Category: Keynotes

Rebecca Parsons

Carlyn Chatfield on
Rebecca Parsons, Rice CS alumna and ThoughtWorks CTO.

Rebecca Parsons (Ph.D. ’92) is ThoughtWorks’ Chief Technology Officer, with decades-long applications development experience across a range of industries and systems.

Her technical experience includes leading the creation of large-scale distributed object applications and the integration of disparate systems. Separate from her passion for deep technology, she is a strong advocate for diversity in the technology industry. Committed to increasing the number of women in coding and STEM fields, she has served on the board of CodeChix and acted as an advisor to Women Who Code.

In 2018, she was recognized with the Anita Borg ABIE Technical Leadership Award.

Read her Rice CS Alumni Profile: https://www.cs.rice.edu/rparsons

 

 

Moshe Vardi

Carlyn Chatfield on
Moshe Vardi.

Moshe Y. Vardi (Ph.D. ’81, Hebrew University of Jerusalem) is the Karen Ostrum George Distinguished Service Professor in Computational Engineering and was recently promoted to University Professor, Rice’s highest academic title.

His interests focus on automated reasoning, a branch of Artificial Intelligence with broad applications to computer science, including database theory, computational-complexity theory, knowledge in multi-agent systems, computer-aided verification, and teaching logic across the curriculum.

He is a member of the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Engineering, an ACM Fellow, IEEE Fellow, Guggenheim Fellow, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a recipient of the Fulbright Award.

At Rice, he is leading a new campuswide Initiative on Technology, Culture, and Society.

Follow him on Twitter at @vardi.

 

 

 

Lydia Kavraki

Carlyn Chatfield on
Lydia Kavraki, Rice University CS professor.

Lydia Kavraki (Ph.D. ’95, Stanford) is the Noah Harding Professor of Computer Science, professor of bioengineering, electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical engineering at Rice University.

She was elected as a Corresponding Member of the Academy of Athens, the premier scientific society in Greece and the world’s oldest academy. She is also a member of the National Academy of Medicine, as well as an ACM Fellow, IEEE Fellow, and Sloan Fellow.

She is known for her work in bioinformatics and has been a leader in the development of motion planning algorithms. Her team is also working with the NASA Johnson Space in Houston to augment the capabilities of robots for space missions.

She has served as the faculty sponsor for CSters, the club supporting women interested in Computer Science at Rice, since is inception, and she has been recognized as a leader in her field with prizes like the ACM Grace Hopper Murray Award and the Anita Borg ABIE Technical Leadership Award.

 

Luay Nakhleh

Carlyn Chatfield on
CS Department Chair Luay Nakhleh.

Computer Science professor and department chair Luay Nakhleh‘s passion for educating students was recognized in April 2019. The Brown Prize, Rice’s highest teaching award, is given annually based upon a survey of alumni who graduated within the past two to five years. He is the first professor from the Computer Science Department to win the prize.

Nakhleh became chair of the department in January 2017 and his priorities included growing the graduate student programs and improving their environment, launching an alumni initiative, and increasing the number of faculty members in what had become the largest academic department on campus.

He earned his M.S. in 1998 from Texas A&M University and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas in 2004.

Keith Cooper

Carlyn Chatfield on
Keith Cooper is a Rice University alumnus and the L. John and Ann H. Doerr Chair in Computational Engineering Professor of Computer Science and of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Keith Cooper is the L. John and Ann H. Doerr Chair in Computational Engineering, professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering. His primary research area has been program analysis and optimization. He was one of the founding members of the compiler group at Rice, has published more than 75 articles and advised 18 doctoral students. He is a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery, and teaches several courses in compiler construction and was recently named chair of the computational and applied mathematics (CAAM) department at Rice University.

In April 2019, Cooper’s passion for training up the next generation of students was recognized with a George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching.

Keith Cooper served as chief marshall at Rice University Commencement for over a decade.Fun fact: For over a decade, students and their families also recognized Cooper as the man behind the mace.

 

Chris Hyams

Carlyn Chatfield on
Chris Hyams, Rice University CS alumnus and Indeed CEO.

Chris Hyams (M.C.S. ’96) is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Indeed. Chris joined Indeed in 2010 as VP of Product, responsible for technology strategy and innovation. In 2015, Chris became President, assuming additional responsibility for Indeed’s revenue growth and client success. Chris was appointed Indeed CEO in April 2019, leading Indeed’s mission to help people get jobs.

Before Indeed, Chris was Founder of B-Side, a technology platform for independent film analytics, marketing, and distribution. Prior to B-Side, he was Vice President of Engineering at Trilogy Software. Chris holds a Masters in Computer Science from Rice University, and an A.B. in Architecture from Princeton University.