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Author Archives: Ann Zsilavetz

Computer Science Colloquium: March 27

The first Computer Science Colloquium of the semester will be held on Friday, March 27.  Dr. André Bondi, Senior Staff Engineer at Siemens Corporation, Corporate Technology in Princeton will give a talk entitled “Methods and Processes for Ensuring the Performance of Software Systems”.  An abstract of his talk can be found below.

Please join CS faculty and students in Forcina Hall 408 from 12:30 – 1:30 PM for this talk.  Pizza and refreshments will be provided.

Abstract:
Performance is an essential and desirable attribute of any software system. Poor performance is a frequent cause of project failure, and can render a system difficult and undesirable to use. Despite this, it is often treated as an afterthought at many stages of the software lifecycle. The painful rollout of a well-known public web-based system in October 2013 underscores the resulting perils. In this talk, we discuss the role of various performance engineering techniques in ensuring the suitable performance of a software system. The choice of performance metrics is crucial to the development of testable performance requirements. The performance requirements influence architectural and technology choices for implementation. Performance models can aid in the planning of performance tests to verify that performance requirements have been met, while informing design and architectural choices that affect system performance and scalability. In this talk, we describe a performance engineering process and its role in the software lifecycle. We illustrate the talk with examples of the interpretation of performance test data in the context of performance models.

Bio:
André Bondi is a Senior Staff Engineer working in performance software and systems engineering at Siemens Corp., Corporate Technologies in Princeton. His book on performance engineering, Foundations of Software and Systems Performance Engineering: Process, Performance Modeling, Requirements, Testing, Scalability, and Practice was published by Addison-Wesley in August 2014. Dr. Bondi has worked on performance issues in several domains of application, including telecommunications, conveyor systems, financial systems, medical systems, railway control, building surveillance and management, and network management. He has developed and taught corporate training courses on performance requirements and performance engineering. Just prior to joining Siemens, he held senior performance positions at two startup companies. Before that, he spent more than ten years working on a variety of performance, standards, and operational issues at AT&T Labs and its predecessor, Bell Labs. He taught courses in performance, simulation, operating systems principles, and computer architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara for three years. Dr. Bondi holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in computer science from Purdue University, an M.Sc. in statistics from University College London, and a B.Sc. in mathematics from the University of Exeter. Dr. Bondi holds nine US patents.

Sad News for the CS Department

The Computer Science Department is deeply saddened to announce that Dr. Miroslav (Mike) Martinovic passed away on Tuesday, February 24 after a battle with cancer.  Dr. Martinovic has been a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science at TCNJ since 2000, and was chair of the department from Fall 2005 till Spring 2014. He is remembered fondly by faculty, students and staff as a valued colleague, teacher, mentor, advisor, and friend.

The viewing will be on Friday, February 27, 2015 at 11:30 a.m. followed by the funeral service at 12:30 p.m.
Location: Joseph A. Fluehr III Funeral Home, 800 Newtown-Richboro Rd., Richboro, PA, 18954.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Dr. Martinovic’s memory may be made to the American Brain Tumor Association, 8550 West Bryn Mawr Avenue, Suite 550, Chicago, IL, 60631.

The obituary has been posted on the website of Joseph A. Fluehr III Funeral Home (http://www.fluehr.com/obituaries/obituary/1694/).

You can see an article about him on the School of Science website at http://science.tcnj.edu/2012/01/01/dr-miroslav-mike-martinovic/.

Feel free to contact Dr. Pulimood (pulimood@tcnj.edu) or Ms. Zsilavetz (zsilave2@tcnj.edu) with questions.  Additionally, you may call the office at 609.771.2268.

Call for Computer Science Representatives


Interested in volunteering as a Computer Science Department Representative? There’s an app—lication for that!


The Computer Science Department is always looking for students who can assist with recruiting and departmental events throughout the academic year.

As a CS Volunteer, you can…

  • Serve as a peer-mentor for new or transfer students
  • Assist faculty with presentations and Q&A during Spring semester open houses and Accepted Students Day
  • Meet with prospective students to answer their questions about the CS Department and/or allow the student to shadow you for the day
  • Help with set-up for departmental events like colloquium and Commencement

When you fill out an application, make sure that you include your name, TCNJ email address, and the dates you’re available to assist.

If you’d like to help out with in-house set-up (for seminars or capstone presentations) as needed or can only be available for set-ups, please send your contact information to Ms. Zsilavetz at zsilave2@tcnj.edu.

Completed forms can be sent to zsilave2@tcnj.edu or dropped off in the Computer Science Office in Forcina 413. You’ll receive email or phone-call confirmation of the events you’ve been arranged to volunteer at as the semester progresses.

Celebration of Computing: December 3

Come join the Computer Science Department for the Fall 2014 Celebration of Computing on Wednesday, December 3 in Forcina Hall (fourth floor).

Lunch will be served between 11:30 AM and 1:00 PM outside the student lounge.

