From the Transylvanian Alps to the Dutch polder… Bogdan and Iulia Tatomir are brother and sister computer scientists from Romania who share an office in the Department of Mediamatica and, apparently, don%t know the meaning of the words ‘sibling rivalry’.
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Bogdan and Iulia Tatomir sit across from each other in their office in the TU Electro building. Large desks topped with flat screen computer monitors, and a 12th floor view of the wet and windy TU-wijk contrasts sharply with the beautiful, legend-filled mountain country they call home. And while many of us would struggle to peacefully share a packet of M&Ms with our sibling, this brother-sister pair not only share an office, but also their profession. Furthermore, they don%t find it strange or difficult to do so. In fact, they point out, just a few floors below their office another Romanian guy works with both his wife and sister. Clearly, Romania must be rich in happy families.
Bogdan (23) and Iulia (21) have shared all their schooling, from elementary level through to university, and both ended up studying for a BSc in Computer Science at the Transylvania University of Braslov. It turns out that their choice of study was almost a natural one. ”Both our parents are mathematics teachers,” Iulia explains. Their father is a university teacher in astronomy, their mother a primary school mathematics teacher. ”I’ve had free mathematics lessons all my life,” Bogdan says, laughing. Their family background, they believe, has well prepared them to move into the computer industry. Iulia: ”It’s only a small step from mathematics to computer science.” They have a 15-year-old sister completing her high school education and surmise that she too will follow in the family footsteps. Romania has a strong tradition of computer science, and, with foreign companies recognizing the talents of young Romanian computer science graduates and investing in the local labor market, employment opportunities in this sector are looking good.
Bogdan, who had previously visited TU Delft twice on exchange programs before accepting a PhD position researching artificial intelligence in the TU’s Knowledge Based Systems group, was instrumental in arranging for his sister to join him in Delft. Iulia, currently completing her BSc at Transylvania University, is here on a three-month Erasmus exchange scholarship to work on her final graduation project.
Relationships between universities in the Netherlands and Romania are comparatively new. In 2000, Bogdan was the first student from his faculty to go on a study exchange to the Netherlands. Traditionally, most of his faculty%s scholarships for studying abroad were with German universities, which meant knowing the German language. Until recently, there were few scholarships offered to countries where English is a working language. Today, though, Bogdan and Iulia say there are some 15 fellow Romanians in their TU building alone and they still get excited every time they hear Romanian being spoken on the streets of Delft.
Bike riding
Bogdan and Iulia are similar in many ways, but their research topics reveal a distinct difference between them. Bogdan%s research is more abstract; he likes algorithmic problems. His PhD topic is developing a distributed blackboard system for ad-hoc networks, and algorithms for traffic management and evacuation, and he%s also involved in a research project that focuses on the improvement of decision support systems which can be employed in a whole range of fields, like traffic and transport, air traffic control, crisis management and in the medical and health care sectors. Such systems are increasingly important in the current global political climate, as they have the potential to aid communication during terror attacks and city power grid failures.
Iulia is passionate about the creative side of programming, preferring research that is a little more human-based in that it helps to make technology accessible and user friendly. She%s also researching communication systems, and explains that there are many forms of communication based on recognition of faces, voices, gestures, or technology. Using multimodal interfaces she%s developing a system using iconic communication, whereby communication and decision-making during a crisis can be made fast and efficient based on the recognition of symbols, rather than language.
This difference of the abstract versus the practical means that Bogdan and Iulia have two completely different ways of thinking, and this ensures that there is never any rivalry between them. They complement each other and genuinely enjoy working together and exploring Dutch life. Aside from her studies, Iulia has learned one new skill: riding a bike. They both giggle at the Dutch bike riding culture, ”Riding a bike in Romania is a little bit of a crazy thing to do.”
From the Transylvanian Alps to the Dutch polder… Bogdan and Iulia Tatomir are brother and sister computer scientists from Romania who share an office in the Department of Mediamatica and, apparently, don%t know the meaning of the words ‘sibling rivalry’.
Bogdan and Iulia Tatomir sit across from each other in their office in the TU Electro building. Large desks topped with flat screen computer monitors, and a 12th floor view of the wet and windy TU-wijk contrasts sharply with the beautiful, legend-filled mountain country they call home. And while many of us would struggle to peacefully share a packet of M&Ms with our sibling, this brother-sister pair not only share an office, but also their profession. Furthermore, they don%t find it strange or difficult to do so. In fact, they point out, just a few floors below their office another Romanian guy works with both his wife and sister. Clearly, Romania must be rich in happy families.
Bogdan (23) and Iulia (21) have shared all their schooling, from elementary level through to university, and both ended up studying for a BSc in Computer Science at the Transylvania University of Braslov. It turns out that their choice of study was almost a natural one. ”Both our parents are mathematics teachers,” Iulia explains. Their father is a university teacher in astronomy, their mother a primary school mathematics teacher. ”I’ve had free mathematics lessons all my life,” Bogdan says, laughing. Their family background, they believe, has well prepared them to move into the computer industry. Iulia: ”It’s only a small step from mathematics to computer science.” They have a 15-year-old sister completing her high school education and surmise that she too will follow in the family footsteps. Romania has a strong tradition of computer science, and, with foreign companies recognizing the talents of young Romanian computer science graduates and investing in the local labor market, employment opportunities in this sector are looking good.
Bogdan, who had previously visited TU Delft twice on exchange programs before accepting a PhD position researching artificial intelligence in the TU’s Knowledge Based Systems group, was instrumental in arranging for his sister to join him in Delft. Iulia, currently completing her BSc at Transylvania University, is here on a three-month Erasmus exchange scholarship to work on her final graduation project.
Relationships between universities in the Netherlands and Romania are comparatively new. In 2000, Bogdan was the first student from his faculty to go on a study exchange to the Netherlands. Traditionally, most of his faculty%s scholarships for studying abroad were with German universities, which meant knowing the German language. Until recently, there were few scholarships offered to countries where English is a working language. Today, though, Bogdan and Iulia say there are some 15 fellow Romanians in their TU building alone and they still get excited every time they hear Romanian being spoken on the streets of Delft.
Bike riding
Bogdan and Iulia are similar in many ways, but their research topics reveal a distinct difference between them. Bogdan%s research is more abstract; he likes algorithmic problems. His PhD topic is developing a distributed blackboard system for ad-hoc networks, and algorithms for traffic management and evacuation, and he%s also involved in a research project that focuses on the improvement of decision support systems which can be employed in a whole range of fields, like traffic and transport, air traffic control, crisis management and in the medical and health care sectors. Such systems are increasingly important in the current global political climate, as they have the potential to aid communication during terror attacks and city power grid failures.
Iulia is passionate about the creative side of programming, preferring research that is a little more human-based in that it helps to make technology accessible and user friendly. She%s also researching communication systems, and explains that there are many forms of communication based on recognition of faces, voices, gestures, or technology. Using multimodal interfaces she%s developing a system using iconic communication, whereby communication and decision-making during a crisis can be made fast and efficient based on the recognition of symbols, rather than language.
This difference of the abstract versus the practical means that Bogdan and Iulia have two completely different ways of thinking, and this ensures that there is never any rivalry between them. They complement each other and genuinely enjoy working together and exploring Dutch life. Aside from her studies, Iulia has learned one new skill: riding a bike. They both giggle at the Dutch bike riding culture, ”Riding a bike in Romania is a little bit of a crazy thing to do.”
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