What were you doing prior to earning your PhD?
Before returning to graduate school I started and ran a small custom software company. In one of our projects we made a piece of software that's still in use on the International Space Station.
Why did you enroll in this program?
I went back to school so that I could tackle bigger problems and take on more interesting projects. I enrolled as a masters student. I took CCI's "Intro to Computer Vision" class and was quickly and deeply drawn in. Soon after I applied to change my degree to PhD.
What are your research interests? What was your dissertation topic?
My research interests are in all different areas of computer vision. My thesis focused on extracting shape from images. In one chapter I discussed reassembling broken pottery from depth images of their fragments. In that project I worked with National Park Service archaeologists in Philadelphia. In another chapter I explored making full 3D models of objects by taking pictures of them with a consumer camera and analyzing how the light from the surrounding environment was reflected off of them from different vantage points.
What has been your career path since graduating?
I am now a research and innovation engineer for Adobe Research in San Francisco, CA.
What do you enjoy most about the PhD program?
Pursuing a PhD involves pushing the limit of our understanding. Confronting problems that nobody else has solved before forces you to be precise and methodical.
What was the best part of your experience at Drexel?
The friendships I made as a PhD student are lifelong. Seeing one another struggle and grow over the years made this possible.
In what way did your studies at CCI prepare you for your career?
CCI faculty helped me to reach my goals. I now have a confidence to tackle some of the hardest problems in computer science.
What would be your advice to incoming students?
Seek the company of other students and develop friendships that can support you in your studies. Being a PhD student is hard work, but you can do it!