Penporn Koanantakool, a senior software engineer, shares her courageous journey from growing up in Thailand to being awarded a Fulbright scholarship, confronting challenges in moving to the U.S., earning a PhD from U.C. Berkeley, and eventually helping shape the future of AI at one of the world’s leading tech companies.

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TRANSCRIPT:
https://www.shelightstheway.com/penporn-koanantakool-transcript

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EPISODE LINKS:
Penporn’s LinkedIn: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/penporn
Penporn’s Google Research page: 
https://research.google/people/penpornkoanantakool/
Penporn’s X: 
https://x.com/KaewGB 

EPISODE TOPICS:
00:00 Introduction and Early Inspirations
01:13 Welcome & Introductions
01:40 Meet Penporn Koanantakool
03:43 Penporn’s Journey from Thailand to the U.S.
04:52 Overcoming Language Barriers
06:37 Discovering a Passion for Coding
08:34 High Performance Computing and U.C. Berkeley
09:55 Mentors and Inspirations
17:13 Challenges and Opportunities in AI
24:10 Defining Success and Reflecting on Achievements
30:08 Advice and Final Thoughts
31:33 Conclusion and Farewell