Dr. Schwartz,
I graduated from UF this past December and took both Microprocessors and
Digital Design with you. I remember sitting in the lecture room and you
talking about the emails you got from previous students now in the
workforce praising the education they received at UF. And now I can be
added to that list. Undoubtedly, those two courses were the hardest,
most time consuming, and most stressful courses I took at UF. But they
were also the most beneficial and rewarding. I remember being ecstatic
when my LEDs would light up the right way (or perhaps it was delirium
from lack of sleep)!
In my internship with Honeywell and now at my job with Schlumberger, I
continue to use the concepts I learned in those two courses more than
anything else. VHDL in particular has been enormously beneficial and has
really helped me to stand apart from the crowd. In my current position,
I have actually found myself working with a local university on a senior
design project in a manner similar to IPPD. This working relationship
has made me even more appreciative of the quality of the courses I took
at UF. Apparently, some universities are content to require their
students only do simulations, which for this particular project has
proven to be a major setback as the students lack practical experience.
Forcing us to demonstrate our designs on the 6811 or the Altera chips
was excellent experience.
Although Digital Design was an elective when I took it, I am sorry to
hear that now Microprocessors is also an elective. I'm afraid many
students may shy away from these courses because of their reputations
and end up the worse for it. I hope students are encouraged to take them
because they truly are crucial and pivotal. So thank you for organizing
such great courses and being a tough teacher with higher standards.
Sincerely,
xxxx
July 26, 2002