More than twenty years on, Tart, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, is a software engineer working for Google; a high-flying genius whose day-to-day job at the company’s global headquarters in Silicon Valley combines his passion for puzzles with rigorous research ability. Google relies on young, highly talented programmers to maintain its world dominance in internet search and to innovate constantly to offer new products, which now range from cloud computing to operating systems to mobile-phone offerings.

Adam explained his story to a captive audience who were guests at the Irish Consulate in San Francisco at an event hosted by Gerry Staunton, Consul General of Ireland, and representatives of all seven Irish Universities who were in town to promote the benefits of Irish university degree programmes to an audience made up of local high schools, parents and prospective applicants for Irish university degree programmes. Tart, as guest speaker, spoke in glowing terms about his experience as a graduate student in University College Cork (UCC) where, studying as a Mitchell Scholar, he obtained a Master’s degree in Mobile Networking and Computing in 2009. In a week where it was fashionable for Americans everywhere to claim ancestral roots to Ireland (President Obama had spent the previous Monday in Moneygall, boasting of his relationship with his local eighth cousin on the maternal side!) Tart opened his remarks by stating that, in spite of his red hair and a natural emotional affinity with the Emerald Isle, he didn’t have one drop of Irish blood in his veins. His decision to study in Ireland – having already obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Discrete Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering Statistics from Georgia Tech – was based purely on academic grounds, backed up by an interest in Ireland’s people, land and culture. He was familiar with Ireland’s worldwide reputation in Software Engineering and was impressed that scores of technology companies such as Google, Facebook, Dell and Accenture had chosen Ireland to host their international headquarters. That decision made, choosing UCC just seemed the next obvious thing to do. He was aware of the University’s reputation in Computer Science and also of the fact that George Boole, first Professor of Mathematics in Cork was the founder of Boolean logic, which is the basis for all computer operations; “I already had a very strong theoretical background from Georgia Tech but I needed a programme that would allow me to apply my mathematical and computer science skills to real world situations.” It turned out that UCC provided the perfect fit for Tart’s talents and aspirations, and he graduated with a First Class Honours Master’s of Science. Tart completed a degree that integrated computer networking with software development and mathematical modelling, topics that are all perfectly suited to many facets of his current position at Google.

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Picture: Adam captivates audience in Irish Consulate, San Francisco