OMSCS Buzz

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with friend of the show, Dr. David Joyner, making his third appearance. As Executive Director of Online Education & OMSCS in Georgia Tech's College of Computing, Dr. Joyner is a Tech mainstay. In this episode, we’ll dive into topics like knowledge-based AI, the future of pedagogy, and more.  TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Open (1:24) - Episode Begins (3:06) - KBAI course beginning (6:44) - Knowledge encoding and LLMs (14:52) - Edtech and LLMs (31:00) - Automation in different fields  (44:49) - Rapid Fire round (1:04:36) - Outro VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback & Guest Nomination Form. EDITOR – Sid Ramesh

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with  Dr. Joy Arulraj. He is an Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science, leading the Advanced Database Systems Lab with groundbreaking work at the intersection of database systems, non-volatile memory, and AI integration. In this episode, you’ll hear about his career journey and incredibly fascinating research across data systems and machine learning. TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Open (1:05) - Episode begins (2:02) - Internship experience (7:17) - PhD journey (11:29) - Databases and LLMs (17:28) - AI use in improving Databases  (32:02) - PDF Parsing problem (38:00) - Database implementation course (40:55) - Rapid fire round LINKS FROM THE EPISODE-1. Bw-Tree - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/bw-tree-icde2013-final.pdf2. BzTree - https://www.vldb.org/pvldb/vol11/p553-arulraj.pdf3. EvaDB - https://github.com/georgia-tech-db/evadb4. TokenSmith - https://github.com/georgia-tech-db/tokensmith5. Intel Center for Visual Computing - https://www.openedgecomputing.org/blog/index.htmlHN comments on the impact of LLMs on education - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=474779257. BuzzDB - https://buzzdb-docs.readthedocs.io/8. Andy Pavlo's Database Course at CMU - https://15445.courses.cs.cmu.edu/9. Uber's indexing system - https://www.uber.com/us/en/blog/h3/10. Rajni Restaurant - https://rajniatl.com/11. Soldiers and Cooks restaurant - https://www.cooksandsoldiers.com/VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback & Guest Nomination Form. EDITOR – Sid Ramesh

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Vaibhav Jain.  He’s a Tech Lead who’s built high-impact systems across India, Singapore, and the Netherlands. From scaling logistics with machine learning to architecting low-latency crypto fraud detection, he’s done it all while leading teams across multiple time zones. But he’s not just building systems; he’s building people. Vaibhav is an OMSCS alum, a mentor to over 40 engineers, and has conducted senior interviews for tech giants like Palantir and Coinbase. If you want to know what it takes to operate with a global mindset, this is the episode for you. TIMESTAMPS- (00:00) - Cold Intro (01:50) Involved in competitive programming, preparation for software engineering career (05:08) Moved from India to Singapore to explore, thought process, cultural differences (08:37) Differences in ways of working in Singapore between India startup and Singapore "scale-up" (11:45) How to motivate and persuade people when people might be resistant (14:38) "Leading from the front" and building teams that work together (17:50) Differences between junior and senior engineers (20:32) Moving to technical side, differences between real-time and event-driven (25:45) move to Amsterdam to work for crypto company (29:00) System design approach switching from tracking parcels to tracking finance (32:01) How agentic tools like Claude Code are changing the way fraud is perpetrated (35:01) What is good enough in software development related to fiduciary duties (38:58) Where does the OMSCS program come into the picture, reasons for attending (42:41) How does OMSCS keep up with the needs of the global audience (44:45) Rapid fire questions: counties visited, programming languages, travel, hiking, and more (47:48) Closing thoughts: How OMSCS has been helpful and bridging gaps VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback & Guest Nomination Form. EDITOR – Jim Lohse 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Dr. Ana Mary Rusch and Alex Duncan, two members of OMSCS staff and the OMSCS Buzz team!Dr. Ana Mary Rusch has a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and with second majors in both Geography and Political Science, a master’s degree in Geography, and a Ph.D. in Global and Sociocultural Studies, all from Florida International University. Dr. Rusch has worked with online education for most of her career in different capacities across content and design with a focus on research and teaching. Currently, Dr. Rusch’s current research focuses on online education, at-scale education, and affordable degrees and has published in several avenues such as Learning @ Scale and SIGCSE Technical Symposium.Alex is the Associate Director of Student Experience for OMSCS. He oversees course maintenance, addresses student feedback, and chairs the annual OMSCS Conference. His research interests lie at the intersection of online education, learning at scale, and student experience. TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Intro(3:16) - Alex's Introduction and Academic background (9:34) - Ana's Introduction and Academic background (21:55) - OMSCS and Covid 19 (24:58) - Day in the Life(34:38) - OMSCS Moonshot Ideas(41:00) - OMSCS Conference (51:47) - Closing Thoughts VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback & Guest Nomination Form. EDITOR – Sid Ramesh

