LoopMe Celebrates Contributions to Math & Science

Adele Cutler, researcher, statistician and recently retired professor at Utah State University, is special to LoopMe. At LoopMe where we use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve advertising results, we honor mathematicians that made a material impact in the world by naming the conference rooms in our NYC and London offices after them. Adele shares that honor with Katherine Johnson, John Von Neuman, Grace Hopper, Geoffrey Hinton, Ada Lovelace, Bertrand Russell,  Alan Turing, Thomas Bayes, and Mary Jackson.

Adele is a pioneer in computer science, and of all of the statisticians that we have celebrated at LoopMe, she is among the ones that are still contributing in this field. Due to her research and the development of Random Forest, a learning algorithm that helps with predicting outcomes (what she is most known for). Coincidentally, her research contributed to the core part of our AI solution that powers advertising campaigns for the world’s largest brands.

She joined us recently for an interview, with Leonard Newnham, LoopMe’s Chief Data Scientist, PHD, Machine Learning. In the interview she breaks down what led her to this field, how she views AI now, and what advice she would give the next generation of women in the field of math and science. 50% of our data science team are women, so it’s especially important to our employees to hear from leading women scientists and mathematicians, like Adele.

Research and Expertise

Prior to developing Random Forest with her colleague Lou Briemann, she focused on mixture models and optimization. Mixture models are cluster analysis (dividing up people in groups of similar people).  She transitioned from doing statistician based work to doing work related to machine learning. Adele shared that she enjoys applied mathematics because it showed her that real world problems can be solved with machine learning.

Random Forest and how it relates to machine learning

Random Forest is a commonly used machine learning algorithm that combines multiple decision trees to get a single result. Decision trees start with a simple question like what car should I buy? From that one question the computer can come up with several other questions in order to make predictions. This is quite useful when thinking about advertising and finding the right audience for a brand. Naturally decision trees have their limitations, however, when multiple decisions are made in a random forest their predictions tend to be more accurate. 

Many statisticians use this algorithm because it requires very little adjustment, it deals with a wide variety of data types, it can handle missing values, and can be used to predict how much someone will buy and/or whether they will buy or not.

Legacy

Adele is a brilliant woman who has helped improve how we help our clients using our own machine learning. She is an advocate of creating opportunities for more young women to join the computer science field as well. She believes that “you have to push yourself to learn new things, especially in this field because it is moving so quickly.”

Our heartfelt gratitude went out to Adele for this enlightening discussion – we appreciated her contributions and time to speak with our team. 

Roman Antypenko

Employee Spotlight: Roman Antypenko

Life at LoopMe

Why did you decide to join LoopMe?
I have always looked for employment opportunities that match my career aspirations. When my friend Mikhail mentioned that a suitable vacancy was open – I decided to apply and I am very glad that I made such a decision. I was very happy to receive an invitation for an interview. During the interview, I found that the information I knew about the company did not in the least exaggerate the company’s positive culture and supportive environment. A few days later, I received the happy news that I got the job. I was very grateful to Mikhail for the recommendation and I was eager to start my new career path in such a fantastic workplace.

Why did you decide to work in this industry?
When I was six years old, I saw a computer for the first time. I was in awe of this magical box that could do so many amazing things. From that moment, I was hooked. I spent countless hours tinkering with computers and teaching myself. Fast forward to today, I am now 34 years old and working in the IT field. It hasn’t always been easy, but the challenges keep me motivated and engaged. I love being able to solve complex problems and work on cutting-edge technology. The IT field is incredibly cool, and I feel lucky to be doing something that I am passionate about every day.

What motivates you to come to work?
The answer is very simple. Every day when I enter the office and take my seat, my colleagues greet me warmly. I am always surrounded by a group of highly qualified professionals, each an expert in their field. We work well together, sharing our knowledge and skills and helping each other every day. I am constantly learning something new from my colleagues, and they, in turn, learn from me. There is a camaraderie in our department and it is a pleasure to work with these talented people. I am incredibly lucky to be part of such a wonderful team.

Who are you?

Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Roman. I am 34 years old. I am a systems administrator and I am proud of my profession. I’ve been with LoopMe for a little over 2 years. I work with wonderful employees whom I appreciate and respect as professionals and as individuals. My hobbies are knife sharpening, fishing and cooking. I am married to the most wonderful woman in the world (although any man will say so – if he is happily married). With the outbreak of the war, I did a little volunteer work and tried to help where I could. In general, even despite the circumstances, I can say that I am a happy person.

Do you have any hobbies?
Sometimes I think I even have too many hobbies. But the main ones are sharpening and restoration of knives, fishing, archery and cooking. These things always comfort me. I have been dabbling with knives for as long as I can remember. Fishing too, since it is also a hobby of my father and grandfather. And what pleases me most of all is that fishing is also my wife’s hobby. I took up archery as it intrigued me a lot. As for cooking – I think that there is nothing more enjoyable than sitting at one big table with your family and friends and eating a meal prepared together. This is my ninja way.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
I thought about it a lot. I really like New Zealand. I love nature very much. My friends moved to New Zealand about 5 years ago and they told me a lot of good things about the standard of living, laws and conditions there. I plan to visit the country one day and see everything for myself.

LoopMe Global Wellness Day Recap

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and subsequently LoopMe is kicking off Going Green in May – Sustainability Series. Sustainability is often associated with climate reform and highlights the various ways to help protect our environment, whether we recycle, compost, or grow our own fruits and vegetables. However, living sustainably is not just about how we treat the place we live, it’s also about how we treat ourselves. Friday, May 5th, we closed our offices for our Global Wellness Day. We take this day seriously because it is an opportunity  for Loopers to log off from work and use our free time to unwind and spend our free time the way we choose.

Some of us opted to enjoy the Spring weather by taking a nice walk and capturing the NYC skyline, others enjoyed live music at shows, like Jazzfest in New Orleans. Some of us made it a long weekend to take a last minute trip to visit friends. Many of us stayed in and binged watched television. One of the coolest ways a fellow UK Looper enjoyed their day, was by visiting a miniature pig farm.

Ensuring that you have a health body, mind, and spirit is essential for living a sustainable life.