6 out of 200: Seeking for cross-disciplinarity

BLOG: Heidelberg Laureate Forum

Laureates of mathematics and computer science meet the next generation
Heidelberg Laureate Forum
Q&A with 6 out of 200 young researchers participating at the Heidelberg Laureate Forum 2014

Meet David Beccera Romero in this Q&A series with 6 out of 200 mathematicians or computer scientists participating at the 2nd Heidelberg Laureate Forum, September 21-26, 2014. 24 Laureates (Abel Prize, Fields Medal, Nevanlinna Prize, Turing Award) will attend the forum together with them. For a full week Heidelberg in Germany will be the hot spot of mathematics and computer science.

Courtesy David Beccera Romero
Image: Courtesy of David Beccera Romero

 

Name?
David Beccera Romero

Nationality?  Colombia

Where are you based? Montreal, QC, Canada

What is your current position?  Ph.D student. I am a member of the Computational Structural Biology Group at McGill University.

What is the focus of your research? My research focuses predominantly in the area of Computational Biology. I am mainly concerned with applying computational techniques to the modeling and simulation of complex problems in Life Sciences. Particularly, related to the use of Machine Learning, Bio-inspired Computing, Data Mining, Intelligent Systems, Algorithms and Optimization Processes in the solution of molecular biology problems at a sequential and structural level.

Why did you become a computer scientist?  I studied computer science because I was curious about that machine called ‘computer’. I wanted to study something that would allow me to understand how that machine works. During my studies, I realized that computer science could play a fundamental role in joining different knowledge areas. At the end of my studies, I started to pursuit cross-disciplinary work, and I really loved it.

Anything like a favourite project? My favourite project is usually one that involves people from different areas. It is always fun to work (and have coffee) with people that see the world from a different perspective.

What about your life beyond research?  Actually I spend more of my time preparing the coming of my first son. Painting his room has been a nice activity to do.

Why did you apply for the HLF14?  The Heidelberg Laureate Forum represents an opportunity to have personal communications with research models that can help me to inspire myself and inspire a new generation of computer scientists to pursuit a cross-disciplinary work

What do you expect from this meeting? I would like to learn many interesting things about the career experiences of the Laureates and the other participants of the forum.

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ist stellvertretende Wissenschaftliche Direktorin des Nationalen Instituts für Wissenschaftskommunikation (Nawik), Karlsruhe. Sie koordiniert dieses Konferenzblog. Beatrice ist Diplom-Chemikerin und seit über 20 Jahren als Wissenschaftsjournalistin für diverse deutsche Magazine und Tageszeitungen aktiv. Als Social Media Expertin hat sie unter anderem die Scienceblogs in Deutschland aufgebaut. In ihrem Blog ‚Quantensprung‘ und in ihren Tweets als @BLugger schreibt sie vornehmlich über Wissenschaftskommunikation.

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