Brian Sandler, Class of 2017

(Interviewed Senior year)

• Hometown: Carlisle, MA  and Del Mar, CA
• Favorite Class: Computer Security (CMPSC 177), Databases (CS 174A ), Machine Learning (CS 165B), and Networking (CS176A/B)
• Senior Project: Sonos COM. – an intercom device that lets you send voice messages to any Sonos system in your home
• Student Organizations: Tau Beta Pi – The Engineering Honor Society
• Hobbies: hiking with friends, exploring new places, and programming for fun
• Interesting Aside About You:  While I’m originally from Massachusetts, my family and I moved to California in 2008

Brian's Favorites

• Band / Performer: It’s a tie between Train and Maroon 5
• TV Show: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report / The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Office, 30 Rock, and Parks and Recreation
• Book / Author: The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury
• Activity: snowboarding, snowshoeing, snow__________, building/designing systems, exploring new places
• Sport: snowboarding (I bet you didn’t see that one coming!)
• Geeky Possession: My Yaesu VX-6R Handheld Ham Radio (I carry my technician class amateur radio license card around with me everywhere, so that too)

High School Experience

Favorite class: Spanish! All of my teachers made the class so much fun and a joy to be in every single day. And their enthusiasm is very contagious :) I wish I could take their Spanish classes forever. AP Chemistry was tough, but it was a lot of fun. And we had a Pop Culture class that was incredibly cool!

Share what your college search was like: I focused on schools within California, and particularly the UC System. I used a tool called Naviance that our school provided us access to that was extremely helpful as well. It let us explore and learn more about the schools and, I also believe, some admissions information.

Preparation for College

What prepared you the most to study engineering in college?: Programming on my own time for fun and being a part of a FIRST robotics team (FRC). But my math classes also didn’t hurt.

Are there any classes that you suggest EE students take before entering UCSB?: Do as much math as you can ahead of time. You’ll put yourself in a better position to learn physics and more! And then you don’t have to take as many math courses here too. But also, don’t worry: as a CE, you don’t necessarily have to study topics that are math heavy. But math is everywhere, so it definitely helps to have a solid foundation in it.

Any additional experiences that you would like to share with students to help them prepare for college?: Check if your school has a For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) robotics team. It was an incredible hands on experience! You get to build robots and learn about software and hardware, as well as some mechanical engineering topics. Oh, and you may get to travel too. Even if your school doesn’t have a team, you might be able to start one!

Favorite Things About

UCSB: as an institution UCSB values both education and research. There are many undergraduate research opportunities and I highly recommend that everyone take advantage of them. Also, I love the community on campus!

CE Program: The program has not only amazing faculty, but also great graduate students. As TAs they are extremely helpful, kind, and care about us undergrads! They also do an amazing job of patiently explaining concepts to us and are readily available and accessible.

Santa Barbara: On one side of campus we have the mountains of Los Padres National Forest, on the other side we have the Pacific ocean. No matter which way you look you have a beautiful view. The mountains have many great places for hiking. Another thing I love about Santa Barbara is that it has a small town feel but also has many stores conveniently located either in Goleta or Santa Barbara (I promise you can live without a local Target).

Why CE / UCSB?

Why Computer Engineering?: I’ve been interested in computers and programming since I was very young. I also wasn’t really sure whether or not I wanted to pursue something more physics/hardware based (such as Electrical Engineering) or something more theoretical (like Computer Science). The CE program involves some of both, and ultimately it’s up to you to decide which way you take it.

Why UCSB?: UC Santa Barbara is a well known institution located in an amazing place. Additionally, the Computer Engineering program here gives you an extreme amount of flexibility to learn in a direction that suits your interests and passions. Because the CE program involves courses in both the ECE and Computer Science departments, when it comes time to picking electives you will have many choices of paths.

How did you hear about UCSB's Computer Engineering program?: This one isn’t super exciting: I saw the major as an option on the UC application.

Advice to students/parents about UCSB and CE

Advice on applying to UCSB: Students – Take the time to explore the ECE, CE, and CS websites. And definitely click through to some of the faculty’s websites.  This is a great way to understand what courses they teach and what areas they are researching in. It will give you a feel for what kind of areas you will be able to pursue, both inside the lecture hall or classroom, and in the lab. Parents – UCSB is a widely respected institution that will offer numerous opportunities to your child. Your child will be able to not only pursue their passions and interest but work with some amazing faculty and students.

