Math: Looking Back

I got my test scores back today. And... I've got some good news and some bad news.

The good news is that I won't have to retake MA528 (this semester's class). My score on the final was an 84% (B), which was sufficient to get me a final grade of a B (par for the course). Unfortunately, the C- in that first mid-term killed my chances of hitting my goal of a B+.

The bad news is this means I'm going to have to retake MA527 next Fall. That said, if I had to choose one class to retake, MA527 would have been my choice. The first time I took it, I didn't have time to really study the FFT (Fast Fourier Transform), which is a fundamental concept for wireless engineering. Knowledge of the FFT wasn't tested in the final exam, so naturally I skirted it in favor of topics that were being tested. A retake in the fall will allow me to study it further (me being an old veteran and all). ;-)

All in all, I've really enjoyed the challenge of school this past year. I came into the fall term a naive undergrad, with the most rudimentary understanding of the basics of calculus (one term in my senior year). I've come out of the spring semester thoroughly chewed up and spit out by the big boys in engineering academia. My final analysis is that I survived the year, did better on the outset than on the inset (improving from a B- in the first semester to a B in the second semester), and feel like next year I'll be solidly in the B+ zone.

Following are the topics covered this year (bolded items will be retaken next semester):

• Ordinary Differential Equations (systems of ODEs, Legendre's equation, Bessel's equation, Sturm-Liouville problems)
• Partial Differential Equations (1- and 2D Wave Equation, 1- and 2D Heat Equation, Laplacian)
• Laplace Transforms (solving systems of ODEs)
• Fourier Analysis (Fourier Series/Integrals/Transforms, Discrete and Fast Fourier Transform)
• Linear Algebra (Eigenvalues, Eigenvectors, Eigenbases, Diagonalization, Quadratic Forms)
• Vector Calculus (Green's Theorem, Divergence Theorem of Gauss, Stokes's Theorem)
• Complex Analysis (Cauchy's Integral Formula, Taylor Series, Laurent Series, Conformal Mapping)

Yeah, if I knew what kind of catch-up I'd be required to do, I would have thought twice before enrolling. Take heed all ye who want to transfer to a grad-level EE program after earning a CS degree. It will hurt.

Oh yes, and I voted today. As much as I hated to do it, I voted John Lim for governor. I would have much rather voted for a Ronald Reagan-type figure. You know, a person who can speak as well as hold conservative views regarding life, but then, it wasn't our luck to have such a person available. However, Mr. Lim is clearly the best option available to us in our present situation.