Geek of the Week

Seattle biotech vet Justine Dell’Aringa sees parallels in science while building her own home

by Kurt Schlosser on August 6, 2021August 6, 2021 at 7:38 am

At home and at work, Justine Dell’Aringa is up for a challenge. The scientific associate director of Translational Research for Bristol Myers Squibb’s Immuno-Oncology and Cell Therapy Thematic Research Center… Read More

adyn founder Elizabeth Ruzzo is on a mission to make scientific discovery more inclusive

by Kurt Schlosser on July 17, 2021July 16, 2021 at 5:00 pm

As a scientist, Elizabeth Ruzzo likes making decisions based on data. So when she suffered through trial and error with multiple doctors to find a birth control that didn’t make… Read More

Astronomy professor Emily Levesque looks out at massive stars and back at history of her profession

by Kurt Schlosser on July 3, 2021July 2, 2021 at 9:50 am

When Emily Levesque was 2 years old, Halley’s Comet made its most recent close pass to Earth. Her older brother was observing the phenomenon for a school project and the… Read More

Kaskada data scientist Charna Parkey likes to work in areas that can ‘dramatically change the world’

by Kurt Schlosser on May 15, 2021May 15, 2021 at 8:13 am

Growing up, Charna Parkey was always the “tech person” in her house. In high school she started getting IT certifications, and by the time she got to college, she took… Read More

Video

Kaytlyn Gerbin is blazing trails in cell science and as an ultrarunner who has conquered Mount Rainier

by Kurt Schlosser on April 16, 2021April 16, 2021 at 8:30 am

When Kaytlyn Gerbin moved to Seattle 10 years ago to attend graduate school at the University of Washington, a friend took her to Kerry Park in the Queen Anne neighborhood… Read More

Video

UW’s Os Keyes takes on tech’s ethical challenges, from gender bias in AI to facial recognition

by Kurt Schlosser on March 7, 2021March 7, 2021 at 8:28 pm

A PhD candidate with the University of Washington’s Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering, Os Keyes researches the ethical and political impact that new technologies have on the world.… Read More

VC family: Madison McIlwain follows her father’s footsteps, and carves out her own tech interests

by Kurt Schlosser on February 13, 2021February 15, 2021 at 11:22 am

An elevator pitch, quick coffee, lunch or Zoom chat might be how some investors get a feel for a particular company or founder. Madison McIlwain picked up what to look… Read More

Microsoft’s Erik Arnold merges passion for tech and philanthropy to help nonprofits gain digital success

by Kurt Schlosser on January 23, 2021January 22, 2021 at 2:17 pm

Erik Arnold likes to joke that for the entire time that he’s been in Seattle, Bill Gates has been responsible for his salary in one way or another. Arnold spent… Read More

He always wanted in the game, and now Shotcall’s Gordon Li is helping fans play alongside creators

by Kurt Schlosser on January 9, 2021January 12, 2021 at 3:56 pm

Gordon Li grew up obsessed with playing video games — maybe a bit too much, in his parents’ opinion, he says. But any parent would be proud if their kid… Read More

Need a boost for the new year? Pacific Northwest geeks share the different things that inspire them

by Kurt Schlosser on December 31, 2020December 30, 2020 at 9:48 pm

Need a little inspiration to make it out of 2020 and into 2021? We’ve been asking data scientists, video game designers, engineers, doctors, students and startup founders all year where… Read More

Video

Rooted in Tacoma, cloudPWR’s Shadrach White delivers tech solutions for governments everywhere

by Kurt Schlosser on December 19, 2020December 18, 2020 at 2:01 pm

Throughout his career, Shadrach White has participated in hundreds of successful government IT projects. While more often than not we hear about the failed IT projects, White thinks little credit is… Read More

Geek of the Week: Brightloom’s Jacqueline Nolis wrote the book on how to become a data scientist

by Kurt Schlosser on December 5, 2020December 5, 2020 at 9:08 am

Jacqueline Nolis hasn’t just made a career out of working in data science, she wrote the book on making a career in data science. Nolis, a principal data scientist at Brightloom,… Read More

