Bruce Loatman is chief scientist at the Center for Applied Technology located at the PRC headquarters in McLean, Virginia. PRC provides information technology and systems based solutions for U.S. Government and commercial clients, and employs more than 5,600 people worldwide. Bruce defines and leads Research and Development (R&D) efforts in the areas of computational linguistics, information science, and artificial intelligence. He works with business managers and line managers, who work directly on contract work with the clients, to identify areas where technical solutions need to be developed. He formulates R&D programs to address the technical problems and transfers the solutions to the groups who are working directly on client problems.
"I usually work with teams of two to five, most of whom have a Ph.D.," he notes. "Three assistants in my group have completed their Ph.D. while working on my projects, and a fourth is completing her Ph.D. soon. All are in computational linguistics."
"While mathematics per se does not play a role in my recent work," he continues, "I personally regard computational linguistics, at least of the theoretical variety, as algebra. This is because it involves transformations of a set of elements (characters and words) subject to various constraints. On the more pragmatic implementation side, my training in logic certainly helps in designing algorithms. More generally, I have found that a good foundation in mathematics has helped me in any kind of analytical endeavor I've been involved in, such as statistics (which is mathematics, but I had no training in it), micro and macro economic modeling, econometrics, and simulation. On several occasions, my managers have commented that they would like to hire more mathematicians because of their flexibility. Unfortunately, most managers don't appreciate this since they don't hire or know any mathematicians; they prefer more specialized candidates."
Bruce has a B. A., an M.A. and a Ph.D. in mathematics, all from Fordham University. When he finished his Ph.D. at Fordham in 1976, the academic market was not very promising. "I decided to find out what kind of research I could do in the commercial world. The first company I worked for was small and closed down when it did not win some key contract follow-ons. In 1980, I obtained the job at PRC as principal information systems scientist by walking in off the street (really!), filling out an application, and leaving my resume with the receptionist. This was followed by several interviews and a job offer."
"Since joining the R&D arm of PRC," he says, "I most enjoy the freedom to choose and direct my research. Although that is not always the situation I'm in, overall, I feel I've had at least as much freedom here as I would have in academia, and I've had better financial support. For example, I started an R&D program in artificial intelligence here without being asked to do so."
"Personally, I believe the best preparation for any job involving analytical thinking is a sound education in pure mathematics or theoretical physics. I have found that my dissertation topic area of Borel Sets (which can be mapped into equivalent logic) has been most useful to my work, but in an indirect way. But in order to get the attention of most hiring managers, who are not familiar with mathematics or mathematicians, I'd recommend becoming proficient in computer programming and system implementation. For someone interested in working in my area, I would certainly suggest their courses include computational linguistics."
Return to Archived Profiles and Forums
