Alumni Profile

Who or what had a strong effect on your interest/trajectory in computer science? My father worked in an early data center with large mainframe computers, so I had a lifelong familiarity with computing. My interest was further formed by my high school advanced math teacher; she taught us not only...

Tell us about your career path. I started out studying mechanical and aerospace engineering. For my PhD, I switched to computer science to follow an interest in robotics and computer vision. Part way through that program, I was fortunate to start a robotics company (CANVAS Technology) with three amazing co-founders...

Why did you choose to study computer science? I chose CU Boulder because of its strong reputation in telecommunications. I have always had a passion in technology and received a bachelor’s degree in Arts & Science from the University of Nebraska majoring in computer science and human factors. I earned...

Why did you choose to study computer science? I actually started at CU with an emphasis in art. After a couple of semesters, however, I realized that the art coursework felt like "work," and I was spending all of my spare time writing software. It became pretty clear to me...

Who or what had a strong effect on your interest or trajectory in computer science? When I was about 8 years old, my father brought home a Commodore 64 personal computer. After booting it up and writing my first couple of programs from the manual, I was hooked! In addition...

Tell us about your career path. I started my career at the NSA both during and after working on my degree. Next, I worked for Britannica.com – building website traffic analyzers for them. In 2003, the phenomenon that we now call “phishing” was becoming a problem for eBay. The biggest...

Why did you choose to study computer science? I realized soon after I first got to use a computer in high school (1976) that they were an incredibly versatile way of creating things. I could sit down starting with just my thoughts, write those down in a certain way, and...

Why did you choose to study computer science? Learning to develop software was by far the most compelling thing I had ever done in school. Something about computer science and the way my brain worked just clicked. It was like puzzle solving with an element of art. I was hooked...

Why did you choose to study computer science? I first got into computers in junior high because I didn’t enjoy math and I wanted to write programs to do all of the repetitive math for me. I eventually chose CS as an area of study because I grew to love...

Why did you choose to study computer science? I love building and creating things that solve problems. As a child, I was always trying to create something or sell something - lemonade, lawn mowing and more. When I got to college, engineering was a clear way for me to apply...