“I love robots. I just love robots!” Xin “Cyrus” Huang ’16 says emphatically when asked what initially drew him to Harvey Mudd College.

“我喜欢机器人。我就是喜欢机器人!”当被问及最初是什么吸引他来到哈维穆德学院时， 16岁的Xin “Cyrus” Huang强调道。

Originally from Shanghai, China, Huang says his fascination with robots began at a young age and continued through high school, where he also enjoyed math, physics and chemistry. When Huang decided to come to the United States to study robotics and engineering, he set his sights on Harvey Mudd College, a school he felt could offer both a solid grounding in the liberal arts as well as the chance to study engineering at the most demanding level. Accepted at several other prestigious schools, Huang believed that Harvey Mudd would best develop his mind, his skills and his passions, including robotics.

来自中国上海的Huang说，他对机器人的迷恋从很小的时候就开始了，一直持续到高中，他还喜欢数学、物理和化学。当Huang决定来美国学习机器人和工程学时，他把目光投向了哈维穆德学院(Harvey Mudd College)，他觉得这所学校既可以提供扎实的文科基础，也可以提供最高水平的工程学学习的机会。被其他几所名校录取后，Huang认为哈维·穆德学院最适合启发自己的思维、技能和热情，包括机器人技术。

Once he arrived on campus, Huang recalls that he was immediately impressed by the wide range of classes, professors’ commitment to their students and how smart his fellow Mudders proved to be. Juniors and seniors eagerly advised the 18-year-old on which classes to take and which professors to partner with. He felt at home and ready for anything.

Huang回忆说，一到学校，他就对这里的课程种类之广、教授们对学生的奉献以及他的同学们的聪明才智留下了深刻的印象。大三和大四的学生都热切地建议这位18岁的年轻人参加哪些课程，和哪些教授合作。他觉得很自在，什么都准备好了。

Learning with a team

The College’s emphasis on team projects and peer learning has prepared him “for collaborative work in the professional world,” he says. Huang credits collaboration with enabling him to benefit from others’ skills, strengths and opinions. It’s also helped build his confidence to be a leader: He’s been president of HMC’s chapter of the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi since his junior year. He’s also volunteered to work on science activities with high school students as part of Society of Women Engineers club events. Huang says he likes to convey to kids “how awesome robotics is” and encourage young women to pursue engineering in college.

他表示，学校对团队项目和同伴学习的重视，使他“为在专业领域开展合作做好了准备”。Huang认为是合作让他能从他人的技能、优势和观点中受益。这也帮助他树立了成为领导者的信心:从大三开始，他就担任HMC工程荣誉学会Tau Beta Pi分会的主席。作为女性工程师协会(Society of Women Engineers)俱乐部活动的一部分，他还志愿与高中生一起参与科学活动。Huang说，他喜欢向孩子们传达“机器人有多棒”，并鼓励年轻女性在大学里攻读工程学。

Huang sees activities like these as an opportunity to share with others what he’s experienced at Harvey Mudd. He praises computer science Professor Zachary Dodds, with whom he studied introduction to robotics, and engineering Professor Chris Clark, whose lab Huang joined as a sophomore. He says the professors were very helpful, providing lots of “hands-on, practical experience.” Each went beyond the boundaries of the classroom to create unique opportunities for Huang: Dodds invited him to attend two big conferences, one at Stanford and the other in Seattle; Clark taught Huang the rigors of academic writing and, as Huang proudly points out, gave him first-name credit on a paper they co-authored.

Huang认为，像这样的活动是一个机会，与他人分享他在哈维穆德学院的经验。他赞扬了计算机科学教授扎卡里•多兹(Zachary Dodds)和工程学教授克里斯•克拉克(Chris Clark)，前者曾与他一起学习机器人导论，后者Huang在大二的时候加入了他的实验室团队。他说，教授们非常乐于助人，提供了大量的“实践经验”。每个人都超越了课堂的界限，为Huang创造了独特的机会:多兹教授邀请他参加了两个大型会议，一个在斯坦福，另一个在西雅图;克拉克教授教授了Huang学术写作的严谨性，正如Huang自豪地指出的那样，他们共同撰写的一篇论文给为他带来了荣誉。

More than engineering

Huang notes that attending Harvey Mudd has provided the opportunity to go beyond building his skills as an engineer and burgeoning expert in robotics. He’s taken advantage of the course offerings at the other Claremont Colleges as well. For instance, during a course taught by a Buddhist nun at Pomona College, Huang traveled with his classmates to a nearby Buddhist temple where he practiced walking and sitting meditation. For his final paper, Huang explored how ancient Buddhist traditions and new technologies can be in harmony.

Huang指出，哈维·穆德学院的学习为他提供了一个超越工程师和新兴机器人专家技能的机会。他也利用了克莱蒙特联盟（Claremont Colleges）的其他学院的课程设置。例如，在波莫纳学院(Pomona College)一位尼姑教授的一门课程中，Huang和同学们去了附近的一座佛教寺庙，在那里他练习了走路和静坐冥想。在他的最后一篇论文中，Huang探索了古老的佛教传统和新技术是如何和谐相处的。

Blending his interest in the humanities and social sciences with his love of engineering, particularly robotics, has also been harmonious. He’s found ample time for both pursuits. During a 2015 summer internship at a Palo Alto startup, Huang was part of a team working on household domestic robots. He looks forward to continuing work in robotics (he’s considering Stanford, Carnegie Mellon and MIT for graduate school), though he’s not sure if he’ll pursue research, teaching or forming a startup. He’s open to all possibilities, especially the latter.

他对人文和社会科学的兴趣与他对工程的热爱，尤其是对机器人的热爱相结合，结合得非常和谐。2015年夏天，Huang在帕洛阿尔托的一家初创公司实习，当时他是一个研究家用机器人的团队的一员。他期待着继续从事机器人方面的工作(他正在考虑斯坦福大学(Stanford)、卡内基梅隆大学(Carnegie Mellon)和麻省理工学院(MIT)的研究生课程)，尽管他不确定是继续从事研究、教学，还是成立一家初创企业。他对所有的可能性都持开放态度，尤其是后者。

“I am interested in robotics because it’s cool, especially writing code to interact with robots and replicating the real world,” Huang says. He intends to develop a self-driving car that will assist his mother, who is afraid of driving, as well as his grandfather, who has Alzheimer’s, and any others who are limited by their inability to safely drive. Admitting that he, too, isn’t a good driver, Huang grins and says the invention also would help him—plus he’d love to see his name on a self-driving car.

Huang说:“我对机器人很感兴趣，因为它很酷，尤其是编写代码与机器人互动和复制真实世界。”他打算开发一款自动驾驶汽车，帮助他害怕开车的母亲、患有阿尔茨海默症的祖父以及其他任何因为无法安全驾驶而受到限制的人。Huang笑着承认自己也不是一个好司机，这项发明也会对他有帮助，而且他很想看到自己的名字出现在自动驾驶汽车上。

资料来源：

哈维穆德学院(Harvey Mudd College)学校官网：

https://www.hmc.edu/engineering/news/student-and-alumni-stories/

中文翻译：AQG Vivian