Robert Utterback
Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Monmouth College
Bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and computer science in 2012
PhD in Computer Science (expected in August of 2017) from Washington University in St. Louis
When I chose a math major, I only knew that I enjoyed math. I had no idea it would become so useful to my future research.
Current Position:
Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. I’ve always felt a pull to the academic environment. The more teaching experience I get, the more I love it, so I can’t imagine a better job that teaching interesting material.
How I use math in my job:
My math background has been integral for (1) modeling computer science phenomena in a tractable way, and (2) analyzing and proving things with these models. Without the mathematical maturity from my math major my research would be lower quality.
Advice to Truman students getting ready to apply to graduate school:
For students starting graduate school, make sure you have a plan. It will help immensely to have clear goals about what you want from your graduate school experience and a detailed timeline, even if both of these change. If you have some time before graduating, getting research experience is a huge benefit.