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 a tutorial entitled "Virtue in Animal and Machine," where, in addition to the usual skills, we're investigating the idea of moral behavior in non-human actors.

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. I also can't wait to see your creative processes at work in your projects.

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 how well I'm doing with my hobby of playing fingerstyle guitar.

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

Was there something, besides an open job opportunity, that drew you to teach at Grinnell?

Many things -- I wanted to teach at a smaller college so that I could work closely with students. The fact that Grinnell's students are among the best and the campus is relatively close to where I grew up are wonderful bonuses.

What is your favorite spot on campus?

Boy that's a hard one. Honestly, most of my on-campus time is spent in my office. I do enjoy Herrick chapel. I find its interior comforting and I have enjoyed many recitals, concerts, and events there. Besides that, the flowers behind Noyce and in front of Burling are quite lovely in the summer when I need to get out and take a walk.

About your undergraduate experience.

I was not a liberal arts student, in the technical sense. When I wasn't taking Computer Science or Math courses for my Bachelor of Science, I did enjoy philosophy, ethics, and technology and society courses. I loved being at a small school and working hard with peers who were as driven as I was to learn and accomplish good work.

How was your college experience? and what challenges did you face while achieving your goals?

Perhaps one of my biggest challenges I didn't realize/face until I went to graduate school, and that is how to effectively manage independent work. How to move on when you need to and discover what is important and what is not. These are of course lessons that apply to all levels of work.

I'd like you to tell me how a knowledge of computer science can compliment my love of art history and history

Sure! Computational methods are used in all kinds of ways to make inferences about history. For instance, digital forensics can be used to potentially detect forgeries or isolate other interesting properties of artifacts such as paintings or texts that humans many not be able to identify.

Do you ever become frustrated with your area of expertise?

Not with the area itself, only with its challenge. This is actually an upside. Who would want an easy problem? At times though, I do wish it was as easy to teach things to computers as it is to teach them to people, but that is, after all, why I'm in this business!

Can I call you by your first name?

I prefer to be addressed more formally. (See above.)

What sort of activities do you do for fun?

Unfortunately, nothing as consistently as I used to. But I enjoy cooking, gardening, fishing, skiing (downhill and XC), and primarily, most of my non-work time is often spent reading (books and newspapers).

I would love to know where you grew up and if you could have any super power, what it would be.

Alliance, Nebraska. Is teleportation a super-power?

What sort of music do you like?

My iPod, Strummer, has a mix of many genres. Once I created a pie chart, but I'm beyond that now. Major entries are punk (all varieties), ska, world (a lot of Ltin and African folk), bluegrass, and reggae. I also like finger style guitar and Bach.

What made you choose to teach computer science?

A lot of factors were involved: I love the academic freedom to pursue my own research interests (thus, industry was out), and I'm very interested in helping students grow and develop, learning a thing or two about CS on the way (thus, research university is out).

Do you enjoy snacking?

My wife probably wishes I did, for her sake. (She is a snacker!) However, I most certainly am a three-square-a-day type. I'm very predictable and routine-oriented.

I would like to know how you came to be at Grinnell College and if you like it here in Grinnell, Iowa?

(See above). I love Grinnell. It's a wonderful little town with many opportunities with very caring and motivated members of the community.

Additionally, I was curious about whether you had worked in industry at all, or stayed strictly within academia.

I worked an internship for an extended time at Ameritrade Holding Corporation a an undergraduate, but after pursuing a summer research experience for undergraduates, I decided I wanted to go in to academia. Now, as an academic, I am looking for industrial partners. The benefit of this is that I get to choose my own projects.

I would like to know how long you were the frontman for the band and your favorite punk band.

From the time I was a freshman in high school until I was a senior in college, so about 8 years. The Clash.

What one idea of yours has the highest possibility of being the next big scientific breakthrough that will make you millions?

Typically "scientific breakthrough" and "make you millions" are mutually exclusive. Lately I've been working on making historical map images searchable electronically by scholars with some Grinnell Computer Science majors.