Home > Math & Computer Science Department >

Alumni Achievements

Additional Alumni Achievements


Featured Alum
Caleb Hug, '04
Majors: Computer Science and Physics

Current Position: Has been offered a position as a software developer for Microsoft’s experimental platform, which he will begin after completing a doctorate in computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hug received a fellowship from the National Museum of Medicine’s Medical Informatics program to cover tuition and a living stipend at MIT, where he built on the research he started at Whitworth, studying data-driven artificial-intelligence models for monitoring of intensive-care patients.

Notable Note: As an undergraduate at Whitworth, Hug won a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship for academic excellence in math and science.

Why Whitworth? "I was attracted by the small, tight-knit community. When visiting my older brother who attended Whitworth, I met several faculty members and knew they were people who would help direct me professionally and take the time to get to know me personally. The financial aid package was also important to me. My financial aid, combined with my jobs working in the computer labs during the school year and programming in the summers, allowed me to graduate with a limited amount of debt."

Whitworth Activities: "Association for Computing Machinery Club, ultimate Frisbee. I also ran for ASWC executive vice president, but I lost by 16 votes (in retrospect, rather fortuitously; this likely gave me more time to study)."

Quote: "Whitworth helped prepare me intellectually and spiritually for MIT. My professors went out of their way to give me experience and to help me succeed. Their support came with the knowledge that success in life is more than success in one's career, and they also provided a great example of service."

Influential Whitworth Experience: Hug was part of a team of students that worked with professors on a project funded by the National Science Foundation. The team researched and developed intelligent software agents to monitor and analyze data in complex medical environments and to support diagnostic and treatment decisions. Hug co-authored two papers on the team's research that were presented at international conferences.

Career Goals: "I look forward to delving into the computer industry for a while, but ultimately I would like to teach at a smaller school such as Whitworth."


Here's what some Whitworth graduates are doing with their math & computer science degrees:

• Steven Ash, '08, is a software developer and quality engineer for Adobe Systems, Inc., in Seattle.

• Laura Blum, 08, is a software engineer at Advantage IQ, in Spokane.
  

• Jennifer Gimera, '08, works at Lockheed Martin, in Richland.
  
  
• Nick Maquillan and Brent Unruh, both '08, are software design engineers in testing at Microsoft.
  
  
• Taylor Phillips, '08, is a systems analyst/programmer at Cancer Research and Biostatistics, in Seattle.
  
  

• David Dixon and Jacob Quatier, both '07, are software developers at Nike Corp. in Beaverton, Ore.
  

• Kosheno Moore, '07, works with Agilent in Santa Clara, Calif.

• Nathan Backman, '06, is earning a doctorate in computer science at Brown University.
  

• Nathan Williams, '06 (math and physics double major), plans to pursue graduate study in solar technology for rural development at the Centre for Energy Research at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Previously, he was enrolled in a doctoral program in the theoretical study of cosmology at the Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics in Munich after earlier serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in western Africa.
  
  
• Megan Backman, '05, is an application specialist at Meditech, in Rhode Island.
  
  
• Brenna Hutton, ’05, is an operations coordinator at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
  
  
• Forrest Pangborn, '05, is software-development engineer at RealNetworks, Inc., in Seattle.
  
  
• Jeremy Groefsema, '03, is enrolled in flight school at the U.S. Naval Air Station, in Pensacola, Fla.

• Josh Hug, '00, launched www.shelfari.com, the first social-media website dedicated to books; Shelfari was recently acquired by Amazon.com.
  
  
• Matt Lockard, '00 (math/philosophy double-major), earned his master's degree and Ph.D. in philosophy at UCLA and is now an assistant professor of philosophy at Southern Methodist University, in Dallas.

Our graduates have been accepted at some of the best graduate schools in the nation. Here's a sampling:
Brown University
Harvard University
MIT
Oregon Health & Science University
Oregon State University
Portland State University
Texas Tech University
University of Texas
University of Alabama
University of Hawaii
University of Notre Dame
Vanderbilt University
Washington State University


Our graduates are working for some of the country's best and most innovative companies.
Advantage IQ (Seattle) – https://www.advantageiq.com/
Adobe Systems (Seattle) – http://www.adobe.com/
Agilent (Spokane and California) – www.agilent.com
Ascentium - http://www.ascentium.com/
Astronics Advanced Electronic Systems – http://www.astronics.com/
Ascentus(Seattle) – www.ascentis.com
Avanade (Seattle)  - http://www.avanade.com/
Bethesda Software (Washington D.C.) – http://www.bethsoft.com/
Boeing(Seattle) – www.boeing.com
Excell Data (Seattle) – http://www.excell.com/
ExtraHop Networks(Seattle) - http://www.extrahop.com/
Family Heritage (Cleveland/Akron Ohio) - http://www.familyheritagelife.com/
General Dynamics – http://www.gd.com
Group 1 Software (Denver, Washington DC) -  http://www.g1.com/
Hitachi Consulting (Seattle) - http://www.hitachiconsulting.com/
Itron (Spokane) - http://www.itron.com/
Itronix (Spokane) - http://www.gd-itronix.com/
Jeppesen(Portland) - http://www.jeppesen.com/index.jsp
Lockheed Martin (Tri-cities, Washington D.C.) – http://www.lockheedmartin.com
Marsh (New York) – http://www.mmc.com/
Meditech – http://www.meditech.com/
Microgroove(Seattle) - http://www.microgroove.com/
Microsoft (Seattle) – http://www.microsoft.com
NextIT (Spokane)- http://www.nextit.com/
Nike (Portland) – www.nike.com
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory – http://www.pnl.gov
Polycom – http://www.polycom.com
Pentad Systems(Spokane) - http://www.pentadsys.com/
Sadiel (Spain) – http://www.sadiel.es/English/
Sterling Savings Bank – http://www.sterlingsavings.com/
TROI IT Solutions (Spokane)
UMT (Seattle) – http://www.umt.com
UBS (Ney York) – http://www.ubs.com/
Volt Information Sciences – http://www.volt.com/
Washington Trust Bank (Seattle, Spokane) – https://www.watrust.com/
Welch Allyn (Portland) - http://www.welchallyn.com/
Whitworth University – http://www.whitworth.edu/
Xilinx – (San Francisco) – http://www.xilinx.com/
Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital – http://www.yakimamemorial.org/