Ethan Grinberg
Get to know some of our College of Media students! Ethan Grinberg is a Class of 2024 computer science + advertising major.
What's your favorite thing about the computer science + advertising major?
In high school, I knew I had an interest in programming, working with people, and being creative—all aspects that are found within the major of CS+Advertising! I have been able to take a wide variety of classes that give me the ability to network in the CS and advertising field and gain opportunities of all kinds. Meeting people of all backgrounds and interests through classes is the best part of the experience.
What class has been your favorite so far?
ADV 461: Computational Advertising is the more technical side of advertising while still exploring the changes within the industry throughout time, which intrigues my CS interest. CS 374: Introduction to Algorithms & Models of Computation is another class that is challenging, but that's exactly why I love it. It is interesting and makes you work hard.
What is your favorite part of the College of Media?
Since the College of Media is a smaller college on campus, your classes are smaller and more interactive. You actually have the opportunity to make connections with the professors, which is a huge advantage. You can have the same professor twice for different classes. It is really cool as you know the professor’s teaching style and personality, and it makes you feel at ease when taking new classes each semester.
Who has been an inspiration/role model to you in college so far, whether a professor, upperclassman, classmate, etc.?
Professor Jacob Fisher—I worked on a scientific computing research project for him. Working alongside him was very inspiring since he is so knowledgeable in this area of study. I am most impressed by his experience in different aspects of CS + Advertising, and he has won different awards. It gives me motivation by seeing a young professor giving back to his students.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of receiving the 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium's Outstanding Award for the best poster presentation in the numbers, data, and computation category. What made it most memorable was seeing my friends and family come by to see what I was working on outside of school. I also really loved trying to explain concepts to people in a simple way which the undergraduate research symposium really challenged me to do.
What are you involved in?
Major-wise, I am in ACM SIGCHI, which is a special interest group on Computer-Human interaction. We have projects where you make some sort of application that emphasizes how people interact with computers. The project I'm currently working on is an interactive exhibit where you’re looking at a painting on a computer and music plays based on the mood given of the painting. For fun, I play intramural soccer.
What upcoming plans do you have?
In the summer I will be interning at Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company.
—Interview by Emily Campos, New Voices Intern
