

OMSCS Buzz
OMSCS at Georgia Institute of Technology
Welcome to the OMSCS Buzz, the official podcast of Georgia Tech's world-renowned Online Master's in Computer Science program. Join host and OMSCS alum Tanmay Shah as he chats with OMSCS students, alumni, and faculty. Learn about cutting-edge work across all areas of computing, and get inspired from these incredible Yellow Jackets!
Episodes will be released biweekly on Tuesdays on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Please visit https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for episode links, show notes, timestamps, and a Feedback Form to suggest guest or topic ideas. Don't forget to subscribe!
Episodes will be released biweekly on Tuesdays on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Please visit https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for episode links, show notes, timestamps, and a Feedback Form to suggest guest or topic ideas. Don't forget to subscribe!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 12, 2023 • 38min
S1E5: Steven Bryant- Generative AI, Rewriting Physics, and More
In this final episode for 2023, Tanmay chats with Steven Bryant. Steve is the Founder and CEO of Bryant Research, an AI advisory and consulting firm. Outside his day job, he’s a co-head TA for Georgia Tech’s Machine Learning for Trading course… as well as the author of “DISRUPTIVE: Rewriting the rules of physics”.
Happy Holidays, and we'll see you in 2024 for more exciting conversations!
TIMESTAMPS-
(0:00) - Cold Intro
(0:33) - Intro & Welcome
(1:25) - Current Work
(1:55) - Self-Driving Money
(4:40) - AI as collaborator
(6:37) - LLM for Academic Research / Teaching
(10:50) - Bryant Research
(13:36) - The Physics Journey
(18:28) - OMSCS Journey
(23:16) - OMSCS Degree
(26:24) - Being a TA
(29:47) - Approach on Learning
ADDITIONAL LINKS-
Assessing GPT-4’s role as a co-collaborator in scientific research: a case study analyzing Einstein’s special theory of relativity: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44163-023-00075-3
Bryant Research: https://bryantresearch.ai/
VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for our entire catalog of episodes.
EDITOR – Serge Nino Martin Villasica

Dec 1, 2023 • 46min
S1E4: Brittney Exline on AdTech, Soft Skills for Engineers, and More
On this episode, Tanmay chats with Brittney Exline. Brittney is a software engineer and technology leader who has worked for years in advertising technology and educational tech. She attended the University of Pennsylvania at 15, where she was the youngest African American to be accepted into an Ivy League school. She’s also a passionate public speaker and writer and is currently a TA for OMSCS’s CS7637 Knowledge Based AI course.
ADDITIONAL LINKS-
Lighthouse Writers Workshop: https://lighthousewriters.org/
The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324050308
Find Brittney on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackgirlbaker
VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for our entire catalog of episodes.
EDITOR – Eric Wallace

Nov 14, 2023 • 39min
S1E3: Chinmay Anaokar on Cloud Computing
On this episode, Tanmay chats with Chinmay Anaokar. Chinmay has been a Principal Solutions Architect at Brainfloss, a company he co-founded, since Feb 2022, where he leads the development and delivery of innovative cloud solutions for diverse clients. He’s in his last semester of OMSCS.
TIMESTAMPS-
(0:00) - Cold Open
(0:33) - Intro & Welcome Chinmay!
(1:23) - Brainfloss
(9:46) - News Break
(10:58) - Chinmay’s backstory
(24:14) - OMSCS Experience
(32:16) - Next 3 years
(35:48) - Closing thoughts from Chinmay
ADDITIONAL LINKS-
Brainfloss: https://www.brainfloss.com/
AWS YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@amazonwebservices?si=KVdA1Zg7477CuQfu
Big Technology: https://www.bigtechnology.com/
Find Chinmay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/canaokar/
VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for our entire catalog of episodes.
EDITOR – Eric Wallace

Nov 1, 2023 • 1h 4min
S1E2: Miguel Morales on Reinforcement Learning
On this episode, Tanmay chats with Miguel Morales. Miguel is an instructor for CS 7642: Reinforcement Learning, the author of Grokking Deep Reinforcement Learning, and an Associate Fellow at Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs group. Tune in to hear about Miguel's experiences growing up and working in Venezuela, his perspective on reinforcement learning, and the impetus that led him to write his first book!
TIMESTAMPS-
(0:00) - Cold Open
(1:00) - Welcome Miguel!
(1:58) - Deep Dive into Reinforcement Learning
(4:29) - News Update
(30:05) - Life in Venezuela
(41:51) - OMSCS Experience
(54:03) - Life outside of work
(59:42) - Closing thoughts
VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for our entire catalog of episodes.
EDITOR – Serge Nino Martin Villasica
ADDITIONAL LINKS
Find Miguel on Twitter: @mimoralea
Grokking Deep Reinforcement Learning by Miguel Morales: https://www.manning.com/books/grokking-deep-reinforcement-learning
Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction by Richard S. Sutton and Andrew G. Barto: http://incompleteideas.net/book/the-book-2nd.html
“Introduction to Reinforcement Learning” lecture series by David Silver: https://www.deepmind.com/learning-resources/introduction-to-reinforcement-learning-with-david-silver
“Deep Reinforcement Learning” course by Sergey Levine (UC Berkeley): https://rail.eecs.berkeley.edu/deeprlcourse/

Oct 11, 2023 • 57min
S1E1: Dr. Mark Riedl- Creativity, AI, and the Power of Storytelling
Welcome to the first episode of OMSCS Buzz, the official OMSCS podcast!
On this episode, Tanmay chats with Dr. Mark Riedl. Dr. Riedl is a computer science professor at Georgia Tech and teaches one of the newest OMSCS courses, CS 7650: Natural Language Processing. He is also the Associate Director of the Georgia Tech Machine Learning Center and the Director of the Entertainment Intelligence and Human-Centered AI Labs. Tune in to learn more about Dr. Riedl's research on AI creativity and storytelling, his path to Georgia Tech, and his lifelong love of computer games!
TIMESTAMPS-
(0:00) - Intro
(1:33) - Dr. Riedl’s current work
(31:59) - Background and life story
(40:55) - OMSCS experience
(50:03) - Mindset and advice
(54:57) - Closing thoughts and Outro
EPISODE LINKS-
Entertainment Intelligence and Human-Centered AI Labs: https://eilab.gatech.edu/
Dr. Riedl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mark_riedl
Dr. Riedl on Medium: https://mark-riedl.medium.com/
VISIT https://omscs.gatech.edu/omscs-buzz-podcast for our entire catalog of episodes.
EDITOR – Serge Nino Martin Villasica