I won! Oh, yeah! I won!

I won the AIAA Infotech@Aerospace 2007 Student Paper Competition for my paper and presentation based on my Master's research. :D

Not only will I get the $500 travel reimbursement for being a finalist, I also get the $1000 grand prize from BAE Systems and the bragging rights of winning official recognition from my professional society.

The judges and my adviser's colleagues all told me that I did a great job and my adviser even treated me to lunch as a congrats. I didn't expect to win, so I'm sitting on Cloud Nine.

One of my competitors had a really nice presentation, but the substance was a little lacking. The other competitor had substance to spare, but his presentation skills were lacking. Neither actually had a self-adaptive system like the one I presented. Everyone told me that I had the best all-around package in terms of giving them what they wanted to see for both the paper and presentation.

Hehehe, I couldn't help but think of that Nationwide insurance commercial where the lady wins the lottery and keeps on saying, "I wooonnnnnn! Oh yeah, I won! I won, I won, I won. Oh yeah!" That's about how I feel right now.