OMSCS Buzz

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Professor Irfan Essa. He’s a long-time member of the Georgia Tech community and holds numerous titles including Senior Associate Dean in the College of Computing and Director of the Machine Learning @ GT Center. He’s also a Principal Scientist and Research Director at Google  DeepMind. Professor Essa works in many areas of computing including machine learning, computer vision, robotics, human computer interaction, and computational journalism, having published over 200 articles and papers throughout his career. 

TIMESTAMPS- 

(0:00) – Cold intro  

(0:23)- Episode intro 

(2:10) - Early work as a PhD student  

(12:00) - Computer Vision 

(24:55) - Work with Google 

(30:30) - Machine Learning and Impact at GT 

(39:58) - Perception of Technology in Society 

(49:15) - Final thoughts 

VISIThttps://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback & Guest Nomination Form. 

EDITOR – Nikita Burks-Hale 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Jim Lohse.  Jim was born and raised in Silicon Valley, but has lived in Utah since 2007.  He’s been an Instructional Associate for OMSCS since 2020, and he’s also a full-stack developer who helps small businesses accelerate their digital initiatives. Outside of software development, he is an avid fan of playing truck and train simulation games and exploring the mountains near his home. 

Enjoy this IA spotlight! 

TIMESTAMPS- 

(0:00) - Cold Open  

(1:10) - Episode Intro 

(1:50) - Growing up in Silicon Valley 

(4:08) - Transitioning into technology 

(11:12) - Intro to Info Sec (CS 6035) 

(12:37) - Becoming an Instructional Associate 

(13:44) - Research experience with OMSCS 

(16:24) - Blogging and YouTube 

(18:21) - Hobbies 

(20:27) - Final Thoughts 

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimlohse/ 

Website for Jim's Weekly Security Postshttps://www.tekhub.live/ 

Jim's streaming channels:

https://www.twitch.tv/truckandtrain 

https://www.youtube.com/@truckandtrain 

https://www.truckandtrain.com 

VISIThttps://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback & Guest Nomination Form. 

EDITOR – Serge Nino Martin Villasica 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Dr. Kishore Ramachandran. He is a Professor in the College of Computing where his research areas specialize in architectural design, programming, and analysis of parallel and distributed systems.  He is also one of the founders of the OMSCS program along with previous director of the STAR Center, a collaborative partnership between Samsung and Georgia Tech. He is an IEEE Fellow and has dozens of other accolades to his name for his research and teaching during his time at Georgia Tech. 

TIMESTAMPS- 

(0:00) - Cold Open 

(1:17) - Episode Intro 

(2:05) - PhD journey 

(4:08) - 37 years at Georgia Tech! 

(7:12) - Academia and PhD students 

(16:18) - Founding of OMSCS 

(24:50) - Courses in OMSCS 

(41:40) - Research Areas 

(52:22) - Hobbies 

(56:06) - Final Thoughts 

VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback Form. 

EDITOR – Serge Nino Martin Villasica 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Peter Graening. Peter is a Lecturer and Academic Program Director for Georgia Tech Professional Education. He’s a decade-long member of the OMSCS community as a student, TA, and Instructional Associate.  Tune in to hear about his unconventional career journey and the outsized impact he's making as a Georgia Tech faculty member.

TIMESTAMPS- 

(0:00) - Cold Open 

(1:22) - Episode Intro 

(3:08) - Theatre Arts Experience 

(10:19) - Experience at UPS 

(14:18) - OMSCS Journey 

(24:02) - GTPE 

(30:43) - Final Thoughts 

VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback Form. 

EDITOR –  

Serge Nino Martin Villasica 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Dr. Santosh Vempala. He is the Frederick Storey II Chair of Computing and Distinguished Professor in the School of Computer Science.  

His areas of research include the theory of algorithms, Foundations of Data Science, Theory of Brain, and Computing for Good. He has made substantial advances in these fields for which he is a Sloan, Guggenheim, ACM, and American Mathematical Society Fellow. 

TIMESTAMPS- 

(0:00) - Cold Open 

(1:10) - Episode Intro 

(1:55) - 2024 Fulkerson Prize 

(3:51) - Work on Algorithms 

(18:31) - Computing for Good 

(24:24) - Advice on pursuing a PhD 

(26:42) - Theory of Computing Journal editor

(28:32) - Hobbies and Personal Life 

VISIT ⁠https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast⁠ for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback Form. 

EDITOR – Serge Nino Martin Villasica 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Dr. Keith McGreggor. He is a Professor of the Practice at Georgia Tech and a serial entrepreneur with over ten startups under his belt. His thirty-plus years of academic research and teaching spans cognitive science, AI, and entrepreneurship.  

