February 26, 2019
TA Spotlight: Part 2
In this 2nd of a two-part post, we spotlight a few more of our ECE TAs this quarter. Next up are four TAs that are again working in 300-level, 400-level, and 500-level EE courses.
Ashwin Srinivas
EE 543
Master’s EE — Robotics and Controls
Life Before UW: I was born and living in India.
Choosing UW: To be boundless!
Favorite Part of Winter Quarter: I get to wear my favourite UW hoodie!
About TA-ing This Quarter: I’m the TA for a robot manipulation course. My job is to prepare assignments, provide solutions, hold office hours, and grade.
Favorite Professor So Far: Blake Hannaford is my favorite professor. His courses have a unique and interactive style of instruction and the problem sets are all very conceptual and useful!
Proudest Teaching Moment So Far: I have TA’d for EE 235 and my proudest accomplishment was getting some very encouraging reviews, especially when one student wrote that I was their favorite TA that quarter.
Jacob Lewis
EE 393
Master’s EE — Machine Learning in Hardware Applications
Life Before UW: I was born and living in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Choosing UW: I chose to come to UW because I really wanted a new experience. I’ve spent my entire life in Fort Collins.
Favorite Part of Winter Quarter: I love the cold weather!
About TA-ing This Quarter: I am TAing a course on technical writing. This quarter I hold quiz sections where I teach students supplemental information and lead in-class activities. I also grade numerous papers, reports, and participation assignments.
Tips for Student Success in His Class: Effort. I’ve seen students that don’t have the best writing skills create great pieces of work just because they were willing to work hard.
ProudestTeaching Moment So Far: I am proud when I see my students after the course is over and they are happy to see me. I really enjoy interacting with students so it is nice to see that some of them enjoyed interacting with me.
Nivii Kalavakonda
EE 491
Ph.D. EE — Robotics
Life Before UW: I was living in India. I am from Chennai, a city in the South of India.
Choosing UW:The well-established collaboration between the medical school and the college of engineering meant interesting opportunities for research in medical robotics. I decided to attend UW due to the potential research opportunities in that space.
Favorite Part of Winter Quarter: Snowshoeing
About TA-ing This Quarter: I’m in charge of mentoring industry capstone projects, tracking budgets and maintaining communication between industry mentors, faculty and students.
Favorite University Professor So Far: Ali Farhadi. He has a way of capturing everyone’s attention throughout the class and instilling a sense of curiosity about the topics he teaches. I did a good amount of reading during and after his class, and it has made a huge difference in choosing my research direction.
Proudest Teaching Moment So Far: When students say I helped them understand a concept better, it makes a world of difference. Every single time.
Jackie Baum
EE 455
Master’s EE — Energy
Life Before UW: I grew up and spent 3 years working post-undergrad in Fort Collins, Colorado. I lived in Vancouver, Canada while I went to UBC as an undergraduate.
Choosing UW: A combination of the energy-related research, EE program and faculty, and proximity to mountains.
Favorite Part of Winter Quarter: Snowboarding (among other snow adventure-sports)
About TA-ing This Quarter: I’m the TA for a power system dynamics and protections course. I’m in charge of holding office hours, review sessions, and grading.
Favorite University Professor So Far: At UW, Daniel Kirschen’s flipped classroom teaching format lent to really interesting discussions. At UBC, Luis Linares’ quirky enthusiasm and passion for teaching made every class a great learning experience.
Proudest Teaching Moment So Far: Hearing that my review sessions for EE 454 last quarter really helped students understand the course material.