CLOSED: Spring 2019 Registration Wait-list

Posted on October 23, 2018 by Ann Zsilavetz • 0 Comments

Registration Wait-list

The registration period for Spring 2019 courses is November 6 – 16, 2018. Some seats have been reserved for CS majors in all CSC courses. Please review the registration newsletter for additional information on options courses offered this semester.

After your registration window opens, if the class you need is closed, put yourself on the wait-list using the Qualtrics form below.

The Spring 2019 Registration Wait-list is now closed.

Be sure read all directions and to enter all the information requested.

We will not be signing students into courses until Monday, November 19, after the registration window closes. Please do not email the department for updates before this time. We will enroll students into any unfilled seats in order, based on their registration times and time they registered on the wait list.

Please be sure that your intended course does not conflict with a course in your current schedule, and that you are willing to drop conflicting courses to make the change. If you have a full course load or time conflict and do not indicate courses to drop on your wait-list submission, your submission will be disregarded.

As always, please have a back-up plan in case you are not able to get into your preferred courses.

Fall 2018 Colloquium Speakers

Posted on September 12, 2018 by Ann Zsilavetz • 0 Comments

Please join the Computer Science Department at the fall 2018 colloquium events. Lunch will be provided. Hope to see you there!

Sean Devlin (TCNJ)
Deep Reinforcement Learning: The fundamentals of how AI wins games and beyond

12:30 – 1:30 PM
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Location: SCP 101

Abstract: It was once believed that if a computer could beat a chess champion, then AI would be achieved. This belief was later changed from chess to go and now that go has been tackled, much more complicated games like Dota 2 are in the cross hairs with general artificial intelligence still in the distance. This talk will provide the fundamentals of deep reinforcement learning, the primary field of AI being used to accomplish these feats. We will start with an intro to reinforcement learning, dig into Google Deep Mind’s seminal 2013 paper “Playing Atari with Deep Reinforcement Learning”, and conclude with the directional vector of this very hyped field of research.

Speaker Bio: Sean Devlin: First and foremost a modern family man. Currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at TCNJ. Previously a technical co-founder at Front Rush.

Sharif Mohammad Shahnewaz Ferdous (TCNJ)
Virtual Reality and Serious Games

12:30 – 1:30 PM
Friday, November 2, 2018
Location: SCP 101

Abstract: Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulation that uses visual, auditory and other sensory feedback to provide a user with an immersive experience. While visual feedback is the most important component of a VR experience, other sensory feedback plays important roles too. A well composed VR system has many usages including serious games. While a VR system can be used for entertainment purposes, in serious games, we focus on education, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, scientific exploration, politics etc. VR is being used in rehabilitation of stroke patients, balance impairments, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), pain management, and so on. It is also being used for military training, surgical training, car modeling, etc. This talk will discuss the prospects and the presenter’s experience on of using VR in serious games. It will also provide some aspects of the presenter’s current work on assessing gender bias on self-reported cybersickness – a sickness induced by using VR systems for a long time.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Sharif Mohammad Shahnewaz Ferdous is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Science of The College of New Jersey. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Prior to that, he completed his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh. His research interests include Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality, Augmented Reality, Serious Games, 3D User Interfaces, Interactive Computer Graphics, and Human-Computer Interaction. His Ph.D. dissertation was focused on Improving accessibility of Virtual and Augmented Reality for people with balance impairments.

Davide Schaumann (Rutgers University)
Buildings, People, and Human Behavior

12:30 – 1:30 PM
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Location: SCP 101

Abstract: The computational tools that architects use to design buildings provide a static representation of built environments, which does not consider the people who will inhabit the spaces, and their future activities. In this talk, we will explore our efforts to produce dynamic representations of buildings in use, prior to their construction and occupancy. Our goal is to help architects analyze human-building interactions during the design phase, when design issues can be discovered and addressed. In particular, we will discuss computational methods to model and simulate human behavior patterns in not-yet-built environments, their applications for designing complex buildings (like hospitals), and initial results from integrating them within established architectural design tools to conduct static and dynamic human behavior analyses and to optimize the building design with respect to human-related performance criteria. Additionally, we will discuss the potential application of human behavior simulation methods to explore how IT-enhanced environments may affect the behavior of building occupants at the building and city scale.

Speaker Bio: Davide Schaumann is a Postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Computer Science at Rutgers University. He received his PhD from the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and he holds MSc and B.A. degrees in Architecture from the Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Davide’s research lies at the intersection of Architectural Design, Artificial Intelligence, and Human Behavior Science with a mission to apply digital technologies for analyzing the dynamic interactions between people, the spaces they inhabit, and the activities they engage in. Davide won several prices and was recently awarded the Murray Fellowship to support his Postdoctoral position.

