All About CoCalc

A Passionate CEO and Founder

In his role as CEO of SageMath, Inc., William is at the helm, navigating the future of CoCalc. His responsibilities span delegating tasks, driving profitability, and managing the company’s overall growth strategy. In addition, he maintains a close eye on developments within the cloud-based software industry, assesses company risks to ensure they’re minimized, and ensures that CoCalc remains stable and productive.

Chief Executive Officer and Founder of SageMath, Inc. (2015-present)

William is both the CEO and a lead software developer for both the front and back end of CoCalc. His involvement with SageMath development is a testament to his dedication and commitment. His remarkable past career, including a tenure as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Washington, adds depth to his leadership.

Meet William Stein, CEO and Founder of SageMath, Inc.

Get to know the math prodigy behind CoCalc and SageMath, Inc.: William Stein. A Berkeley graduate and an ardent mathematician with over 15 years of experience in teaching and research, William’s passion for number theory and computational science has led him down a remarkable path.

A Man of Academic Origins

William’s academic journey began at the University of California, Berkeley, where he dedicated immense time and energy to using closed-source software like Magma for in-depth analysis and research. Though an admirer of its powerful underlying algorithms, William yearned for more transparent software that didn’t operate as a “black box.” His wish to understand “how things operate under the hood” eventually led him to develop SageMath during his time as Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Harvard.

Journey towards CoCalc

April 2013 marked another momentous chapter in William’s professional life: he launched SageMathCloud, now known as CoCalc. Inspired by his experiences in the academic and computational fields, this web application was designed to enable the collaborative use of open-source software (while eliminating typical installation and package maintenance issues), thus enhancing the teaching and research process in mathematics and data science. CoCalc now operates under a corporate model, making it self-sufficient and capable of growth independent of grants or other external funding.

William’s not all business either. You can catch him making the most of Seattle’s famously dismal winters by splitboarding with his Blue Heeler Bella in the Cascades or skating vert at “the most rad private ramp in Seattle.”

Here is his personal website.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• GitHub

Harald isn’t all work, though. He savors his free time by reconnecting with nature and playing maestro in the kitchen, whipping up enticing Italian meals like pasta, pizza, and lasagna. Additionally, he is an enthusiast of Bitcoin and its cryptic brethren.

Reach out to chat more about his projects or for advice on the perfect marinara sauce.

Chief Technology Officer at SageMath, Inc. (2015-present)

At SageMath, Inc., since 2015, Harald assumes the role of a tech torchbearer, evaluating new technologies and implementing various libraries for CoCalc projects. His relentless efforts translate into the seamless front-end and back-end software development and maintenance for Sage and CoCalc alike.

Meet Harald Schilly, CTO at SageMath, Inc.

Harald’s life-long dedication to coding and his profound knowledge and dynamic personality have been invaluable in shaping CoCalc’s operations and success.

A software maestro, Harald discovered his passion for coding in his teenage years, experimenting with QBasic on the Microsoft Disk Operating System and advancing onto Turbo Pascal, Visual Basic, Java, and C, among others.

During his studies in Applied Mathematics with a focus on Optimization, he deepened his understanding of the intricate workings of algorithms. As a result, he embraced Java, Python, and later JavaScript as his go-to coding languages. All the while, Harald became a key contributor to the SageMath open-source mathematics software – a testament to his dedication to broadening the horizons of technology and innovation.

Beyond academia, Harald began crafting software solutions for various industry needs. After obtaining his Master’s degree, he embarked on a Ph.D. journey at the University of Vienna while teaching Linux system administration and introducing Python to the undergraduates. Fueled by his passion for industry-relevant solutions, he soon founded his own company.

Fast forward to 2015, Harald became instrumental in CoCalc’s ascend. His role demanded in-depth understanding of Software Engineering, Linux administration, system monitoring, and oversight of the entire Kubernetes cluster. Harald’s responsibilities didn’t just stop there, he managed a towering stack of pre-installed open-source software across all CoCalc projects – a role he fulfills with gusto.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• GitHub

Apart from his efforts in SageMath, Inc. Andrey is a dedicated father of two adorable daughters, striving to instil in them love for hiking in the mountains and perhaps even backpacking. He enjoys learning about global geopolitical perspectives and taking into account wood grain irregularities using hand tools.

Chief Operations Officer at SageMath, Inc. (2023-present)

As Chief Operating Officer, Andrey keeps a keen eye on financial aspects of the company, making sure everything is in order and looking for insights to drive the company’s growth. If you need custom quotes and special care for your purchasing orders and invoices, he is always happy to help you!

Andrey Novoseltsev, COO at SageMath, Inc.

Andrey went through graduate school as a student and then an instructor in Russia, USA, and Canada. With an interest in software development starting with early childhood experience on Soviet ES EVM, he used SageMath extensively both in his Ph.D. research and teaching.

Together with Volker Braun (long term release manager of SageMath), Andrey has implemented a framework for computations with toric varieties and Calabi-Yau varieties in them, fixing various bugs and making improvements in other areas of SageMath along the way.

Andrey was one of the early adopters of SageMathCell and its interacts, writing many of them for courses on differential equations and multivariate calculus. He set up dedicated servers for his classes and when the original lead of SageMathCell, Jason Grout, was switching to other endeavours, it was natural for Andrey to pick up the project.

As another direction of integrating SageMath into teaching, Andrey has developed a module for interactive learning of intricacies of the simplex method in optimization, which eventually grew into supporting group homework assignments and exams for that course. The experience was instrumental in understanding the importance of tools like CoCalc to smoothly support instructors in using Python notebooks for teaching.

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• GitHub

Passionate about implementing data-driven decision-making in government, industry, and academia. Blaec’s advocacy exemplifies his research interests — applied mathematics and numerical modeling of geophysical phenomena.

His dedication to academic communities is evident through his past roles, notably as the Student Chapter Secretary of the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Now, it’s hard to even name a community he’s not involved in after participating in 30 conferences during 2023.

Chief Sales Officer at SageMath, Inc. (2022-present)

If you would like to discuss computational applied mathematics, software development/integration opportunities, or possible partnerships with SageMath, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Blaec via email at [email protected]!

Meet Blaec Bejarano, CSO at SageMath, Inc.

Graduating in 2021 with an M.S. in Mathematics from Oregon State University, Blaec’s academic expertise are focused on applying numerical analysis and partial differential equations to model physical phenomena.

Blaec’s foundation in modern teaching methods, gained through his years as a teaching assistant and instructor, complements his current role at SageMath, where his responsibilities span from increasing CoCalc’s user base through innovative market penetration strategies to social media/advertising campaigns. Moreover, Blaec drives opportunities for CoCalc by demonstrating the platform’s most recent features via live demos at premier conferences like the International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics and the International Conference on Machine Learning.

Beyond academic spheres, Blaec is actively engaged in several industry and business societies, including the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the National Small Business Association Leadership Technology Council, and open-source technology/startup communities like NumFocus and Startup Grind. Blaec directs corporate alliances among his many roles, leading the bid to fuse other proprietary software like MATLAB into the open-source ecosystem.

Even amidst his busy schedule, Blaec finds time for adventure and creativity. Lovingly known as one of the SageMath resident mountaineers, Blaec often scales the Cascade volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest (and can otherwise be found at home writing songs alongside his cat Fushigi).

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• GitHub
• Twitter