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with  Dr. Maria Konte. She is a researcher at Georgia Tech whose work sits at the intersection of Internet security, network measurements, and online misinformation. She’s done incredible work uncovering how malicious actors exploit online ecosystems and how we can build safer, more trustworthy digital spaces. TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Intro (02:05) From Greece to Boston to Georgia Tech Researcher / Professor (05:10) Internship at Verisign Labs with Cybersecurity team as PhD student (09:50) Early research focused on identifying abused networks and social media research (12:15) Course Navigator Lab building a product to help students choose classes (21:45) Discussion of RAG Architecture for Course Navigator (with AI Agents) (22:47) Teaching Computer Networks (26:07) Teaching Modern Internet Research Methods course (29:53) Creative thinking in research, "is there an art to doing research?" (33:42) What sorts of research projects and topics are interesting to Dr. Konte? VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback & Guest Nomination Form. EDITOR – Jim Lohse 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Erik Goh. Erik is an OMSCS student with a fascinating career ranging from film freelancing to startups to academic research at the intersection of media, machine learning, and computer science education. TIMESTAMPS-(0:00) - Cold Intro (1:15) - Episode begin (02:19) - From film industry to tech  (08:52) - Discovery of GANs and their potential for music and video  (09:58) - Major contract in Singapore  (14:10) - Building the Lightbox tool for professors (17:10) - Bridging startup life with OMSCS (24:43) - Balancing marketing career, marriage, and OMSCS (34:43) - Unsupervised learning work in CS 8903 and advice to learners VISIT ⁠https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast⁠ for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback & Guest Nomination Form. EDITOR – James Lohse 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Bree Shi—Research Program Director in the College of Computing at Georgia Tech and founder of the Human-Augmented Analytics Group. Bree’s work bridges AI, bioinformatics, and innovative online programs, empowering students and researchers across disciplines. In this conversation, we explore the creation of HAAG, her approach to mentorship, and the future of collaborative research in a digital world.  TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Intro  (1:20) - Episode begin (4:00) - Bio Mathematics academic background (9:04) - Programming background (11:04) - HAAG research group (27:00) - Learnings from online research (37:00) - Advise to OMSCS students  VISIT ⁠https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast⁠ for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback & Guest Nomination Form. EDITOR – Sid Ramesh 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Dante Ciolfi. Dante is a Research Associate and educator at Georgia Tech whose journey through technology and teaching is nothing short of inspiring.  From building websites in the early days of the Internet to training the next generation of computing professionals, Dante’s career has spanned industry, education, and social impact. He’s taught students from all walks of life, helped shape Georgia Tech’s Computing for Good program, and continues to explore how project-based learning and Web equity can make computing more inclusive and meaningful.  TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Open  (1:04) - Episode start  (2:25) - Dentist background (11:40) - Switch to programming (17:51) - Teaching CS (30:40) - Computing for Good Course (38:28) - Advice for OMSCS students  VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback & Guest Nomination Form. EDITOR – Sid Ramesh 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Professor Jay Summet.  He is a Senior Lecturer and OMSCS Associate Director for Academic Affairs. He teaches CS 7638: Robotics AI Techniques, and a fun fact about him is that “he owns more bikes than cars, more degrees than bikes, more computers than degrees, and more robots than computers”. TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Intro  (1:04) - Episode start (2:04) - Early interest in Computers (7:30) - Georgia Tech teaching experience (16:27) - AI for Robotics OMSCS course  (23:18) - Experience as Academic Advisor (36:30) - Career Advice VISIT ⁠https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast⁠ for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback & Guest Nomination Form. EDITOR –  Sidharth Ramesh

