Speed Interview with Benedetta Piantella Simeonidis

What do you plan to do at this years OHS?

Catch up! I haven’t had a chance to attend OHS the last couple of years and really wish I had made it to Rome, so this year I want to listen to what other people have been up to and learn from them, catch up with old friends and acquaintances and shoot the s#&% with likeminded individuals.

What’s your most used OS, electronic or component?

GSM modules, you know, AT commands are so satisfying. My multimeter would be next in line. I wish on the OS side I could say Ubuntu, but I am still working on making my full move over to Linux.

Favorite website of the moment?

Well, I listen to my news and read physical books for the most part, so the internet for me is for research and window shopping 🙂 So I would have to admit that I am a total Pinterest and Etsy junkie. And Reddit, of course.   

What are you working on or thinking about right now?

I have been doing a lot of thinking over the summer about the next chapter of my life, too deep I know. So I have been doing a lot of thinking around what got me interested in humanitarian applications of technologies in the first place and trying to find ways to get back to that. Basically I have been researching disaster relief and emergency response and hoping to specialize in those moving forward, while resisting the temptation of getting a PhD.  

What’s your favorite junk food?

Oh god, all of them?! If you opened my fridge you would be misled into thinking I have healthy eating habits, but I have hidden and not so hidden stashes of CHOCOLATE everywhere.  

How can we find out more about you?

I am a fairly private individual these days and suffer from constant impostor syndrome so my personal website is in need of revamping as it talks about my previous life, my current website is non existent (yet) and I rarely tweet other than at conferences. LinkedIn is the only page that is somewhat kept up to date. There are bits and pieces of my work splattered in cyberspace but the best way to learn about me is by reaching out via email, talking to me at events or coming to visit me at my current office at ITP NYU.

Can you share a picture of what describes you?

Couldn’t chose between 2:

My 2 passions (and “jobs”).

5.40am in the Maasai Mara, Kenya, fixing and troubleshooting electronics, of course