When am I ever going to use this? ...tales from a career in industry

Research, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, instills in us valuable lessons that follow us even when we leave academia. The algorithms, approaches, and fundamentals that we master fortify our skill sets in a way that is hard to gain any other way. I'll talk through some of my academic research (some that even happened at Bryn Mawr!) and how what I learned from them has continued to help me ten years down the line.

Transcript

1. Julia Ferraioli (class of 2007) Senior Developer Advocate @juliaferraioli, google.com/+JuliaFerraioli When am I ever going to use this? ... tales from a career in industry
2. Game Changers A bit of background
3. 3 @juliaferraioli BA in CS @ Bryn Mawr College 2003-2007 A career retrospective 2007-2009 2009-2010 2010-Now Software Engineer @ Microsoft MSCS @ Rochester TE @ DocuSign Cloud @ Google
4. 4 @juliaferraioli BA in CS @ Bryn Mawr College 2003-2007 A career retrospective
5. 5 • Machine learning with background knowledge • Incorporating user interface to allow interactive clustering • Algorithm used a variety of improvement on good ol’ k-means DREU @ UMBC 5 Humans are smart. Machines are smart. Humans + machines are smarter. http://goo.gl/yZkUjU
6. 6 @juliaferraioli research in your very own AI lab on developmental robotics
7. Impossible is closer than we think.
8. 8 @juliaferraioli BA in CS @ Bryn Mawr College 2003-2007 A career retrospective 2007-2009 Software Engineer @ Microsoft 2007-2009 Software Engineer @ Microsoft
9. 9 • Launched & shut down a product in 2 years • Learned lots about what I didn’t want • Demystified “big name” technology • Used precisely none of my skills Software Engineering 9
10. This isn’t for me.
11. Changing directions isn’t failure.
12. 12 @juliaferraioli BA in CS @ Bryn Mawr College 2003-2007 A career retrospective 2007-2009 2009-2010 Software Engineer @ Microsoft MSCS @ Rochester
13. 13 @juliaferraioli 13
14. 14 • New technology is made up of old technology • Build for the world • Applications always go further than you think • (Reprise) People are smart Breaking (down) research 14 http://www.vizwiz.org/
15. Everything is interconnected.
16. 16 @juliaferraioli BA in CS @ Bryn Mawr College 2003-2007 A career retrospective 2007-2009 2009-2010 2010-Now Software Engineer @ Microsoft MSCS @ Rochester TE @ DocuSign Cloud @ Google
17. 17 @juliaferraioli 17
18. Developer Relations @ Google
19. 19 • Go back to the basics • Those algorithms underpin everything • Publish, publish, publish • Always learn, always update Research is everywhere 19 Use the research; don’t expose the complexity
20. Game Changers Research in industry
21. 21 Cluster management with Borg http://goo.gl/1C4nuo
22. 22 Cluster management with Borg the system we internally call http://goo.gl/1C4nuo
23. Game Changers Image by Connie Zhou
24. 24 @juliaferraioli 24 job hello_world = { runtime = { cell = 'ic' } // Cell (cluster) to run in binary = '.../hello_world_webserver' // Program to run args = { port = '%port%' } // Command line parameters requirements = { // Resource requirements ram = 100M disk = 100M cpu = 0.1 } replicas = 5 // Number of tasks } Developer View 10000
25. Game Changers Image by Connie Zhou Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world! Hello world!
26. 26 @juliaferraioli 26 Developer View
27. 27 @juliaferraioli 27 Failures task-eviction rates and causes
28. 28 @juliaferraioli 28 Failures advanced bin- packing algorithms experimental placement of production VM workload, July 2014 stranded resources available resources one machine
29. Game Changers
30. 30 Having weird dreams since 2015 http://goo.gl/OWjBWO
31. 31 @juliaferraioli 31 What is this?
32. 32 @juliaferraioli 32 What is this? Possible answers: • A painting by Seurat • “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” • Example of pointillism • People at a park • Something that belongs in a museum • A nice break from class Very...human answers
33. 33 @juliaferraioli 33 A machine’s view
34. 34 @juliaferraioli 34 A machine’s view
35. 35 @juliaferraioli 35 Deep learning * with neural networks * very simplified
36. 36 @juliaferraioli 36 Deep learning with neural networks
37. 37 @juliaferraioli 37 Sometimes it doesn’t quite...work the way we anticipate
38. 38 @juliaferraioli 38 Possible applications?
39. 39 @juliaferraioli 39 Are there non-technical benefits of research... ...besides weird pictures?
40. Game Changers Impossible isn’t a limit; it’s a challenge.
41. Game Changers A fine-tuned BS-detector is invaluable.
42. Game Changers Complexity reduction applies to problems, too.
43. Game Changers Critical thinking is a muscle.
44. Game Changers Advice from me
45. 45 Take all the opportunities you get… ...even if you think they’re weird.
46. 46 ...no matter how famous you think they are. Talk to everyone...
47. 47 ...whether it be a language, how to blow glass, or how to play an instrument. Always look to learn something new...
48. 48 @juliaferraioli 48
49. 49 @juliaferraioli 49 Open source scientific computing • SciPy • SciRuby • Kubernetes • Ruby Science Foundation • Various universities • Institute for Artificial Intelligence
50. Thanks! Creative Commons image by Feans Questions?