CS Adjunct’s Publication Accepted to CCSC

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Ann Zsilavetz • 0 Comments

Congratulations to Dr. Mark Russo, adjunct professor in the CS Department, on the acceptance of his publication, titled “A Novel Events-First Approach for CS1 with Java” to the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges (CCSC) Eastern. Dr. Russo was invited to present his publication at Marymount University on October 19 and 20, 2017.

Dr. Russo’s paper introduces a technique for performing simplified event-driven programming that may be used very early in a CS1 course. The technique leverages “method references,” a language feature new to Java 8. In addition, a freely available Java library of graphic and other classes making use of this technique has been developed for students to use when completing assignments. Objects in this library dispatch a range of events to be handled by student-authored methods when completing assignments.

Congratulations to Dr. Russo!

New Faculty Join the CS Department

Posted on August 23, 2018 by Ann Zsilavetz • 0 Comments

Sharif Mohammad Shahnewaz Ferdous (Assistant Professor of Computer Science) is a computer scientist specializing in virtual reality, augmented reality, and game development. He received his bachelor’s degree from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in Computer Science and Engineering and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio. His research interests focus on using virtual reality and gaming to help improve quality of life for people with special needs. In particular, his dissertation focused on improving postural stability in virtual and augmented reality for people with balance impairments. He is experienced in interdisciplinary research activities and collaborates with kinesiologists, health care professionals, and first responders. He has published in peer-reviewed conferences, served as a program committee member in international workshops, and applied for a U.S. patent based on his work.

Personal interest: Dr. Shahnewaz Ferdous likes to play soccer. His favorite team is Barcelona and he follows most of their matches.

John DeGood (Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Science) is a computer scientist specializing in real-time embedded systems and computer security. He received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry followed by graduate study in Electrical Engineering at the Missouri University of Science of Technology. He spent the next 19 years in R&D (research and development) at Hewlett-Packard (now Agilent) helping develop three generations of gas chromatography products. He proposed and led the development of Agilent’s first PC-based chromatography data acquisition and analysis product line. While at Agilent, John earned a Master of Science in Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Delaware. He then spent eight years at Sarnoff Corporation (now SRI International) in a broad range of research including software defined radio, ad hoc networking, and high-performance computing. He then joined the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories where he performed government-funded computer security research for 15 years. John was an adjunct professor of Computer Science at TCNJ in the 2017-2018 academic year.

Personal interests:

Yoga Instructor: John teaches weekly power vinyasa yoga classes at 2 area yoga studios
Cooking: like most chemists, John loves to cook. He bakes homemade yeast and sourdough breads and homemade pie crusts. He also craft brews a variety of ale styles and home roasts green coffee beans.
Bicyclist: League of American Bicyclists Instructor, MS City to Shore Planning Team member and 14-year MS City to Shore rider
Amateur Radio: antenna modeling and design, digital communication modes, FCC Volunteer Examiner

Call for CS Volunteer Representatives (2018-19)

Posted on August 14, 2018 by Ann Zsilavetz • 0 Comments

Show your CS@TCNJ pride!

Would you like to earn the title of “Computer Science Representative” for your resume? The faculty are once again looking for students to help out at upcoming departmental functions, including seminars, recruiting events, and meetings with potential students. All levels of students (freshmen through seniors) are invited to apply.

Sample resume entry
Computer Science Representative: Meet with prospective students and visiting families to present student experiences in computer science major; discuss opportunities and college life through formal presentation and informal Q&A. Meet with visiting speakers and assist during scheduled events. Volunteer position; selected by the faculty to participate. September 2018 – present.

If you are interested in serving as a volunteer representative, fill out the Qualtrics survey at the following link: https://tcnj.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bIb5oCWiICgAaH3

Submissions will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis and as needed. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Zsilavetz directly or stop by STEM 200.

Updates from the CS Research Lab: Summer 2018

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Ann Zsilavetz • 0 Comments

CS mentored research students are staying cool in the STEM Research Lab this summer!

Three rising CS juniors are participating in the Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE) program from June 4 – July 27. Sarah Almeda and Madeline Febinger are working with Dr. Papamichail, and Ethan Kochis is working with Dr. Bloodgood.

Rising senior Ben Sang is conducting mentored research with Dr. Yoon for the duration of the summer, while rising seniors Jenna Oak and Aaron Weiss are working with Dr. Pulimood, who was recently named the new Barbara Meyers Pelson ’59 Chair. Oak and Weiss’s work is funded through the Pelson grant.

