Matthew T. Beitler

Personal 

Influences

Kathy Dimmich - Kathy was the first person to fully encourage my interest in computer science... As the librarian at my high school, she took me in and had me configuring/installing/repairing any of the equipment which needed it...

Roger Webster - I knew Roger when he wasn't a phd, of course that was only for one semester!:~)... Roger encouraged all his students to make their work "something more"... His favorite phrase was "I want to see bells and whistles"... As a sophmore, Roger asked me if I wanted to do an independent study in "robot control"... So there I was a 1st semester sophmore programming a control system for a Microbot Alpha II robot... During the same semester Roger had a robotics course (which was for seniors) and these seniors were using my control system for the alpha II (boy were they jealous, I got to do all the cool stuff)... Throughout my time at Millersville, Roger encouraged me and forced me to work at a level beyond my expectations... 

Rick Foulds - It was with Rick that my research interests really took flight... I chose to attend the University of Delaware because I was interested in "artificial intelligence" and their program seemed to be a growing one... After my first semester at Delaware (unfunded), I couldn't find a faculty member who was doing work that I was interested in or any who had funding either. So then my friend Karen Hamilton said I should come up to the A.I. duPont Institute and visit the laboratories... On my visit I talked to Dr. Richard Foulds about the work of the lab (which sounded incredibly exciting) and he offered me a research assistantship... Over the next 4 years I was insipired by Rick's energy and his ability to see unique and original solutions to problems... 

Norm Badler- For a long time I knew of this legendary figure (aka the "father of graphical human simulation") who led the development of JACK at the University of Pennsylvania. So the first time I met him (thanks to Paul for having me sit in on a meeting) I was amazed at how down to earth this guy was. Eventually our paths crossed again at a conference in California and by chance we both got stuck at LAX for 3 hours waiting for our planes. And so I proceeded to talk Norm's ear off for the next 3 hours.....my work at AIDI (aka duPont Hospital for Children), my interests in human modeling, I picked his brain about grant writing.......you name it, we talked about it... I guess my 3 hours of ranting and babbling didn't drive him completely nuts, since now I am a graduate student of his (pretty cool, huh???)...

Quotes

"I take confidence in the belief that there is a solution,  other than that I have nothing going for me." - fellow student, 1991 [we were working on a problem set for Ron Davis' theory of computation class]...

"The more people involved, the slower and stupider their union is"  - Jamie Zawinski, March 31, 1999

"Lets get a bat and kick his head in" - drunken student at Millersville University, March 29, 1990... (um, why do you need a bat, if you're going to "kick" his head in?)

"Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not tried it." - Donald Knuth, March 29, 1977...

"Design by committee doesn't work particularly well, and for something with as much popular appeal as games, the signal to noise ratio would probably be very low" - John Carmack, October 15, 1999...

"Beautiful brains are hard to find......" - Josh Edwards, July 5, 2000...

"...As for the battle that ends tonight, I do believe as my father once said, that no matter how hard the loss, defeat might serve as well as victory to shape the soul...." - Vice President Al Gore, December 13, 2000...

"...I hate cab drivers..." - a Philly cab driver, November 10, 2001

"We're all here to do what we're all here to do..." - Gloria Foster, May 15, 2003

Reading a 'real fact' from under the cap of a Snapple lid, Matt says, "A single coffee tree produces only about 1 pound of coffee beans per year...".   To which Norm responds "...and a married one produces 8..."
- a 'snappy comeback' from Norm Badler, September 25, 2003

"Isaac Asimov--the eternal optimist, the rational enthusiast of science--showed scientists as the public never sees them, as the history books never portray them:  scientists who doubt themselves, who worry about the moral implications of their work, and who scheme against one another.  Beneath Isaac's public persona was a very perceptive, extremely intelligent and sensitive human being.  He knew, better than most of those who rail against research and mushrooming technology, that
science is a human activity, that research is conducted by fallible, emotional, imperfect men and women.  Yet despite the schemings and shortcomings of the people, the work of science proceeds.  These flawed and faulty human beings build marvelous creations for us.  Perhaps that is the essence of true optimism, the belief that imperfect human beings can build toward perfection.  Thatwas certainly the foundation of faith that made Isaac Asimov who and what he was." - a paraphrase of Ben Bova's description of Isaac

I've got some more, but that's it for now...