Introduction ---

    In 2004, my son Hsin-Mu was admitted to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering there in 2006 and 2010, respectively.

My wife, Chih-Hua, and I traveled to the United States to attend the commencement ceremony celebrating his Ph.D. graduation on May 16, 2010. In addition, we took a short trip around Pittsburgh and New York State from May 13 to 18.

During our seven-day trip, we visited the CMU campus, downtown Pittsburgh, and several nearby attractions—including the famous Niagara Falls, located at the border between the United States and Canada.

    Although the trip was brief—only seven days—we made the most of it. At the time, I was still teaching at National Chiao Tung University, and several of my graduate students were preparing to defend their theses shortly after our return. Because of this, I had to fly back to Taiwan immediately after the trip.

    Despite the short duration, we had a truly enjoyable journey—our happiness came partly from witnessing Hsin-Mu’s achievement in completing his Ph.D., and partly from the wonderful sights and experiences we shared along the way.

(Picture above: my son, Hsin-Mu, at the graduation ceremony)