All six students and their mentors had the opportunity to share their projects with TCNJ’s new President, Dr. Kathryn Foster, as she toured the STEM Building on Tuesday, July 3. Afterwards, students their faculty mentors went for out for a group lunch at Panera in Campus Town.

Best wishes to our research students for a productive and enjoyable summer!

[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”9″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_imagebrowser” ajax_pagination=”0″ order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

Computer Science Department Awards 2018

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Ann Zsilavetz • 0 Comments

Congratulations to the winners of the 2017-2018 Computer Science Department Awards!

The Computer Science Department awardees are selected by the faculty based not only on their exemplary performance in CS courses, but also on their significant contributions to the department.

Freshman Award – Ryan Bogutz, Jessica Jo, Thomas Orth, and Matthew Van Soelen

Sophomore Award – Tomer Aberbach, Sarah Almeda, Michael Altschuler, and Ethan Kochis

Junior Award – Alexander Cretella and Ananya Srinivasan

Senior Award – Elisa Idrobo, Edward Kennedy, Brittany Reedman, and Tyler Reich

CLOSED: Fall 2018 Registration Wait-list

Posted on March 26, 2018 by Ann Zsilavetz • 0 Comments

The registration period for Fall 2018 courses is April 3 – 13, 2018. Some seats have been reserved for CS majors in all CSC courses. Please review the registration newsletter for additional information on options courses offered this semester.

After your registration window opens, if the class you need is closed, put yourself on the wait-list using the Qualtrics form below.

The Fall 2018 registration wait-list is now closed. If you have signed up for the wait-list, please continue to check your emails in case the department needs to contact you regarding you. submission.

Be sure read all directions and to enter all the information requested.

We will not be signing students into courses until Monday, April 16, after the registration window closes. Please do not email the department for updates before this time. We will enroll students into any unfilled seats in order, based on their registration times and time they registered on the wait list.

As always, please have a back-up plan in case you are not able to get into your preferred courses.

Call for Goldberg-Neff Scholarship Prize Applications – 2018

Posted on March 26, 2018 by Ann Zsilavetz • 0 Comments

Charles H. Goldberg – Norman Neff Scholarship Prize in Computer Science

(Applications due Friday, April 6, 2018 by 3:00 PM)

The Charles H. Goldberg – Norman Neff Scholarship Prize is awarded annually by the Computer Science Department to a student(s) who has/have 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.

How to Apply

Please complete the following form and submit your printed application to Ms. Zsilavetz, Department Program Assistant, in STEM 200 before the deadline.

1. Name: _____________________________________

2. How can we contact you after graduation?

Phone: _______________________________

E-mail: _______________________________

Postal address _________________________

3. List some of the graduate programs to which you are applying:

4. Please attach a short essay discussing your plans for graduate study.

Computer Science Colloquium, February 20

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Ann Zsilavetz • 0 Comments

On Tuesday, February 20, the Computer Science Department will host its secondcolloquium of the Spring 2018 semester. Dr. Bharathwaj Muthuswamy, visiting professor in the CS Department, give a talk entitled “CUDA and OpenCL: Programming GPUs“. An abstract of his talk can be found below.

Please join CS faculty and students in Education 113 from 12:30 – 1:30 PM for this talk.

Abstract:

In this talk, Dr. Muthuswamy will go through a high level overview of parallel programming, specifically using (NVIDIA’s) Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) and Khronos Group’s OpenCL (Open Computing Language), for programming Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). We will show examples of parallel programming in practice, starting from the classic “hello, world” to nonlinear dynamics simulations. We will start with CUDA but primarily focus on OpenCL, since the specification is hardware independent.

Bio:
Dr. Bharathwaj “Bharath” Muthuswamy is currently a visiting professor of computer science at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). Prior (2015 – 2017) to TCNJ, he was a software engineer for Tarana Wireless, working on implementing real-time network layer code for non-line of sight wireless backhaul devices. Prior (2000 – 2015) to his Tarana Wireless position, Dr. Muthuswamy has worked in both academia (University of California, Berkeley; Milwaukee School of Engineering) and industry (Los Alamos National Laboratory, SUN Microsystems, National Semiconductor and National Instruments). His primary research interests are in nonlinear dynamical (chaotic) systems and embedded (FPGA systems). He is also very passionate about undergraduate, high school and middle school education. He holds a BS (2002), MS (2005) and PhD (2009) all in EECS from the University of California, Berkeley, advised by Dr. Leon O. Chua. His primary PhD contribution was in the design and implementation of a “Muthuswamy-Chua” circuit (system) – the simplest possible chaotic circuit involving only the fundamental circuit elements – an inductor, capacitor and memristor in series.

Author Archives: Ann Zsilavetz