Knowledge · Thomas Mahler

Knowledge

Courses, hands-on projects, technical topics, and reading — what I'm learning and where it comes from. Click a card for details and resources. Updated 2026-10-14.

Courses 1/10 done

Georgia Tech OMSCS coursework.

CS 6035 Information Security

Georgia Tech OMSCS CS 6035

Introduction to information security: threats, defenses, and hands-on attack/defense projects.

Buffer overflows & memory safetyMalware analysisCryptography basics (symmetric, public-key, hashing)Web security (XSS, CSRF, SQL injection)Network security & firewallsAccess control & security policy

CS 6515 Graduate Algorithms

Georgia Tech OMSCS CS 6515

Graduate algorithm design and analysis with an emphasis on proofs.

Dynamic programmingDivide & conquer, FFTGraph algorithms (DFS/SCC, shortest paths, MST)Max-flow / min-cutLinear programming & dualityNP-completeness & reductions

CS 7641 Machine Learning

Georgia Tech OMSCS CS 7641

Survey of supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning with analysis-heavy reports.

Decision trees, kNN, SVMs, boosting, neural netsRandomized optimization (RHC, SA, GA, MIMIC)Clustering (k-means, EM)Dimensionality reduction (PCA, ICA, random projection)MDPs: value/policy iteration, Q-learningBias/variance & model evaluation

CS 7638 Robotics: AI Techniques

Georgia Tech OMSCS CS 7638

Probabilistic AI techniques for robots: localization, tracking, planning, and control.

Histogram & particle filtersKalman filters (incl. EKF)Search & path planning (A*, DP)PID control & twiddle tuningSLAM (Graph SLAM)

CS 6476 Computer Vision

Georgia Tech OMSCS CS 6476

Foundations of computer vision: image formation, features, geometry, and recognition.

Image filtering & edge detectionHough transformsFeature detection & matching (Harris, SIFT)Camera models, stereo & epipolar geometryOptical flow & motion trackingRecognition & classification

CS 7642 Reinforcement Learning

Georgia Tech OMSCS CS 7642

Theory and practice of reinforcement learning, with paper-replication projects.

MDPs & Bellman equationsTD(λ) learningQ-learning & function approximationDeep Q-networksPolicy gradient methodsGame theory & multi-agent RL

CS 7643 Deep Learning

Georgia Tech OMSCS CS 7643

Deep neural networks from first principles to modern architectures.

Backpropagation & optimizationConvolutional neural networksRNNs/LSTMs & sequence modelsAttention & TransformersDeep generative modelsPyTorch implementation

CS 6220 Big Data Systems & Analysis

Georgia Tech OMSCS CS 6220

Systems and algorithms for large-scale data processing and analytics.

MapReduce / HadoopSpark & in-memory analyticsDistributed storage & NoSQLStream processingGraph processing at scaleScalable ML systems

CS 7639 Cyber-Physical Design and Analysis

Georgia Tech OMSCS CS 7639

Modeling, design, and verification of cyber-physical and embedded systems.

CPS modeling (continuous, discrete, hybrid)Timing & schedulingFormal verification & model checkingSafety and requirementsController design for embedded systems

Free elective (AI/ML for Robotics if available)

Georgia Tech OMSCS

Free elective slot; systems/embedded options (e.g. CS 6200 Intro to Operating Systems) also considered.

Linux & systems programming (CS 6200 option)AI/ML for robotics (if offered)

Hands-on projects 0/6 done

Build-it-to-learn-it hardware and software projects.

Vibration anomaly detection: ESP32 + MPU6050

Hands-on hardware project

Detect vibration anomalies on a motor/fan using an ESP32 and MPU6050 IMU with statistical thresholds.

I2CData loggingMAD/Z-scoreMounting/debuggingSerial outputFault injection

CCSDS telemetry on ESP32 + COSMOS ground station

Hands-on hardware project

Stream MPU6050 data as CCSDS Space Packets and decode/graph them in OpenC3 COSMOS.

Space Packet headersAPIDs & sequence countsCRCCOSMOS cmd/tlm definitionsSerial/UDP interfacesLimits

F Prime deployment on a microcontroller or Raspberry Pi

Hands-on hardware project

Build an F Prime deployment with a custom IMU component and command sequences.

FPP components/portsCommand/event/telemetry channelsCmdSequencerUnit testsGDS

Mini HIL test bench with automated pytest + COSMOS scripts

Hands-on hardware project

One test suite runs against a Python simulator (SIL) and real hardware (HIL).

