CS 8 Office / Open Lab Hours

Prof. K’s Office Hours (subject to change)

Office Location: Harold Frank Hall (HFH), Room 1153
Office hours: Tuesdays 2-4PM in PHELPS 3525
"Ninja skills" session: Thursdays 2-3PM in HFH 1132 
Message me on Piazza if you need to schedule a 
meeting with me outside of these time slots.

TA Office Hours

Unless the spreadsheet below shows otherwise, TA Office Hours will be held in the Building 936 (also known as the TA Trailer), which is next to the Phelps building.

Open labs

Open labs will be open for walk-in help: see the schedule below for more information.

Link to the interactive UCSB map: http://mapdev.geog.ucsb.edu

Lab Hours

• “Closed” labs refer to your sections that you are registered for on GOLD. These are 50 minute discussion sections and will be held in Phelps 3525 on Tuesdays: 9a, 10a, 11a, noon, and Wednesdays 1p, 2p, 3p, 4p.
• “Open” labs refer to times that you can get help from TAs and tutors outside of your scheduled labs. These will be held in the evenings in Phelps 3525 and in other locations. Please check the detailed schedule below:

Who We Are

Course instructor: Prof. K (Yekaterina Kharitonova) Preferred Pronouns: She, Her, Hers Major: Computer Science :-) "Hi everyone! This is my second time teaching CS 8. I am looking forward to implementing the new ways of presenting Python material, which will help make learning easier and more engaging. When I am not sharing my passion for Computer Science (and Data Science ;-)) in the classroom, you can find me chatting with students, organizing board-game nights, drinking copious amounts of tea, and/or enjoying the beautiful Santa Barbara weather."

Abtin B. (TA) Preferred Pronouns: He, Him, His Major: Computer Science Previous experience as a tutor: This is my first time TAing CS8. I am a first-year Ph.D. student studying Computer Science and I have been programming for around a decade now! :) Feel free to ask me any questions whenever you want!

April S. (Tutor) Preferred Pronouns: She, Her, Hers Major: Computer Science Previous experience as a tutor: Last quarter I tutored for CS16. "I'm a third year Computer Science major. I came to UCSB as an Economics and Accounting major with little programming experience, but switched into CS by the end of my freshman year. This is my first time tutoring for CS8 and I’m looking forward to getting to work with everyone in this class. My goal is to help as many students as possible walk away feeling confident in their programming abilities. Please feel free to reach out to me for any advice or help, or if you just need someone to chat with :) "

Noemi R. (Tutor) Preferred Pronouns: She, Her, Hers Major: Statistics and Data Science Previous experience as a tutor: This is my first time tutoring at UCSB. Hi guys, my name is Noemi (she/her/hers) and I am a first-time tutor for CS8! I am a third year Statistics and Data Science major, and I am currently involved in Data Science Club, as well as undergraduate research focusing on sustainable forms of energy and image processing with a professor on campus. (Feel free to ask me about either!) I took CS8 the summer before my freshman year during FSSP. I remember how much the class intimidated me at first, as I went into it with no computer science or programming knowledge beforehand. By the end of the summer, I was enjoying the class a lot, and had learned a lot too. This is why I’m excited to be a tutor and help enhance other the CS8 experience for other students as well. I’ll be attending Tuesday lectures, two sections, and varied open lab hours throughout the week, as well as answering questions on Piazza, posting notes, and helping students in any other ways I can. I’m excited to bring the perspective of a non- computer science student to the class. Feel free to ask me about data science, or how I use computer programming as a Statistics major! When I’m not super busy with school, research, or work, I like to do yoga (I’m a certified yoga teacher!), spend time outside, cook, and travel. I just got back from spending a quarter abroad in the Netherlands and I’d be more than happy to talk about my experiences. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you and having a great quarter. (:

Olivia G. (Tutor) Preferred Pronouns: She, Her, Hers Major: Computer Science Previous experience as a tutor: This is my first time tutoring Hello! I’m Olivia (she/her/hers) and I am a first year CS major. Although I don’t have an extensive background in CS, I will help in the ways that I can! I took CS8 just last quarter, so the material should hopefully still be fresh in my mind. I will answer questions on Piazza and questions you have during lab hours. If I cannot answer a question, I will direct you to someone who can! People come into CS8 with very different backgrounds in coding, some with quite a lot, some with none. It can be intimidating when people are finishing labs before you’ve even finished reading the instructions. I hope that when you guys are struggling, you are not afraid to ask for help, or if you are afraid, you ask for help anyway. We are here to help (not judge) and we’ve all struggled at some point, too. Last quarter, after spending more than 45 minutes on the first lab, I was made aware (by Prof K) that I was still logged into the previous user’s account. I had to redo the lab, but thankfully it went much faster the second time. Some other things about me: I am a member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), so feel free to ask me questions about that. In my free time I like to be outdoors. I often rollerblade to and from class, and I go to the beach most days of the week. I like to climb trees and go indoor rock climbing. I used to sail and hopefully will start sailing again during some future quarter at UCSB. I like board games (like one-night Werewolf) and card games (like Egyptian War). Feel free to contact me on Piazza.

