Seminar description
We will pursue the general (and very debatable) theme of GREAT IDEAS in COMPUTING (including some surprising algorithms). The ambitious goal is to try to identify some of the great ideas that have significantly influenced the field and have helped to make computing so pervasive.
We will concentrate on mathematical, algorithmic and software ideas with the understanding that the importance and usefulness of these ideas depends upon (and often parallels) the remarkable ideas and progress in computing and communications hardware. As we will see, many of the great ideas were against the “prevailing opinion”. The list of topics we shall discuss will depend to some degree on the background and interests of the class.
Get to know your professor
Paul He
You can call me…
Paul or Professor He or Dr. He.
I just can't live without…
A bike
I just can't live without…
A bike
My hometown is…
Toronto, Ontario
For my undergraduate degree…
Computer science at the University of Waterloo.
I am surprisingly good at…
Eating large amounts of food quickly.
Fun fact:
I’m an avid user of library books and I’ve been told I’m single-handedly propping up the entire library system.
If I wasn't teaching, I would be a…
Sad 🙁
What I'm working on now is…
Improving some of the first-year computer science courses with computer-based quizzes
Lately, something that has been exciting me about my research/scholarship is…
Seeing students understand how they learn more effectively.
A fun fact about my field of study is…
That some problems can be proved to be unsolvable.
I was inspired to get into this field because…
Problem-solving is fun (also video games).
My first-year seminar in five words:
- History
- Discussion
- Inventors
- Impact
- Change
In a sentence, what you’ll learn in my course:
The origins and evolution of computer science, and its impact on the world today.
One of my favourite things about teaching first-year students is…
How motivated they are to learn.
My best advice for those starting their first year…
Keep an open mind and try new things!
NAME: Chelsea Rochman.