Pablo Thiel ‘20 uses what he learned as a Haverford computer science major in his job as a software developer for Epic Systems, which develops software specifically for medical services.
“I am working as a software developer in the anesthesia team working on software to help anesthesia technicians and doctors,” he said.
At Haverford, Thiel focused on machine learning, which was the topic of his senior thesis.
“[Associate Professor Sorelle] Friedler’s work got me more interested in the wider (and often adverse) effects of incautiously applied machine learning,” he said.
Though he doesn’t currently use machine learning in his job, his focus on fairness in computing made him “more aware of the ethical issues surrounding software development and has made me more interested in the larger effects of my future work,” he said. “This is one of the things that made me interested in Epic– the hope that the software I develop will help contribute to improving healthcare.”
Thiel eventually plans to pursue graduate studies in the field, especially because of his positive experiences with research at Haverford. He hopes his work at Epic will help him hone in on a specific topic to pursue.