Christine Toh

I obtained my B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, then went on to get my M.S. and PhD in Industrial Engineering -- all from the Pennsylvania State University. By the time I graduated with my PhD in 2016, I knew that I wanted to contribute to an interdisciplinary program that integrated my interests in design, engineering, and technology. That desire was what brought me to the University of Nebraska at Omaha, to the IT Innovation degree program. Since then, the name of the program changed to Applied Computing, along with a broadening of its focus to include other disciplines such as game design, robotics, bioinformatics, and software engineering. 

I have always been energized by the boundaries of things-- curious to see what's at the edge of a particular discipline or idea. Growing up in Malaysia, I was surrounded by people of many different racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds (Malaysia is a relatively young multi-ethnic ex-British colony). This formative experience probably contributed to my insatiable thirst to know why things are the way they are. My curiosity is particularly piqued with questions concerning systems and systems of systems-- things that make up the fabric of our built world and society. 

When I'm not busy asking the "WHY" questions, I am purusing my creative outlets of digital art, video games, and tabletop roleplaying games. I am particularly fascinated by narrative and how stories both construct and reflect our individual and social realities. I also thoroughly enjoy the outdoors (e.g., hiking, fishing, biking) and fulfiling my Oenophilia (love of wine!) -- in fact, I regularly attend wine tasting and education classes near me and am always curious to find the next unique varietal and region!