TA Spotlight: Scott Madeira

Friday, January 3, 2025

Scott Madeira is a TA for CS 8803 O21: GPU Hardware and Software. Keep reading to learn more about Scott!

What is your academic and/or professional background? If you're currently working, what do you do?

Academic: BS Electrical Engineering (Geneva College '87), MBA (University of Maryland '93), OMSCS (Spring 2026). In the last 30-plus years, I have worked in software development, networking product development, and finance and operations roles as an individual contributor, manager, and executive. I am currently an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Geneva College in western Pennsylvania. Geneva is a small Christian liberal-arts college about a 45-minute drive from Pittsburgh.

Why do you TA for OMSCS?

I enjoy teaching and I was asked to apply. Watching students engage, grow, and learn over the course of a semester or college career brings me joy. I enjoy working as a TA in the OMSCS program because I am very fortunate to have a professor that is engaged in the course material, provides a good challenge to the students, and engages with them when her expertise is required. At the same time, she allows me to handle most of the operational aspects of the course, including interacting with students and helping them be successful in the course.

What was your favorite course or professor in OMSCS, and why?

My favorite course was CS 6200: Introduction to Operating Systems. It was my first class, I hadn't been a student in a long time, and it was hard. Many hours were spent getting the projects to work and studying for the exams. However, there was a real sense of accomplishment at the end. The course itself should be a model of how all OMSCS courses are developed. The lectures covered great depth in a relatively short amount of time, they were professionally produced and easy to follow, and the professor was engaged in the weekly office hours.

What research do you hope to work on in the future?

Once I am done with OMSCS I am planning on doing research in GPU architecture and applications to AI/ML and other large problems. I knew nothing of GPUs until taking CS 8803 O21: GPU Hardware and Software, and I find it to be incredibly fascinating and current in the industry.

Who is your inspiration, and why?

I would have to say my wife, Jean, is my inspiration. After 35 years of marriage, she still supports and encourages me to be the best I can be. And she isn't afraid to challenge me when I'm just not getting it. She's my best friend and we still like each other. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Tell us about why you feel the work that you do is significant and why it is important that you are the one doing it.

As a Christian, I believe we are all created for a specific purpose and calling. Mine happens to be teaching college-age students not just computer science but also how to incorporate traditional Christian values into all aspects of their lives. Every day I strive to show my students how our values, beliefs, capabilities, and calling blend to make a single person in all situations and not multiple versions of ourselves depending on our current environment.