From 1:00 to 3:00 PM, students who are enrolled in a mentored research or internship experience will present their capstone posters, while students in the Mobile Computing class will present their projects. Make sure that you complete a student feedback form for the presentations you attend and deposit the forms in the boxes outside the Department Office (413) and Forcina 408 before you leave for the day.

Still not sure what to expect? You can email cs@tcnj.edu for more information.

Hope to see you there!

Computer Science Colloquium: November 7

The third Computer Science Colloquium of the semester will be held on Friday, November 7.  Mr. Shawn Sivy, Director of Networking & Technical Services at TCNJ, will give a talk entitled “This Is Not Your Home Network: Understanding the Design of the TCNJ Wireless and Wired Networks, How They Work, and How To Get the Most Out of Them”.

Please join CS faculty and students in Science Complex Room P101 from 12:30 – 1:30 PM for this talk.  Pizza and refreshments will be provided.

Summer Undergraduate Research Project Leads to a Peer-reviewed Publication

(The following article and faculty profile were written by Danielle Leng and published on the School of Science’s webpage)

During TCNJ’s Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE) 2014, Dr. Dimitris Papamichail worked together with computer science student Nathan Gould (’17) and biology student Oliver Hendy (’15) to study different computer programs that answer biological questions through the use of synthetic genes. Their summer-long efforts have culminated into a peer-reviewed paper that was published in the journal Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology.

Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary science, promoting the utilization of algorithms to create novel biological systems. By using computer biological models, scientists are able to further gene and protein research in terms of their structure and function and create novel drugs and vaccines. Specifically, Papamichail and his research students are looking into tools that aid the design of synthetic genes. Each tool utilizes different algorithms and provides varying lists of pros and cons.

Hendy and Gould were able to obtain experience researching the various computer programs, but also have their efforts showcased in a published paper. Their publication stems from Papamichail’s current research on improving algorithms for synthetic gene design.

– Danielle Leng

Internship Information Sessions

The Computer Science Department will be holding two informational sessions about internships this semester.

Dates and times are as follows:

Wednesday, 10/29, 12 – 1 PM

Wednesday, 11/5,  6 – 7 PM

Both sessions will be held in Forcina 408.

If you plan on applying for an internship at some point in your curriculum, you must attend one informational session prior to submitting your application.  Additional info sessions will be planned in future semesters.  (If you don’t plan to do an internship as a capstone experience, you do not need to attend a session.)

 

Computer Science Colloquium: October 24

The second Computer Science Colloquium of the semester will be held on Friday, October 24.  Mr. Matthew Tom-Wolverton (TCNJ ’10) of Tumblr will give a talk entitled “Behind the Scenes at Tumblr”.  An abstract of his talk can be found below.

Please join CS faculty and students in Education Building 113 from 12:30 – 1:30 PM for this talk.  Pizza and refreshments will be provided.

Abstract:
Curious about what it’s like to work on a site that has millions of users every day? I’ll give you a peek into life at Tumblr, my experiences scaling our advertising, and some of the other things I’ve done and learned here, as well as the journey of how I wound up here in the first place.

Bio:
From the early days programming BASIC on an Atari 800XL, to his college years (TCNJ Class of ’10!), to currently leading the Ads Engineering team at Tumblr, Matthew has always had a passion for building cool stuff. His tools of choice include PHP, vi, and the Canon 6D. http://wolf.tw/

Spring 2015 Registration Newsletter

 

Attention CS Major and Minor Students:

It’s that time of the year again! If you haven’t done so already, start thinking about registration for next semester.


Advising Window: October 28 – November 4

Note: some faculty members may offer advising appointments before the window begins, so check your email.

Registration Window: November 4 – 14


It is the policy of the CS department that all majors should meet with their academic advisors before registering for classes. A registration hold has been automatically placed on your account and will be removed after the advising meeting. Please watch for an email from your advisor asking you to make an advising appointment. Check PAWS for information on your advisor and registration date and time.

Please view the department’s registration newsletter regarding upcoming advising and registration windows.

You can view the department’s Spring 2015 Registration Newsletter here.


Couldn’t get into the courses you wanted?

Complete the CS Department’s Qualtrics Survey in order to get on the waiting list.

Don’t forget to fill out all of the required information!

CS Senior Scott Bouloutian presenting at ISVC 2014

Congratulations to Scott Bouloutian, a senior in the Computer Science department, for his accepted publication in the International Symposium on Visual Computing (ISVC)!  His research paper, titled “Artificial Intelligence Gaming Assistant for Google Glass”, is a continuation of his mentored research work and utilizes knowledge from several fields of computer science including, Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence, and Cloud Computing. His paper was accepted after being blind-refereed by three reviewers based upon accuracy and originality of ideas, clarity and significance of results, and presentation quality. Scott will be presenting a poster at the symposium in Las Vegas in December. Congratulations Scott!

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