Charlie Max Tharas

Hi! I hope you're having a good day. This is my website, which has some information about me and my life. Check it out:

Education

TL;DR: I'll graduate with a BA in Computer Science & Mathematics from Williams College in 2027.^ⓘ And I'm definitely a liberal arts kid.

Interests 🖱

I've attached lots of links for further reading. Got more links? Email nerd@charliemax.dev.

Academic

Comp sci: I like computers.
Math: Although math is very pragmatically helpful in understanding the code behind our most advanced technology, I'm just as interested in why and how all these little things about the universe line up so well. I think Fourier transforms are cool.
Cog sci: What should we actually be using computers for? Can we use computers to think? We're definitely getting closer--but is crossing the last stretch before "gen AI" a scale problem or an architecture problem? Can we use computers to find out what thinking is? Can we use thinking to make better computers?
Philosophy: Should we be using computers at all? Are they an existential threat? Do they make us too sad? Can they save the world? Can they lead us to a more complete understanding of the universe?^ⓘ
Linguistics: What is communication? How do we communicate? How can we communicate better? Can we make machines that help? What is a language, and how do each of its features affect its failure to capture reality?^ⓘ
Living Better: Urbanism, civil engineering, human geography, social psychology, political science, economics--these all offer some pragmatic and easy ways to help people live better (impractical, hard ways too). What is wrong with the way we are organizing our society right now? How will the world need to adapt in the face of climate change?

Other

Software engineering/rock climbing
Surfing & snowboarding (I work as a surf instructor at Rockaway Beach, NY over the summer 🌊)
Classical guitar (shoutout Leo Brouwer)
Currently learning ASL

You might want to check out my resume, but here's a quick overview:

Transportation researcher for Williams Center for Learning in Action: working with a TDM^ⓘ coordinator to design a carpool web app, built out a backend using Go and GORM, researching mobility patterns in the Berkshires.
Student developer for Williams Students Online: developing useful features on our student-led website like synchronizing our course scheduler with professor ratings and enabling easier searches for interesting classes.
Research intern for MSKCC MIND: high school summer internship, worked on CV models to identify cell features, collaborated with data engineers to streamline the training pipeline for non-tech-savvy pathologists.
COO (and various other roles) at Steel City Codes: managed operations for a large^ⓘ nonprofit: conducted outreach, hired and onboarded tutors and administrative staff, organized sponsored events, raised money, planned hackathons, designed curricula. Started as a tutor in 2020 and worked my way up.