ECCV 2016 Daily - Tuesday

ECCV Daily: Where are you from, Simone? Simone Meyer: I come from the German part of Northern Switzerland: a small village in the countryside of Basel. ECCV Daily: Did you already want to become a scientist when you were living in the village? Simone: No, it came step by step. I was fascinated by mathematics from the beginning, but when you are in primary school, you don’t know what is outside. When I was going to university, I was still interested in mathematics and logical things. Then I discovered computer science. I chose it because it’s a way for me to use mathematics in a very application- oriented way. ECCV Dai ly: When you went to University, did you plan to go into research and find things that would advance technology? Simone: I was always curious, but I didn’t plan that much ahead. As I saw what was there, I started to like it, and I kept on doing it. ECCV Daily: Is Switzerland an easy ground for that kind of path? Simone: Yes, you can choose freely. You can choose what you want so I looked at the program at the university. I chose what I liked the most, and where I thought I would fit best. ECCV Daily: Would you say that your way to get there was challenging? Simone: There were always difficult parts. I think that also makes it interesting. The university is not easy. It’s a cool place. You learn a lot, but you also have to give a lot. ECCV Daily: What brought you to work for Disney? Did you dream of working for Disney one day? Simone: That’s a collaboration project in the scope of fundamental research between ETH and Disney Research, a nice and inspiring place to work in. It’s really a close relationship, and I would say that I got there by chance. Simone Meyer - ETH Zurich 4 ECCV Daily: Tuesday Women in Computer Vision “ I chose computer science because it’s a way for me to use mathematics in a very application-oriented way ”