My answers to the questionnaire

11. 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.

12. 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 (both during graduate school, and even last semester and this summer!)

13. I studied Computer Science and Mathematics (a Bachelor of Science double major) 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).

14. In addition to this course, I am teaching "Operating Systems and Parallel Programming," which covers how your computer can run lots of different users' programs at the same time securely, and how computing giants like Google^™ can do what they do on a such a massive scale. I'm also teaching "Computer Vision" a fun class investigating what it takes to get computers to understand and do useful things with images.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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!)

18. You can ask me about the landmark of my hometown in Nebraska, my decade 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.

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

I would like to know what excites you about Computer Science and how you became interested in the subject.

One option at a summer camp I went to in seventh grade was a short course in BASIC programming. The interactivity of that experience left a big impression on me. I love the challenge of a good problem and the satisfaction of coming up with a model or program that successfully answers a question or solves a problem. It's rather like building with legos. Thinking about and tinkering with the raw building blocks of information until you manage to assemble them in the way that makes sense.

I'd like to know about your Nebraskan hometown's landmark!

I'll give you a hint. I'm from Alliance, and we have several cars arranged to mimic a famous British landmark near Wiltshire.

I always wonder how computer scientists keep track of the rapid development of softwares. By keeping track, I mean, how do you adjust to them. It seems to me like an ever-changing world of sophisticated knowledge.

I read a lot and travel to conferences where I get to hear about the leading developments. I also take workshops from time to time to help me develop new skills. Part of my training (and yours) is learning how to learn, and that's a skill I practice every year when reviewing and revamping my courses. It's fun; never a dull moment!

Why did you choose to take computer science as a career (why didn't you go for other things like football or art)?

Well, as for football, I'm 6'1" at 145 lbs, so I'm not sure I'd get too far on the (American) football pitch. :-) While I love music (I used to play more than I do now), I've always been drawn to logic by a passion for precision and problem solving, and the creative flair that can accompany the process. Sometimes, these (music and computing) are connected.

Your dissertation on getting text from images sounds fascinating.

Thanks! It's on my website, so you can read it in your spare time (or just look at the pictures).

I would like to know if at any point does Computer programming become easy? By this I mean one would have all of the concepts down and all's that would be left is to learn the languages.

Well, I don't think I know anyone who would say it becomes easy. Writing a program is thought by some to be a knowledge acquisition process, and a process always has something to it. Learning languages is one thing. Using them to express computational ideas is quite another. In the same way you know how to speak English, writing an effective piece that communicates an important idea clearly takes effort, no matter how fluent you are.

Why did you become a professor?

I enjoy working in academia because I have more freedom to choose the problems and questions I wish to pursue. In addition, I get the chance to work with wonderful students like you. Honestly, every day is new. I love that.

You wrote that you used to play music. What genres and instruments did you play?

I started as a wee lad on the piano, then added cornet in grade school through college, playing in pep and marching bands. I added guitar along the way as well, playing in a few punk bands during college before transitioning to fingerstyle acoustic guitar in graduate school. I don't practice much since moving to Grinnell, but I do occasionally play music in church.

And finally, do you play any videogames, and if so, which are some favorites?

Atypically, not really. I don't even play non-video games that much (much to my game-loving wife's chagrin).

I saw that you are interested in technology that allows robots to map out their surroundings themselves. I'd like to know more about what you've been doing in that field, because it sounds very fascinating.

Though I have a fancy robot in my lab, most of the work I've been doing lately is in the non-embodied world. I spent my sabbatical this past year developing technology to make digitized images of historical maps searchable by scholars.

You said you like to cook. What is your favorite food to make?

Boy, that is a very hard question. I'll narrow it down to just my two favorite cookbooks "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" by Marcella Hazan and "Classic Indian Cooking" by Julie Sahnie (the "Barbecue Bible" by Steven Raichlen is a close third). It's so hard to get any more specific than that!

I would be very interested to learn how you ended up at Grinnell. I'm always curious what would bring people to a small, seemingly podunk town in the middle of Iowa.

Well, in addition to the fact that I get to teach at one of the best CS departments at one of the best schools with some of the best students (who needs more?!), I also grew up in a (seemingly?) podunk town in Nebraska. My wife and I love it here--knowing our neighbors and our food providers, getting around easily (my commute is a block), and the relatively low cost of living can't be beat!

I'd love to know if there was more of a concentration on software and programming than hardware during your time at school. I'm curious how much more oriented the BA of Computer Science at Grinnell is to programming and theory than hardware development.

I did a Bachelor of Science in CS, so there are a few more requirements, including a year of computer architecture and a digital systems logic course. You can take courses like that at Grinnell, but they're not always required for the major. One of Grinnell's strengths is in giving students solid theoretical foundations (paired with practical project experience).

Would you ever cook with a ghost chili?

Oooh! Sounds exciting! I use Scotch bonnets when making Jamaican jerk chicken and rice and peas, but I've never seen a ghost chili to be able to test it out. I would if I found one, though.

Have you ever traveled anywhere particularly exciting?

I travel a lot for conferences. One recent adventure was to Istanbul, Turkey. I nearly got lost in one of the bazaars and had to completely backtrack my steps to orient myself.

What is your favorite color?

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