Steven S
- Research Program Mentor

MS candidate at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Expertise

Programming, especially for robotics and introductory AI concepts

Bio

Hi! I'm Steven. I'm currently finishing up my graduate studies in robotics at the University of Michigan. Back in high school, I did FIRST robotics, like I'm sure many of you are currently doing. That experience, as well as similar experiences in college, eventually led me to studying computer engineering and robotics, which has allowed me to learn- and do!- some really cool things. I've worked as an intern at Microsoft and also at a self-driving car company (Cruise), where I worked on the challenging task of figuring out what objects in the world were cars, pedestrians, bikers, etc. I've also spent 4 semesters in teaching roles, including the past two semesters, when I helped to teach Michigan's Introduction to Artificial Intelligence class.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Project 1

Write an intelligent program that can beat a human in Connect 4 (a simple board game). You could work in whatever language you know best, though I'm most comfortable with C++ and Python. It's not as hard as you might think!

Project 2

Using OpenCV (a popular computer vision library) with Python, write a program that implements a basic version of the "panorama" feature that many modern phones have.

Project 3

Write a program that can solve any Sudoku puzzle.

Coding skills

Python and C++, though I could potentially work in other languages, if you know something else.

Teaching experience

I've taught two different classes for two semesters each: I taught EECS 492, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, for 2 semesters, and EECS 482, Introduction to Operating Systems, for 2 semesters. Both experiences involved holding office hours and leading a discussion section, and the AI course also involved designing homework assignments.

Credentials

Work experience

University of Michigan (2019 - Current)

Graduate Student Instructor

Microsoft (2019 - 2019)

Software Engineering Intern

Cruise Automation (2018 - 2018)

Autonomous Vehicle Engineering Intern

University of Michigan (2018 - 2018)

Instructional Aide

Education

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

BSE Bachelor of Science in Engineering (2019)

Computer Engineering