Profile
Willem Heijltjes
Waiting anxiously for the final votes!
My CV
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Education:
Utrecht University, The Netherlands (1999-2007) and Edinburgh University (2007-2011)
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Qualifications:
PhD in Theoretical Computer Science, MSc in Artificial Intelligence, driver’s licence, and some swimming certificates
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Work History:
A university in Paris (2011-2012)
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Current Job:
I’m a Prize Fellow – like a prize cow, but for scientists
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Everyone knows that deep down, computers are all about 1’s and 0’s. On the surface, they’re about programming. A program uses words like ‘if’, ‘then’, ‘else’, that look normal, but mean something special to the computer. And some maths.
I want to change programs to use pictures instead of words. Not people-pictures; not take-your-camera-and-say-cheese pictures; but pictures that a computer understands. Here is a movie for computers:
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My Typical Day:
I cycle to the university (uphill, meh), think really hard, and then cycle home again (downhill, yay!)
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Being a scientist is very much like being in school: you learn something new every day… well, almost every day 😉 Even on normal, boring days when you just go to the office.
The part of computer science that I do is a lot like maths. So on a typical day, I sit down and think. Those are the good days!
Even better days (or weeks) are when I go to a conference. These are all over the world – here’s a picture of some of the places I’ve been since I became a scientist:
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What I'd do with the prize money:
Make a computer game!
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
a bit cheeky
Were you ever in trouble at school?
You should try everything at least once, right ;)
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Miike Snow, Caribou, Yeasayer, Son Lux, The Shins, too many to name!
What's your favourite food?
Homemade pizza, where I can arrange my topping into neat patterns (I’m a bit obsessive like that)
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
1) To hang on to my hair a little longer. 2) Space on the roads to cycle. 3) Three more wishes (in computer science this is called `recursion’)
Tell us a joke.
There are 10 kinds of people: those who understand binary, and those who don’t :)
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