Geek of the Week: Vulcan’s W. Andre Perkins uses machine learning to help predict climate change

by Kurt Schlosser on November 28, 2020November 27, 2020 at 6:37 pm

Growing up outside a town in Wisconsin, out in the woods with dial-up internet and his parents, sister, cats, horses, and chickens, W. Andre Perkins always had an interest in… Read More

Video

Do the math with Steve Brunton, a UW professor whose YouTube popularity keeps adding up

by Kurt Schlosser on November 6, 2020November 6, 2020 at 9:13 am

There’s online teaching and then there’s cool YouTube-style teaching with a lightboard, neon-colored markers, a black backdrop and a Steve Jobs-worthy wardrobe on the instructor. Steve Brunton is doing the… Read More

With 25 years at Microsoft, Mike Tholfsen is old school — and a champion of education accessibility

by Kurt Schlosser on October 23, 2020October 22, 2020 at 3:50 pm

Long before COVID-19 thrust how we teach and learn using technology into an uncomfortable spotlight, Mike Tholfsen was imagining the tools that would make learning more inclusive and empowering for… Read More

Video

Geek of the Week: Artist Chanee Choi’s 3D video game ‘Pandemic’ looks at racism during COVID-19

by Kurt Schlosser on October 9, 2020October 9, 2020 at 9:01 am

Chanee Choi’s “Pandemic” is a video game and it is art. And the “art game” is not an escape from reality as we know it right now. A Ph.D. candidate… Read More

Geek of the Week: Tori Dunlap’s ‘First $100K’ turned into a movement to empower women financially

by Kurt Schlosser on October 2, 2020October 3, 2020 at 11:00 am

When Tori Dunlap was 9 years old, she started running her own business — a vending machine company, in which she learned the ins and outs of managing machines, candy… Read More

Geek of the Week: Elizabeth Lawlor brings her lab — and hope for a cancer cure — to Seattle Children’s

by Kurt Schlosser on September 18, 2020September 18, 2020 at 2:21 pm

A native of Vancouver, B.C., Dr. Elizabeth Lawlor is thrilled to be back in the Pacific Northwest. And she’s equally excited about joining the research community in Seattle, as Lawlor… Read More

The pandemic stopped Angela Shen’s Seattle food tours — and tech powers her pivot to delivery

by Kurt Schlosser on September 11, 2020September 11, 2020 at 1:07 pm

It’s tough to run a business dependent on tourism when there are no tourists, and when the places you would show off to the tourists are closed by a global… Read More

Geek of the Week: Anu Sharma left Amazon for Madrona to invest in helping new businesses

by Kurt Schlosser on August 29, 2020August 28, 2020 at 12:00 pm

As someone who was already interested in investing from a personal standpoint, Anu Sharma said it was always on her mind to turn her “side project” into a full time… Read More

Video

Geek of the Week: Furniture designer Ethan Pearl on the future office and how COVID rearranges it all

by Kurt Schlosser on August 21, 2020August 20, 2020 at 1:50 pm

Six months into a global health crisis that has redefined where and how many of us work, Ethan Pearl is ready to talk about what we’re missing at the office.… Read More

Video

Geek of the Week: UW’s Vikram Iyer uses small insects to tackle big wireless computing problems

by Kurt Schlosser on August 4, 2020August 3, 2020 at 9:45 pm

Some of Vikram Iyer’s biggest ideas come in the smallest packages. And those packages can even be attached to insects. A PhD student at the University of Washington, Iyer works… Read More

Video

Geek of the Week: Microsoft for Startups GM Jeff Ma brings entrepreneurial spirit to role at tech giant

by Kurt Schlosser on July 17, 2020December 30, 2020 at 4:39 pm

In 20 years as an entrepreneur and founder, Jeff Ma learned a thing or two about startups. Now he’s learning about how Microsoft can help them. Ma is the new… Read More

