What was your conference project?
I wrote a computer algorithm that mimics the evolutionary process to reproduce works of art. The algorithm takes color values from a target image—a black-and-white or color photo—and re-creates it with a set of triangles. The code I wrote mimics evolutionary biology, but it’s basically artificial intelligence.
How did faculty support you?
Jim Marshall, my adviser, helped me conceptually to theorize the algorithm and what it would require. I also got help from other faculty members with the complexity of the code itself.
It’s one thing to write and it’s another thing to get into a dialogue with a professor. You really get to understand your passions in those dialogues. That’s the most helpful part of the Sarah Lawrence model.
What have you learned from your conference work?
It’s knowing how to work independently and knowing how to gather information on your own. You decide your own project, you gather the information, you synthesize all the material, and then you put it out there.
For someone planning to open their own business after school, as I am, it’s the most valuable thing: knowing how to manage large projects and to produce something that is meaningful.