The Shoulders We Stand On
Join us as we explore pivotal milestones in computer science, spotlighting visionary
scientists and engineers whose work resonates in today's software landscape.
From architecture to programming languages, GUI, web, and AI, we'll bridge historical
breakthroughs to their enduring impact on modern software engineering. As we dive into
Alan Turing's AI contributions, David Parnas's modular design principles, Grace Hopper's
revolutionary compiler, Nasir Ahmed's image compression algorithm and more, we discuss how
algorithms from the past continue to influence contemporary software practices and
demonstrate how theoretical concepts from earlier eras manifest in today's complex
distributed systems.
This talk transcends timelines, connecting past innovations to contemporary impacts. In
light of the influential discoveries, we highlight how they impact what we build today in
more ways than we can count and how this knowledge can inform our decision making process
in our day to day jobs as we work on products that transform the world as we know it.
Quinn Hou
After five years as a software engineer at Dapper Labs, Quinn recently stepped into the role of engineering manager for a team she deeply values. She has been involved in numerous projects, fondly remembering the initial days of whiteboarding the architecture of NBA TopShot. For Quinn, readable code, extendable systems, and team banter are highlights. Outside the office, she enjoys biking, cooking, bouldering, and has recently taken up sewing.