“Big complex problems don’t scare me anymore, they’re exciting,” tells computer scientist Leigh-Anne Mathieson. For the past three years Leigh-Anne has been conducting bio-computing research at the University of British Columbia. Her research scope explores the computational difficulty of problems that model the folding of ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules.
UBC Assistant Professor of Computer Science Andy Warfield has won awards that range from the UBC Terrific TA Award to an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Studentship, a Cambridge Commonwealth Scholarship, and most recently, the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship.
In talking with Anoop Shankar, a TELUS Business Analyst and Consultant and UBC CS undergrad alum, one feels one is in the presence of a person who embodies the growth mindset. Just six years out of the UBC program, Anoop, a gregariously friendly and eloquent person, has made a mark at TELUS in numerous positions requiring an array of skills.
Amy Kwok admits she was quiet and intimidated when she first entered the CS program in September 2005. As a new graduate of the all-girls Little Flower Academy in Vancouver, she'd always been interested in video gaming and was pretty passionate about computers, but she only agreed to apply to CS if her good friend went as well.
Like so many UBC Computer Science BCS graduates, Tristan Moss has a C.V. worth the envy of many far older than he: an undergraduate degree from the University of Victoria, a Bachelor of Computer Science from UBC, software development positions with Kodak, Microsoft, and iQmetrix, and an extensive portfolio of volunteer community service throughout the world.
“My goal is to have design and technology merge," says Roula O'Regan. "Before, I wouldn’t have been able to do the technology end, but now with the degree, I can find more solutions to design problems, whether it’s a beautiful image or a great user experience. Technology was just a dark cloud to me before, but I’m not intimidated by it any more.”
A hugely popular form of entertainment, video gaming is currently a nearly $50 billion worldwide industry that experts predict will overtake the music industry in sales by the end of 2011. This is true in no small part because gaming, contrary to popular belief, is something we all seem to do. No
Jody LeBlanc, a Database and ERP Systems Administrator with SAP, laughs as she recalls her initial thoughts about computer science. “When I was in high school, computers were still relatively new and I was one of those people who was a little bit afraid of them. Actually I didn’t really want to touch them!”
To read Pat Short’s resume as an IT business analyst for the past 20 years is to walk through a short list of prominent Canadian and U.S. businesses and public service organizations: Business Objects, Ltd., Northwestel, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bell Canada, BMW Financial Services Canada, Providence
When Frank Hangler was mulling over his post-graduate options, he came across a flyer for the UBC Department of Computer Science’s BCS program, and he noticed that the program could help him gain the computing skills necessary to engage with online technology. He also saw he could get those skills without having to undertake another undergraduate degree.
