A Bit More About Me (2024)

Before going in to Univeristy, I wanted to become a software engineer. However, after a few co-op / intern experiences, I wanted to try out for a career outside of the industry.

At the time, I was seriously considering pursuing fields like Complexity Theory. But, a reading course in Programming Languages (PL) changed that trajectory.

I was already interested in functional programming, previously reading notes on lambda calculus. I took the reading course over the last summer, where we read The Little Typer. After the course, I decided that I will study PL instead. During my fourth-year, I applied for graduate study in PL.

During the summer in between undergrad and Master's, I prepared myself for PL research by read textbooks like Software Foundations and Types and Programming Languages (TAPL).

In my third-year, my friend / roommate was a student studying pure math. He insist me to take a course in Mathematical Logic and Group Theory. I reluctantly agreed.

I was fortunate enough to have fantastic professors for both courses.

• The professor for Mathematical Logic knows how to make the course interesting, and gave us time to ponder the concepts introduced in depth.
• The professor for Group Theory was able to cover a staggering amount of content, yet still made it understandable to mere mortals.

Although I am now interested in Mathematics, it had to give way for the main computer science degree. I returned to mathematics in the last few terms, getting a second major in mathematics in the end.

Although it's not my main focus now, I try to make time for mathematics, just as a hobby.