Ryan Muther

PhD Student

Ryan Muther
  • BS in Computer Science and History, Union College

Ryan Muther is a PhD student in the Computer Science program at Northeastern University's Khoury College of Computer Sciences, advised by Professor David Smith. Ryan is interested in applying computational techniques to questions in disciplines outside of computer science. Prior to joining the PhD program, Ryan earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Union College.

About Me

  • Hometown: Marion, Massachusetts
  • Field of Study: Computer Science
  • PhD Advisor: David Smith

What are your research interests?

I'm interested in applying computational techniques to questions in disciplines outside of computer science proper (in history, for example.)  It's definitely not something I've always had in mind, as its really only something I started thinking seriously about in my last two years of undergrad. It eventually became my thesis topic.

What’s one problem you’d like to solve with your research/work?

I can't think of any one problem in particular, but it would be cool to find new and interesting ways to apply computational methods in other areas like the social sciences and humanities.

What aspect of what you do is most interesting?

To take an example from my thesis, I was surprised to find that even fairly computationally simple techniques such as looking at how the frequency of certain words changes over time in a corpus of newspaper articles on a certain topic can reveal interesting trends in the discussion concerning that topic changes (or doesn't change) over time.

What are your research or career goals, going forward?

I'm not entirely sure.  Either going to work in industry or becoming a professor or teacher of some sort. I have a while to decide, though.