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Murilo Gustineli. Murilo is a current OMSCS student and co-lead of the Applied Research and Competitions Group within the Data Science at Georgia Tech club. In this episode, you’ll hear about his fascinating career journey from growing up in Brazil and swimming competitively to finding a new passion in machine learning through OMSCS. TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Intro  (1:07) - Episode Intro  (2:30) - Competitive Swimming (3:19) - Undergrad education (10:09) - Career in Technology (18:10) - DS@GT group (30:12) - Conferences VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback & Guest Nomination Form. EDITOR –  Sidharth Ramesh

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Joves Luo. Joves is a long-time member of the OMSCS community as an alumnus and one of the Head Instructional Associates for CS 6515, Graduate Algorithms.  He’s also a tenured software engineer at Google with extensive experience in distributed computing, cloud, and systems design.  In this conversation, we discuss Joves’s career journey, his perspective on the Grad Algorithms course, and more. TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Intro  (1:06) - Episode Intro  (3:15) - Initial Career (11:50) - Learning from OMSCS courses  (15:15) - TAing for Grad Algo (GA) (33:20) - Wisdom and Advice about taking GA (40:25) - Working at Google (1:05:00) - Advice to software engineers VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback Form. EDITOR – Sidharth Ramesh 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Dr. Melody Jackson. She is a pioneering researcher and educator at Georgia Tech. Dr. Jackson is the creator and director of Georgia Tech’s BrainLab, where she leads groundbreaking work in brain–computer interfaces, helping people communicate and control technology using only their thoughts. She’s also a founder of the emerging field of Animal–Computer Interaction, designing systems that allow service dogs and other animals to interact with technology in meaningful ways. With a career that bridges industry innovation, academic leadership, and student mentorship, Dr. Jackson’s work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, NIH, DARPA, and more. Her journey—from earning her Ph.D. in Computer Science at Georgia Tech to shaping the future of human– and animal–technology interaction—continues to inspire students, researchers, and technologists worldwide.TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Intro (1:14) - Episode Intro (2:30) - Lifelong professional dog trainer! (8:50) - Work in FIDO project (18:40) - Research associate background (22:05) - Industry to Academia journey (28:22) - Research problems (40:55) - Moonshot projects (47:42) - Advice for OMSCS students interested in research VISIT ⁠https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast⁠ for the entire catalog of episodes and our Feedback & Guest Nomination Form. EDITOR – Sidharth Ramesh

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Dr. Ana Rusch, Alex Duncan, & Hannah Moon, three key members of the OMSCS community and masterminds behind the annual OMSCS conference. Tune in to hear about the origins of this conference, highlights from the 2025 edition, and what to expect in next year's event.VISIT https://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. David Joyner, Associate Dean for Off-Campus & Special Initiatives and the Executive Director of Online Education & OMSCS in the College of Computing, a Principal Research Associate at Georgia Tech, and the inaugural holder of the Zvi Galil PEACE (Pervasive Equitable Access to Computing Education) Chair. He is the author of multiple books and 50 plus papers on online CS education. He's been a leading figure in the OMSCS community since its inception, and he has won several awards over the years including the 2022 College of Computing Outstanding Faculty Leadership Award. Excited to have him back on the show!  TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Intro (1:21) - Episode Intro (2:45) - New initiatives in OMSCS (9:20) - Partnership with companies (16:04) - New course offerings (20:13) - How AI affects the curriculum (23:04) - Impact of research funding in OMSCS (28:40) - Book: Teacher’s Guide to Conversational AI (40:59) - Final thoughts  VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for the entire catalog of episodes and our Guest Nomination & Feedback Form. EDITOR – Serge Nino-Martin Villasica 

