I'm reflecting on the profound impact of my undergraduate advisor at Boston University, Professor Margrit Betke,
who we recently lost. Margrit wasn't just a brilliant computer scientist—she was someone who understood that
technology's greatest purpose is to serve humanity.
For instance, her co-invention of the Camera Mouse stands as a testament to what computer science can achieve
when guided by compassion. This assistive technology has given countless children and adults with severe motion
impairments the ability to interact with computers using just small head movements.
As my advisor, Margrit taught me that the most meaningful problems in computer science often lie at the
intersection of technical innovation and human need. I had the privilege of working with her to improve human
motion understanding using Deep Learning with the end goal of improving physical therapy systems.
Whether she was developing new ML algorithms or mentoring students like me, she approached every challenge with
the same question: "How can this make someone's life better?"
What I'll remember most is her passion for teaching and mentoring. She had this remarkable ability to see
potential in her students before we could see it in ourselves. I'll appreciate our lab's weekly syncs or the
late afternoons of my sophomore year in CS585, graduate computer vision, where she would spend time explaining
classical computer vision concepts like object association, Kalman filters, perspective projection, etc. I'll
also fondly remember those problem sets.
Margrit's legacy lives on in the people her algorithms impacted and in the countless students she inspired to
use technology as a force for good.
Thank you, Margrit, for showing us that the best computer science doesn't just solve problems—it opens doors for
those who need them most.
Rest in peace. Your impact will ripple forward through all of us fortunate enough to have learned from you.