Justin Lidard

Bagley
Intern/Mentor G/T Period 1
15 January 2016
Midterm Exam
Required
1. Mathematical analysis of input and output signals is vital to signal processing. When evaluating
the power of signals, it is invaluable not only to graph the power vs. time of the signal, but also
the power vs. frequency of the signal. Here, I learned to employ the Fourier Transform defined
below.

The necessity of this formula is evidenced by the fact that Reid and Julius were exposing me to
this complex integral by first week at APL. In this diagram, f(t) may represent a voltage vs. time
signal, which becomes g() when going through the Fourier Transform. An inverse Fourier
transform is shown by the second equation, which allows a voltage vs. frequency function to be
re-expressed as a voltage vs. time function. The inverse Fourier Transform becomes especially
important when deducing the return voltage vs. time.

I also learned that operational amplifiers are widely applicable devices used to amplify a
voltage using a power source. An AC signal can be lead into the input pin, and through extensive
positive feedback, can be amplified (or, if wired correctly, attenuated) into a signal that is many
times greater/lesser than the original. Amplifiers can be applied especially in filtration, and after
filtration, as a means of increasing the accuracy of a reading, or decreasing the data necessary to
capture the signal digitally. Ideal p-amps do not let any current through the input pins; in fact,
their input impedance is almost infinite. Gain is therefore so great by keeping input and output
voltages different in value.
2. Contrary to the stereotype that engineers are antisocial introverts, Ive learned that APL is an
environment of good-natured collaboration. Everyone I have talked to APL is kind, friendly, and
more than willing to help out the next generation of engineers that will enter their field of work;
everyone knows how to push me to my potential while still understanding the limits of a high
school student. Although APL encourages a certain amount of competition between departments
in order to ensure that its contractors get the best possible research and testing, I feel that within
the A3G group, there is a healthy level of communication and teamwork. Julius and Reid work
very closely together, and I see many examples of collaboration throughout the day.
That being said, my mentor and his colleagues offer a great deal of independence, which
took some getting used to. In a high school environment, I believe that students are used to
dealing with an assign-and-do dynamic with their teachers, and it was very strange adjusting to
sitting in my office for hours at a time, unsupervised, without a specific daily assignment.
Although I greatly enjoy this type of freedom and respect for my independence, I sometimes
whish that my mentor would give me more involved assignments, as I still feel that, even though

I am more than sufficiently productive, I could still work towards my full potential. I just need
more things to do.
3. Presentation is a fundamental part of professional interactions, and I greatly appreciate the
opportunity as it stands. Preparing my presentation increased immensely my comfort during
public speaking by allowing me to teach myself the necessary components of practice and
readiness before one can hope to be successful in conveying to an audience what he or she has to
say. Moreover, the countywide presentations were the first time Ive ever been able to sit in a
room of peers my age and discuss technical topics that would not have otherwise arisen in
everyday conversation. I was fascinated listening to several different presentationsspecifically,
I remember being amazed that high school students could study effectively the hypervelocity of
particles orbiting the sun, design and build a magnetic-levitation train, and engineer a small, cost
effective gyrocopter. Almost every engineering endeavor that I heard during the countywide
presentations both piqued my interest and challenged me to further improve my own work, and I
got a chance to improve my public speakinga vital life skillwhile doing so
Because of the foremost intention of the presentations was to allow each student to
present his or her milestones to the classroom while surrounded by similarly minded students
with different experiences, I would have liked to see a greater variety of ideas and projects, both
inside and outside the discipline of engineering. Whether by coincidence or not, many of the
students at Marriotts Ridge were interning in the computer science, image and signal processing
field of work. Although those areas of engineering are interesting in and of themselves, the
presentations started to get redundant after a while. By attaching a subcategory to each presenter
(for example, electrical engineering or aerospace engineering), a greater breadth of
engineering sub-disciplines may be placed in each group, and I wouldnt have to present my

project to an audience that includes my office mate currently working on the same project. The
Intern/Mentor program could also improve greatly by placing students its countywide
presentations across similar disciplines, not just a specific niche like engineering. Because IM is
inherently a Gifted and Talented class, and additionally includes an interview that demands
intellect and interest in academics, its students would have no issue, in my opinion, if some
presentation groups included seventy percent of students from all branches of engineering, and
thirty percent from the natural sciences, or vice versa. I believe that the naturally curious nature
of IM students gives them a propensity to crave exposure to ideas outside of what they are
familiar with.