TIMESTAMPS- 

(0:00) - Cold Open 

(1:17) - Intro 

(1:51) - Career Journey 

(2:45) - Creating first AI company in Atlanta 

(5:15) - First 3D program for Macintosh - Phoenix3D - and working at Lockheed Martin

(8:38) - Developing Color Architecture for MacOS

(13:01) - Culture of Apple  

(15:57) - AI and Consumer Electronics 

(19:19) - State of AI Research 

(25:48) - Paper on “Is Experience Knowledge Representation?” 

(28:24) - PhD Journey and Venture Lab at GT

(38:54) - Final Thoughts 

VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback Form. 

EDITOR – Serge Nino Martin Villasica 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Maxx Lee. Maxx is Head of Systems Engineering at Scanline VFX’s Eyeline Studios, an innovative and renowned virtual production studio owned by Netflix. His IMDb includes VFX credits for movies like Godzilla vs Kong, Spider-Man Far from Home, and Divergent, and hit shows like Game of Thrones. Tune in to hear about Maxx’s exciting work in visual effects, his career journey in computer graphics and animation, and his reflections as an OMSCS alum.

TIMESTAMPS- 

(0:00) – Cold intro  

(1:13) - Episode intro  

(2:15) - Day-to-day at Eyeline Studios  

(7:05) - Visual effects pipeline 

(11:00) – VFX Industry Standards  

(16:08) – Challenges while working on Godzilla vs Kong and other blockbusters

(19:45) – Misconceptions and measuring success  

(27:04) - Teasing upcoming shows!

(28:40) – Initial interest in the VFX Industry  

(33:07) – OMSCS Journey 

(37:25) – Advice for getting into the VFX Industry 

(40:39) - Episode wrap up 

VISIT ⁠https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast⁠ for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback Form.  

EDITOR – Nikita Burks-Hale 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Justin Bailey. Justin is a Lead Software Engineer at a leading financial services company in New York City as well as a TA for the OMSCS program’s CS6310: Software Architecture and Design. Enjoy this TA Spotlight episode as we get to hear from Justin on his interests and career journey! 

TIMESTAMPS- 

(0:00) – Cold intro  

(1:15)- Episode intro 

(1:47) - 12k subs on YouTube!  

(11:02) - OMSCS Experience 

(15:56) - Other interests 

(17:48) - Inspiration and motivation 

(21:13) - Online platforms 

(22:11) - Final thoughts 

VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback Form. Please leave us a rating & review! 

EDITOR – Serge Nino Martin Villasica 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Dinesh Ayyappan. Dinesh is an OMSCS student, soon to be graduate, with an incredibly interesting journey ranging from studying mechanical engineering in the East Coast to teaching computer science in the Himalayan foothills to planting new roots in Singapore. He’s been to 31 countries and nearly every US state. In this episode, we dive into his career, personal interests, and words of wisdom from all his experiences.  

TIMESTAMPS- 

(0:00) – Cold intro 

(1:14) - Episode intro 

(2:10) - Background and early interests 

(6:20) - Transition to teaching 

(16:20) – Experience in Himalayas 

(25:20) – Experience in Singapore 

(29:55) – Philosophy of teaching 

(34:02) – OMSCS journey 

(42:17) – OMSCS Research – using LLMs in Education 

(48:26) – Traveling Thoughts 

LINKS- Dinesh's blog- www.dineshayyappan.com

VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback Form. 

EDITOR – Serge Nino Martin Villasica 

We are excited to kick off the Fall 2024 semester with a brand new season of the OMSCS Buzz podcast!

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Dr. Thad Starner. Dr. Starner is a professor at Georgia Tech and director of the Contextual Computing Group. He is a pioneer and prolific inventor in the fields of wearable computing and augmented reality with over 80 patents and 500 papers and presentations to his name. He’s the longest-serving Technical Lead on Google Glass and the recipient of numerous awards for his work on deaf education...among many other accolades. Tune in to hear about wearable computing, augmented reality, American Sign Language, and dolphins! 

TIMESTAMPS- 

(0:00) – Cold intro 

(0:33) – Episode Intro 

(2:15) – Ph.D. Journey – Your Mentors 

(7:10) – Wearable Computing and Augmented Reality 

(22:50) – Google Glass 

(29:00) – CS 7470 Course 

(38:05) – Dolphin CHAT Research 

(48:00) – American Sign Language Initiatives 

(49:00) – Learning at Scale 

(54:30) – Episode Closing 

RESOURCES: 

PopSign – American Sign Language Learning Initiative 

CHAT work with Dolphins 

VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback Form. 

EDITOR- Nikita Burks-Hale