CAM Featured Alumni: Scott Clark

Class of 2012 (Advisor: Peter Frazier)
Co-founder and CEO, SigOpt since 2014
Software Engineer and Team Lead, Yelp.com in 2012-2014

Awards/Honors:

• Included on "Forbes' 30 under 30" list, 2016
• Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship, 2008-12

Experience:
CAM provides students with a unique opportunity and set of skills that builds a foundation for immediate impact in almost any venture they pursue after graduation. The diversity of classes, professors, and other students provided me with the interdisciplinary experience I needed to make a difference in industry right away. The ability to pursue a wide variety of topics and applications led me to the research that would later become the base of my startup; SigOpt. I often look back at the people I met and work I did at CAM and truly believe that I would not be where I am today without it.

Advice to future CAMsters:
Explore everything. Take classes outside of your field, go to random seminars, and meet students in other departments. One of the best things about CAM is how incredibly interdisciplinary it is. This can help you along your academic and professional career as you build lifelong relationships and discover new areas of research that can transform what you do later in life. CAM allows you to explore many passions and find the one that is perfect for you, so make sure you take advantage of it. The breadth of experience and exposure will also serve you well no matter what you decide you want to do after graduation.