PhD 1990: I helped develop early work in Machine Learning (decades before GPT) at UC-Irvine
Teaching professor: I had two one-year positions as a visiting assistant professor for teaching classes. The first was at Keio University in Tokyo Japan, and the second was at University of Wisconsin, Madison. In both positions, I taught classes in AI and Machine learning.
Research scientist, Stanford University: From 1992 to 1998, I worked as a research scientist at Stanford Biomedical Informatics, collaborating with folk such as Ted Shortliffe, Mark Musen and Russ Altman. This is where I learned about the field. Importantly, I helped develop the Protege system for ontology development, which is still in active use today.
Adjunct professor, UC-Irvine: I had a brief stint (3 years) as an adjunct professor in the UC-Irvine Information & Computer Science Dep't. But who wants to live in Southern CA? Not me...
Professor and Graduate Program Director: I've been here at UW since 2002: A long time, indeed. I helped establish the PhD program in 2002-03 (with many others!), I become the graduate program director in 2018, and was (finally) promoted to full professor in 2021.
Why in heck do I list "Story-teller", right there on the front page, next to things like "teacher" and "scientist"??
In brief, I believe that skillfull story telling is one of the most important teachable skills in life. It is the heart of all effective communication. It connects us and builds community. Those that are skilled story-tellers become leaders, influencers, and innovators. Story-telling is at the heart of science -- it is how we convince others that our ideas and our research is important and impactful. The best invention in the world is worthless if you can't explain it to others. Science differs a bit in that we also teach the ability to critical analyze and think deeply about theories (and stories), perhaps refuting some. But this does not diminish the importance of telling the story.
See also my teaching page -- story telling is a skill I aim to teach both in my undergraduate class and in my "professional development" seminar.
I'm an old guy now. I've done lots and lots of fun things, and I can certainly tell many stories about these. Ask me more!
Dancing. I started dancing in College, and haven't stopped. My main dance is contradancing, a type of folk dance. The Contradance community here in Seattle is one of the biggest (and best!) in the country. But I love all dance -- my wife and I started dating by taking ballroom dance lessons together.
Ultimate frisbee. Starting in grad school, I played competitively for many years. Although I was never on a team that went to Nationals, I was on some pretty good ones... (No, I don't play anymore! I stopped at age 49)
Sailing. I learned to sail in high school, in the Boston area, and sailed most of my life. I've sailed lots of craft, big and small. I've also always been a water-sports person (unlike my wife, who, alas, is not, and doesn't particularly like sailing).
Skiing. Like Ultimate, this is a sport that I don't do anymore. But in my younger days, I skied everything and everywhere (at least, on this continent). Nordic, Alpine, but not snowboarding. I love the beauty of mountains and snow, and have great memories (and stories) of skiing exploits.
Bicycling. Unlike skiing and Ultimate, I still do bicycle a moderate amount, mostly commuting to campus and my office. When I was younger, I did a fair bit of touring -- e.g., riding from the Bay Area to Los Angeles (twice, actually!), and a tour of Western WA in 1993 (before I moved here).
Japan. Not sure what category to put this in, but it certainly affects who I am. I studied Japanese extensively in undergraduate, include a life-changing semester abroad. I continued a bit in graduate school, and then spent a year living in Japan right after my PhD. By then (1991), I was pretty close to fluent in spoken Japanese (but that was a long time ago!). I've been back a couple of times since then, but my Nihongo is certainly rusty.
Live theater & shows. Starting as a high school student, I was enamored of theater. Growing up, I attend shows in the Boston area, and on Broadway in NYC. An important part of who I am is my acting stint in college -- I was in maybe 6-7 theater and musical productions. These days, we attend a live production of theater, dance or music probably twice/month. Seattle is a fabulous city for this opportunity.