Jesus Pulido: Graduate Student Profile
1) Where are you from?
I was born and raised in the Central Valley region of Merced, CA, after my parents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico, in order to pursue a brighter future for the family.
2) Why UC Davis?
UC Davis has become one of the top research institutions in the field of computer graphics and data visualization. During the application process, the Computer Science department faculty and staff were generous with their personal outreach, and that was a great experience I hadn’t encountered before.
3) What are you researching?
I’m collaborating with the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Johns Hopkins University, to develop and improve tools for the analysis of direct numerical simulation (DNS) turbulence data. I’m also researching and developing more efficient frameworks for use in next-gen petascale and exascale supercomputers (such as Trinity).
4) What do you hope to achieve?
After completing my PhD here at UC Davis, I want to pursue a post-doc position at the Los Alamos Lab. In the distant future, I hope to obtain a tenure-track professorship at a leading research university; I want to be in a better position to influence current and future first-gen graduate students.
5) What does it mean to you, as the first in your family to attend graduate school?
It brings me a sense of pride and joy. I hope that my success inspires others in my family, and community, to follow in my footsteps: to show them that it’s possible to be a first-gen student and succeed.
6) What barriers do you see, to greater participation by first-generation students in engineering graduate studies?
The lack of motivation in public schools may be the most prominent barrier. As a product of the public education system, I found that many K-12 teachers did not push engineering-type studies, let alone advanced higher education. It was hard, but I was fortunate enough to find the correct channels to guide me to where I am today. I also should mention a second barrier: easy access to financial aid services (grants and scholarship programs).
7) What is your most unusual hobby?
I love to code (program) for fun … and yes, that’s true! I’m fascinated by the process of creating a complex piece of software machinery out of a simple idea. Whether writing educational software or tackling fun video game programming projects, the possibilities are truly limitless!
For more information about graduate study at the UC Davis College of Engineering, please visit: engineering.ucdavis.edu/graduate/
