Reflecting on Fouriers at CU

For the uninitiated, the title is a pun on Fourier. Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier was a French mathematician who, through Fourier Series, laid the foundation for Fourier Analysis, an important topic in physics, image compression, signal processing and so many other fields, and the title of a required course in the Applied Math department at CU.

HackCU Over the Years

HackCU is a student organization at the University of Colorado at Boulder. HackCU was started by two students who wanted to give other students the space to work on their side projects and ideas that they would otherwise would not have the opportunity to. This space was a hackathon. A hackathon can best be described as an invention marathon where people work, either alone or in teams, to create something over the course of 24 hours.

Thoughts on research opportunities

Recently, a friend asked me a few questions on finding research positions. My answers to her questions summarized my newfound philosophy on finding the “right” question to work on.

Disclaimer: These are just like my opinions man. Not anyone else’s. As with all things, you should take it with a grain of salt.

Looking Behind and Looking Ahead: 2019 and 2020

Here it is: the annual retrospection for 2019, along with the things I’m looking forward to in 2020.

A lesson in speed and math abstraction

When simulating a model, it is easier to take a teleological perspective. It is easier to approach the problem with the end in mind and work backwards, writing code how we would describe the model in words. This is definitely a good start. Sometimes though, as you may have guessed, this does not give the most efficient code.

Looking Behind and Looking Ahead - 2018 and 2019

Here it is the end of the year post. I must say, even though I don’t write here often, I am at least consistently completing this ritual. This time, I’ve decided to combine the retrospective and future into one single post.

Estimating the Number of Free Bike Racks

If you have ever carried your bike on a RTD bus in Colorado, or even if you have just travelled in one, you will know that each bus has two bike racks at the front. Placing and retrieving your bike from these racks is almost effortless. If these racks are full, then you will have to store your bike in the storage compartment. Now, this can be really messy. Especially if someone else stores their bike after you (so your bike gets pushed back) and you get off before them (so you will need to take their bike out; take your bike out and; put their bike back in).