Events Calendar

CS Colloquium: Ashwin Rao

Speaker: Ashwin Rao, Founder, ZLemma.com

Talk Title: CS Colloquium: Ashwin Rao

Series: CS Colloquium

Abstract: This talk is for all levels (Undergraduate, Masters and Ph.D.) of students in Computer Science, with the purpose of helping them make sound decisions within the wide array of available job choices, and eventually pick the job/career that is most suited for them. We will particularly focus on jobs for Computer Scientists in the Tech industry (large companies as well as startups) and in the Finance industry (Wall Street as well as hedge funds). We will discuss the different requirements of various jobs, and understand how this work relates to one's academic interests. We will discuss some recent trends in the industry covering Big Data, Functional Programming, Quantitative Modeling, Machine Learning, and Domain-Specific Languages. We will also discuss non-technical aspects of different jobs contrasting between Tech and Finance, between large and small companies, and between 'depth' versus 'breadth' roles. Finally, we will discuss how to prepare a suitable resume and how to prepare for interviews.

Biography: Dr. Ashwin Rao is an entrepreneur based in Palo Alto, California and is the founder of a technology startup - ZLemma.com - that helps students and young professionals identify careers most suited to their talents. Prior to entrepreneurship, Ashwin was a quantitative modeler and trading strategist at Goldman Sachs for ten years in New York, and was subsequently a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. Ashwin's focus had been on interest rates and mortgage derivatives products. Ashwin holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from IIT-Bombay and a Ph.D. in Algorithmic Algebra from University of Southern California. In his personal life, Ashwin is deeply involved in mentoring students at various universities.

Host: Bharath Sankaran

Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 101

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Assistant to CS chair