Computing Research Association
Author: Chris Coleman
Remembering ChenWei Guo
The School of Computing honors the memory of ChenWei Guo, an aspiring computer science student, good friend, and remarkable individual.
ChenWei’s life was taken in a senseless act of violence near the university on October 30, 2017, devastating those knew him and the local community.
ChenWei was studying computer science and entrepreneurship and worked as a peer advisor helping students in the U’s International Student and Scholar Services Office. He hoped to open a consulting business to “help more people feel good about themselves.”
ChenWei was born in Beijing, China, and came to the U.S. in 2012. He graduated from Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, and then served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Provo. ChenWei transferred to the U from LDS Business College this fall. He enjoyed skydiving, skiing, horseback riding, dancing, and modern fashion.
I only talked to him a few times via email and Facebook as I was his mentor. ChenWei had a bright and kind personality. He was so excited about the Mentorship Program that he replied to my Greeting email in just a few minutes. I remember he told me that he wanted to apply his CS knowledge to build an app that could make the world a better place. Not only that, he was also a peer advisor for the International Student & Scholar Services Office. He was very involved and active on campus. It’s very sad to accept the fact that he was killed in such senseless act.
Mia Ngo
I was a TA for ChenWei in the Computer Science department and he was always a pleasure to work with and a very bright student. We were lucky to have ChenWei as a student and he will be missed greatly by his fellow students and teachers.
My deepest condolences,
Matt Canova
I had the pleasure of teaching ChenWei in his introductory Computer Science course last spring. While this was a large, lecture-style course, we had several pleasant conversations during the semester. I was struck by his cheerful demeanor, his curiosity and desire to learn, and his intelligence. I would like to express my deepest condolences to his family and friends for his loss.
David Johnson
Assistant Professor, School of Computing
Feifei Li presented University of Utah Presidential Scholar Award
University of Utah School of Computing associate professor Feifei Li received the University of Utah Presidential Scholar Award. The award honors the extraordinary research and academic efforts of early- to mid-career faculty and provides these talented individuals with financial backing to support their scholarly, teaching or research initiatives.
Each year, new presidential scholars are recognized, and recipients receive funding for three years.
Feifei is a leader in large-scale data management, analytics, and database systems.
The School congratulates Feifei on this outstanding accomplishment.
School of Computing Graduates Attend Alumni Day
On September 30, 2017, School of Computing graduates gathered in the Warnock Engineering Building to celebrate the 2nd School of Computing (SoC) Alumni Day event. School of Computing graduates were invited to attend the bi-annual event where they were offered opportunities to network, exchange ideas, hear great talks, and socialize with fellow alums.
School Director, Ross Whitaker spoke about the promising future for the U’s School of Computing as well as the rising opportunities in the field of computer science. Additional talks were given by Jeanette Haren (BS ’95), co-founder and chief product officer at Performance Matters; Steve Parker (PhD ’99), VP and CTO of Professional Graphics at Nvidia; and two SoC faculty, Ryan Stutsman and Rogelio Cardona-Rivera. The group also heard from Jim Blinn (PhD ’78), a computer graphics researcher and well-known Utah alum. The attendees were also treated to demos from students in the SoC Capstone Class.
During the event the school presented the SoC Distinguished Alumni Award to Dr. Blinn for his distinguished technical and educational contributions in computer graphics.
“It was an excellent opportunity for me to come see my son present his senior project, hear from Jim Blinn about his experiences as a student at Utah and fascinating to hear about some of the first frame buffer rendering efforts.
I met other alumni I plan to network with in the future.”
– Paul Johnston (B.S. ’92)
“The lectures alone were worth the time. An excellent opportunity to connect with alumni, faculty and current students.”
– Justin Call (B.S. ‘97)
More information about the event
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