Have you met Cor-Paul Bezemer, Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department in the Faculty of Engineering? Spend a few minutes getting to know him better.
What is your first U of A memory?
When I visited Edmonton for my job interview, there had just been a snowstorm. When the department chair showed me the view of the city from the 11th floor of the Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering building, I remember being impressed by how beautiful the city and the river valley were. I still get to enjoy this view every morning when I step into my office (in fact, it was one of the reasons I chose my office location).
What’s something your coworkers don’t know about you?
Until a few years ago, I used to participate in strongman competitions. During those competitions, we would carry weights of up to 410 lbs per hand or 1000 lbs on our backs. While I am not competing anymore, I still enjoy going to the gym to lift weights.
What’s your favourite distraction?
Woodworking, the gym and playing with our five-month-old daughter Arwen.
If you were enrolling in one course, program or degree right now, what would it be?
The upcoming Mechatronics and Robotics program in the Faculty of Engineering looks amazing. I would also love to do some industrial design courses.
What’s a weird pet peeve you have?
I get really annoyed when objects on PowerPoint slides are not nicely aligned. Did you know that PowerPoint contains functionality to help you do this?
You can invite anyone — alive or dead, real or fictional — to dinner. Who would it be?
Probably my grandfather. He passed away when I was a teenager. He was an architect by trade and a hobbyist woodworker. I remember always working on projects with him. I would love to show him around my shop and just nerd out on woodworking topics with him.
If you could see any live performance tomorrow, what would it be?
Honestly, there are lots of performances I would like to see, but I would really love to see Portishead or Tom Waits live. Unfortunately, they no longer tour. Also, metal band Dimmu Borgir did a concert together with the Czech Symphonic Orchestra which I would love to see live.
What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
Keep doing things your own way. Everything will work out great.
What’s one thing you can’t live without?
My beautiful and super-talented wife Nadia and our little bundle of joy Arwen who is enriching our lives in ways we never imagined.
What three words describe your U of A experience?
Fun, rewarding work.
About Cor-Paul
Cor-Paul Bezemer (he/his) is an associate professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department in the Faculty of Engineering. He heads the Analytics of Software, Games And Repository Data (ASGAARD) lab. His research focuses on leveraging data analytics to solve software engineering problems. He is originally from the Netherlands.