Joe was a Student Research Partner (SRP) with Psychology Prof. Julia Strand, studying speech perception and spoken word recognition. He assessed multiple methods for collecting data and devised a novel method for precise auditory reaction timing. This work led to a co-authored journal article with Prof. Strand.
After Carleton, Joe earned a MSc in Mathematics and Foundations of Computer Science from the University of Oxford and then took a position as the Director of Science and Technology at Dascena, Inc., a digital health company in the Bay Area.
Researchers studying optimization frequently discuss a process known as ‘gradient descent,’ whereby an approximate solution is continuously revised according to local information — something like how a raindrop finds the low point on a roof even though it only knows the pitch of one shingle at a time. We humans, college students especially, are very much like that raindrop: new to the world, new to careers, and we need a good roof to run along
— Joe Slote ’16