“To me, being a Cyclone Engineer means believing in yourself to rise to a challenge, being willing to lean on others around you to learn from, and letting yourself enjoy the journey,” – Morgan Ambourn (BS ‘21, MS ‘22 CprE).
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Current position and responsibilities?
I am a software engineer at Microsoft, specifically in backend development. My team develops and maintains a database service. My most recent project involved a security feature which introduced additional network isolation. Programming in C#, an understanding of basic PostgreSQL, and the use of bash scripting are a few of the daily tasks I engage in. I am also a member of an on-call queue in which we mitigate and provide root causes for issues that customers face while using our product.
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Memorable research project while in ECpE?
During my graduate program, I had the opportunity to work as a research assistant on a project involving networks of batteryless, intermittently-powered nodes. I contributed to building a simulator and running simulations to analyze the performance of the nodes under different conditions.
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What will you remember most about your time in ECpE?
I made some of my closest college friends through ECpE, both in classes and the Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineers as Leaders (ECSEL) program. I enjoyed many of the projects and labs, such as maneuvering Roombas through obstacles and programming video game controllers before dropping them off of the third floor in Coover Hall.
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Who were any mentors(faculty, advisors, peers) that helped you along your journey?
I worked with Mathew Wymore, Daji Qiao, and Henry Duwe as one of their research assistants during my graduate program. Diane Rover, Joseph Zambreno, and Mani Mina were a few additional mentors during my years in the ECSEL program.
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What does it mean to be a Cyclone Engineer?
After graduating from Iowa State and moving on to work with many brilliant engineers from all over the world, I have learned that Imposter Syndrome may never fully disappear, but that it is important to be kind to yourself as you progress in your career. It has also been helpful to realize that many people around us want to share their expertise, if only we are to ask. I also think that Iowa State gave me the opportunity to learn how to have balance in my life. There was time for both school work, enjoying life on campus, and building networks of friends and classmates. I continue to try to find that balance in my life today. So to me, being a Cyclone Engineer means believing in yourself to rise to a challenge, being willing to lean on others around you to learn from, and letting yourself enjoy the journey.