Kallie Bracken, a recent graduate who double majored in computer science and mathematics with a job at Microsoft waiting for her after graduation, is self-assured and confident in her academic and professional pursuits. But it wasn’t always like this. For a number of years, Bracken switched from biology to chemistry to math, unsure of what she wanted to study, before she finally chose a combination of computer science and math.

Originally on the pre-medicine track with the goal of becoming an oncologist, Bracken switched among biology, chemistry and math majors during her first few years of college because she was unsure of what science she wanted to study.

During her first year at the U, Bracken worked in a lab at the Huntsman Cancer Institute studying leukemia.

“I had a good experience and worked under a good PI with real tasks to perform, but I realized that the everyday life of an oncologist wasn’t what I wanted,” said Bracken, who described the realization as the first of many that eventually led her to computer science.

From that point on, Bracken said her journey to discovering and falling in love with computer science was serendipitous.

“The decisions I made in college led me down a path that I never would have thought of taking on my own, and it’s been the best path possible. The overarching theme guiding my academic career has been to do what you love at the time and see where it takes you,” said Bracken.

One of the final pushes towards computer science was when Bracken’s cousin wanted Bracken to go on service trip in Nicaragua with her. Her time there made her realize that she didn’t need to become a physician to help others.

“I realized that I don’t need to follow a certain, set path or have a specific certification to help people. I can use my skills and be a force in the world without looking at what I ‘should be.’ It’s not a certain career or line on your resume that makes you a good citizen; it’s who you are and the experiences you search for as you go. The best way I can effect change is to be in touch with my skills and make myself the strongest tool I can be,” said Bracken.

One day while taking a math class, Bracken started comparing organic chemistry with her math class and realized just how different she felt about each subject.

“With o-chem, I just wanted to get through the class and I didn’t enjoy the process. But with math, I always wanted to know the answer; solving problems brought me a sense of satisfaction and empowerment that nothing else ever had.”

When Bracken sat down and asked herself what she really enjoyed, she said math was the first thing that came to mind, but it wasn’t applied enough. That’s when, from the urging of a friend majoring in computer science, she tried a computer science class out and found the perfect major.

“Coding fulfills what I enjoy most: I get to solve problems, gain a bird eye’s view of a situation, put pieces of a puzzle together and engage my artistic side. It can be intimidating at first, but now I see it as a tool for my craft. For example, when you write, you don’t think about the letters and the lines; you think about what ideas you want to communicate. I can do the same with code.”

Read the full story in @theU.

Congratulations to Danielle (Dasha) Pruss on receiving a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship. Pruss is an undergrad researcher working with Professor Miriah Meyer.

"I’m honored and excited to be receiving this award,” Pruss said. “Graduate school will give me the skills necessary to become a successful academic in the long term, and the NSF GRFP fellowship will help me on my path."

Also congratulations to Nicolas Bertagnolli on receiving an honorable mention. Bertagnolli is a graduate student working in the areas of Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) helps ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based masters and doctoral degrees in science and engineering. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant achievements in science and engineering.

Robert Royce Johnson, former chairman of the University of Utah computer science department, passed away Friday, March 25, in Salt Lake County due to complications from Parkinson’s Disease. He was 87.

Johnson was chairman of the U’s computer science department (now School of Computing) for two years beginning in 1987. He retired as Professor Emeritus in 1993.

In 1956, he joined General Electric’s research lab in Syracuse, N.Y., where he led the team that created the Electronic Recording Machine Accounting (ERMA) system. The bank check handling and accounting system, which was developed for the Bank of America, included the use of the magnetic ink character font that is used on bank checks today as well as with many other basic computing and check handling devices.

“It calculated balances and saved all of your checks for the month. It did all of those calculations while monitoring the bank’s checking system,” said his wife, Mary Johnson. “The ideas and fragments of them are still in use today.”

Johnson was hired on to the University of Utah as a tenured professor and chairman by David Evans, the department’s first chair and Johnson’s longtime colleague and friend.

“When he was working on something, he was fully engaged, either with whomever was talking to him or with whatever he was doing,” Mary Johnson said. “He just was a really nice guy. I’m getting calls from people who were his colleagues who said how helpful he was to them and that they really appreciated him.”

“Bob was a very inspirational figure whose perceptive understanding of technology and the world were always appreciated by those who gained access to his views,” said U School of Computing professor Rich Riesenfeld, who worked with Johnson. “His professionalism and character were paragons to admire and emulate.”

To see pictures and a tribute page for Johnson at the Michael J. Fox Foundation website, go here.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like to suggest contributions to the Bob Johnson Innovation Award for undergraduate computer science students.

Please send to:

University of Utah School of Computing
Bob Johnson Innovation Award
50 S. Central Campus Dr., 3190 MEB
Salt Lake City, UT, 84112.

If you would like to donate with a credit card go here. In the comments section please indicate that the donation is for the Robert Johnson Innovation Award.