People

SRI's innovative thinking depends directly on the people who work here. Meet members of our team and learn why they joined SRI - you may discover that you would like to join the team, too. Visit Careers @ SRI for descriptions of current openings.

Meet . . . Katherine Donaldson

Focus @ SRI:
Programming and algorithm development, concentrating on image/signal processing

Title and Location:
Scientific Programmer/Analyst, Engineering & Systems Division

Day in the Life @ SRI:
I hop on my bicycle, get on the train, flip open my laptop, read some email, and hack some Matlab/C code. By the time I've arrived at work I have my direction for the day. Most of my days are spent writing code in a wide variety of languages for an eclectic set of projects that range from prototyping signal extraction algorithms, to coming up with new ways to view multidimensional optical vibrometry data, to real-time image processing for automated USPS mail sorting. On some days I get to head out on a field trip, which can involve anything from running a team of videographers to pounding geophones into the recalcitrant ground with a shovel - - mostly the latter.

Before SRI:
I was an intern at NASA Ames Research Center, working in the intelligent systems group.

Academics:
B.S. in computer science, with a double major in mathematics and a minor in sculpture from Carnegie Mellon University

Why SRI?
I like the diverse research opportunities and the collegiate atmosphere.

Inspiration and Motivation:
The belief that I can build a better mousetrap is all the reason I need to try.

Away from the Office:
Making things, the act of creation. Gizmology fascinates me, and is the physical counterpart to the machines of logic that I construct on my laptop. I also like photography, drawing, textile projects, gardening, game design . . . I have far too many projects.

Languages:
C/C++/Objective C, Python, MATLAB, IDL, FORTRAN, V++, Lisp, POV-Ray, Basic, Html, AppleScript, 68k assembly, Tcl/Tk, LaTeX, Pascal, csh, Mathmatica, MathCad, HyperTalk, Logo, Painter's ColorTalk, and probably several other obscure macro/proprietary languages. What, you wanted 'real' languages?

Proudest Professional Accomplishment:
I don't really think about my life in superlatives . . . I'm proud of every problem I've solved, each with its own snowflake structure and delight, every project I've ever finished.

Words of Wisdom for New SRI Team Members:
Get to know the people in your group, and those around you. There's incredible freedom to work on what you want around here. The key is to figure out who's working on what, and at SRI there's someone working on just about everything.

Favorites:
More superlatives! Roger Zelazny's insanity, Madeline L'Engle's buoyant inspiration, Will Wright's simulation games, Scott McCloud's 'Understanding Comics', and Dar Williams's music