Catherine McGeoch facts for kids
Catherine Cole McGeoch is an American computer scientist. This means she's an expert in how computers work and how to make them solve problems. She's especially good at finding smart ways to solve really tough computer puzzles, even ones that seem almost impossible for computers to figure out quickly.
Right now, she's a special professor at Amherst College. She also used to be the main editor for a science magazine called ACM Journal of Experimental Algorithmics, which is all about trying out new computer methods. She was also part of a group that helps decide what computer science articles get published.
Her Journey in Computer Science
Catherine McGeoch started her higher education at Butler University. She graduated in 1981 with top honors, which is called summa cum laude. This means she had excellent grades!
After that, she continued her studies at Carnegie Mellon University. She earned two more advanced degrees there: her Master's degree (M.S.) in 1983 and her Ph.D. in 1986. A Ph.D. is the highest degree you can get, and it means she became an expert in her field. Her teacher and guide during her Ph.D. studies was a famous computer scientist named Jon Bentley.
Books She Wrote
Catherine McGeoch has written important books about computer science. One of them is called A Guide to Experimental Algorithmics. This book helps people learn how to test and compare different computer methods to see which ones work best.
She also wrote another book called Adiabatic Quantum Computation and Quantum Annealing: Theory and Practice. This book is about a very advanced type of computing called quantum computing, which uses the strange rules of tiny particles to solve problems.
Working with Quantum Computers
In 2013, Catherine McGeoch did something very important. She published one of the first detailed studies comparing a special kind of computer called a Quantum Computer with regular computers. She wanted to see how well the Quantum Computer performed on certain difficult tasks.
Her work was so interesting that it was talked about by Amherst College and then featured in many big news outlets. These included famous newspapers and magazines like The New York Times, The Economist, and The New Yorker.
Because of her important work, she took a break from teaching at Amherst College in May 2014 to work full-time for D-Wave, the company that makes these Quantum Computers.
