Zachary S. Brooks's Blog, page 8
March 17, 2020
Season 1 (2019) Episode 02: Dr. Rachel Kraut. Online Language Learning
Dr. Rachel Kraut is an Associate Director of the Language Programs at the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University. She works both as part of the administrative team of the Intensive English Program and as leader of the new language programs online initiative. She also serves as a volunteer peer reviewer for the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA), incoming chair on TESOL International’s Professional Development council, and as Conference Program Chair on the TexTESOL IV Board. Beyond language program management, Rachel has also worked as a consultant in language teacher professional development for public school districts, a content developer, an ESL instructor, an adjunct professor of TESOL, and a teacher trainer. Her research interests lie in language program administration, language teacher training, program evaluation, language assessment, and online language learning. Dr. ZPreview Video
Season 1 (2019) Episode 04: Dr. Ting Qian. Patterns in Data
For Academic Years 2018-2020, I am teaching PhD-level regression and machine learning courses in the Department of Psychology at Princeton University. My academic webpage: https://psych.princeton.edu/person/ting-qian I am a method-oriented “Data Scientist” who focuses on designing the optimal statistical / machine learning models in order to discover hidden patterns in data. I am NOT a software engineer by trade. I am not interested in positions where the primary responsibility is to create software that implements or uses off-the-shelf machine learning algorithms. I am interested in positions where I, together with coworkers, solve difficult data inference problems. My specialty is in conducting probabilistic inferences on generative models using Bayesian methods. Specifically, I am specialized in clustering and segmenting seemingly unstructured data.
Dr. Ting Qian wordcloud I also develop statistics software for Bayesian inference utilizing GPU in my free time. Progress is slow, but I’d like to focus on this a bit more. I believe GPU-based Bayesian inference will change how we process streaming data. I was formally trained as a computational cognitive scientist (my PhD is in Brain and Cognitive Sciences). My research tries to uncover how humans and animals understand “the order of things”. For example, how come we understand the concept of “seasons”? What does it mean for Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter to rotate in such an order? Is the perception of orderly weather patterns the reason why we understand the concept “seasons”? I still find these questions fascinating.Dr. ZPreview Video
Dr. Ting Qian wordcloud I also develop statistics software for Bayesian inference utilizing GPU in my free time. Progress is slow, but I’d like to focus on this a bit more. I believe GPU-based Bayesian inference will change how we process streaming data. I was formally trained as a computational cognitive scientist (my PhD is in Brain and Cognitive Sciences). My research tries to uncover how humans and animals understand “the order of things”. For example, how come we understand the concept of “seasons”? What does it mean for Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter to rotate in such an order? Is the perception of orderly weather patterns the reason why we understand the concept “seasons”? I still find these questions fascinating.Dr. ZPreview Video
Season 1 (2019) Episode 01: Dr. Ezra Smith. Depression and Concussions
Dr. Ezra Smith studies concussions and the “common cold” of mental illness depression at Colombia University’s Psychophysiology Laboratory led by Dr. Jürgen Kayser. In this episode, we talk about what led Dr. Smith into academia and researching concussions and the normalcy for humans to deal with mental health issues.6% of the population at any given time suffers from depression15% of the population has a chance of dealing with major depression the course of their lifetimes50% of the population has a chance of having a psychological disorder over the course of their lifetime (anxiety disorders, drug abuse, depression, psychosis, cognitive disorders, developmental disorders, personality disorders) Ezra’s specialty is the practice and science of clinical neuropsychology: he works one-on-one with patients living with depression, anxiety, psychosis, and neurodegenerative disorders, and he also studies the pathophysiology of these disorders with an eye towards identifying preclinical biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets. About Dr. ZPreview Video
Season 1 (2019) Episode 03: Dr. Tony Stovall. The Right to Consume
Tony Stovall received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University in International Relations. He has been a professional actor performing across the United States and in London, in addition to having over 15 years of work experience in the corporate world, working in numerous capacities first for Encyclopædia Britannica and then for Korn/Ferry International, the world’s premier executive search firm. Tony earned his MBA from the University of Arizona’s Eller School of Management, and completed his PhD in Retailing & Consumer Sciences, also from the University of Arizona. His research is broadly centered around issues of consumer well-being and digital consumption habits. He has been an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Woodbury University’s School of Business in Burbank, California, and Towson University in Towson, Maryland. He will join the faculty of The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, Indianapolis in the fall of 2019.Dr. ZPreview Video
