Lee Simbeye, Imagine Cup Top Student Researcher Carleton University

This week, Stephen Ibaraki has an exclusive interview with Lee Simbeye.

Left to right: Milton Johane, Seyed Mohammand Etemad, Lee Simbeye

Milton Johane
Hello. My name is Milton Johane. I'm a fourth year student in Communications Engineering at Carleton University. My interests include programming for fun. I can be reached at mjohane@connect.carleton.ca. Thank you.

Seyed Mohammad Etemad
I am Seyed Mohammad Etemad finishing my undergraduate degree in the Electrical Engineering Major at Carleton University. After working for International ASET Inc. for the past 3 years as a webmaster for the International-aset.com website and a leader of the Student Committee for the ICNFA 2010 and ICNFA 2011 conferences, I decided to do my project in the field of programming.

Previously interested in renewable energies, I have published a paper titled: "PV Solar Cells: Advantages and Challenges" in the proceedings of the International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation (ICEPR 2011) held in Ottawa, Canada.

Currently, I am still collaborating with International ASET Inc. along with finishing my undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering at Carleton University.

I can be contacted through email at: metemad@connect.carleton.ca

Lee Simbeye
Hi. My name is Lee Simbeye. I'm currently in my fourth year studying Electrical Engineering at Carleton University. I'm very interested in advancing simulation as a third paradigm of science and hence chose adding simulation to a mobile phone as my fourth year project. My project teammates and I have also decided to enter the Imagine Cup because we feel our project can help advance education for disadvantaged children around the world. I can be reached at lsimbeye@connect.carleton.ca.

This interview follows the discussion with award-winning Professor Gabriel Wainer, Dept. of Systems and Computer Engineering, Carleton University. http://blogs.technet.com/b/cdnitmanagers/archive/2011/11/14/professor-gabriel-wainer-multi-awarding-winning-top-researcher-blazing-innovative-trails.aspx

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

The latest blog on the interview can be found in the IT Managers Connection (IMC) forum where you can provide your comments in an interactive dialogue.
http://blogs.technet.com/b/cdnitmanagers/

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic
:00:31:		What five factors were a catalyst for your team's interest in the Imagine Cup? "....Helping to solve real life problems....Microsoft Development tools....Chance to meet other software developers around the world....Opportunity to travel....Possibility to win good prizes...."
:01:29:		How is the University supporting your Imagine Cup research? "....Our supervisor Dr. Wainer has been very helpful by directing us to the right resources and people. The school has provided us with Windows phones to run and test on...."
:01:49:		Lee, what is the overall theme and goals for your Imagine Cup research? "....Essentially we have adopted the UN Millennium development goal which is universal education. Our goal is to make experiments as cheap as possible for elementary-level schools...."
:02:14:		What are the wider implications of your project? "....This concept is not limited to elementary-level education....There are so many services out there which require simulations...."
:02:37:		Describe the overall design of your project. "....This project has two parts to it, we have the server and the client....It's important to realize that the server and the phone are connected through the internet...."
:03:03:		What are simulations? "....It is the imitation of attributes over a real system or object using computer programs...."
:03:26:		If I'm a user of this project, what will it feel like to use it? "....You open the app and a set of experiments will come into view. You just choose which one you want to perform...."
:04:51:		How will the simulations be useful outside of this project? "....These results are not only limited to education, they can also be used for example, the weather forecast, traffic control...."
:06:58:		Is the simulation occurring in the Cloud? "....We haven't yet moved it to the Windows Cloud Azure....Once we make sure that the project is solid then we'll be thinking of moving it to Windows Cloud...."
:07:17:		What role are each of your team members playing in the project? "....Fellow team members: Milton is working mainly on the communication with the server....Mohammand and I are doing the visualizations....This is not restrictive, we can always switch around...."
:07:59:		What impact do you see this having on Microsoft and in mobile and cloud development? "....I think this will attract a lot of users because there will be so many services for the people out there....It will also attract developers because there is so much need...."
:08:24:		How can we follow the progress of your work? "....You can go to our blog and see where we are and where we are going with the project....See http://projectmosa.blogspot.com...."
:09:00:		Why are you interested in advancing simulation as a third paradigm of science? "....Because simulation is an alternative to performing actual experiments. Simulation is cheaper, more available to people and is less risky...."
:09:26:		On a personal level, what triggered your interest in Electrical Engineering? "....Because electronics is a backbone for advances in computing and IT. I wanted to be involved in both sides of the business; that is software and hardware...."
:10:16:		What goals do you want to achieve in your career? "....Make enough money so that I can help people in the world....Take a few business related courses to get an idea of the financial implications of a product....Become a CEO of a company, hopefully my own...."
:11:42:		What do you find cool? "....Artificial Intelligence...."
:12:05:		What innovations should we be watching for in the next five years? "....Phones will be taking over the PCs...."
:12:33:		What are your thoughts on computing as a recognized profession like medicine and law, with demonstrated professional development, adherence to a code of ethics, and recognized credentials? [See www.ipthree.org and the Global Industry Council,  http://www.ipthree.org/about-ip3/global-advisory-council] "....I think it should be recognized as a profession because of the impact it has on society. Almost every aspect of society has been affected by computing...."
:12:55:		Lee, do you have any additional comments you want to make? "....If people are interested they can follow us on our blog and if they want to add comments or give us ideas, they are very much welcome to do so...."