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
   

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2. Game Changers
   A bit of background
   

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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
   

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4. 4
   @juliaferraioli
   BA in CS @ Bryn Mawr
   College
   2003-2007
   A career retrospective
   

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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
   

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6. 6
   @juliaferraioli
   research in your
   very own AI lab on
   developmental
   robotics
   

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7. Impossible is closer than we think.
   

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8. 8
   @juliaferraioli
   BA in CS @ Bryn Mawr
   College
   2003-2007
   A career retrospective
   2007-2009
   Software Engineer
   @ Microsoft
   2007-2009
   Software Engineer @
   Microsoft
   

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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
   

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10. This isn’t for me.
    

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11. Changing directions isn’t failure.
    

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12. 12
    @juliaferraioli
    BA in CS @ Bryn Mawr
    College
    2003-2007
    A career retrospective
    2007-2009 2009-2010
    Software Engineer @
    Microsoft
    MSCS @
    Rochester
    

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13. 13
    @juliaferraioli 13
    

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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/
    

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15. Everything is interconnected.
    

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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
    

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17. 17
    @juliaferraioli 17
    

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18. Developer Relations @ Google
    

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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
    

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20. Game Changers
    Research in industry
    

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21. 21
    Cluster management
    with Borg
    http://goo.gl/1C4nuo
    

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22. 22
    Cluster management
    with Borg
    the system we
    internally call
    http://goo.gl/1C4nuo
    

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23. Game Changers
    Image by Connie Zhou
    

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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
    

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25. Game Changers
    Image by Connie Zhou
    Hello
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    Hello
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26. 26
    @juliaferraioli 26
    Developer View
    

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27. 27
    @juliaferraioli 27
    Failures
    task-eviction
    rates and causes
    

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28. 28
    @juliaferraioli 28
    Failures
    advanced bin-
    packing
    algorithms
    experimental
    placement of
    production VM
    workload, July 2014
    stranded
    resources
    available
    resources
    one
    machine
    

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29. Game Changers
    

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30. 30
    Having weird dreams
    since 2015
    http://goo.gl/OWjBWO
    

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31. 31
    @juliaferraioli 31
    What is this?
    

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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
    

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33. 33
    @juliaferraioli 33
    A machine’s view
    

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34. 34
    @juliaferraioli 34
    A machine’s view
    

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35. 35
    @juliaferraioli 35
    Deep learning * with neural networks
    * very simplified
    

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36. 36
    @juliaferraioli 36
    Deep learning with neural networks
    

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37. 37
    @juliaferraioli 37
    Sometimes it doesn’t quite...work the
    way we anticipate
    

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38. 38
    @juliaferraioli 38
    Possible applications?
    

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39. 39
    @juliaferraioli 39
    Are there non-technical benefits of research...
    ...besides weird pictures?
    

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40. Game Changers
    Impossible isn’t a limit; it’s a challenge.
    

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41. Game Changers
    A fine-tuned BS-detector is invaluable.
    

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42. Game Changers
    Complexity reduction applies to problems, too.
    

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43. Game Changers
    Critical thinking is a muscle.
    

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44. Game Changers
    Advice from me
    

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45. 45
    Take all the opportunities you get…
    ...even if you think they’re weird.
    

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46. 46
    ...no matter how famous you think they are.
    Talk to everyone...
    

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47. 47
    ...whether it be a language, how to blow
    glass, or how to play an instrument.
    Always look to learn something new...
    

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48. 48
    @juliaferraioli 48
    

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49. 49
    @juliaferraioli 49
    Open source scientific
    computing
    ● SciPy
    ● SciRuby
    ● Kubernetes
    ● Ruby Science Foundation
    ● Various universities
    ● Institute for Artificial Intelligence
    

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50. Thanks!
    Creative Commons image by Feans
    Questions?
    

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