Ryan McCarthy

I enjoy approaching new problems with unconventional approaches and discovering new ways to learn.

Hometown: Wheaton, Ill.

Year: Fourth-year PhD student

Program: Electrical and Computer Engineering

Mission Areas: Systems and Sensors

Lab: Ananya Sen Gupta Research Group

Advisor: Ananya Sen Gupta, assistant professor of computer and electrical engineering

What do you work on and what do you enjoy most about your work? 

Currently, I do a multitude of multidisciplinary research including underwater acoustic communications, developing algorithms for automated signal quantification of contaminants in samples, and identifying chorus chirps in space data. In these works, I use signal processing techniques and machine learning methods to improve current research making my work highly versatile. Approaching these new problems from different perspectives is something I enjoy doing and have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to do. 

What achievements are you most proud of? 

I have had the opportunity to present my research at a variety of conferences locally, nationwide, and internationally in Italy. Additionally, I was awarded a STEM graduate student position at the naval research lab in acoustics where I can learn more and participate in new exciting research in underwater acoustics.

What are your goals for the future? What do you hope to be doing professionally in 10 years?

I am pursing a doctorate degree to conduct my own research in the future. I enjoy approaching new problems with unconventional approaches and discovering new ways to learn. I believe that there is always another direction to approach a problem which is something I have explored more through my research at the University of Iowa.