day in the life of a computer scientist
DESCRIPTION
Presentation given at ODU's Freshmen CS110 class. Includes discussion about what it means to be a computer scientist.TRANSCRIPT
Justin F. Brunelle The MITRE Corporation
& Old Dominion University 11/09/2011
Justin F. Brunelle – Computer Scientist
The MITRE Corporation ◦ Application Developer/KM Researcher
Old Dominion University Alumnus/Student ◦ BS and MS in CS (2008, 2010)
◦ PhD Student
Dr. Nelson
WS-DL – Digital Preservation
BS in Computer Science ◦ Continued mentorship
Intelligent Tutoring Systems
◦ Research assistant ◦ Professional developer
MS in CS ◦ Continued research
Serious Games
◦ Published 5 papers on Serious Game Design Daytona, Boston
◦ Wrote book chapter on Applied Natural Language Processing
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ34qeF1rBHpL0jhaE4tEH-HGWQ-V2tCkiAQL8xo55j-RYFz3U3Ve26ZAvN
PhD
Digital Preservation ◦ Ensure Web pages are stored over time
◦ Visit CNN.com on September 11th?
◦ Visit weather.com during Hurricane Katrina?
◦ Eliminate the 404 error?
◦ Save Facebook?!
http://www.mementoweb.org
Discuss opportunities in Computer Science
Give a description of my career
Answer questions
Wireless Sensor Networks
VANETs
Xbox Kinect
Medical Modeling
Machine Learning
Search Engines
Big Data
http://cdn.techd.in/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/8.5-Million-Settlement-Deal-For-Google-Buzz-Lawsuit-Now-Closed.jpg?0 http://oneforty.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/facebook.jpg
Computers are dumb
Good at repeatable tasks ◦ Simple Computation
◦ Following instructions
Bad at derivation/abstraction ◦ What’s right or wrong?
◦ Deductive reasoning
How do you make a PB&J sandwich?
http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/national-peanut-butter-and-jelly-day.jpg
Get PB and J
Get bread and knife
Insert knife into PB
Spread PB onto bread
Insert knife into J
Spread J onto bread
Put bread together (condiment-side in)
Enjoy
http://static1.freeaddictinggames.com/thumbs/2028.jpg
I work at The MITRE Corporation ◦ Hampton, VA
Application Developer ◦ (aka programmer)
◦ Web Development
◦ Satellites
◦ IC CAE
◦ Information Researcher
http://www.mitre.org
Not for profit
Government owned
FFRDC ◦ Supports DOD, IRS, FAA, etc.
http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/73624417.png
Operate as strategic partners with their sponsoring government agencies
Organized as independent entities with limitations and restrictions on their activities
Assist the U.S. government with scientific research and analysis, development and acquisition, and systems engineering/integration
Bring together the expertise and outlook of government, industry, and academia to solve complex technical problems
Area of Educational Degree
Number of Staff With Degree
Electrical Engineering
Social Sciences
Other Degree
Mathematics
Physics
Other Sciences
Other Engineering
Management & Business
Computer Science
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Mature Judgment Technical Skills
Systems Engineering
Software & Database Engineering
Networking & Communications
Economic/Business Analysis
Information Security
Modeling & Simulation
Other Engineering
More than 20 Years of Experience
<5
6 - 10
11 - 15 16 -
20
Where our staff come from
Industry 73%
Govt. 2%
Academia 3%
New Grads 2%
Self Employed 2%
Military 12%
Bachelor’s
Doctorate
Master’s
Other 6%
Images from Dr. Robert Cherinka’s presentation
Fortune 100
◦ 10 years in a row
Computerworld
◦ 6 years in a row
Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public
Service
Fast Company “50 Most Innovative Companies”
13 http://www.mitre.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Waterfall_model_(1).svg
http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ls6rm0lIPb1qa559ao1_400.jpg http://trickyrelativity.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/watercooler.jpg
Solving Problems
Group work
Programming ◦ 10 lines per day?!
Theory
PUZZLES!
Feedback Incorporated Into Product Backlog
I work normal hours ◦ Never eat Funyuns or drink Mountain Dew
Small teams
Give talks at schools
Work in the community
Research doesn’t happen in a vacuum
http://www.fritolay.com/assets/images/blue/funyuns-original.gif
People Process Technology
Images from Dr. Cherinka’s presentation
20
MITRE Internship / Co-Op Opportunities
© 2008 The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved
Balancing Theory with Practice is Key!
Promote and motivate interest in STEM
Offer “real world” exposure with hands-on experience
Provide an opportunity to consider MITRE as a career
How? ◦ Contact me
Justin F. Brunelle
757-896-8569
http://www.justinfbrunelle.com
For the opportunity and honor
All the great questions I’m about to get!