Test proceduresPass/fail criteriaFault injection (unplugged sensor, stuck I2C bus, bad CRC)Report generationSIL→HIL flow

Telemetry archive & dashboard (InfluxDB/TimescaleDB + Grafana) with anomaly detection

Hands-on hardware project

Time-series telemetry archive with dashboards, alerts, and detector comparison.

Time-series schemaIngest pipelineRetentionDashboards & alertingMAD/Z-score + ML detector

CAN bus node pair + PID loop

Hands-on hardware project

Two ESP32 CAN nodes exchange commands/telemetry while running a PID speed loop.

CAN (ESP32 TWAI + SN65HVD230)Logic analyzer/oscilloscope bus debuggingPID tuningControl-loop telemetry

Technical topics 0/15 done

Areas of focused self-study.

CCSDS/telemetry formats

Self-directed study

CCSDS packet and frame standards used for spacecraft telemetry.

Space Packet primary header (version, type, APID, sequence flags/count, length)Idle packets & segmentationTM transfer frames, virtual channels, frame countersFirst Header Pointer & OCF/CLCWFrame Error Control (CRC-16)AOS frames & M_PDU multiplexing

Command sequencing

Self-directed study

How commands are built, sequenced, accepted, and verified on spacecraft.

TC transfer framesCOP-1 / FARM sequence-controlled commandingCommand acceptance & retransmissionF Prime CmdSequencer & sequence filesTime-tagged vs. immediate commandsCommand acknowledgement & verification

Flight software interfaces

Self-directed study

Flight software frameworks (F Prime, cFS) and their interface conventions.

F Prime components, ports & FPP modelingCommands / events / telemetry channels / parameterscFE services: Executive, Software Bus, Event, Table, TimeOSAL/PSP abstraction layersCI_LAB / TO_LAB command ingest & telemetry outputSCH scheduler & rate groups

HW/SW boundary debugging

Self-directed study

Debugging where hardware and software meet: buses, drivers, and timing.

GPIO drivers & rate groupsUART/SPI/I2C at the register levelInterrupts & timingLogic analyzer / oscilloscope bus debuggingRS-422/485 differential physical layerUnit tests for drivers

Testbeds

Self-directed study

Ground systems and test benches, from simulation to hardware-in-the-loop.

MIL → SIL → HIL ladderCOSMOS command/telemetry definitions (CTDB)Interfaces: serial/TCP/UDPLimits monitoringScript Runner test proceduresTelemetry Grapher & plugins

PID control

Self-directed study

Feedback control theory and practical PID tuning.

P/I/D term intuitionIntegral windup & anti-windupDerivative filteringFeedforward & gain schedulingState space & frequency responseLQR & estimators

Perception

Self-directed study

Turning sensor data into state estimates and scene understanding.

Kalman & particle filtersSensor fusionFeature detection & matchingCamera models & stereoOptical flow & tracking

Systems integration

Self-directed study

Bringing subsystems together against interface requirements.

Logical decomposition & interfaces (ICDs)Integration, verification & validationInterface managementLifecycle reviews (PDR/CDR/TRR)C&DH and ground data system architecture

Production/test processes

Self-directed study

Repeatable test procedures and verification for hardware in production.

Test procedures & pass/fail criteriaFault injectionAutomated test reportsVerification matricesEnvironmental testing (TVAC, EMI/C, vibration)Lab instruments: oscilloscope, DMM, logic analyzer

V&V and requirements traceability

Self-directed study

Verifying and validating systems against requirements with bidirectional traceability.

Verification methods (test, analysis, inspection, demonstration)Verification matrix (VCRM/RVM)Bidirectional traceabilityTest-like-you-flyValidation vs verification

FMEA, fault trees and root cause analysis

Self-directed study

Inductive and deductive failure analysis and structured anomaly root-cause methods.

FMEA/FMECA worksheets & severityFault tree gates & minimal cut setsProbabilistic FTA basics5 Whys & fishboneAnomaly/discrepancy reports & corrective action

Oscilloscope, logic analyzer and CAN debugging

Self-directed study

Using bench instruments to debug signals and serial buses.

Scope triggering, probing & groundingRise time, ringing, noiseLogic analyzer protocol decode (UART/SPI/I2C)CAN frames, arbitration, error frames, terminationpython-can scripting

AI-assisted test automation (pytest + CI)

Self-directed study

Automated hardware/software tests with pytest in CI, using AI assistants to draft and review tests.

pytest fixtures, parametrize, markersHIL test harness designCI pipelines (GitHub Actions)AI-drafted tests with human reviewCoverage & flaky test handling

ML for telemetry anomaly detection

Self-directed study

Statistical and ML methods for detecting anomalies in spacecraft telemetry time series.