On this episode, host Tanmay Shah chats with Maritza Mills. Maritza is a product manager who most recently was at Google focused on cloud and AI. Previously, she has held product management roles at AWS and a startup acquired by Thomson Reuters. She's an OMSCS alum and Instructional Associate for KBAI.  Tune in to learn about her career journey, OMSCS experience, and her unique perspective as an AI product manager for one of a handful of companies at the forefront of AI innovation. TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Open (1:22) - Episode Intro (5:22) - Early Years (10:45) - Product vs Project Management (13:28) - Product Management at Google and Amazon (22:28) - OMSCS journey (29:31) - Music as Discovery: GenAI and Creativity (36:30) - Further Research Plans (42:46) - Impact of OMSCS in career (52:36) - Final Thoughts  VISIT https://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. Jon Duke. He is the Director of the Health Emerging and Advanced Technologies Division at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, Principal Research Scientist in the Georgia Tech College of Computing, and instructor for CS 6440 Graduate Intro to Health Informatics. He holds an MD from Harvard Medical School and a Master’s in Human Computer Interaction from Indiana University.  In this episode, you’ll hear about topics like healthcare data interoperability and large-scale health data analytics.  TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Open (1:22) - Episode Intro (2:21) - Pre-Med and History major (3:44) - Early interests in Japanese History (5:42) - Healthcare systems outside US (9:15) - Transitioning into Computing / HCI (17:55) - Regenstrief at Indiana University (23:08) - The OHDSI Project  (29:03) - CHAI at Georgia Tech (37:10) - CS 6440 Health Informatics Course VISIT https://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 Rob Lindgren. Rob is an OMSCS alum and machine learning engineer at Capital One. Previously, he conducted applied NLP research in Dr. Ashok Goel’s Design & Intelligence Lab, and studied the effectiveness of NLP for economic forecasting at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Enjoy this alumni spotlight! TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Cold Open (0:17) - Episode Intro (2:05) - Current work at Capital One (5:48) - Impact on OMSCS (9:58) - OMSCS Research  (20:50) - Research outside GaTech (26:42) - Advice on transitioning to CS  VISIT https://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 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

