Focusing on Parallel Programming

Anca Sarb ’09 spent her first URSI summer working with math professor Natalie Frank and her second with computer science professor Marc Smith. “When I told friends at bigger universities that I got to work one-on-one with a professor and that I got to do research after my first or second year, they were amazed.”

Q. Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you decided to come to Vassar.
I’m from Romania. When you finish high school there, you have to choose a career path before you enter the university, and I wasn’t quite ready to make that decision at 18. I knew I wanted to study abroad. I liked the idea of liberal arts. I liked the idea of a small campus. And then I saw pictures of the Vassar library in the brochure, and I knew I wanted to come here. I’ve become more independent here and taken more risks. It’s been very rewarding.

Q. How did you become interested in computer science?
I had an interest in computer science before I came, but I was thinking maybe I would do economics or something like that. First semester, I took a bunch of courses, and I really enjoyed computer science—sitting down, writing some code. It’s logical and makes sense. It’s very rewarding. Now I’m the coach for the intro courses. I never saw myself as a teacher or professor, but it’s an enjoyable experience. It’s quite rewarding to see when people actually get what you’re saying and then do the homework and finish the lab.

Q. Tell me about your URSI experience.
I’ve done URSI twice, once for math and once for computer science. I worked with Professor Frank in the Math Department and with Professor Smith in Computer Science. When I told friends at bigger universities that I got to work one-on-one with a professor and that I got to do research after my first or second year, they were amazed.

I like the URSI experience. I learned a lot. I didn’t know much about parallel programming going into URSI, but coming out, I had learned so much. I felt almost as if I had been paid to learn. Every day, you’re focusing on just one thing. That made me really think about whether I wanted to do research as a career. I liked having just one focus. Usually in a semester I have three computer science classes, and there are projects in each one. Sometimes you have to take a step back to see which one to focus on.

I may want to go to grad school, but I haven’t decided. I also like animation and graphics and web design.

Q. What’s the best class you’ve taken here?
One of the best classes I’ve taken is in computer animation. It’s team-taught by a computer science professor and an art professor. I came in looking more for the technical part, but I really appreciated Professor Roseman’s contribution to the class. He was the one who encouraged us to think about what artistic aspects could apply to animation. It was nice to see what he thinks is interesting in animation and not just Pixar-style animation. Animation is a lot of work, but once you’re done, there’s something tangible that you created, even if it’s just a minute long.

Q. What else are you involved in?
I’m part of the Vassar Haiti Project. I’m on the media committee, so I get to do all the website updates and brochures and other promotional materials. Also I did an internship in NYC for a nonprofit called City Arts. They bring together artists and children and youth and create public art that address social issues. I was working on brochures, and I actually got to work on a mural site with a bunch of children. It was a lot of fun. I did this while I was doing URSI. My professor was helpful. He let me split the time and do some work over the weekend to make up hours. It was nice to do lab work and then just go and do this project.