Radha Kumaran (TA) Preferred Pronouns: She, Her, Hers Major: Computer Science Previous experience as a TA: This is my first time TAing CS8. "Hi everyone! I'm a first year PhD student, and my areas of interest are Machine Learning, HCI and Affective Computing. Computer programming was something I had a hard time understanding initially, and I've realised how important it is to have someone who can explain (multiple times, as is often necessary) all of the ideas and concepts that seem super intimidating (until you get to the point where you realize they were a lot simpler than they seemed). I hope to be able to help all of you find out just how fun programming can be, this quarter! When I'm not working I can be found reading, listening to music, baking, travelling, and attempting (usually unsuccessfully) to learn new languages."

Ran Liu (TA) Preferred Pronouns: He, Him, His Major: Computer Science Previous experience as a TA: ... "Hello CS8 students! I'm your TA Ran Liu. You can call me Ran (pronounce as "than"). I’m a second year Ph.D student interested in security & privacy, business process management. I got my Master degree in Johns Hopkins University with major in Information Security. After I graduated, I worked 8 month as Application Security Analyst in Las Vegas, where I mainly focused on identifying web application vulnerability and fix them. In my free time. I love video games - PS4, XBOX, SWITCH and road trip. I must say you are in the right class where you can learn a lot to build your skills. If you have any questions, such as course related questions, career advices or just want to find someone to talk, feel free to come to my Office Hour and Lab Sections. Again, I'm very happy to work with you folks and wish you all have a great quarter!

Sara Mandic (Tutor) Preferred Pronouns: She, Her, Hers Major: Computer Science Previous experience as a tutor: This is my first time tutoring. "Hey everyone :) I’m a second year CS major. CS8 was my first CS class at UCSB and I remember being so afraid coming to class as a freshmen. I thought that everyone knew so much more than I did and I felt so intimidated. If you feel this way trust me you are not alone. With the help of great professors and tutors who helped me feel welcome I improved so much in my abilities and gained a lot of confidence. I’m excited to be a tutor because I want to do the same and make you realize how interesting and rewarding coding is. I know that the course is fast paced and in moments you might feel extremely overwhelmed, but I, along with an amazing staff of TA’s, tutors, and a stellar professor, am more than eager to help. I want to share some tricks that I found helpful when taking CS8 and help you see that you can do it. I know that people think of CS as being extremely difficult and stressful, but I want to help you see how fun it can actually be. In addition to the Python you learn in this class, feel free to reach out to me and ask about C++, Java, or Mathematica and I will do my best to answer any questions that you have. Also, If you have any questions in regards to course material, study methods, tips I have for being successful in this class, or if you just want to talk feel free to reach out to me. I’m a super friendly and social person and am always open to conversation. Outside of school I love playing volleyball and play for the UCSB women’s club volleyball team so you might see me on the beach courts over the weekends. Other than volleyball I love to paint (although I am not the best at it) and I love to travel. I look forward to meeting you all and I hope that this quarter will be an awesome experience. "

Cindy Zhao (Tutor) Preferred Pronouns: She, Her, Hers Major: Computer Science Previous experience as a tutor: This is my first time tutoring. Hi! I’m Cindy Zhao (she/her/hers) and I am a second year computer science major. I came into UCSB with not a lot of coding experience except for the classes I have taken in school, so I can relate to a lot of those who may be a bit slow at understanding and processing information. I believe CS8 is a very crucial part of everyone’s CS journey because it helps build the foundation of coding experience. When I first started coding, I was very scared and didn’t have the courage to ask that many questions in fear of sounding unintelligent. I hope to provide a safe and casual environment where asking questions is the norm and that no one would feel embarrassed or scared to ask them. I am very excited to tutor for this class and to work with everyone! Some organizations I am a part of are SB Hacks and Theta Tau. SB Hacks is a weekend long hackathon event that gathers around 350 college level students to build innovative technology to solve everyday problems. As an organizer for one of UC Santa Barbara’s biggest hackathons, I learned how to communicate and relay information, which will hopefully be useful when I tutor. Applications normally come out mid-fall quarter so be on the lookout for that if you’re interested in participating! Outside of school I like to play soccer or lacrosse, and I also dance. I’ve played soccer for about ten years and lacrosse for four, but I enjoy playing all different kinds of sports. I also like hanging out with friends and going to places to eat good food. My favorite music artists are Niki and Illenium. If you have any questions about anything, feel free to talk to me! I’ll be more than happy to help you with any questions you have in CS8 or about life in general! :)

Sherry Chen (TA) Preferred Pronouns: She, Her, Hers Major: Computer Science Previous experience as a TA: I was the TA for CS24 last quarter. Hi!. I am Sherry Chen and I am a first year computer science Ph.D. interested in Computer Vision and Human Computer Interface (HCI). Before came to UCSB, I got my Bachelor's degree in CS and Applied Math in the University of Washington. For hobbies, I like VR games, playing puzzles, and painting. This is my first time TAing for CS8, and I am really looking forward to working with all of you! Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions, inside and outside the class!

Rakshith Gopalakrishna (TA) Preferred Pronouns: He, Him, His Major: Computer Science Previous experience as a TA: I was the TA for CS176A last quarter. This is the first time I am TAing CS8 Hi!. I am Rakshith Gopalakrishna and I am a first year computer science Ph.D. interested in Distributed Systems, Security and Privacy. I am also an avid open source enthusiast. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions. Looking forward to working with you all!