Informatics School awards 1st Ph.D.

Jim Costello and his fellow students relied on each other to “feel our way around certain topics.”

Costello, 30, did something no IU student had done before. He is the first Ph.D. recipient from IU’s School of Informatics and Computing.

While professors were available to help with academics, Costello said he dealt with his peers on a personal, detailed level to determine how to get organized and figure out the best techniques for succeeding.

“There wasn’t too much outside help,” said Amrita Mohan, one of Costello’s fellow
doctoral students.

Because Mohan and Costello had a couple common subjects, they talked through assignments together, Mohan said.

Before joining the School of Informatics and Computing – which was established in 2000 – Costello ran track and field at the University of Iowa.

He received his MBA from IU in 2004 and began his Ph.D. work the following year.

For the first year or two, getting a Ph.D. involves a lot of class time, but it later becomes research focused with very little class, Costello said.

While he was earning his master’s, Costello met Justen Andrews, an assistant professor in Informatics.

“He would typically work most through the night. I’d ask him to do something and he’d send me the results at 5 in the morning,” Andrews said. “He’d do that again and again and again.”

After getting his degree, Costello moved east with his wife, Lisa, a school psychologist he’d met at the Bluebird’s Hairbangers Ball in 2004, and his two dogs, Paige and
Fossey.

Costello said he’s always wanted to work in the medical field because his dad is an immunologist.

This week he started his new job at Boston University, performing computation work to predict genes’ behavior.

Andrews has high hopes for Costello.

“As a graduate student he’s really made a significant contribution to the field,” Andrews said.