Profile
Hometown: Greene, NY.
At Siena: B.S. in Computer Science 1989 and B.B.A. in Accounting 1990
After Siena: M.S.E. and Ph.D. from University of Pennsylvania
Currently: Assistant Professor,
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department,
Vanderbilt University
Other Appointments:
- Human Factors Lab, Eastman Kodak Company
- User Centered Design Group, Honeywell Labs
- Research Fellow, Johnson Space Center, NASA
Research
Julie's research focuses on human interaction with large teams of robots where the robots are a mix of ground and aerial vehicles. In particular, her research group is developing techniques that will permit a single human operator to simultaneously supervise ten or more robots. Julie recently received the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award for her research. Her research is supported by the the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Question & Answer
Why did you choose Siena?
...it offered a Computer Science degree at a school where I could play college field hockey...the day that I visited campus, I stepped out of the car and immediately had a feeling come over me that Siena was where I belonged.
Why did you choose Computer Science?
...I knew I wanted to study a science...I decided on Computer Science because it was the only "science" that I had not studied in high school.
What was your favorite CS course at Siena.
The course that defined my career was Mrs. Horowitz's Artificial Intelligence course. The possibilities of AI were so intriguing. While this course did not focus on robotics, I was able to see how AI was very important for developing robotic systems. This course was one factor that convinced me to pursue a graduate degree.
What was your most memorable experience at Siena?
...the most memorable experience was traveling to Greensboro. NC for the first round of the NCAA tournament when our newly named Siena Saints basketball team beat Stanford in the first round.
