- Name: Coy Detherage
- Undergraduate school: University of Arkansas at Little Rock (2002)
- Position: Software Engineer
- Company: Controlled Automation Inc.
- Industry Sector: Manufacturing
What he does:
- Coy is a professional software engineer who writes programs and develops software for Controlled Automation located in Benton, Arkansas. As a programmer, he is responsible for writing the codes, analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design, and determining causes of errors and deciding what to do about it. His work also demands that he solve specific problems.
Math on the job:
- First, all computer science theory is grounded in mathematics, particularly discrete mathematics. Second, writing software requires a complete understanding of logic. Third, and most important, most real world problems that he tries to solve using computers can be described in mathematical terms. Generally, developing software to solve real world problems involves the following process: Analyze the problem space and define the requirements of the solution, translate the problem into mathematical processes, code it, verify and validate it, and release it to the user.
Coy's background:
- Coy received his B.S. degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2002 with a double major in Mathematics and Computer Science.
Advice for students:
- “Software engineering is not just about writing computer programs. Working in software development, it was easy to see how my education in computer science would apply to my daily work. Within my first three months, it became clear that what I learned in mathematics might even be more important than what I learned in computer science. It taught me to think strategically and to be able to solve problems.”