Peter Lin
Computer Science & Philosophy
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
About Me
I'm a sophomore Computer Science student at UIUC who loves to learn and read.
I'm currently exploring AI frontend development tools, machine learning algorithms, and computer engineering concepts.
Projects
UIUC Sandbox
A simulation of UIUC campus using LLMs and data visualization powered by Deck.gl.
Daily Energy Tracker
Interactive visualization of where you spend your energy on a daily basis.
Course Reviews
CS 446: Machine Learning
Professor: Tong Zhang, Sp25
In progress...
CS 425: Distributed Systems
Professor: Radhika Mittal, Sp25
In progress...
ECE 408: Applied Parallel Programming
Professor: Volodymyr Kindratenko, Sp25
In progress...
PHIL 460: Philosophy of Statistics
Professor: Jonathan Livingood, Sp25
In progress...
PHIL 454: Advanced Symbolic Logic
Professor: Kevin Scharp, Sp25
In progress...
CS 374: Introduction to Algorithms and Models of Computation
Professor: Sariel Har-Peled, Fa24
As much as CS 374 gets labelled as a killer course, I think one should understand that there's nuance in that assessment. The course is very theory heavy, and getting good at solving theoretical questions takes practice, just like getting good at coding. My advice is to find a reliable homework group and attend a lab section with a goated TA (Sam Ruggerio).
CS 340: Introduction to Computer Systems
Professor: Luther Tychonievich, Fa24
This might be the programming course I've found the most enjoyment in, because 1) the topics are very interesting, and 2) the MPs require you to do some digging instead of handing you the solution on a silver platter. Also the final project was pretty fun to make—it was a distributed text-based adventure where you could journey to domains created by other students and play through their stories.
PHIL 421: Ethical Theories
Professor: Zachary Biondi, Fa24
Probably the most interesting philosophy class I've taken so far. It's uniqueness comes from the way it approaches ethics in a broader and more holistic perspective. We touched on views such as Stoicism, Daoism, Buddhism, The Land Ethic, Care Ethics, and Indigenous Ethics.
CS 222: Software Design Lab
Professor: Michael Woodley, Fa24
I actually quite enjoyed CS 222, especially because I knew everyone in my group and we all communicated very clearly about what each person's role was. I got to tinker around with some map APIs and actually create something (UIUC Sandbox), which turned out to be pretty cool.
PHIL 430: Theory of Knowledge
Professor: Patrick Leland, Sp24
Okay, this was the real sleepy class. It didn't help that I had it right after PHIL 223, but I remember it was always a struggle staying awake, and I'd switch between snoozing in this class and the one before. The material itself was mildly interesting, but the class itself boiled down to memorization and regurgitation.
PHIL 223: Minds and Machines
Professor: Kevin Scharp, Sp24
Pretty interesting class that went over a plethora of topics on the mind body problem, artificial minds, simulations, and superintelligence. Plus Scharp is a great lecturer, and if the class weren't right after lunch (when the afternoon sleepies kick in), I'd have been all ears.
CS 225: Data Structures
Professor: G. Carl Evans, Sp24
Data structures is basically just an extension of CS 128, but introduces more advanced topics like K-D trees and hashing. Personally I don't think I learned that much from the MPs since I completed them by blindly following the instructions.
CS 173: Discrete Structures
Professor: Benjamin Cosman, Fa23
I'm currently a course assistant for this class, and I'll say that the first time round, I relied super heavily on pattern matching and memorizing problem types. After I came back, though, I gained a greater appreciation for the math behind the concepts taught.
CS 128: Intro to Computer Science II
Professor: Michael Nowak, Fa23
All I remember about this class is the painful amount of time I spent on the MPs (thanks to C++), which probably could have been avoided by more careful reading of the instructions and actually planning before coding.
PHIL 222: Philosophical Foundations of Computer Science
Professor: Kohei Kishida, Fa23
Overview of the history of computer science from a philosophical perspective, topics covered include the Church-Turing thesis, basic symbolic logic, primitive recursive functions, and others.
Skills
Languages
- Python
- Java
- JavaScript
- HTML/CSS
- C/C++
Technologies
- Git
- React
- AWS