Erick Bauman
Hometown: Driftwood, TX
Age: 21
Major: Computer Science
Minors: Mathematics, Business
What are your plans post-Southwestern?
I plan to continue to graduate school and to get a PhD in Computer Science. After that, I am interested in contributing to the videogame industry in some way.
When do you feel most like a computer scientist?
When I am in the middle of programming an interesting and difficult project, the moment of clarity in which the problem is solved makes me feel most like a computer scientist.
Yvette Niyomugaba
Hometown: Kigali, Rwanda
Age: 22
Major: Mathematics
Minor: Computer Science
What are your plans post-Southwestern?
I am planning on finding an internship for this coming summer and go to graduate school in Statistics in Fall 2013.
When do you feel most like a scientist/mathematician?
When I see math or science related things in the media or in real life and I know why and how they happen the way they do.
For my Honors Thesis…
My research topic is about creating a mathematical model for plastic recycling using Markov chains in order to predict how much plastic-only landfill will be needed in the coming 20 years, given the rate at which plastic is wasted and thrown away.
When I was looking for a research topic, I ran across recycling and was interested in how crucial recycling is in saving the earth’s resources and contributing to the prevention of environmental pollution. I specifically chose plastic recycling because plastic is something that we use every day and, if it is properly recycled, it would save energy and oil used to make it. As I read more articles and got very familiar with the plastic recycling industry, my interest and passion grew significantly. I became more conscious about recycling, and I started encouraging [people close to me] to do the same.
Inspiring the Future
This project inspired my future life and I dream to open a recycling company in my country if I get the means. This will change the lives of my people and help the country reduce the cost of production of many products given its limited resources.