FoCS and You

A few weeks ago, you might have noticed the shiny new plaques in the GDC, with a bunch of companies on one and a bunch of endowed scholarships on the other. This is, as any curious observer might tell you, courtesy of the Friends of Computer Science program. The companies, listed on one side, pay an annual sponsorship to be a part of FoCS.

Free Food is Overrated

Google's Mountain View office

Google's Mountain View office

One of the first things most people hear about working for Google is that they have free, gourmet sushi every day for their employees. They also have a free laundry service, free massages, free shuttles to work from San Francisco (with WiFi), and free nap rooms.

Why CS?

My roommate and I have a tradition. We’re both computer science and math double majors, and we like to convert everyone we see who displays even the slightest interest in either of those fields to our path. Usually, this means finding engineers who enjoy solving the kinds of problems given at UIL competitions, or biologists who display a knack for linear algebra, and so on.

Why UT?

My father received his MBA from Duke, and before that he graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (India's MIT). My mother got her Ph.D. from Northwestern. My sister went to Princeton, UT Medical School, and started her residency in neuroscience at Penn last year. My friends in the Classes of 2010, 2011, and 2012 were going by the bucketload to schools like Harvard, Columbia, and Princeton.

Quadcopters!

quadcopters

It turns out that controlling a $100 helicopter using only your hands and a LeapMotion controller is pretty difficult.

Relax!

Relax! compiling

Last week, during Spring Break, I started watching The Office. I had always wanted to watch it, and so when I found out that Netflix had the entire show (and the British version), I started and figured I’d watch an episode or two.

I started on Sunday. By Friday, instead of the ten or so episodes I thought I would have watched, I was halfway through season 7.

How to Get Started with Research

To be fair, if you do get a research position, this is what you have to look forward to.

To be fair, if you do get a research position, this is what you have to look forward to.

There are two kinds of professors at UT. There are those who you ask for a position in their lab, and they tell you to take their course on whatever topic they’re teaching. If you do well in the course, or if the professor notices you, they’ll usually be willing to let you work with them. And then there are those who just give you a list of reading material and ask you to dive in right away. Pretty much every professor at UT is willing to give you a spot in their lab. All you have to do is ask.

It's OK, We're All Stressed Too

Because Futurama and stress.

It was around 11 in the evening of Friday the 13th, and I had two finals, a paper, and a portfolio due in the next 24 hours. The finals I had studied for, but of course no amount of studying could fix the gnawing feeling in my gut that I would forget something. The paper was all but finished, but I knew I wouldn’t have time to edit it or give it the once-over it deserved. The portfolio still needed two more entries, binding, a cover sheet, a reflections page… the list went on and on. To say I was stressed was an understatement.

Pages


The views, opinions and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments on these blogs are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of UT Computer Science, The University of Texas or any employee thereof.

Subscribe to RSS - Rohan Ramchand's blog