Jie Hao
Graduate student in computer science
Why did you choose UT Dallas?
The major triggering reason was that one of my friends recommended UTD. The computer science department is one of the biggest in the U.S., and I did a lot of research before deciding. I believe this is the right place for me: The location is good, and there are a lot of high-tech companies and opportunities nearby.
What are you studying?
My research area is information visualization, a branch of computer graphics and user-interface design. It’s concerned with presenting data to users in a way that improves their understanding of the data. Also data mining, which is the principle of sorting through a lot of information to pick out the relevant data.
What do you hope to do after graduation?
I would like to get a job in information visualization, either as a researcher or an engineer. Information visualization is kind of an art, and I like that.
What’s been hardest so far?
Communication. Ever since I arrived in the U.S. from China I have tried very hard to improve my English, both spoken and written. I want to be able to fully express myself, and I try hard to do that.
What do you like most about student life at UTD?
I really enjoy the soccer club. We play league match every year and we have a really good ranking. I also like the Global Village meetings organized by International Student Services. They meet every Thursday, and I love to go to that — I like the nice people. And the cookies.
