Deacon Spotlight: Grey Ballard

Grey Ballard (2006, BS 2006 in Mathematics and Computer Science, MA 2008 in Mathematics)

Associate Professor of Computer Science at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC

Tell us about your current job role and employer. What are you currently working on?

I teach and do research in computer science at my alma mater. My work is in the subfield of high performance computing, my favorite undergraduate class to teach is Algorithms, and my favorite graduate class to teach is Parallel Algorithms.

What key personal and/or career experiences led you to where you are today?

My undergraduate research experiences at Wake Forest convinced me to pursue a PhD in the first place. My advisors John Baxley (emeritus in Math) and David John (emeritus in Computer Science) recruited me to separate projects and introduced me to the fun and challenge of research projects. My PhD and postdoc years (both outside of Wake but still fantastic experiences) were instrumental in preparing me for my current role.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job? How do you navigate that challenge?

Balancing the demands and opportunities among the various roles I have is a challenge. Professors divide their time across teaching, research, advising, administration, and service to their field, and much of it is attractive and stimulating. Knowing when to say no to an opportunity is key to successfully fulfilling other commitments. I think being a student athlete at Wake Forest taught me how to context switch and the value of pursuing multiple goals at once.

What advice would you give to Wake Forest graduates about developing their personal life habits after college (finances, health, values, work/life balance)?

Pay attention to what brings you joy, and prioritize your time towards those parts of your life the best you can. The question I like to ask undergraduate advisees is, “which of your classes is the one with homework you look forward to doing?” I often ask myself if I’m doing something because I really want to do it or because someone asked me to.

We know that relationships are important for any kind of development. How do you build and maintain your network?

I try to create opportunities for informal interactions, both with close colleagues and more distant connections. This is an advantage of in-person meetings over virtual ones, despite the convenience of Zoom. In my field, conferences are key for personal development and for identifying new research directions, and I can trace many of my current research projects to one-on-one conversations I had after a talk or on the way to an airport.

Tell us about your mentoring relationships. What impact have these relationships had on your career and life?

Mentoring is fundamental in academia. The size and culture of Wake Forest facilitates this starting during the undergraduate years. My PhD advisor Jim Demmel and my postdoc advisor Tammy Kolda were hugely influential in developing the focus of my work, teaching me the technical and non-technical keys to academic success, and connecting me to other fantastic researchers. I hope that I can positively impact the undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs that I mentor in the same way.

What advice would you give to current Wake Forest students and/or young alumni who are interested in working in your industry?

First, go to office hours. If there’s a class you love, even if you don’t have questions or need any help, go to office hours to interact with your instructor outside the classroom. They will appreciate your interest and help you to identify opportunities to help you further explore the direction. To pursue an academic job, seeking out a research experience is a great way to build skills, demonstrate your ability, and also check out if it excites you the way it should in order to pursue a PhD.

What’s next for your career? What future goals or plans are you pursuing?

I’ve recently taken on the role of Farr Faculty Director for the WFU Center for Entrepreneurship. The Center is in an exciting growth phase, and I hope I can contribute my background and expertise to help it achieve its vision. This is a new type of role that I’m enthusiastic to explore, and I’m already gaining new perspective on Wake Forest and its students.

Story published in September 2025. For current updates about Grey, visit his website.