Katie Coons - The University of Texas at Austin
Distributed Mentor Program Summer 2004
Introduction
I just finished my third year as a Computer Science major at the University of Virginia. I will be spending ten weeks at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, working with the UTCS department's compilers group on a project called Scale (see Project and Goals). I will be working with Julia Gilinets, who just finished her fourth year at Berkeley. I came here because a Professor at UVA suggested that I apply, and I decided it might be a good opportunity to see what the graduate/research environment is like and whether it is right for me. Also, I was excited to go on my own to a totally new place because I've never really done that before.Background
I applied to the CRA-W DMP Program at the advice of a teacher I have worked with for many years. At first I thought it unlikely that I would go because I knew the location was not likely to be close to home. When I was matched with Professor Kathryn McKinley of The University of Texas at Austin, I thought that was much too far from my home in Northern Virginia. After considering the options, however, I finally decided it was too good of an opportunity to miss, and that the distance from home might be good for me in the long run. Professor McKinley does research on compilers, which is fortunate because I took a compilers class last year which I enjoyed very much, and I look forward to taking more compilers courses and possibly doing a senior thesis in that field of study.
Me and a Texas long horn at the Exotic Resort Zoo in Johnson City, Texas
