Clark School Student Ambassador

Lydia Lei

Class of 2012
Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Hometown: Germantown, MD
High School: Richard Montgomery High School

What Made You Decide to Attend UMD?
UMD is close to home and has a great undergraduate engineering program ranked alongside top Universities in the country. Also, Washington D.C. is basically our backyard!

Best Experience with a Class or Project:
I really enjoyed my Introduction to Engineering Design class (ENES100). I was in a team of 10 students, all from different engineering majors. Together, we built an autonomous hovercraft that was able to navigate a path made with duct tape. It was great working with other engineering students and being able to learn a little bit about each engineering discipline (mechanical, electrical, etc.). From this class, I learned how to work in a team, give team presentations, and write a team research paper. ENES100 was definitely one of the best classes I've taken so far.

Favorite Class:
In-Major: Digital Logic Design (ENEE244)
Non-Major: Art, Politics, & Race (HONR249P)

Involvement/Extracurricular Activities:
Electrical and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Student Council
Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
Women in Engineering (WIE)
Gemstone

Favorite On-Campus Event:
One of my favorite on-campus events was when Russell Peters came to UMD and performed for the students live. It was pouring rain that day, but thousands of students waited in line outside under soaking umbrellas, waiting to get a seat. I've always seen Russell Peters' shows online, but it was great getting to see him live! Thanks, UMD!

Research/study abroad experience:
I was given the opportunity to do research my freshman year when I worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology over the summer. I was part of the SURF program (http://www.surf.nist.gov/surf2.htm), working on 3D shape retrieval and computer vision. In addition, I am also part of the Gemstone Program, a four year research program here at the University of Maryland. I am member of a 14 person team in the process of developing a product that has facial recognition and facial expression analysis ability, as well as a GPS and object recognition system, created specifically for visually impaired users.

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