My answers to the questionnaire

9. My name is Jerod Weinman. For this course, I prefer to be called any of the following: Professor Weinman, Dr. Weinman, or (in egalitarian Grinnell College style) Mr. Weinman, whichever you prefer.

10. I studied Computer Science and Mathematics (double major B.S.) at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a similarly-sized school in Terre Haute, Indiana that focuses on teaching engineering, math, and science.

    My PhD in Computer Science came from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I specialized in computer vision and machine learning. My dissertation research involved designing algorithms for a system to help the blind navigate by reading text from images (such as street signs and storefronts).

11. In addition to this course, I am teaching the "Functional Problem Solving in Scheme," which is an algorithmic (like this class) introduction to computer science. I am also teaching "Algorithms and Object Oriented Design," which covers a different model of computation for solving problems and some fundamental topics relating to information organization and access.

12. Unlike today, when I started with computers, it was still unusual to be first exposed to them as a one year-old, which I was when my dad brought home his first Apple ][. This is the same computer I first learned to program on in junior high. (My first was a quiz program about baseball trivia.) I was excited by the opportunity to practice creative thinking and problem solving that could be applied to whatever other interests were at hand. As an undergraduate, an introductory course on image processing led me to my research area where I am often faced with reverse engineering a different kind of "computer"--the human visual system.

13. As always, I look forward to getting to know my students and their approaches to learning about computation.

14. Even if you are not a Computer Science major or choose not to take any further CompSci classes, my biggest concern is that you will all see the utility of computational thinking and not be dismayed by the utter stupidity of computers. (You really do have to tell them exactly what to do!)

15. You can ask me about the landmark of my hometown in Nebraska, my earlier involvement as a college radio DJ, my stint as a frontman for a punk band in a previous life, or whether I've managed to resuscitate my hobby of playing fingerstyle guitar, which has been dormant since writing my PhD thesis.

What questions do you have for me that have not already been answered?

What's Nebraska like?

Ooh, that's a fun one. It's filled with lots of nice people (much like Iowa), but it's much larger and has a surprisingly diverse geography. The eastern part near the river is like western Iowa, but central Nebraska is a vast stretch of sandhills. It's quite barren, but it's got a majesty I find amazingly beautiful. Far western Nebraska (where I am from) is the high plains-- grass land and very flat. The northwest features the pine ridge, some rough and beautifully-wooded country.

What's your favorite operating system to work with?

For my every-day computing needs, I really enjoy Mac OS X. It runs on top of UNIX, so I can get down and dirty in the shell when I need to (which is most of the time), but it also is attractive and very functional. The best part is: most of the time, it just works.

Are you a sports fan?

Sure. I enjoy mountain biking and kayak fishing (well, the kayak part is certainly more sport, but my wife disagrees with the fishing part). I'm a big Chicago Cubs fan and, being from Nebraska, Cornhusker football is in my blood. I also enjoy supporting the College's sports teams. (I.e., all of you!)

What are your hobbies?

Guitar playing is one I mentioned above. I also really enjoy cooking, especially Indian and Itaian cuisines, although I don't get as much time to do that as I used to.