CERSER 2015-2016 :: My Name :: Professional Statement

My Name

This is the section for your Professional Statement: what made you interested in your field of study, what are you doing about it today, and what are your future plans...for example: I became interested in computers at a young age. On my birthday, I received a hand-held video game and wondered how all of the lights worked and what was the processes that makes a certain action happen on the screen. I took a Technology Applications class in a Career Development Center, which further increased my interests in pursuing a degree in Computer Science. As I grew older, I came to understand that pursuing a career under Computer Science and learning more about it would help me to grasp a better understanding, and lead me to answers to mostly all of the questions that I had. Attending the Career Development Center in Jackson, Mississippi to take Technology Applications helped me answer a couple of these questions, but studying under Computer Science will answer more of these unsolved questions of mine. While I was an active member in the Technology Student Association and participated in the NISSAN Student Technology Exchange Program (S.T.E.P.), where I had hands-on experience with Robotics equipment and Programmable Language Control software, I was able to acquire multiple awards. The NISSAN S.T.E.P. program was designed to assist students in learning more about the assembly line process.

During the spring semester of my Sophomore year, I acquired my first Undergraduate Research Experience creating an Android Application for my advisor, Dr. Jacqueline Jackson. The overall goal of this project was to design Android Application that would assist students in learning the Java Programming Language on an interactive level. The team was instructed to design gaming applications that would allow the students to actually learn what the Java Programming Language was really about. I was to create an application that taught students the concept of arrays and how to properly utilize an array in Java Programs. Through a lot of training and practice, the research team started to actually develop programs to complete our tasks. The research team had received different pieces of information to help us develop our program. The team traveled to and attended The Association of Computer/Information Sciences and Engineering Departments at Minority Institutions (ADMI) were the team learned more about the concept behind Cloud Computing to better understand the methods of the project.

I have worked with a team to conduct research in the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets in Ocean, Marine, and Polar Research in a Research Experience for Undergraduates at Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The team I was a part of utilized a spectrometer to see if we can detect land covers signatures and other signatures around the different locations in North Carolina. The team mainly focused on a multitude of land cover classifications, such as sand from Jockey's Ridge in Kittyhawk, NC, grass from The Wright Brothers Memorial Park in Kittyhawk, NC, and other samples from around the Elizabeth City State University area in Elizabeth City, NC.

The objective of the project was to gather ground-truthing spectral readings and match them to LANDSAT band data readings in order to classify spectral signatures of two land cover types. The team utilized a spectrometer, GPS system, web-camera, and laptop in order to gather the data. The team gathered different datasets from various locations, which included Jockey's Ridge's Sand Dunes and the Wright Brother's Memorial Park in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The team was able to consistently classify specific land cover types, such as sand and grass. In order to classify the readings, the team had to take the maximum of the spectral readings from four LANDSAT bands. After this was done, the team performed a linear regression on all the maximums of each of the bands in order to maintain a function that will convert the spectral readings into LANDSAT band data.

The team utilized ENVI 5.0 to take the GPS coordinates and match the LANDSAT band readings to the specific pixel that the coordinates were in. The team converted the spectral readings to LANDSAT band spectral readings in order to see if the data matched closely to the original LANDSAT data. The team placed the data into a spreadsheet to match up all of the spectrometer, GPS, web-camera, and LANDSAT data. The team then used a neural network, WEKA, in order to make sure that the network can take five attributes (B1, B2, B3, B4, and class) and easily classify them as either sand or grass with consistent success. My purpose on the project was to sketch the tool that the team created, contribute to the work flow that the team utilized in the field, mark the GPS coordinate and name the marking correctly, and enter the data the team collected into a spreadsheet.

The reason why I participate in internships is so that I can expand my horizons and fulfill my quest for new knowledge. I also participate in internships to connect with potential co-workers, and to build strong professional networks. In the Computer Science field, there are few minorities, which is why having a strong network of people is crucial to obtaining success. After I graduate I plan on progressing forward to receive my Master's Degree in Computer Science. Later, I would like continue on and attain my PhD in Computer Science.