CS Talks -- Spring 2006

St. Olaf CS Talk Series, Spring 2006

Upcoming talks in the series

February 10: Medical Imaging And The Liberal Arts
Michael Zahniser '04, Diagnostic Vision Corporation, Boston.

What happens when a liberal arts graduate meets the real world of high-tech bioscience computing? You can hear about one person's experience on Friday at 3:15 when Michael Zahniser speaks in our first CS talk of the term. Actually, calling this a "CS" talk is too limiting: Mike finds that his work involves Biology, Mathematics, Art, and more, in addition to Computer Science. He will talk about an interesting research problem he was able to solve for his company that relates to all of those fields, and what came of the idea. The research problem is quite accessible, yet very interdisciplinary. His solution of the problem will help those who seek to make the world healthier through medical computational technology, but he had to use all of his communication and "people" skills in order to get his work adopted so that it could make a difference in peoples' lives. Mike's story illustrates what careers in the 21st century can be like---and how it relates to what goes on right here on campus. Plus, the CS is "good stuff". Don't miss his talk!

          SPEAKER: Michael Zahniser '04, Diagnostic Vision Corporation, Boston
          TITLE:   Medical Imaging And The Liberal Arts
          TIME:    February 10, 3:15 pm
          PLACE:   SC 186
          Refreshments at 3:00
      

Abstract:

I'll be talking about some of the work I've been doing for a medical research and consulting company. Medical image analysis combines math, statistics, computer science, and biology. It is a field where a broad Liberal Arts education is far more useful than an engineering degree.

Biographical information:

I graduated from St. Olaf in 2004 with a double major in Math and Ancient Studies and a minor in Computer Science. I spent the summer working at a summer camp, then moved back to my home state of Massachusetts. After several unsuccessful months of searching, I was offered an internship that led to my current job. For the past year and a half now, I've been working for a small medical research company called Diagnostic Vision Corporation. I'm working as a software engineer, doing everything from programming microprocessors in assembly to writing image analysis software.