One highlight of the SDM conference each year is the alumni dinner. It took place last night at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Cambridge. I like that location: beautiful view, good space, good food, good service. Plus a bar right there, which served us well later in the night.
It’s a nice, mostly unstructured networking event. Food is available the whole time, which is great. Most networking events have a limited food period, which causes bursts of getting food, lines, waits, etc.
One of the few structured parts is the presentation of the annual SDM Alumni Thesis award. This is a contest where alumni judge last year’s theses on criteria like originality and significance. I’ve been a judge for a little while, and I enjoy reading all the research work. This year’s was a great batch, and congrats again to the winner, David Kim.
It’s always great to see a bunch of fellow alumni, current students, and meet some new folks. We had a record high attendance, so I don’t think I got to talk to everyone. But I had a blast, and I think others did too.
After the official event ended, a few of us hung out at the hotel bar, which was a lot of fun as well. It’s just a great event, I wouldn’t change it in any way.
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