Google Visits With UT Dallas CS & SE Students for a Week of Google Tech Talks, Workshops, and Other Google Events
Earlier this semester, Google paid a visit with their team of UT Dallas CS Google Alumni to the UT Dallas Computer Science department for a week of activities, tech talks, workshops, and Q&A’s as part of their Google University Outreach Program.
Currently, the UT Dallas CS department has over ninety alumni working for Google. With the large number of UT Dallas alumni working for the company, Google sent three UT Dallas alumni for this visit: Dr. Xuming Zhai, PhD’15, Mike Giambalvo BS’04, and Orest Bolohan MS’05, along with Jessica Upfal, a Google University Outreach Program specialist.
Dr. Xuming Zhai, a PhD graduate, currently works as a researcher at Google. During his time at UT Dallas, he worked in the Data Communication and Data Management Laboratory. Dr. Zhai received his PhD in 2015 under the supervision of Dr. Ding Zhu-Du and was co-advised by Dr. Weili Wu. Orest Bolohan graduated with his MS in Computer Science from UT Dallas in 2005. He currently works as a software engineer for Google. Mike Giambalvo graduated with his BS in CS from UT Dallas in 2004 before receiving his MS from the University of Washington, he is currently is a software engineer working in the Tools and Infrastructure section of Google.
The best part of being a software engineer at Google is that every day I get to be surrounded by smart people. I am grateful for the quality of smart and creative people that Google has surrounded me with on a daily basis.
Orest Bolohan, UT Dallas CS MS’05 and a Software Engineer at Google
Orest Bolohan, when asked what he thought was best part of being a researcher at Google and for what he was most grateful, replied simply, “The best part of being a software engineer at Google is that every day I get to be surrounded by smart people. I am grateful for the quality of smart and creative people that Google has surrounded me with on a daily basis.” His thoughts bear resemblance to the three hallmark benefits of being a PhD Googler/Researcher, which include: Impact, Team, and Autonomy. Jessie Upfal, Google University Outreach Program specialist, informed the PhD students attending the session that they also have the opportunity to intern while pursuing PhD studies.
During the week that Google was visiting the UT Dallas CS Department, they hosted numerous events. Among those events was a Google Resume/Interview Workshop, which included industry views on the interview process and a interactive sample of what some of the interview questions would be like and The Google: AI Society Tech Talk where Google researchers/UT Dallas discussed Machine Learning and AI at Google with students. The Google Lightning Tech Talks allowed the students to hear firsthand about some of the projects on which the UT Dallas alums are working. During the Google PhD information session, they explained Google’s unique approach to research and what life is like as a PhD Googler/researcher.
The Google University Outreach Program team is expected to return for visits in the Fall and Spring of next year.
Click here to learn more about internships or jobs at Google. The website also has other great sections to help students like tutorial on how to create great resume and apply to positions at Google or how to prepare for technical roles at Google with their comprehensive guide.
Click here to view photos from a few of the Google events.
ABOUT THE UT DALLAS COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
The UT Dallas Computer Science program is one of the largest Computer Science departments in the United States with over 2,100 bachelor’s-degree students, more than 1,000 MS master’s students, 150 PhD students, and 86 faculty members, as of Fall 2016. With The University of Texas at Dallas’ unique history of starting as a graduate institution first, the CS Department is built on a legacy of valuing innovative research and providing advanced training for software engineers and computer scientists.