Meet the Faculty - Nathan Taylor

Tell us about your journey to the University of Minnesota.

I grew up in St. Paul. While I was in high school, I took some math classes at the University of Minnesota through the PSEO program. I decided to come to UMN for my undergraduate degree, because it was close by and my credits would transfer easily. I got a BS in astrophysics and computer engineering. During that time I was a TA for the CSCI department, and I found that I really enjoyed teaching, so I decided to work to become a professor. 

I started my PhD in computer science and very quickly found out that I did not enjoy research at all, so I stopped my PhD work. I was on the path to maybe becoming a high school teacher, but I was still working as a TA and Nick Hopper recommended that I apply for an instructor position in the department. I had completed a master’s degree over the course of my PhD work, so I was qualified to teach at the college level. That is what I have been doing ever since.   

What do you like about computer science?

I have always liked math, logic, and puzzles. When I’m programming, it doesn’t feel like work. I’m just solving a puzzle. I have always enjoyed working with graphics. If I had continued my PhD work, I would have explored that topic. I like the math and geometry involved with graphics coding.

What do you enjoy most about teaching? 

I really like holding office hours. Students come in stuck on a problem and my job is to guide them towards the answer without telling them the answer outright. It’s important to give enough help that the student isn’t still stuck on the same thing, but not so much help that they get the answer to the problem without really learning how to do it for themselves, and finding that balance can be challenging. But it is very satisfying when you see them break through and figure it out. 

What courses are you teaching in the fall? What can students expect to get out of that class?

I’m teaching CSCI 1133 - Introduction to Computing and Programming Concepts, which is our intro course in Python. I teach the basics of learning how to program - if statements, for loops, functions. It is taught in Python, but the ideas help you learn how to code in any language since the same concepts apply. That’s the only course I’m teaching this coming year.

Every once and awhile I teach CSCI 4041 - Algorithms and Data Structures. That is more of a theory class. We look at broad classes of problems that are important in computer science, and talk about how to determine the most efficient approach for solving a problem, without worrying as much about language and implementation-specific details.

What do you do outside of the classroom for fun?

My family and I like to travel to different states and try to climb to the highest point in each state. It’s a fun traveling/hiking hybrid. There are some summits that are a little more technical and not doable with our current skill set, but a lot of them are reasonable and it is fun to see different parts of the country and get away from the city.

Do you have a favorite spot in the city?

I grew up near Beaver Lake in St. Paul. It’s not a swimming lake, but it has some nice hiking paths through the woods around the lake.