On this episode, Tanmay chats with Owen Sizemore. Owen is an Android Software Engineer at Wealthfront, an automated investment firm in Palo Alto, California. Owen grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, studying Computer Science with minors in Political Science and Spanish. He’s an OMSCS graduate but continues to stay involved in the program as an Instructional Associate.   TIMESTAMPS-  0:00 – Cold Intro  (0:30) - Episode Intro  (2:30) - Current work at Wealthfront   (5:05) - Mobile development   (7:25) - Advice for new college grads   (11:05) - OMSCS Journey  (19:18) - AI and Foreign Language  (23:43) - Advice for OMSCS Students and Alum  (33:40) - Closing  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, Tanmay chats with Anthony Miyaguchi. Anthony is a current OMSCS student and software engineer at Planet Labs, an Earth observation analytics company. He’s done it all while at Georgia Tech, from winning awards in student showcases to submitting papers at major conferences, to studying abroad at Georgia Tech’s campus in France. Tune in to hear about his incredibly interesting professional journey!  TIMESTAMPS-  (0:00) - Cold Open  (0:39) - Episode Intro  (2:06) - Undergrad experience in UCLA  (3:31) - Transition from hardware to data at Mozilla  (6:55) - Decision to graduate studies  (11:11) - Experience in Planet Labs  (21:36) - Data Science @ GT Club  (25:40) - Paper about Transfer Learning  (33:23) - Autobot VIP experience  (38:20) - OMSCS experience    (41:29) - Closing thoughts    Reach out to Anthony: [email protected] 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, Tanmay chats with Dr. Carmine Guida. Dr. Guida is an alum of the OMSCS program and currently a Professor at Pace University where he created the Game Development major. He has had a variety of experiences throughout his career ranging from working in startups to academia. To connect with Dr. Guida on adjunct teaching opportunities or advice on pursuing a PhD, email him at [email protected]  TIMESTAMPS-  (0:00) - Cold Open  (0:19) - Episode Intro  (1:40) - Academic Teaching Experience in Games and Development  (4:10) - Benefits of Learning Games and Development   (10:03) - Recent AI Trends in Games and Development  (15:32) - AR/VR and the Games and Development Field  (19:47) - Scholarly Research  (27:45) - Starting in Tech   (31:13) - Pursuing an OMSCS Degree  (39:30) - Advice for Pursuing a PhD  (46:45) - Closing Thoughts  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, Tanmay chats with Hannah Moon. Hannah is Associate Director of External Engagement in the OMSCS program. Among her many other duties, she’s been an integral part of planning the annual OMSCS Conference which was held for the second time this past May. Please tune in to this special Staff Spotlight episode to hear about her career and personal journey!    TIMESTAMPS-  (0:00) - Cold Open  (0:21) - Episode Intro  (1:40) - What do you do in your work?  (3:48) - New Partnerships and Initiatives   (7:13) - Most Exciting Aspects of Your Work  (9:40) - OMSCS Conference Planning Highlights  (13:40) - How Did You Start Your Career?  (20:05) - Study Abroad/Non-Profit Experience  (24:40) - The Importance of Studying Abroad  (27:40) - Final Call to Action  (28:43) - Conclusion    To connect with Hannah for partnership opportunities, email her at [email protected]  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, Tanmay chats with Dr. Nick Lytle, Associate Director of Research for Georgia Tech’s OMSCS program. Prior to his current role, Dr. Lytle has worked as a consultant, Data Scientist, and researcher. He holds a PhD in computer science and his personal mission is to make computing education more effective and accessible to all. Tune in for a conversation around the future of Computer Science, the importance of Research Collaboration for students with professors and the importance of ensuring that computing is accessible and universal for all. To connect with Dr. Nick Lytle email him at [email protected].  TIMESTAMPS-  (0:00) - Cold Open  (2:07) - Fishstalkers Project  (5:05) - Departmental Research Collaboration Opportunities  (9:05) - Vertically Integrated Projects/Mentorship within OMSCS  (19:35) - New Potential OMSCS Research-Focused Projects  (23:55) - Securing Faculty/Student Research Collaborations  (29:55) - Personal Motivation and How Dr. Lytle Started in the Field  (39:15) - Future OMSCS Outlook  (42:00) - Conclusion  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, Tanmay chats with Dr. David Joyner, Executive Director of OMSCS and Online Education in Georgia Tech’s College of Computing. This is Part 2 of our 2-part series with Dr. Joyner. Although it’s not a prerequisite for this episode, if you haven’t checked out Part 1, please do take a listen! In this Part 2 episode, we dive into Dr. Joyner’s backstory and OMSCS journey.    TIMESTAMPS-  (0:00) - Cold Open  (1:44) - Being at GT for half of your life  (4:51) - Importance of College of Computing  (9:21) - Ph.D. Thesis in Human Centered Computing  (13:24) - Highest value decision in 20s  (16:22) - Birth of OMSCS  (24:00) - Dr. Joyner’s courses  (37:41) - OMSCS 2014 vs 2024  (42:57) - Future Outlook  (52:53) - OMSCS Conference  (1:01:52) - Call for Research Assistants - Ashok Goel Lab  (1:03:45) - Dr. Joyner’s Recommended Reads  (1:08:09) - Closing  ADDITIONAL LINKS-  Providence by Max Barry- https://www.amazon.com/Providence-Max-Barry/dp/0593085175 Impossible Girl & Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang- https://www.amazon.com/Impossible-Girl-Lydia-Kang/dp/1503903389   Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch- https://www.amazon.com/Because-Internet-Understanding-Rules-Language/dp/0735210934   Hello World by Hannah Fry- https://www.amazon.com/Hello-World-Being-Human-Algorithms/dp/039363499X     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, Tanmay chats with Dr. David Joyner, Executive Director of OMSCS and Online Education in Georgia Tech’s College of Computing. He is the author of three books and 50 plus papers on online CS education. He's been a leading figure in the OMSCS community since its inception, and he has won several awards over the years including the 2022 College of Computing Outstanding Faculty Leadership Award. Tune in and hear Dr. Joyner share his journey at Georgia Tech, milestones along the way, and his plans for OMSCS going forward.   TIMESTAMPS-  (0:00) - Cold Intro  (0:21) - Intro & Welcome  (2:45) - Georgia Tech Rankings  (8:15) - Learning New Skills  (42:04) - Ashok Goel Lab – Research Opening  (43:55) - Teaching  (1:08:00) - Assessing  (1:15:00) - Part 1 Conclusion  ADDITIONAL LINKS-  https://tech.ed.gov/files/2023/05/ai-future-of-teaching-and-learning-report.pdf   https://openai.com/blog/teaching-with-ai   https://www.linkedin.com/in/joynercn/  https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3491140.3528283   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, Tanmay chats with Zoey Beda. Zoey is a TA for CS 6750: Human-Computer Interaction in OMSCS along with being a musician and developer. Tune in to hear about the intersection of mathematics, music, and computer science, and more!  TIMESTAMPS-  (0:00) - Intro  (13:35) - Journey as a musician  (24:32) - OMSCS Experience  (28:05) - After OMSCS  (30:05) - Favorite Books  (31:56) - Outro  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, Tanmay chats with Professor Rich Vuduc. Dr. Vuduc is a Professor in the School of Computational Science and Engineering. He researches high-performance computing, and he created the Intro to HPC course CSE 6220, one of the earliest courses in the OMSCS program. Tune in to hear about automated performance tuning, synergies between AI and supercomputing, post-Moore's Law computing, Dr. Vuduc’s career journey, and much more!  TIMESTAMPS-  (0:00) - Cold Intro  (0:45) - Intro & Welcome  (2:10) - What is Super Computing all about?  (4:00) - Vuduc’s Areas Research: Sparse Matrices, Autotuning, and Super Computing  (13:00) - Emerging Trends in High Performance Computing  (29:00) - C.R.N.C.H  (33:00) - Dr. Vuduc’s Early Years  (38:00) - Post Doc and Academia  (47:00) - Dr. Vuduc and GA Tech  (51:00) - Online Teaching Experience- CSE6220 (57:00) - How the Field Has Evolved   (1:00:00) - Dr. Vuduc’s Hobbies and Parting Words  (1:04:00) - Connect with Dr. Vuduc    ADDITIONAL LINKS-  Center for Research into Novel Computing Hierarchies (C.R.N.C.H.): Center for Research into Novel Compute Hierarchies – Just another Sites @ Georgia Tech site (gatech.edu)  Supercomputing @ GT Student Group Student Organizations | College of Computing (gatech.edu)  HPC Garage - The HPC Garage | A parallel computing research lab at Georgia Tech    VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for our entire catalog of episodes.  EDITOR – Serge Nino Martin Villasica 

