TCNJ Department of Computer Science | News and Events

MSDNAA Update: Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Suite Now Available

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:57:30 EST

Get the latest Visual Studio software for working in groups. It's now available via MSDNAA downloads in DVD form for x86 and x64 platforms. This software is available for free for all CS majors, minors and those currently enrolled in CS courses. To obtain a free account, email Dr. DePasquale (depasqua [at] tcnj [dot] edu) today.

TCNJ Team Headed to Computer Science Games Competition

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:37:38 EST

A team of 8 TCNJ students is preparing to travel to Sherbrooke, Quebec, this weekend to compete in the Computer Science Games competition. The Computer Science Games are a collegiate competition that includes challenges from all aspects of computing. The Games are a weekend long thrill ride with logic puzzles, difficult algorithms, intense video game competitions, social activities, and of course, programming.

The TCNJ team members are:

Autumn Breese
Bryce Liskovec
Steve Lombardi
Christopher Neylan
Andrew Timmes
Ryan VanAntwerp (engineering major)
Jake Voytko
Rob Wilson

2008 Goldberg Prize in Computer Science Announced

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:57:28 EST

The Charles H. Goldberg Prize is awarded annually by the Computer Science Department to a student (or students) who has demonstrated academic excellence in Computer Science and who will be continuing into graduate study in Computer Science.

Eligible students are graduating Computer Science majors who have applied for admission for graduate study in Computer Science. The number of awards and the award amount are at the discretion of the Computer Science Department. The award check will be conveyed to the awardee(s) upon matriculation in a graduate program in Computer Science within one year of the announcement of the award.

The due date for applications is March 28th, 2008. Please download and complete the form from our department web site, and leave with the CS Department Secretary.

Sophomore Autumn Breese Selected to Attend Google Workshop in California

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:22:15 EST

Computer science sophomore, Autumn Breese, has been invited to the all expenses paid, 2008 Google Workshop for Women Engineers.

The workshop will be held during the Celebration of National Engineers week and Introduce a Girl to Engineering day, on February 21-23, 2008, at the Googleplex in Mountain View, California. As part of Google's encouragement for women to excel in computing and technology, rewards deserving female students in computer science, and inspires them to become active participants and leaders in creating technology.

Workshop applicants were female computer science students currently enrolled in a Bachelor's, Master's or PhD program at a university in the United States. Students were expected to demonstrate academic excellence and leadership in the computing field, maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale or 4.3 on a 5.0 scale or equivalent in their current program. Applicants also needed to write essays supposing that they were given technical and financial resources to complete a project that would use technology to impact the lives of women and girls. They were to describe what they'd do and what resources they'd need, as well as how they'd implement their project. They were asked to think big and comment on how their project would impact women globally and/or in the U.S.

ACM Game Night To Benefit TASK

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:29:25 EST

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is hosting a video game night on February 14th (Valentines Day). This event will serve as an alternative to one's typical plans on Valentines Day and should prove to be a lot of fun. It will take place in Cromwell Main Lounge, from 6pm to 11pm. In order to enter, you must bring a can of soup, which will be subsequently donated to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), or pay $2. Also, we are in desperate need of equipment (ie: games, power strips, controllers, etc.) and would really appreciate it if you would bring them to the event in exchange for a slice of pizza. If you are willing to do so, please email the ACM account: acm@tcnj.edu. We hope to see you all next Thursday!

Dr. Neff Granted Sabbatical for Fall '08 Semester

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:27:00 EST

Dr. Norm Neff, Professor of Computer Science, has been granted a sabbatical during the Fall '08 semester. While away from the classroom, Dr. Neff will be striving to achieve two primary research goals:

Prepare improved introductory interdisciplinary course in biocomputing. A natural starting point is the College's course BIO 470 Genomics and Bioinformatics, which has recently been introduced by Professor Sudhir Nayak of the Biology Department. To speed the learning curve with respect to computer programming, a computer language will be selected with a view toward simplified ease of use combined with adequate control of detail. Professors Nayak and Neff will collaborate to produce laboratory and grant projects to add depth to the computing part of the course.
Prepare a module on biocomputing for inclusion in the computer science course CSC 410. A unit on the motivating biology problems will be prepared in consultation with Professor Nayak. Where applicable, existing topics in the algorithms course will be illustrated in biological contexts. Such topics include (at least) complexity growth, string searching, data compression, and dynamic programming

TCNJ ACM Chapter Meeting - Next Wednesday!

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:51:22 EST

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) will be having its next meeting on Wednesday, January 30 at 4:00pm in Holman Hall Room 252. The club is open to anyone who expresses an interest in computers and has a desire to further that interest. At this meeting, we will be discussing some possible upcoming events and there will certainly be some FREE PIZZA there as well. So definitely stop by and check us out!

Summer Plans? How About Funded Research Across the US or Around the World?

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:22:28 EST

Do you have your summer plans yet? No? Well, for those of you interested in exploring computing research a bit more, the National Science Foundation funds a number of Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) at institutions throughout the country (and few international locations as well!). This opportunity will provide travel funds, 8 weeks of room and board, plus a stipend while you work on mentored research with other undergrads under the supervision of faculty at the host institution. Interested in AI? Pen-based computing? Networks? Virtual Reality? How about spending the summer at Virginia Tech, Washington State, Rhode Island, or Miami?

For more information about the REU program, see their information page located on the NSF's web site. Be sure to plan ahead though, you'll need letters of recommendation from TCNJ computing faculty, and need to submit an application to each site you wish to apply to.

If you would like to speak to someone about the REU program, please see Dr. DePasquale for more information about past students who have participated!

MSDNAA Update: Visual Studio '08 Now Available

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:33:51 EST

Visual Studio 2008 Pro is now available for download as DVD ISO files (x86 and x64) through the department MSDN AA server. Go ahead, you know you want to code something.

A Talk by Dr. Yan Xu, Microsoft Research; 11/15/07 11:30am

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:05:54 EST

Computational Education for Scientists: Corporate Collaboration

A Talk by Dr. Yan Xu, Microsoft Research
Thursday, November 15, 2007, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Library Auditorium

Dr. Xu will give an overview of Microsoft Research, the External Research and Programs group at Microsoft Research, and the academic collaboration strategies of her group. She will then discuss in detail an exciting new program at Microsoft Research: Computational Education for Scientists.

Yan joined Microsoft Research in March 2006. Her research has been focused on exploring technologies and pedagogical strategies that facilitate and enhance interdisciplinary computational education and computational thinking. She is responsible for the Computational Education for Scientists program, which enables collaborations with academia, infusing computational thinking into science education to create tomorrow\'s scientists. Yan is also responsible for applying Microsoft Phoenix technology to computer science education as part of the Phoenix Academic Program.

Yan has over ten years experience working in the software industry. Prior to joining Microsoft Research, she worked for several startup software companies as a senior software architect. She also served as a principal member of the W3C XML Protocol working group. Yan received her Ph.D. in Physics from McGill University, Canada.