Choose Two

1. Getting a chance to apply what I have studied in school has taught me a lot about my work ethic
and style of learning. One thing that I wrote a lot about in my journal was the pros and cons of
not being micromanaged. In school, I find that a lot of teachers have a relationship with their
students in which daily work is assigned and collected upon the due date. At APL, my mentors
gave me no such restrictions. When we were working on the low-pass filter, for instance, Reid
and Julius only checked on us periodically to see how things were going. It was up to us, as the
mentees, to figure out what we needed help with and to ask for it. I certainly feel like this method
of dealing with work is very prevalent in the professional world and respectful of independence,
but certainly has its pitfalls. I constantly feel that without deadlines, I have no benchmarks with
which to pace my progress. When Anyka, Syona, and I hit a pitfall by observing that even though
we had a complete circuit, the signal was not getting attenuated, we spent several days waiting
for a mentor to come bail us out, as if such a habit was produce by the insistence of teachers in

helping each and every student. Im very glad that I discovered my natural reliance on the
inherently more sophisticated, but often times unavailable thought process of my superiors. This
mentorship has taught me how to think through difficult problems on my own in order to stay on
task, and that I often need to set my own deadlines to compensate for the lack thereof. Without
them, I feel that many people resort to a lazy, minimally productive state in order to cruise by; I
wish for the opposite.
I have also learned that ambition and initiative are surprisingly rare skills in the
workplace, and for good reason: it is surprisingly difficult to ask for more work than is allotted.
When I first started out, I found that my tasks were often easy, mindless, or at times even
nonexistent, because I had not piled my plate, so to speak, with a full helping of all that I can
stomach. The first time I experienced this was when I was exposed to the code necessary for
analyzing a digital, model signal. It required knowledge of physics, logic, and mathematics that I
did not have, and I realized that Reid did not have the time to seek me out and make sure I was
absorbing all that he had taught me about complex analysis and Fourier transforms. I decided to,
on my own time, research concepts that were way above my head and even seek Mr. Kennedy
for a basis to begin learning these ridiculously difficult formulae. Even now, I have to remind
myself that if I do not take initiative, I will produce nothing and this internship will go to waste.
Ideally, I can absorb now as much as a college intern or young professional would, so I may have
a head start as I enter the workforce.
2. Intern/Mentor has turned out to be one of my most informative classes, and as such should
remain a valid alternative to a traditional classroom setting. Courses like calculus, computer
science, physics, and biology all have in common an emphasis on textbook material and the
basest applications possible. Intern/mentor is what should, arguably, be mandated for all students
as a chance to integrate the course material learned into something tangible and even useful. I

find myself learning more at APL than I ever would have in Calculus BC or Physics C: E&M
because what is emphasized is not theory, or practicality. I found myself breezing through
concepts like alternating current, capacitance, and impedance not because I could barely
understand the concepts (maybe at first), but because I realized that I would maximize my
efficiency by only learning what was needed. Especially at APL, Ive also learned teamwork.
Although I tend to produce the best work alone, I have also learned to relax and let others handle
certain parts of a project. Such skills are part of a students ability to manage time, and are
seldom taught in a traditional class.
One might argue that the availability of a free period for IM students prohibits daily
classroom instruction, a vital part of a pupils curricula. However, the period given to IM
students is simply meant to provide time for their real instruction, which comes in the form of a
mentors guidance in a professional workplace. The reports, presentations, and other paperwork
required by IM places an emphasis on work ethic and effective research skills ahead of most
academic classes, and through this fact I believe that the Intern/Mentor deserves to be seen in the
same light as its traditional counterparts. Real research and reflection provide physical evidence
of periodical work. IM demands that its students put forth the highest level of effort possible,
and consequently, probably teaches more than any other class. The fact that applicant numbers
are raised to new records every year indicates the popularity of opportunities for mere high
school students can explore and burst into the workforce. Intern/Mentor should, and deserves to
remain a competitive and prosperous part of the Centennial community.