Tasman Grinnell: Outstanding senior in computer engineering

Clubs and activities

Iowa State Symphony Orchestra/Chamber Orchestra/Quartets/Opera: Music has always been a big part of my life, but after coming to Iowa State, I’ve been able to play even more, with many opportunities to play excellent works with the Symphony Orchestra. As a violist, I’ve also been able to play with many smaller ensembles and even play in a pit orchestra! Through private lessons with Professor Boro Martinic, I’ve been able to learn so much and improve my own playing while being a part of the ECpE department.

Iowa State Honors Program/Honors Dorm first and second year: Although I’ve left the Honors program, I was very involved in my first two years, living in the honors dorm (Harwood) and being a part of the First Year Honors Program as a mentor. Living in Harwood connected me with so many friends in different colleges, and being in the Honors Program presented many leadership and personal opportunities.

Valuable hands-on learning in class

The cybersecurity core courses (CprE 2300/2310/3310) all gave me incredibly valuable experiences as a foundation for self-studying and future projects due to the interesting and useful labs that we took on in the courses.

Valuable out-of-the-classroom experience

The most valuable hands-on learning experience I had was as a Logic Design intern at ForwardEdge ASIC. I was able to gain experience in Logic Design (just like the processor project in CprE 3810), which was very valuable to focus my career direction. I worked on an incredibly large project while also taking on smaller side projects, including implementing Agentic AI and tooling development. The breadth of opportunities I gained was incredibly valuable, as it developed my skills and provided experience in many areas that I couldn’t have gained anywhere else.

Most influential mentor

Dr. Julie Rursch has been my most influential mentor. Throughout her classes and working as one of her lab teaching assistants, I’ve continuously learned more and more. I’ve grown through her mentorship and coursework, developing my skills, knowledge, and leadership.

Best memory/greatest accomplishment

This past spring, the orchestra played Mahler’s Symphony Number 1, which is a very difficult piece. The feeling I had when we performed the symphony was absolutely incredible. When we were preparing the piece, we struggled a lot with many of the sections, but after rehearsing for the majority of the semester, we overcame the nuances of the piece and stitched together section by section for the final performance.

Plans after graduation

I will be working as a cybersecurity consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

A memorable moment of kindness

In CPRE 3810, Computer Organization and Assembly Level Programming, I remember toiling away at debugging the hardware-pipelined MIPS processor, which I finished debugging in over 10 hours in a single day. One of the biggest issues I had was a fundamental design issue stemming from my own misunderstanding. After working on it for a while, I was unable to solve the issue, so I asked a peer for help. I remember this specifically because this is a class where everybody struggles together, and helping each other out can easily help solve issues by approaching from a different perspective or having already previously encountered this issue. From this, I’ve been able to help others in labs as a student and as a TA for students and my fellow TAs.

Making my mark on the world

I hope to help organizations protect their customers’ information in the cybersecurity space, providing innovation and change throughout my career.

Engineering like a Cyclone Engineer

Iowa State provides plenty of valuable experiences with technical clubs while providing a very solid foundation through the undergraduate coursework. Programs like Solar Car and Make 2 Innovate provide excellent engineering experiences that can greatly help develop technical skills. On the people side, I’ve met so many excellent people who’re happy to help if I’m stuck on a problem or just need help working through concepts. The sense of community and essence of collaboration in Cyclone Engineering has been the best part of being here.

What I’d tell my younger self about Iowa State

I’d tell myself that Iowa State has so many opportunities everywhere, you just need to look. I took advantage of the Honors Program to gain a network of friends spanning colleges, core coursework to gain a solid foundation, and there are even more opportunities in technical clubs around campus. And the music department and orchestra provide another great space for meeting new people who share a common interest in music.

Most inspiring location on campus

The Transformative Learning Area (TLA) in Coover is where I feel inspired, thanks to the sense of community I feel there. Everybody is toiling away working on group projects, individual homework, or just hanging out in between classes. As a Cyclone Engineer, I’ve felt this sense of community in all of my classes, where people are happy to help out whenever you’re stuck. With all the kind people around to help or bounce ideas off of, I always feel inspired in the TLA.