dj whitebread
Friday, August 15, 2008
Acknowledgments
First, I want to begin my thanking my wife, Carrie. Her love and support is unbounded. Specifically, I want to thank her for one thing that relates directly to this dissertation. I was working at IBM in 2001 when I was accepted into the doctoral program in the Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. I was somewhat hesitant to quit my job; I honestly had not expected to get in. I figured I would get into the Masters program and go back part-time.
Everything changed when I got that acceptance letter. I had been given the opportunity to pursue my dream that I had had since I was 13: to get a Ph.D. and become a professor. Still, I was not sure. I remember telling Carrie that I had been accepted. We were not dating at the time, but we were close friends, and she was so happy for me. It was this excitement that helped reignite my own dream and made me realize that we only get to live the dreams we follow. I remember telling her that I had decided to accept the offer, quit my job, and come back to school full time. She seemed proud and happy that I made that decision, and seeing her response filled me with joy. We started dating my first year of graduate school and got married two years later. It has been the best four and a half years of my life since March 13, 2004. I dedicate this dissertation to her, but she shares that line with two other important people.
My parents, Robert and Bobbie Riche, have always supported me throughout my life. I was not a tough kid or an athletic kid. I was a smart kid who liked to talk a lot. My parents always listened, though. My parents always encouraged me to learn more. I thank them for instilling in me the passion for learning that has pushed me this far. I also thank them for teaching me that doing the right thing is right, regardless of how much it may hurt or inconvenience you. Most of all, I thank them for their constant love; without that I most definitely would not be here right now.
I would be amiss if I did not thank my adviser, Harrick Vin. The most important thing that Harrick has taught me is to always ask the question, ``Why?'' It is the perpetual asking, and answering, of this question that sets us apart as scientists. I recently had the opportunity to talk to Harrick at length about his time here at UTCS. Not only am I forever grateful for the lessons he has taught me specifically, I am very grateful for the hard work that he put into the last 15 years to make our department a wonderful place.
There is a chance that I may be Harrick's last doctoral student. While on some level I am honored, I feel more sadness about this fact than anything. I really hope one day I hear that I am no longer his last student, because UT is losing a great teacher and adviser.
Greg Lavender, my co-adviser, deserves my utmost thanks. During several rough parts of my career here, Greg was there to remind me of the positive things and help to get my spirits up and to keep me going. Also, I thank Greg for introducing me to the research areas of programming languages and software engineering. I knew nothing of these things. Greg's instruction in these areas has helped me develop a passion for an entire area of research I did not even really know about when I started.
I would like to thank all of my committee members for their insightful comments and suggestions: Mike Dahlin, Don Batory, and Raj Yavatkar. I hope to continue to work with all three of these great researchers and teachers and to continue to learn from them as well.
I thank Lorenzo Alvisi for continuing to remind me why I want to be a professor.
There are five graduate students that I have had the honor of knowing during the time I spent working on this dissertation---I want to thank them now. Ravi Kokku and Jayaram Mudigonda were mentors to me, and two people from whom I have learned so much. Jeff Napper, Harry Li, and Allen Clement have become some of my best friends and have continued to push me to work harder and smarter. Conversations with a white board and these five people have helped to push many of the ideas in this dissertation forward.
I thank all of LASR. This research group has been an amazing place to work and learn. Seeing it develop from a relatively small group to what it is today has been a great experience. Further, I thank Sara Strandtman for keeping LASR running. Nothing would actually work without Sara.
Finally, I thank God for giving me so many blessings in life. Reconciling faith and science is a tough thing to do, and it is always a work in progress. I feel that God wants us to learn and never stop asking questions. Treating faith as fact does not do the beautiful mystery that is faith justice, and using religion as a tool to judge and demean goes against everything God teaches us. I believe that God gives us all two very important things: brains and love. I intend to use both of these to their fullest extent for the rest of my life.
Taylor Louis Riche'
The University of Texas at Austin, 2008
Labels: dissertation
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