1 / 23

My Research Journey - A Winding Path Guided by Curiosity

Follow my journey through computing research, from college experiments to collaborations in complex mathematics. Explore challenges, solutions, and the evolution of computational techniques.

gwen
Download Presentation

My Research Journey - A Winding Path Guided by Curiosity

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Research in ComputingCSC 3990 September 17, 2012

  2. My Research Journey • A winding path • Guided by • Curiosity • “The open range” • Paying attention • Willingness to learn lots of things • Watch for threads

  3. Problem 1 • College: Junior year • Stability theory of differential equations • Richard Bellman, 1953 • Determining properties of solutions from the analytic form of the equation • No computing • Lots of linear algebra and analysis • Bellman’s view of “elementary” and mine were very different.

  4. Problem 2 • College: Junior year • Text processing; database queries • Find all the town names in California that can be made from the letters in the phrase …. • Hammer looking for a nail • Hammer = IBM 1620 • Nail = a problem to motivate learning to program

  5. Problem 2 : Results • Learned • Fortran II • 1620 Assembly Language • System constraints, quirks

  6. Problem 2 : Follow-on • Summer internship with IBM • Summer 1: Teaching machine • Summer 2: Thick film exposure • Summer 3: Fingerprint identification

  7. Problem 3 • Grad school thesis problem: Classify the connections on a semi-simple Lie group • Group • Lie group • Simple Lie group • Semi-simple Lie group • Connection

  8. Problem 3 : Solution • Representations of Lie algebras • Symbolic computation • “What if the computer isn’t correct?” • A road not taken

  9. Problem 4 • First collaboration • Multiplicities of representations of complex simple Lie algebras • Connections to • Theoretical physics • Symbolic computation • Computational algebra

  10. Problem 4 : Computation • Language: Fortran IV • Computational challenges • Infinite precision arithmetic • Summations over elements of a group • Eventually zero summations • System challenges • One run (compilation or execution) per day • Physical management of programs and output

  11. Problem 5 • Continuing collaboration • Classification of small dimension Lie algebras • Nilpotent • Solvable • Pure mathematics

  12. Problem 5 : Computation • Need easy matrix calculations • Ideal language: APL • Example: multiplying two matrices A +.x B

  13. Problem 5 : Extensions • Honors course: Calculus in APL • Challenges to computing capability • International collaborations • Cayley, a Lie algebra programming language • SIGSAM community • Macsyma • A recent senior project • Classification of finite rings

  14. Problem 6 • Listening to colleagues; bringing complementary skills • Linear (and non-linear) optimization techniques • Linear programming • Integer programming • Graph theory • Game theory

  15. Problem 6 : Results • Textbook: Elementary Linear Programming

  16. Problem 7 • Born of frustration • Why are the interfaces (to programming languages) so bad? • HCI workshop • Ongoing HCI course

  17. Problem 7 : Expansion • A few hundred to several thousand • Academic to corporate • Need a niche

  18. Problem 7 : Niche • Web interfaces • Shifting technologies • Shifting uses

  19. Problem 8 • Responding to colleagues • Modeling and optimization • Models of fitness • Models of league scheduling • Models of governance • Models for conflict resolution

  20. Problem 9 • CS in a liberal arts and sciences college • Computing for everyone • Tools for text • Living in the knowledge society • Computing and music • Sustainability in computing courses

  21. Random Problems • Because they’re fun • Tower of x’s • Packing spheres • Reconstructing turnpikes • Configuring networks of pipes

  22. Random Questions?

  23. Collaborators • Bernard Kolman • Ian Stewart • Lillian Cassel • Ursula Volz • Christopher Beck • James Solderitsch • ElzbietaDziembowski • Edward Fox • Edward Carr • Richard Austing • Mitchell Weyl • Daniel Hardt • Thomas Way • Vijay Gehlot • Peter DiPasquale • Elliot Sloane • Wingyang Chung

More Related