OMSCS Buzz

Latest Episodes:

S4E2: IA Spotlight - Jim Lohse Feb 11, 2025

Show notes

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

S4E1: Conversation with Dr. Kishore Ramachandran- Cofounder of OMSCS Jan 22, 2025

Show notes

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

S3E7: Peter Graening on Unconventional Career Paths, Lifelong Learning, & More Dec 10, 2024

Show notes

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

S3E6: Dr. Santosh Vempala on Efficient Algorithms, Computing for Good, & More Nov 26, 2024

Show notes

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

S3E5: Prof. Keith McGreggor on AI, Cognitive Science, and Serial Entrepreneurship Oct 29, 2024

Show notes

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

S3E4: Maxx Lee - Systems Engineering in Hollywood Oct 16, 2024

Show notes

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

S3E3: Justin Bailey - TA Spotlight Oct 01, 2024

Show notes

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

S3E2: Dinesh Ayyappan- Engineering, Educating, and Traveling the World Sep 17, 2024

Show notes

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

S3E1: Dr. Thad Starner - Wearable Computing Pioneer Sep 03, 2024

Show notes

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

S2E11: Owen Sizemore - TA Spotlight Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

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