Alumni Popping In

[Guest]

Greetingz all. I'm a CS alumni from '92. I thought I'd pop in and check out the forums here. I see from the Computer Science dept web page that a couple of my classmates are professors now. ;) Congrads or commiserations whichever is appropriate. Heh.

I've worked in various CS jobs in the St Louis area since graduating. Lately I'm working as a consultant for Lockheed Martin in O'Fallon. There are a number of SIUE alums there, too.

Any other alums on these forums?

[DaleDoe]

I graduated with my Master's this Spring and I'm working for your arch rival, Boeing.  (actually, Lockheed is the biggest customer of the software my group is making, but you didn't hear that).

Several people from SIUE work at Boeing.  I can name 5 from the CS dept. that have got jobs after I did.  Another one sits across the cube from me.

[Jerry]

Hi Tom,

I know there are other alum lurking on our list: Peter, Kade, Gary, and others.

Besides hearing where you are at, I would be interested in hearing the alum your favorite faculty story. For your recent grads, don't worry I'll be sure no one revokes your diploma  ;-) .

[DaleDoe]

My favorite CS faculty stories involve (often out of context) quotes.  My personal favorites belong to Dr. Wu, as I've shared some with you a while back, Jerry.  But I've got a couple that shouldn't offend anyone.

Dr. Stephen:  "All of the great computer scientists either work at Microsoft or are dead." :-o

Dr. Ehlmann:  "I've lost it!"

Dr. Fujinoki (when students wouldn't quit writing when time was up):  "Hands up!"

[Peter Motyka]

Dr. Stephen:  "All of the great computer scientists either work at Microsoft or are dead." :-o

*Gasp* What about Richard Stallman?!?!

http://www.oreilly.com/openbook/freedom/

[Guest]

Seeing the Dr. Stephen quote reminds me of an experience in his classroom.  Before handing back one of our CS414 assignments, Dr. Stephen said something along these lines...

"Judging from the submitted assignments, some of you are really aweful programmers, or just simply don't care."

Victor should remember that :)

[Guest]

If I post faculty stories, shouldn't I post them anonymously? :)

My favorite story is the field trip I and a few other students took to U of I's National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) with Dr. Livingston and Dr. Waxman (IRCC). On the tour our guide mistyped a code on the keypad to an access-controlled computer room. Sirens went off and the room started to flood with halon gas. Eventually the guide typed the right code allowing us to leave. But it got exciting there for a bit.

[Jerry]

My favorite Dr. Stephen story:

One day in CS 414 he asked a question and no one ventured to answer. After a few minutes he said "Anyone who took me for CS 312 should know the answer."

Finally one student gave an answer, and Dr. Stephen replied, "What I meant was anyone who did well in my CS 312 class should know the answer."

[Guest]

Dr. Fujinoki always asks the class "Can I delete this?" when he intends to clear space on the whiteboard with the eraser.  The first few times I heard this I thought it was really funny, but after taking three classes from him I caught myself saying the same thing.  The phrase clearly denotes the user as a computer nerd.  :-D

B.T.W. I have a list of great teacher quotes.  If everyone promises not to take them too seriously I will post them.  :-P

[Guest]

post them!

[Guest]

 There are others of us out here. I graduated in 2002 and have been working for a government research agency ever since. I will always be a system administrator, but life has veered me toward a masters and eventual PhD in acoustical oceanography. Enjoy the time at SIUE while you have it. I enjoyed every minute of it and share stories with others not fortunate enough to have had such a nice campus, facility, and instructors.

I continue to move onto bigger and better things, but there's nothing like a Dr Stephen Story:

He made the comment that he didn't care if you came to class or not since most people were talking or sleeping. He stated that if you didn't want to be there, just don't come. Well, after a dismal turnout at the next few classes, he began giving out quite the hints. Amazingly, attendance rose back up again fairly quickly.

[Guest]

Yep... 2001 grad here... got this alumni letter touting this forum. I must say it looks better now than when i was around and caos had about 4 members, all officers.

I got my first career job through the siue career development center (thanks a million!!) and am on my second job making more than double what I did at the first. C++ has always been my thing but right now I'm writing in various languages depending on the project... government contracting. I must say... I love being a computer nerd.. can't beat our jobs and the satisfaction of cranking out some amazing code. Next best thing to... well.. y'know.

Anyway, I remember my share of Dr. Stephen stories. Good times. He busted my b**** a couple times too :) Any questions  1911acp@ [NO_SPAM] gmail.com  

-Derrick

[Gary Mayer]

For those who didn't know, or just couldn't accept the reality that it would finally happen, I have completed my Master's degree at SIUE.  Yes, thesis and all. OK, there is an issue of bookbinding but we'll overlook that for now.

It's been almost a year, but my wife and I have moved to Arizona. We're about 35 minutes east of Phoenix. Yes, it's a dry heat. Yes, it makes a difference. Yes, you CAN tell the difference between 100 and 110 degrees. And, yes, scorpion stings do hurt. A LOT!

I am currently installing tile in our house. A much needed skill to ensure employment on the blue collar side when the fad that is technology finally fades. Ask Dr. White about this one. I have also applied and been accepted into Arizona State University's computer science PhD program. Reseach topic to be defined. Though, now that I've mastered LEGO, I'm thinking of something involving Play-Doh.

- Gary Mayer

[Gary Mayer]

Also....

[Gary Mayer]

.... how many....

[Gary Mayer]

.... of these silly posts do I need before I get a single star??!!!

Kindergarten wasn't this darned hard!    

[Admin]

Well it used to be 20 before you get a single star. I just modified them. Now you can increase your rating when you reach these milestones 11-31-71-151-301.

admin