The end of the beginning..

My academic life has now supposedly ended.. you know with me graduating and all... I have moved to Santa Clara and would be working for Mailshell. Hopefully I will not succumb to the complacency or frustration that I have seen so many people succumb to after stepping into the real world. Anyway.. This entry is dedicated to people who influenced my life in Syracuse and have a big hand in what I am and who I am:

Dr Marc Howard: There are really few people on earth who don't judge a person by their past(I mean work experience.. not parole history :P) but what they are. He is one such guy. People want experience, they want something on paper.. something that speaks of your achievement. When I met him I had none.. During the initial interview.. my answers to almost all his questions were: "I dont know".. I was hired.. probably because our shared hatred for microsoft, because I loved Linux, because I was a vegetarian, because I was a coder stuck in a food court job.. I dont know the reason. Frankly I thought that I did not fit in well.. I had no knack for cognitive mathematical research(although was interested in it), but somehow he always found me something that I was interested in doing and something I was good at doing. I worked with him for an year and met some most amazing people; Vinayak, Vijay, Jennifer, Donna.. they were all gurus in their field and kept Memlab machinery running smoothly.. Dr Howard if you are reading this: Thank you for being there...

Dr Wenliang(Kevin) Du: I worked as a research assistant under him for an year and it was a rocking year. One after another, the super kewl projects kept my adrenaline levels insane. Remember when you were a kid and you so badly wanted that bike or that GI Joe set or that comics.. remember how you felt when you got them; I felt the same about the projects I did(that I wanted to do). Dr Du gave me direction.. I always wanted to do the projects I did for him, but when he sponsored my 2 semesters in Syracuse University, paid me stipend, I didn't have to worry about anything else.. I just did what I loved to do. My lab became my haven, a utopian land where nothing went wrong.. life was too good. Thanks alot Dr Du for letting me play with what I loved to do and building my resume on the way.

Dr Per Brinch Hansen: Now I have already written loads on him so wont overdo it. He reminded me of two professors, Mr ATC and Mr Sridhar M, of my undergraduate college. You know what the common thing amongst all three is: Every one suggests not to take their courses, most of the people who take their courses have their ego hurt and hate them(some open hate groups), all three are considered difficult... but I liked all three of them, they were excellent teachers, and somehow I didn't find them that strict and found their courses extremely easy contrary to the popular belief, all three of them helped me alot in my career. It was an honor being his student and that too in the last compiler design class he taught.


Dr Jim Fawcett: Most people in Syracuse University would brand me as a hypocrite if I say that I am a "Fawcett Fan".. The word "Fawcett" has become an adjective in Syracuse University. There are Fawcett courses, Fawcett Fan club, Fawcett quotes.. etc etc. I know people who take all the courses he offers (8 I think).. I took two of them and really loved the Object oriented Design course. IMHO It should be made a core course. The mere fact that I just took only two of his courses and I work on Linux, causes many guys to think that I am not a "Fawcett fan".. but I am. I have never in my life seen such an energetic person with so much industrial and academic experience. What is more interesting is that he is really affable and can teach the a dimwit to write the most elegant C++ code. Dr Fawcett.. I salute you .. and I am a "Fawcett Fan" for life :)


Syracuse University: Lastly I would like to thank my alma mater. After all I met the afore mentioned people here. The infrastructure here is aeons of geological time ahead of any place I have been. It gives your own niche. You can find people to "Party" and you can find people to "geek out" with you. Almost any legal activity you can think of, you can do it in SU.. for free. Man.. I love that place.



PS: Click on the first and the last photos to view pictures in the related sets.

Sridhar Iyer, MS

I am now officially a Master's graduate and all set to conquer the world. I can't help but think about my adventurous journey from the suburbs of Kanpur to Bangalore to NY(Syracuse) and hopefully to California(might end up there).

There was a time when just the thought of coming to USA was laughable. Forget USA, the only place I could see an airplane was in the sky. I used to cycle my way to the "tempo" stand to attend coaching classes..
There was a time when I thought that life had nothing left in store for me when I didn't make it through IIT and ended up in a nondescript college (it was not that bad though..).
There was a time when I worked in food courts (just for a month though).

I am sure that there would be thousands of international students in USA with similar stories. SU has had students from more than 157 countries!! During the commencement, I saw the glazed look in the eyes of parents.. some from poorer third world countries... I felt small.. Even though I was surrounded by a lot of graduates who earned the same degrees, they accomplished much more than I did. It takes courage and dedication to break your safety cocoon and search for a better world, and strive to be there rather than be intimidated by it... only to be labeled as "lucky" if you do so.

Syracuse University was the perfect university for me and I think that it is the right place to do MS in Computer Science. I have met tons of interesting people, scholars, academicians, optimists(yeah.. they are a rare breed) and drop dead geeks. It has strengthened me physically (coming from a place where the temperature is around 45C.. the -40C winters were quite a change, surviving on cheese pizzas and ramen noodles is a feat in itself.. {Jorge: am still a vegetarian :P} ) and mentally(come on .. it's grad school). I can see things clearly now..

I can't predict my future but I do know that as long as I have a dream and a path of virtues.. life will always be great. The following excerpt from the commencent speaker, the renowned author Frank McCourt, summarizes it well:

So I've reached this point in my life where I'm doing what I want to do and that's the most beautiful thing of all... . If you don't love what you're doing, you're dead. Take out insurance. You're dead. And I leave you with a quotation from an old English poem: "Read your scriptures, follow in the path of virtue, and keep your bowels open."

PS: Click on the pic above to see my graduation photoset.

Phi Beta Delta

I got nominated for membership in Phi Beta Delta. You ask why? Not to sound boastful(or to reaffirm the fact that modesty died the day I was born), I'll attach the verbatim copy of the nomination letter:

March 8, 2007


It is our pleasure to inform you that you have been nominated for membership in Phi Beta Delta by Dr. Patricia Burak, with the concurrence of the Membership Committee of the Syracuse University Alpha Sigma chapter. Phi Beta Delta is the nation's first honor society dedicated to recognizing individuals who have demonstrated scholarly achievement and performed outstanding service in the areas of international education and exchange.

There are three basic categories of members: first, distinguished international and domestic faculty and staff; second, international students and scholars who have demonstrated high scholastic achievement at Syracuse University and have demonstrated interests and/or involvement in international activities; and third, domestic students who have demonstrated high scholastic achievement and/or comparable experience.
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The ceremony was on April 9'07. Here are the pictures and a brief video of the speaker explaining the meaning of Phi Beta Delta.

Now... I just NEED a job :(

Weather in Syracuse..

Weather in Syracuse requires a special mention. Yesterday night the temperature was 28F(-2C) and today morning its 0F(-18C) and it feels like -21F(-30C) due to wind chill and blowing snow. Pretty drastic change in temperature in one night...don't you think?

Its said that once a professor at SU missed summer in Syracuse. It fell on Tuesday and he was out of town.(from PBH memoirs)