Matt Dwyer, Class of 2010, Los Alamos, New Mexico

What are you up to? I am currently working as a Computer Science Researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory along with getting my Master of Science online. I am in the High Performance Computing (HPC) Design group on the visualization team. If you don't know what HPC is, think of thousands of powerful computers connected in a room about the size of a football field used to run one or more simulations. My team is tasked with creating and testing emerging visualization technologies that can be used to enhance the understanding of the simulations run on these supercomputers.

How'd you get here? During my undergrad at Lynchburg College, I had an internship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory which opened up an opportunity my senior year to intern at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Through hard work and a great deal of learning, I made a good impression and landed a full-time job.

What are your goals? My goals are to get a Ph.D. in Computer Science and become a leading researcher in my field.

Advice for WHS Students? Make every opportunity a learning opportunity. Even if you don't intend to pursue higher education, make it a point always be open to new ideas and learn from your mistakes in every aspect of your life.

What can you smell right now? Black coffee and chicken pot pie.