Explain to students and parents what you can do with a computer engineering degree: This is quite literally an infinite list. Some of them include: embedded software development, design PCBs and embedded systems, build digital systems, high level software development, or pursue a graduate degree in Computer Science or ECE. If you want to pursue a career in software development, you can do that. But if you’d rather pursue something more hardware related, you have that option open to you as well. The CE program will give you a valuable perspective on how you can more efficiently use your computational resources because you’ll have an understanding of the underlying hardware.

The Curriculum

What are the benefits of a program that is a cross between Computer Science and Electrical Engineering? You have the power to pursue what interests you the most. You’ll also get exposure to both hardware and software, which will prove extremely useful no matter which direction you choose for your career (EE, CE, or CS).

What has your experience been like taking the Math and Physics core classes? Some may be challenging for you, so don’t give up! The good news is that many of your friends will be taking those same classes. Form study groups with them and not only will you feel better during exams, you’ll have built up stronger friendships too!

Talk about your Capstone (188A/B) experience so far: I’m on a multidisciplinary project, and it is a great experience! You get to work alongside electrical engineering and mechanical engineer students to create an actual product. Capstone will no doubt help you when going forward to work in industry. Even if you go into academia, you’ll still gain valuable teamwork and technical experience.

What area do you want to specialize in?: I’m really interested in building scalable and practical systems! And I’m looking forward to learning about this during my graduate studies. I’m also looking forward to learning more about security and privacy in the context of large scale systems.

Have you had any on-campus research opportunities at UCSB? Not through any organized program, but I’ve worked in ECE Professor Madhow's Wireless Communications and Sensornets Lab.

Have you done an internship?: Yes! I’ve done a few things… My freshman year I worked for Engineering Computing Infrastructure (they provide IT services for the College of Engineering). There I got some great experience working on various projects as well as writing some documentation. 

After my freshman year I was an undergraduate researcher during the summer in the Wireless Communications and Sensornets Lab (WCSL) in the ECE department. I investigated GPS signals for smartphones and tablets and it was an overall amazing experience. My involvement there ultimately led to me joining a startup company, called ShadowMaps. ShadowMaps did GPS position correction software for urban environments (such as big cities). There I got a ton of experience building web applications, developing software, and working with a cloud environment (Amazon Web Services). I worked throughout the school year, as well as over a summer, and was with them for over a year (late Sophomore through Junior year). This past summer (2016), ShadowMaps got acquired! Woohoo! There's a ShadowMaps success story on the UCSB Office of Technology & Industry website.

During the beginning of my sophomore year I had an internship at GLENWorld, an English language learning non-profit based here in Goleta. With them I exercised my Web Dev skills to build a language learning application for children. I now volunteer for them when time permits. The summer after my Junior year I joined Uber in San Francisco as a software engineering intern on the Sensing and Perception Team. The best thing you can do as a student is internships! They are an incredible complement to your education at UCSB. UCSB is a great research institution, and as an undergrad you should definitely take advantage of that by finding a professor who is working on something you’re interested in, and joining them. Also, find a company that does something you’re passionate about and join them! Hands on experience goes a long way. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of your summers and to keep being involved with something during the school year too.

Brian's Off-campus Life

What is campus life like for Computer Engineering students?: We’re a small major (in terms of number of people), and as you go through more and more courses with each other, friendships will grow. But campus life will be similar to that of any other student.

What is the social seen on campus, in IV, and off-campus like for CE students?: It is what you want it to be. If you like the party life, UCSB definitely can accommodate that. But if your ideal social scene is just hanging around with friends (or exploring new places with them) then that is available too. Every kind of social scene is available, and you’ll find plenty of friends (both in and outside of the CE program) to have fun however you like.

Describe your housing experience frosh to present and give advice/feedback about housing and where to live: I lived in FT my first year (the towers on El Colegio Rd, and also known as Santa Catalina). I was a bit skeptical at first about living far away from campus, but in reality it was still pretty close and it formed a great sense of community among everyone. I met a lot of my current friends there too! (The biking only gets tough when it’s windy… then it sometimes felt easier to just walk my bike.) My second year I lived on campus in San Rafael, and that was super convenient! My third and fourth years I lived in the San Clemente university owned apartments, and those are really nice. You get your own bedroom and only have to share a bathroom with one other person. But they’re really supposed to be for graduate students, and I’m unsure if they’re letting undergraduates stay there in the future.

The Future

What are your plans/aspirations after graduation?: College – Round 2... I’m going to be pursuing a PhD in Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania. After that I plan on going into industry to keep on building! Though we’re talking years down the line, so who knows?