Baselines (Z-score, MAD, limits)Isolation Forest & LOFLSTM forecasting + dynamic thresholdsLabeled fault datasets (SMAP/MSL)Precision/recall & alert fatigue

DO-178C, NASA NPR 7150.2 and NASA-STD-8739.8

Self-directed study

Software engineering and assurance standards for airborne and NASA flight/ground software.

DO-178C DAL A–E & objectivesStructural coverage (statement, decision, MC/DC)NPR 7150.2 software classes & requirementsNASA-STD-8739.8 software assurance & safetyConfiguration management & tool qualification

Certifications 0/10 done

Industry certifications and exams worth preparing for.

NI CLAD (LabVIEW)

NI

Entry-level NI LabVIEW certification: 1-hour multiple-choice exam on LabVIEW fundamentals and reading code.

LabVIEW environment & dataflowLoops, case & event structuresArrays, clusters, data typesError handling & file I/ODesign patterns (state machine, producer/consumer)Reading/interpreting existing VIs

NI CLD (LabVIEW)

NI

4-hour practical NI exam: build a documented LabVIEW application from a spec, graded on style, functionality and documentation.

Application architecture (QMH, state machine)Programming styleFunctionality to specDocumentation

IPC J-STD-001 (CIS)

IPC / Global Electronics Association

IPC requirements for soldered electrical/electronic assemblies; written plus hands-on workmanship exams.

General requirements, safety, tools, ESDWires & terminalsThrough-holeSurface mountInspectionSpace addendum

IPC-A-610 (CIS)

IPC / Global Electronics Association

IPC acceptability criteria for electronic assemblies, used for inspection across Class 1/2/3.

Acceptance classesHandling & hardwareSoldered connectionsComponent mounting (THT/SMT)Damage & cleanliness

IPC/WHMA-A-620 (CIS) & NASA-STD-8739 equivalents

IPC / WHMA / NASA

Requirements and acceptance for cable and wire harness assemblies, with a Space endorsement; related NASA workmanship standards.

Crimp & IDC terminationsSoldered terminationsConnectorization, pottingSplicesMarking, securing, installationCoax/biax

ESD awareness (ANSI/ESD S20.20)

ESD Association

Electrostatic discharge control basics for handling flight and test hardware.

ESD physics & damageGrounding & wrist strapsEPA controlsESD packaging & marking

NCEES FE exam

NCEES

Fundamentals of Engineering exam: 110-question computer-based exam, first step toward PE licensure.

Mathematics & probabilityCircuits & electronicsSignals & systemsComputer systems & softwareEthics

CompTIA Security+

CompTIA

Baseline security certification recognized under DoD 8140 for cyber workforce roles.

General security conceptsThreats, vulnerabilities & mitigationsSecurity architectureSecurity operationsProgram management & oversight

Linux (Linux+ / LPI Linux Essentials)

CompTIA / LPI

Linux administration and command-line skills used by test automation and ground systems.

Shell & scriptingFilesystems & permissionsProcesses & systemdNetworkingPackage managementTroubleshooting

AWS (Cloud Practitioner → Solutions Architect Associate)

AWS

Cloud fundamentals and architecture for CI/CD and data pipelines.

Cloud concepts & billing modelIAM & securityCompute, storage, networkingResilient & cost-aware architecture

Inspiration reading 0/7 done

Novels that fuel the curiosity.

Cover of The Martian

The Martian

Andy Weir

Stranded astronaut Mark Watney uses engineering and botany to survive alone on Mars until rescue.

Cover of Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary

Andy Weir

An amnesiac science teacher wakes alone on a starship and must solve the mystery of a star-dimming microbe to save Earth.

Cover of Seveneves

Seveneves

Neal Stephenson

When the Moon shatters, humanity races to build an orbital ark before a centuries-long bombardment sterilizes Earth.

Cover of The Calculating Stars

The Calculating Stars

Mary Robinette Kowal

After a 1952 meteorite strike, mathematician Elma York fights to join an accelerated space program as an astronaut.

Cover of Red Mars

Red Mars

Kim Stanley Robinson

The first hundred colonists settle Mars, clashing over terraforming, politics, and the planet's future.

Cover of Delta-v

Delta-v

Daniel Suarez

A cave diver is recruited for a privately funded mission to mine a near-Earth asteroid.

Cover of The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Robert A. Heinlein

A computer technician, a self-aware computer, and lunar colonists revolt against Earth's rule.