Bio
Originally from Pittsburgh, I'm happy to be at Carnegie Mellon where I earned my bachelors in mechanical engineering and computer science (2002) and masters in robotics (2005) and am working on my Ph.D in robotics. Though I started out in Pittsburgh, I lived in Kansas, Germany, and Houston, TX growing up. I met Dave in 1998 when I first came to CMU and we were married January 3, 2004.
Family
It's a boy! Our son, Andrew Richard Koes, was born at 10:32pm on September 16, 2006, weighing 7 lbs. 6 oz. For the most recent information on him, check out our blog.
My husband Dave is a grad student in computer science. His research is in compilers. We'll see who finishes first... :-) Despite his unfortunate love of Macs, he's a wonderful guy.
I have three great siblings: Kari is a nurse at Children's Hospital (I'm trying to convince all my family to move back to Pittsburgh) and recently got engaged to Dante Romito--CONGRATULATIONS!; Tom just started a new job with Bayer in Houston, thus thwarting my evil plan of getting all my siblings to move up to Pittsburgh; Julie is a freshman at Pitt this year, planning on studying nutrition.
Many thanks to my parents and Grandma--without their support I'd never be here! (in more ways than one)
In addition to the family members I didn't get to choose, I have a wonderful set of in-laws. My mother-in-law shares my name which is occasionally confusing. If you come across Mary Koes in the context of dedicated educator or anything to do with biology during your googling, it's most likely not me. For the first time in my life, I have older siblings, Derrick, his wife, Meagan, and Steven, though they don't harass me nearly as much as I harass my younger siblings. Derrick and Meagan are the proud parents of my nephew and godson, Ryan.
Interests
I love to read fiction books. Some of my favorites are Pride and Prejudice, 1984, and A Tale of Two Cities. I'm a Harry Potter addict and also enjoy other fantasy including the Wheel of Time series, Eragon, Terry Brooks' series and, I'm embarrassed to admit, children's stories (Roald Dahl, Madaline L'Engle, and Lemony Snicket...)
I have a German Shepherd dog, Glory. We go for walks together every morning and evening. I enjoy reading dog training books, though I'm better at reading them than practicing them. So far I've taught Glory sit, down, speak, play dead, and a handful of other commands though she's probably more successful at teaching me. I can't walk by a stick without wanting to throw it or a squirrel without wanting to chase it.
I'm an amateur runner. Two of my lifelong goals are to run a marathon (which I accomplished January 15, 2006) and do a pull-up (still working on that). I also enjoy hiking, rock climbing, skiing, ultimate, buggy (I'm part of CIA), cooking, and rollerblading.
Running
I achieved a long time goal and ran the Houston Marathon on January 15, 2006. I finished in 3:56:54. I'll eventually need to choose a new running goal, but am taking a break until after pregnancy.
Running Results
4/28/06 Random Distance Run (2 3/4 mi.) 22:56 (19 weeks pregnant)
1/15/06 Houston Marathon 3:56:54 (4 weeks pregnant, though I didn't know it yet)
10/2/05 Zoozilla 5K 23:43
9/25/05 Great Race 10K 51:54
9/10/05 IKEA Half marathon 1:51:16
9/9/05 Pretty Good Race 5K 23:30
4/15/05 Random Distance Run (2 1/4 mi.) 16:15
10/10/04 Zoozilla 5K 23:41
9/26/04 Great Race 10K 1:01:12