Video

Fernando Reyes Medina fell for gaming through ‘Halo,’ and now he’s a designer for the franchise

by Kurt Schlosser on June 27, 2020June 27, 2020 at 9:19 am

Growing up in Mexico City, Fernando Reyes Medina’s love for video games and desire to be a game designer was fueled in part by the “Halo” franchise. As a teen… Read More

A love for sci-fi sparked Megan Brown’s STEM path and led to quantum computing at Microsoft

by Kurt Schlosser on June 20, 2020June 18, 2020 at 3:03 pm

Megan Brown grew up in a house where an interest in science and science fiction were highly encouraged. She credits weekly viewings of the television series “Stargate SG-1” as one… Read More

Video

As Seattle wins ‘Library of the Year,’ Chief Librarian Marcellus Turner sees key role for tech in pandemic

by Kurt Schlosser on June 6, 2020June 6, 2020 at 10:01 am

After the Seattle Public Library was named the 2020 Gale/Library Journal Library of the Year this week, Executive Director and Chief Librarian Marcellus Turner was excited to discuss everything that… Read More

Video

Geek of the Week: Tech vet Dick Hardt searches for a better way to verify your ‘internet identity’

by Kurt Schlosser on June 2, 2020June 2, 2020 at 12:50 pm

Dick Hardt has often been “early to the new,” as he puts it: Microsoft Windows in 1986, neural networks in 1989, the internet in 1993, open source in 1995, and… Read More

Video

Seattle biotech vet Justine Dell’Aringa sees parallels in science while building her own home

adyn founder Elizabeth Ruzzo is on a mission to make scientific discovery more inclusive

Astronomy professor Emily Levesque looks out at massive stars and back at history of her profession

Kaskada data scientist Charna Parkey likes to work in areas that can ‘dramatically change the world’

Kaytlyn Gerbin is blazing trails in cell science and as an ultrarunner who has conquered Mount Rainier

UW’s Os Keyes takes on tech’s ethical challenges, from gender bias in AI to facial recognition

VC family: Madison McIlwain follows her father’s footsteps, and carves out her own tech interests

He always wanted in the game, and now Shotcall’s Gordon Li is helping fans play alongside creators

Need a boost for the new year? Pacific Northwest geeks share the different things that inspire them

Geek of the Week: Brightloom’s Jacqueline Nolis wrote the book on how to become a data scientist

Geek of the Week: Vulcan’s W. Andre Perkins uses machine learning to help predict climate change

Do the math with Steve Brunton, a UW professor whose YouTube popularity keeps adding up

With 25 years at Microsoft, Mike Tholfsen is old school — and a champion of education accessibility

Geek of the Week: Artist Chanee Choi’s 3D video game ‘Pandemic’ looks at racism during COVID-19

Geek of the Week: Tori Dunlap’s ‘First $100K’ turned into a movement to empower women financially

Geek of the Week: Elizabeth Lawlor brings her lab — and hope for a cancer cure — to Seattle Children’s

The pandemic stopped Angela Shen’s Seattle food tours — and tech powers her pivot to delivery

Geek of the Week: Anu Sharma left Amazon for Madrona to invest in helping new businesses

Geek of the Week: Furniture designer Ethan Pearl on the future office and how COVID rearranges it all

Geek of the Week: UW’s Vikram Iyer uses small insects to tackle big wireless computing problems

Geek of the Week: Microsoft for Startups GM Jeff Ma brings entrepreneurial spirit to role at tech giant

Fernando Reyes Medina fell for gaming through ‘Halo,’ and now he’s a designer for the franchise

A love for sci-fi sparked Megan Brown’s STEM path and led to quantum computing at Microsoft

As Seattle wins ‘Library of the Year,’ Chief Librarian Marcellus Turner sees key role for tech in pandemic

Geek of the Week: Tech vet Dick Hardt searches for a better way to verify your ‘internet identity’

David Shoultz seeks tech and science solutions as Washington Research Foundation grants director

Geek of the Week: Zipwhip’s teen developer Avery Wagar generates buzz with his work on coffee robot

Catch her drift: UW sea ice scientist Maddie Smith set to embark on one-of-a-kind polar expedition