Meet the Faculty - Liia Butler

Tell us about your journey to the University of Minnesota.

I had a unique journey to computer science. Going into my undergraduate studies, I wanted to be a film and German double major. I actually applied to the University of Minnesota, but went to the University of Kansas since I’m from Kansas City. One of my friends was a computer engineering student and showed me a printed circuit board that he got to solder in class, and I thought that was super cool. I ended up switching my major to computer engineering, but enjoyed the computer science-focused classes more, which ultimately led me to switch my major again to computer science.

During undergrad, I was a teaching assistant and had some research experience as well. I fell in love with teaching and I enjoyed sharing my knowledge of computer science with other students and helping people navigate a daunting field. I decided to go for my master’s degree and went to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and focused on software engineering. After graduating and starting my PhD studies, computing education became an official research area and I was able to fully immerse myself in the learning and teaching of computer science. It was great to continue teaching while also getting into the research side of computing education to improve my craft as an instructor. The goal was to one day become a teaching professor.

When it was finally time to try to reach that goal, I visited the University of Minnesota and loved the feel of this department and the faculty here. It has been great joining this team. There is a real appreciation for teaching faculty and everyone I have met has been incredible. I have really enjoyed working with the students here and learning with them in the classroom.

What do you like about computer science?

I love the creativity of computer science and I also enjoy the testing and debugging of things. I love the puzzle, problem-solving aspect and it’s so satisfying to fix a bug in your code.

What do you enjoy most about teaching? What are your teaching interests?

I enjoy getting to help students learn about such a cool and challenging field. I really stumbled into this field so I like helping people on their own journeys and seeing how they pave their own path. It’s a worthwhile challenge.

My courses are mostly focused on software engineering. I also enjoy teaching introductory programming courses and programming language courses.

Which courses are you teaching this spring? What can students expect to get out of that class?

I am teaching CSCI 3081W - Program Design and Development, and CSCI 4801 - Software Development Process this semester. 3081 is a cool course because you are learning how to approach designing and developing a program. Students learn how to analyze, design, and develop software projects. They will gain a number of skills that will help them with professional software development.

4801 takes things one step further and is a more thorough introduction to software engineering. Students learn more about the entire software development from start to finish and get hands-on practice with the different techniques and processes used to design, develop, and maintain software.  

What do you do outside of the classroom for fun?

I crochet a lot, mostly ties and plushies.  I am also a hockey goalie and have been playing in local leagues in the city. In general, I like sports and crafts!

Do you have a favorite spot in the city or on campus?

I spend a lot of time at hockey rinks and my hockey team rented the rink where the Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Frost practice, so that might be my favorite so far. I look forward to continuing to explore the area since I just moved here in the fall.  My favorite spots on campus are where I can see the turkeys, though!

Is there anything else you would like students to know about you?

I love chatting with students, so if my door is open, feel free to stop in and say hi!