Dr. Angel Puerta is a research professor with Stanford Medical Informatics (School of Medicine). He
has also recently started a research company, RedWhale Software. His main areas of interest is that
of Intelligent User Interfaces, which I interpret as a pleasant mix between Artificial Intelligence
and Human-Computer Interaction. Being primarily interested in those two broad fields in computer
science, I approaced Dr. Puerta for a brief talk.  

Since his dissertation days, Dr. Puerta has been studying the area of "model-based user interface
development". Much work is still sought for in that field, but he believes that the study of
interface models can revolutionize the way one constructs user interfaces. This also provides the
necessary theoretical foundations of human-computer interaction. During his brief discourse, I have
to admit that I do not understand many of the terminology that he used, but being a firm believer of
statistical modelling, I see much logic in his explanations.  

Dr. Puerta heads a team of research assistants. When I asked for advice, he mentioned that the
introductory CS classes at Stanford should be my starting point. Indeed, I have not yet taken either
CS121 or CS147. He mentions that research opportunities, even for undergraduates, are ample. Being a
sophomore, I am not intending to rush through anything. I think that one should acquire the necessary
foundational knowledge before one can contribute suficiently to any project.  

Moreover, when asked about the various Coterm specializations, Dr. Puerta gave similar advice in that
I should explore deeper into each area before deciding on a certain direction. He remarked that
usually, one only finds a striking passion for a particular field when he has ventured into it
sufficiently deep.  

On a broader level, Dr. Puerta is also interested in philosophy, particularly the philosophy of
science. He is also an undergradute advisor and a referee at the Intra-mural Basketball games (wow).
That just shows that research and academia has got much more to it. My concluding statement is: One's
life depends on who one is, rather than what one works as.