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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.
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My hometown is Alliance, Nebraska, in the central Nebraska
panhandle west of the sandhills. However, I also lived in
the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts.
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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).
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In addition to this course, I am teaching "Artificial
Intelligence," a fun class investigating the fundamental
computational problems facing agents that must behave rationally
in the face of uncertainty, new information, and adversarial
circumstances.
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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.
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As always, I look forward to getting to know my students and
their approaches to learning about computation. I also can't
wait to see your creative processes at work in your
projects.
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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!)
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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 one of my
culinary passions, such as barbecue.