On this episode, Tanmay chats with Sagar Badlani. Sagar hails from Mumbai, India where he completed his undergraduate studies in computer science. He’s currently a Master's student in Computer Science at Georgia Tech where he also is a TA for Global Entrepreneurship. Tune in to hear more on this course, blockchain, ML research, the Indian innovation landscape, and more.   TIMESTAMPS-  (0:00) - Cold Intro  (0:47) - Intro & Welcome  (2:00) - How Did You Become Interested in Block Chain?  (4:15) - How Does Block Chain relate to Primary and Higher Education?  (7:15) - Healthcare and Machine Learning  (19:30) - News Break (20:35) - Sagar’s Journey  (25:00) - Technology and Innovation in India  (35:15) - News Break (36:30) - OMSCS Journey  (40:15) - TA Experience   (45:30) - Words of Advice  ADDITIONAL LINKS-  To register for the 2nd Annual OMSCS Conference VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/2024-omscs-conference  To register to attend the Alumni Speaker Series VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/alumni-speaker-series  VISIT ⁠https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast⁠ for our entire catalog of episodes.  EDITOR – Nikita Burks-Hale 

On this episode, Tanmay chats with Cherie Lum. Cherie is a graduate student in the OMSCS program as well as founder of a startup called In the Park. As a Chapter Head of an OMSCS meet up group, she’s also active in creating community-building events for our online students.     TIMESTAMPS-  (0:00) - Cold Intro  (0:55) - Intro & Welcome  (2:18) - OMSCS Research Project  (4:55) - OMSCS Meet Up Groups  (5:50) - In The Park Start Up  (8:10) - Bringing People Together  (10:15) - Cherie’s Journey  (13:36) - The Physics Journey  (19:40) - OMSCS Journey  (20:55) - Being a TA   (22:00) - OMSCS Degree  (23:00) - OMSCS Meet Ups (continued)  (26:00) - Philosophy Journey  (29:00) - Words of Advice  (29:55) - Resources/Connect with Cherie    ADDITIONAL LINKS-  Cherie's Start Up: www.inthepark.co  VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for our entire catalog of episodes.  EDITOR – Nikita Burks-Hale 

In this final episode for 2023, Tanmay chats with Steven Bryant. Steve is the Founder and CEO of Bryant Research, an AI advisory and consulting firm. Outside his day job, he’s a co-head TA for Georgia Tech’s Machine Learning for Trading course… as well as the author of “DISRUPTIVE: Rewriting the rules of physics”.  Happy Holidays, and we'll see you in 2024 for more exciting conversations! TIMESTAMPS-  (0:00) - Cold Intro  (0:33) - Intro & Welcome  (1:25) - Current Work  (1:55) -  Self-Driving Money  (4:40) - AI as collaborator  (6:37) - LLM for Academic Research / Teaching  (10:50) - Bryant Research   (13:36) - The Physics Journey  (18:28) - OMSCS Journey  (23:16) - OMSCS Degree  (26:24) - Being a TA  (29:47) - Approach on Learning      ADDITIONAL LINKS-  Assessing GPT-4’s role as a co-collaborator in scientific research: a case study analyzing Einstein’s special theory of relativity: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44163-023-00075-3  Bryant Research: https://bryantresearch.ai/    VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for our entire catalog of episodes.  EDITOR – Serge Nino Martin Villasica 

