People Attending Universities in Oregon

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Hello everyone,

I currently attend Oregon State University and I was curious if there are any people on the spectrum attending schools in the state of Oregon? My friend whose on the spectrum already graduated from OSU during fall term and has moved to Portland. Now we just text, since our distance and schedules have been keeping us from hanging out.
I was curious about meeting other students on the spectrum and have the chance to share any common interests. I'm currently studying mathematics and physics, but I also enjoy having discussions about other sciences, music topics, and outdoor activities like hiking, traveling, and spelunking. Perhaps if we end up becoming good online friends, aren't too far away, and have flexible schedules we could meet up for a hike or have coffee.

Cheers!

Yeah, I'm a student at Oregon Tech attending the Wilsonville campus. I study software engineering and applied mathematics and spend almost all of my time studying data science/engineering and machine learning. I was a Marine, am now an SQA Engineer and I have no friends on the spectrum who are also functional/productive in the world. I've been considering OSU as one of my schools for graduate school. I sent you an invite on FB.

Hi Dustin,

Yes, I accepted your friend request. Wow, that is awesome!
I don't know a lot about engineering or software, but I'm taking a math programming course this spring term.
Yes, OSU has an excellent engineering department. When will you be starting graduate school?

I will target starting graduate school Fall of 2016 or 2017. I will need to assess how intent and targeted I am on my research area this summer and do the GRE to decide which year I go for. I want to do a doctoral program but I lack research experience and significant projects to make me competitive beyond just my GPA/coursework/experience. The 2017 target would give me additional time to refine my undergraduate research, gain a better grasp on the mathematics involved in ML, and get involved in research either at work or a local university. I just worry trying to squeeze all these targets into the next 6 months will put an unrealistic strain on myself. I am otherwise competitive but I wouldn't be surprised to see a high rejection rate for the 2016 target.

Math programming could be fun. I don't have a lot of experience with Matlab or Octave but I have used several of the linear algebra libraries in python. I'm going to have to teach myself Linear Algebra, Bayesian statistics, and Combinatorics over the next 12-18 months. I hope to use coursera/MIT open courseware to really ramp this up. My required math stopped after vector calc and the daytime classes offered by the math department are hard to make with a working schedule.

I come from the other side of this coin. I am quite a good programmer with a basic mathematical competency. If I intend to enter academia, and especially the data science fields, I'll really need to round out this rough edge of mine. I feel there's potential for you to be able to help me do some amazing things with the analytics I'm interested in running.

I have Aspergers Syndrome and I am currently enrolled in classes at Portland State University. I am an English major and you are welcome to PM me all you want. I don't have a Facebook or Twitter account, so PM-ing me would be the best way to contact me.