Logan Skurdal’s DRAM Product Engineering Internship with Micron Technology

Over the past two summers I have had the privilege of interning at Micron Technology, a world leader in innovative memory solutions, in my home town Boise, Idaho. Let’s just say there is a reason I went back a second time – working there is awesome!

During my internship I was a DRAM Product Engineer working on designing test programs and gathering component-level data to detect errors and debug DRAM modules. The techniques and application of many design tactics and programming practices that I have learned over my first three years at Embry-Riddle helped me immensely during this time. For example, my knowledge of circuit theory from my Linear Circuits course and lab directly translated to a quick understanding of a DRAM module and what to look for when one of the modules wasn’t passing tests. In addition, my classes in coding (such as C and MATLAB) helped me quickly pick up Python, the language I used over the summer to develop and contribute to programs already being used throughout the department.

Picture of myself (middle), my supervisor (left), and mentor (right) down in our lab.

Work at Micron was also made much easier by the great group of people I was surrounded by each day. Over a simple 3 month period (6 months including last internship) I met multiple people who I still keep in contact with today and genuinely treasure as some of my good friends. A couple of times a month we would all get together and play board games and simply have a great time. Along with getting to work on some great and emerging technology, these connections with my coworkers are a reason why I highly recommend Micron as a place for anybody to work at and/or get an internship for a fantastic summer!

Jumping in to an internship can be a scary experience. However, I can honestly say I was well prepared through the help of my coursework from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. I am look forwarding to learning as much as I can my last year here at ERAU so I can be the best engineer possible!

Picture of all the interns at Micron for summer 2018

Junior Year Studying Electrical Engineer at ERAU

As you may already know I am currently a Junior at Embry-Riddle, Prescott campus studying Electrical Engineering. Today I will go into the awesome classes I am currently taking to give you an idea of what to look forward to in studying this field of engineering.

First off as Electrical engineers there are many different areas of expertise to get into, which means that as an undergraduate you will get a little taste of everything. so whether you like power or not doesn’t quite matter yet because you will take a power class anyway. This serves to our benefit though as it allows you to better understand what you would personally enjoy as a career.

So as far as I have come today I am currently taking; Signal Processing plus the lab, Electronic Devices plus the lab, Math for engineers with physics, and Computer Science 1 (a.k.a. C programming). Although we have just started the semester I personally enjoy the Electronic Devices class the most, so that is what I will go a little in to depth with next.

In Electronic Devices we will be getting into electronic circuits, such as an Integrated circuit compared to Discrete components. We will also get into Amplifier frequency response, Diodes, Transistors, and Feedback systems, although there is so much more I can talk about this is just a brief description. (Note: if you click on the link to electronic devices, it will take you to Wikipedia, yes I know you may be skeptical about Wiki. but it has a diverse amount of knowledge about the subject so feel free to take a look).

The reason I believe I enjoy this class in particular is because it is taught in a top down design, meaning you see the big picture of each little component first so you can really see how everything comes together.

Settling Back in

After having an awesome summer break from school, it feels great to be back in Prescott, AZ at Embry-Riddle. My first year was awesome, although a relaxing summer break was most definitely in need its nice to be busy with school again.  After having a long break I feel much more prepared for school than my first year or even last semester. I can honestly say first semester especially is difficult only because it takes time to adjust and adapt to the new environment you are in.

Getting back in the role of things was pretty easy this year, maybe because I was getting slightly bored near the end of summer, longing for the school year to start. That may sound weird but it is true. Some great things about going to school at Embry-Riddle in Prescott are the people you meet.I have met people that have inspired me in may ways. It becomes very easy to adjust when you find people like that, mainly because you are all going through the same deal. Like studying the same materials or being homesick we all go through it especially here since most students are studying the art of Engineering.

This year I live on campus, in the upperclassmen dorms. There are ups and downs to living on campus. On the plus you can take naps in the middle of the day, and walk all of one minute to the gym, and being in a close proximity of a lot of your friends makes things easier. On the downside you are always on campus. You will go crazy if you do not keep yourself busy with other things besides school. I have to say that is the biggest part of going to school or living at school in general is keeping you’re self distracted with other things. It helps you stay motivated in the middle of the year.

But back to settling in, the first year may seem somewhat crazy but the time management skills come in time, some sooner then others, it took me almost a full year. When you learn to use your time wisely, life as a college student becomes much more enjoyable. That is all I have for this blog, let me know if you have any questions.