Hi from Harvey Mudd

Hi!

My name is Benjamin Chasnov and I am a Freshman from Harvey Mudd. I’m definitely leaning towards majoring in Engineering. I’m from Hong Kong; I was born there and has lived there for my entire life. From 2009 to 2012, my high school robotics team competed in several Marine Advanced Technology Education Center (MATE) ROV Competitions. We built a different ROV each year to complete different timed underwater missions. Building, testing, and operating those ROVs really inspired me to continue exploring the underwater world during my time in college, so here I am!

The strong emphasis on interdisciplinary work in ICEX program is exactly what I’m excited for. The technical aspects of underwater robots—software, electronics and mechanics—are definitely what excite me the most. But what I consider to be the most valuable thing an engineer can learn is to integrate all aspects that will affect making decisions in the field—social, cultural and political. The ICEX project will certainly be an invaluable learning experience, and will certainly help my future career as an aspiring engineer. I’m also really excited to learn more about Maltese culture—the food, the language, the architecture, the politics. From previous blog posts, I read that there is a fair amount of interaction with the locals, which is fantastic!

I can’t wait to meet the Cal Poly team this January and can’t wait for all the intense ROV work in the coming months.