On this episode, Tanmay chats with Brittney Exline. Brittney is a software engineer and technology leader who has worked for years in advertising technology and educational tech. She attended the University of Pennsylvania at 15, where she was the youngest African American to be accepted into an Ivy League school. She’s also a passionate public speaker and writer and is currently a TA for OMSCS’s CS7637 Knowledge Based AI course.    ADDITIONAL LINKS-  Lighthouse Writers Workshop: https://lighthousewriters.org/  The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324050308  Find Brittney on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackgirlbaker    VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for our entire catalog of episodes.  EDITOR – Eric Wallace 

On this episode, Tanmay chats with Chinmay Anaokar. Chinmay has been a Principal Solutions Architect at Brainfloss, a company he co-founded, since Feb 2022, where he leads the development and delivery of innovative cloud solutions for diverse clients. He’s in his last semester of OMSCS.    TIMESTAMPS-  (0:00) - Cold Open  (0:33) - Intro & Welcome Chinmay!  (1:23) - Brainfloss  (9:46) - News Break  (10:58) - Chinmay’s backstory  (24:14) - OMSCS Experience  (32:16) - Next 3 years  (35:48) - Closing thoughts from Chinmay  ADDITIONAL LINKS- Brainfloss: https://www.brainfloss.com/  AWS YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@amazonwebservices?si=KVdA1Zg7477CuQfu  Big Technology: https://www.bigtechnology.com/ Find Chinmay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/canaokar/  VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for our entire catalog of episodes.  EDITOR – Eric Wallace 

On this episode, Tanmay chats with Miguel Morales. Miguel is an instructor for CS 7642: Reinforcement Learning, the author of Grokking Deep Reinforcement Learning, and an Associate Fellow at Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs group. Tune in to hear about Miguel's experiences growing up and working in Venezuela, his perspective on reinforcement learning, and the impetus that led him to write his first book! TIMESTAMPS-  (0:00) - Cold Open (1:00) - Welcome Miguel! (1:58) - Deep Dive into Reinforcement Learning (4:29) - News Update (30:05) - Life in Venezuela (41:51) - OMSCS Experience (54:03) - Life outside of work (59:42) - Closing thoughts VISIT ⁠https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast⁠ for our entire catalog of episodes.  EDITOR – Serge Nino Martin Villasica  ADDITIONAL LINKS  Find Miguel on Twitter: @mimoralea  Grokking Deep Reinforcement Learning by Miguel Morales: https://www.manning.com/books/grokking-deep-reinforcement-learning  Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction by Richard S. Sutton and Andrew G. Barto: http://incompleteideas.net/book/the-book-2nd.html  “Introduction to Reinforcement Learning” lecture series by David Silver: https://www.deepmind.com/learning-resources/introduction-to-reinforcement-learning-with-david-silver  “Deep Reinforcement Learning” course by Sergey Levine (UC Berkeley): https://rail.eecs.berkeley.edu/deeprlcourse/ 

Welcome to the first episode of OMSCS Buzz, the official OMSCS podcast! On this episode, Tanmay chats with Dr. Mark Riedl. Dr. Riedl is a computer science professor at Georgia Tech and teaches one of the newest OMSCS courses, CS 7650: Natural Language Processing. He is also the Associate Director of the Georgia Tech Machine Learning Center and the Director of the Entertainment Intelligence and Human-Centered AI Labs. Tune in to learn more about Dr. Riedl's research on AI creativity and storytelling, his path to Georgia Tech, and his lifelong love of computer games!  TIMESTAMPS- (0:00) - Intro  (1:33) - Dr. Riedl’s current work  (31:59) - Background and life story  (40:55) - OMSCS experience  (50:03) - Mindset and advice  (54:57) - Closing thoughts and Outro  EPISODE LINKS- Entertainment Intelligence and Human-Centered AI Labs: https://eilab.gatech.edu/  Dr. Riedl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mark_riedl Dr. Riedl on Medium: https://mark-riedl.medium.com/ VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for our entire catalog of episodes.  EDITOR – Serge Nino Martin Villasica