OMSCS Buzz

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: acmiyaguchi@gatech.edu

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 cguida@pace.edu 

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 hmoon70@gatech.edu 

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 nlytle3@gatech.edu. 

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