team's ability to build and program a robot to perform tasks similar to that of a self-driving car. The competition has three main objectives for a robot to overcome, these objectives are avoiding obstacles (such as a construction barrel), staying in between two white lines (such as the lines which mark a lane on a roadway), and going to GPS waypoints. My team and I placed 3rd overall in the competition, and made it second furthest on the advanced course. I was the team lead, and we are very proud of our accomplishment at an international competition which hosted 30 other universities.
College Of Engineering and Computer Science Dean's List-8 Semesters
NAIA Scholar Athlete Award-2 Seasons
Engaged Leader Award-National Society for Leadership and Success
Publications
M. Bowyer, A. Bertani, E. Aitken, S. A. Rawashdeh, "Landmark-Based Autonomous
Snowplow Navigation" in Proceedings of the 29th International Technical Meeting of the Institute Of Navigation(ION) Satellite Division, Portland, Oregon, 2016.
I officially became a published author in 2016 when my colleagues and I published our technical paper titled "Landmark-Based Autonomous Snowplow Navigation.” The paper outlines the inner workings of the robot named Yeti which competed in the Autonomous Snowplow Navigation. The paper reviews the physical assembly of the robot as well as the main software algorithms which cause the robot to localize, react and avoid obstacles and navigate through the snow plowing area.
Highlight your leadership experiences both on and off campus:
The biggest leadership situations which I have experienced thus far have been during my time as the president of the ISC. The club consists of five competitive robot teams, all which need funding and committed teams willing to work on the project. The highlights of being the leader of the club put me in situations which I would never have experienced anywhere else. Deciding budgets for these teams as well as trying to come up with the resources to support the teams was incredibly difficult. I had to communicate with five different team leaders, listen to their requirements and try pooling in resources to make the club operate as efficiently as possible.
At one point, I was a team lead of an autonomous robot team, which was another leadership experience. Attempting to get numerous engineers from different disciplines to communicate and cooperate was a difficult challenge. Trying to give each team member a task which they are capable and passionate about is a challenging task, but is possible when you have a good understanding of your team members. Ultimately coordinating the team to cooperate on such a complicated project with many moving parts is the biggest highlight of my leadership experiences thus far.
What is your dream career and/or long term life goal?
My lifelong goal is to help create a new technology which improves society for the better. Currently, I have my sights set on autonomous driving, which aligns perfectly with my interests. Autonomous cars have the potential to save numerous live by preventing accidents, but for them to fulfill that potential it will take solving countless difficult technical problems. I have a passion for solving technically difficult problems, and that is one of the main reasons my dream career right now is working at a tier one supplier to help develop products which make autonomous vehicles a reality.
What was your most defining moment at UM-Dearborn?
My most defining moment at UM-Dearborn was the moment when my team and I won the 2016 Autonomous Snowplow Competition. The team and I spent so much time working on the robot. We endured many late nights, and even spent a good chunk of Christmas break working on and testing the robot. The moment we were announced as winners I could not have been more proud of the work we had completed. Winning the competition affirmed my belief that hard work really does pay off. The most rewarding part about the endeavor was what we had to show at the end of it all—a culmination of all the knowledge we had gained through our education and efforts outside of the classroom.