March 2011

You just recently left ICL. Tell us where you are and what you’re doing now.

My last day at ICL was indeed January 3rd of this year. I took an administrative position with a new research group here at UT – the Center for Intelligent Systems and Machine Learning. I have some of the same responsibilities I had at ICL, which includes involvement in the research funding process, e.g., reading and editing proposals, generating reports. So basically I still do lots of reading, writing, editing, development, etc. I also help manage the day-to-day operation of the Center, which isn’t overly complicated at the moment since I’m the only staff member. I can manage myself pretty well most of the time.

The Center’s research focuses on designing and developing computer-based applications and systems that exhibit intelligent behavior, operate autonomously, and adapt to environmental changes. This includes such areas as text/data mining, biologically-inspired computing, reinforcement learning, robotics, pattern recognition, etc. Currently, the Center includes nine faculty from three different colleges here on campus and six ORNL research affiliates. So there are lots of interesting things going on simply due to the diversity of expertise we have. Throw in that I’m finishing up my PhD dissertation in Communication and Information, and there’s never a dull day.

You’re one of the earlier ICLers. Tell us about your education background and how you got started with the group.

I received BA and MS degrees from UT in English and Information Science (IS), respectively. I received the MS in December 1996 and was looking for a job in early 1997 when a former classmate saw an ICL job posting for a research associate on an IS listserv that was cross-posted from a CS list. He forwarded it to me and said, “I think you would be perfect for that job.” I applied for it, interviewed, and got hired. I started out my ICL career working for Shirley. The job was working on data models and web interfacing for the Repository in a Box (RIB) project, which in addition to Shirley included Paul McMahan and Jeff Horner.

Enjoying such a long tenure with the group, any interesting stories you would like to share about your time here?

That wouldn’t incriminate some of the former or existing staff? Hmmm. I have plenty of stories but some of them I better not tell. I don’t know if anyone will find this funny, but I still remember the day I was interviewed. It was in Ayres Hall, where ICL used to be, and I believe there were four other people in the room. I came in wearing a suit and I noticed one of the others wearing sandals and most of them wearing jeans. I knew then this was going to be interesting. But it got better. I engaged in conversation with those at the table, they asked a few questions, and then Jack came in. I got asked a few more questions, and then I remember Jack asking someone at the table for a copy of my resume. He looked at it for about 30 seconds and then asked me something completely unrelated to the interview or working at ICL. I answered him, and he then smiled and said, “Ok, any more questions for Scott?” as he looked around. No one said anything, at which point he looked at me and said, “Good luck!” I still remember walking down the steps outside Ayres headed for the parking garage and thinking, “Ok, what’s your plan B?”

You haven’t been gone from ICL really long enough to miss it much, so what do you think you’re going to miss the most?

Actually, I do miss some things already. The camaraderie is one of them. At ICL, everyone is together in the same building and mostly on the same floor. And with 45 or so employees, it is easy to run into your co-workers and strike up a conversation. Even though I’m still in the same building, I’m pretty isolated, and all of my new co-workers are faculty who are usually in class teaching or otherwise engaged – meeting with students, traveling, etc. So there are many days I don’t see anyone. It’s a bit of an adjustment going from working nearly 14 years with so many people and seeing them daily to not seeing many people at all much of the time. And of course there are the Friday lunches. Who doesn’t miss those? Maybe I should work out some kind of deal where I could come and get a plate of food once in a while on Fridays. LOL.

What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?

Retired! No, seriously, it’s hard to say. In an ideal world, I’d be working as a senior administrator at a college or university near the coast somewhere. It’s no secret my wife and I would love to be closer to the ocean and a little farther north of Tennessee. I’d really like to work for an institution that has some type of marine research program. I began my college experience as a marine biology major and I still have a real affinity for the marine environment, so maybe somewhere between Virginia and Maine would fit. We love snow also. How ‘bout Boston? That might work.