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Few people would enthuse that going to work was like having a front row seat to history, but Vijay Boyapati is not most people. The ANU science graduate works for Google News, one arm of the internationally successful Internet company.
Millions of people worldwide use the company’s online software to find and organise such information as text, images, music, and news. In his role as a software engineer, Boyapati makes sure that even the most inexpert user can find the information they need quickly and clearly.
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ANU graduate Vijay Boyapati is funding a series of scholarships for maths and computer science students.
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“It’s a fascinating, vibrant place to work and it’s been amazing to witness it grow from a small company to one that improves the lives of millions of people. When I travel, it’s always wonderful to find that people all around the world use Google and have a very positive impression of the company. And it’s great to work on technology that my mum and dad use!”
Boyapati gives the impression of someone who appreciates that he is in the right place at the right time. Describing Silicon Valley as the epicentre of the internet revolution, he’s also grateful for the Californian lifestyle. Generous working conditions allow him to pursue research interests, putting the analytical skills he developed at ANU to good use. It’s this good fortune that has inspired him to give something back to the University. Boyapati has committed to donating $30,000 over the next three years to create a suite of scholarships for mathematics and computer science students.
“I think donating is a wonderful way for alumni to support their alma mater and aid academic causes they’re passionate about.”
The scholarships enabled by Boyapati will be administered by the ANU Endowment for Excellence. Chairman Ian Grigg says such support for the University will become increasingly vital in future.
“We’re very grateful to Vijay and all of our supporters. Universities in Australia face funding pressures. It’s important that we seek out whatever help we can from endowments, donations, or sponsorships.
“A contribution to the University is a chance to help those who come after you in your field, and show that you appreciate the assistance you received at ANU.”
Mr Grigg, whose own service on numerous ANU councils was honoured when he was named the first ANU Honorary University Fellow, says it’s important for people to get involved with alumni networks in Australia and overseas, as this can be the first step towards becoming more involved with the University community.
“If you have special skills that can be of value, make contact and see if they can be used by the University. ANU has got a great resource of very successful graduates in the corporate world, in the higher echelons of government, in academia, and in almost any endeavour you could care to think of.
“The University’s activities and purpose extend beyond the campus. We were established in 1946 to advance Australia’s standing. We’ve been doing that, and our graduates have been doing that. In order for this output to continue, it’s important that the University receive input too, in a financial sense, but also input of the skills and time of our graduates. The Foundation we’re establishing will attempt to draw on the resources of our skilled graduates, not merely in a fund-raising sense, but tapping into the vast potential of some of the nation’s best.”
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“It’s a fascinating, vibrant place to work and it’s been amazing to witness it grow from a small company to one that improves the lives of millions of people."
Vijay Boyapati
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Now one of its high-achieving graduates, Boyapati was also one of the University’s best students during his period of study. The Canberra-raised achiever turned down a CSIRO scholarship to take up an invitation in the ANU Distinguished Scholar Program, which offers the best students a tailored undergraduate degree. Boyapati thrived on a mix of mathematics and computer science subjects, winning a University Medal when he graduated with honours in 2000. He then went to the US to continue his research on machine learning as part of a new tech company, which soon folded. Never one to dwell on misfortune, Boyapati next took a job with a modestly successful search company on the cusp of the big time. Since joining Google, he hasn’t looked back.
“My honours thesis was about automatically organising news using machine learning, which is a branch of Artificial Intelligence. At Google I work on machine learning algorithms to automatically classify, cluster and rank news stories,” Boyapati, a self-confessed news fan, says.
“I now want to encourage students to study both computer science and mathematics. Mathematics is the foundation of computer science and a solid understanding of the field is important for students if they want to be innovators and not just practitioners.
“I also want to provide a small incentive for women to pursue computer science (some of the prizes are set aside for female candidates). Women are just as bright as men and capable of the same success in computer science, but many have been discouraged from studying the field because of a number of latent barriers.”
Boyapati says a return to Australia could be on the cards. A polymath as well as a mathematician, he says his current research interests and those in history, economics and film making could lure him back to ANU for further study.
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