Biography

Hello! I’m a Ph.D. candidate in scientific computing at the University of British Columbia, supervised by Chen Greif. I focus on numerical linear algebra and am looking at efficient ways to solve linear systems with special structure. Before my Ph.D., I completed my Master’s degree in the Sensorimotor Systems Lab at UBC, where I developed machine learning strategies for neuromuscular control of the human hand.

For more details, check out my CV (last updated May 2020).

Current appointments

I am not teaching any courses in the 2020-2021 academic year. Aside from my departmental teaching duties, I’m also a facilitator for the internationally recognized Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) at the UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology.

Past teaching experience

• Instructor for CPSC 320: Intermediate Algorithm Design and Analysis (Summer 2019)
• Instructor for CPSC 320: Intermediate Algorithm Design and Analysis (Winter 2017)

Teaching philosophy

See my teaching philosophy statement.

• I’m the co-organizer (along with Chen Greif) of the UBC Scientific Computing, Applied and Industrial Math (SCAIM) seminar series.
• I write (and occasionally perform) computer science-/academia-themed parody songs. Check out my collection of parody lyrics!
• My husband Nick is also a Ph.D. student in computer science at UBC. You might notice that, as of this writing, we are using the same pre-made website template… now that’s what I call laziness teamwork!
• My favourite pastime is reading. Here is a list of my favourite books, as of 2018. (For more details, you can also check out my Goodreads profile.)
• I like to bake (and share the results at work and social events!). My specialty is sourdough bread, but I also like making challah, focaccia, and some non-bread items like cookies, éclairs, and the occasional math-themed cake.

• smbrad@cs.ubc.ca
• 201-2366 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC