New Hire/Promotion

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has named Jamie Payton, professor and chair of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at Temple University, to lead its Ying Wu College of Computing (YWCC) as dean beginning July 1.

YWCC is presently the largest college at NJIT and is a key element of NJITs drive to become a nexus of innovation under its new strategic plan. Its three departments, Computer Science, Data Science and Informatics, prepare students to enter burgeoning fields that also are research priorities of NJIT, such as software engineering, cybersecurity, information technology and artificial intelligence.

Dean Payton will help create and advance a renewed, forward-looking vision for Ying Wu, NJIT President Teik C. Lim said. This vision will build upon our new strategic plan, the colleges strengths and its commitments to student success, impactful research and innovation.

As dean, Dr. Payton will be charged with supporting the 2030 strategic plan by driving enrollment growth; deepening research and curricular partnerships with NJITs other colleges; further diversifying the student body, faculty and staff; and managing relationships with alumni, donors and corporations. The hire comes a month after NJIT unveiled a strategic plan that aims to make the university a nexus of innovation to serve the students of the future.

Im excited about leading the Ying Wu College of Computing into its next chapter, building on its strengths and prior successes, and bringing a fresh perspective and experience in fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in computing, Payton said.

As a chair at Temple, Payton launched new degree programs including the first online masters in its College of Science and Technology, in information science and technology and became a national leader in initiatives that aim to introduce underrepresented students to computing and STEM, including providing K-12 and college students with learning opportunities around AI. To that end, she serves as the principal investigator and director of the STARS Computing Corps Alliance for Broadening Participation in Computing, which has been supported by more than $10 million from the National Science Foundation, and as co-principal investigator and director of broadening participation of the INVITE AI Institute, whose research is backed by a $19.5 million grant from the NSF.

Also at Temple, Payton led the development of a strategic plan to further diversify the pool of students pursuing computer-focused degrees. Core to that plan was an Inclusive Teaching Summit, new mentoring processes and a revision to the peer teaching review process.

I am thrilled that Professor Payton will be joining us as the next dean of the Ying Wu College of Computing, said NJIT Provost John Pelesko, to whom Payton will report. Professor Payton brings tremendous leadership experience to the role as well as a major national presence in broadening participation in computing. I look forward to working with her as we write the next chapter in the history of YWCC.

Pelesko led the search that attracted Payton, who has worked at Temple since 2016. She holds three degrees in computer science: a Ph.D. and masters from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelors from The University of Tulsa in Oklahoma.

Earlier in her career, Payton was a faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The research projects for which she has been principal investigator or co-principal investigator have been supported collectively by more than $40 million in external funding.

NJITs search also involved a committee of 15 administrators, educators and staffers and the advisory firm WittKieffer.

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Temple University Professor to Lead NJIT's College of Computing - njbmagazine.com

On Friday, April 26th, 29 computer science alumni judged current students' senior capstone projects at the Engineering Projects Expo.

Spending half an hour with three different groups, the judges provided insight as professionals into the students' presentations, their demos and their underlying code architecture.

Ryan Dowell (CompSci'11), who works for industrial textile machine company Melco, said he was impressed by the scale and variety of projects created by the students in partnership with their capstone clients.

"When I took the capstone course," Dowell said, "the biggest benefit was understanding the difference between something academic and something commercially-focused. The capstone meant a lot to me and helped me understand a lot. I hope it helps them understand where things go from here."

For Erika Bailon (CompSci'20) the event brought nostalgia.

"I remember the days I was working on this," she said. "It's amazing to see how everything is evolving and how the students are working together in a really good way."

Bailon, who works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said she hoped that by being a judge, she could help show that women have a voice in computer science.

"I remember so many times when I wanted to give up on this, and I didn't do it because I knew that there were people like me who made it, so I could do it too," she said.

Derek Rieger (CompSci'99), who works for Accelerate Learning, said it was an enjoyable experience on several levels. He said he was inspired by the students and their passion.

"It's easy to say, 'oh, I don't have time to judge' but it's worthwhile to be able to do stuff like this. I know not everyone can, but if you can create the margin for it, I would absolutely encourage you to do so," he said.

Original post:

Computer science alumni judge senior capstones, provide insight to students - University of Colorado Boulder

April 29, 2024

Collin Garmons interest and aptitude for math led him to a double major and degrees in both Mathematics and Applied Statistics from the College of Engineering and Sciences at Purdue University Northwest (PNW).

Garmon realized in first grade that he was good at math; by third grade he was taking advanced math classes and in middle school and high school was competing in math competitions. That passion for numbers led him to PNW and a major in mathematics. He added a second major in Applied Statistics after taking a few classes on the subject sparked his interest.

Garmon was a member of PNWs Honors College, a teaching assistant for algebra courses, a tutor in math and statistics and a Nils Nelson Endowed Scholarship recipient. During his time at the university, he participated in a research assistantship with Grethe Hystad, associate professor of statistics, where he conducted research using R, a computer programming language for statistical computing.

He will be listed as a co-author, along with Hystad, on a research paper to be published later this year detailing a study and findings on using machine learning to determine the biogenicity of samples obtained from pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and finding the best machine learning method for the process. The article will also interpret the features that are responsible for distinguishing biotic from abiotic samples.

At the Geographic Society of Americas 2023 conference, Garmon presented a poster on that research entitled, Applying Machine Learning for Molecular Biosignatures Detection. He also participated in the 2024 Days of Discovery presenting a poster on the same topic.

After graduation, Garmon plans to continue his education in mathematics. He has been applying to graduate programs with the goal of earning a doctorate in the field. While his ultimate goal is to teach, he admits there is a lot of interesting advanced math out there, including abstract algebra which is an area of research he might consider.

It was my passion for mathematics, more than other subjects, that led me to major in it. Its really quite interesting to me. I have always had a knack for numbers and they just seem to connect very nicely in my brain. I like seeing how all the numbers work together to create and explain different things. Statistics is nice to use math and numbers to try to explain certain phenomena, although my greater interest is mathematics.

The diversity of the student body, the great faculty and the smaller class sizes are a few of the great things about this university. The faculty are more than willing to help you succeed and the smaller class sizes make it much easier to make connections.

Dont be afraid to ask for help...Faculty are always very helpful as well. If youre reaching out for help that shows you want to succeed.

Collin Garmon, 24, Mathematics and Applied Statistics

The experience I was able to get as a tutor, student researcher, supplemental instruction leader and an Honors College student have all helped me grow professionally and academically. Ive also been able to improve my communications and time management skills.

I had a computer science minor which I dropped. I took a class in programming languages and didnt do well in that course. Part of the problem was I put things off a little too long and didnt ask for help sooner. I learned I needed to stay on top of things, not to procrastinate and to ask for help more often. It also helped me realize I wasnt as interested in studying advanced topics in computer science and that helped guide me to the subjects I am interested in. It was a bit of a stressful experience but a necessary part of growing and learning about yourself.

Dont be afraid to ask for help. PNW has a tutoring service and for some courses, supplemental instruction. Faculty are always very helpful as well. If youre reaching out for help that shows you want to succeed.

The faculty in the Mathematics and Statistics Department.

Its difficult to name just one. The faculty in math and stats are all very approachable and very good at teaching their subject matter. They helped me improve my mathematical maturity, transitioning from more computational-based to more theoretical math. The statistics courses and research helped me see exactly what data can say about many things.

assistant professor of Practice and director of PNWs Writing Center

Professor Triller helped me grow as a writer and Professor Augustyn helped me grow as a reader, which are very important skills to have.

See the article here:

Calculating the future: Meet 2024 PNW graduate Collin Garmon - Purdue University Northwest

This broader community of collaborators and contemporaries included software engineer Cicely Popplewell, who, Fancher writes, was hired as an assistant to Turing but she had a long career and deep expertise especially with early computer programming. Theres also gay men, such as Christopher Strachey, whose excitement for gaming, artificial intelligence and how computers may someday express emotion kept him up at night.

For scholars who study technical writing and the history of computers, my book adds an element of intimacy and care, said Fancher, who has a PhD in rhetoric from Clemson University and has been teaching writing at UCSB since 2014. For my feminist and queer theory colleagues, I hope my book will open up new directions for research queer feminist communities are located in some unexpected places, including STEM fields that we associate with being very male-dominated and heteronormative.

Fancher will share research methods and highlights and field questions about the book starting at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 3, at the West Conference Center. The event is free and open to the public.

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New book explores gay, queer and feminist community at the heart of early advances in computer science - The UCSB Current

A new project aims to turn a dozen Maine school districts into regional computer science hubs that will train neighboring districts how to prepare students for the modern workforce.

The Maine Mathematics and Science Alliancehas received an $8.2 million grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation to train about 1,000 educators in the state and reach 20,000 students over the next five years. Some of the teachers will tour businesses relying on computer science and find ways to fuse the discipline with their classroom lessons. Those might include activities where elementary students learn the basics of algorithms or programmotorized Lego blocks.

The Augusta-based nonprofit hopes those involved in the regional hubs will train 30 districts over the next five years.

The STEM Workforce Readyproject builds on Maines efforts to expand computer science education across grade levels, which includes sending more than 1,000 mobile labs for coding, robotics and other subjects to 166 districts since mid-2022. As more industries rely on technology, students need to be equipped with relevant skills to contribute to the workforce, said Ruth Kermish-Allen, executive director at the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance.

Were trying to open up an understanding of what the future STEM workforce in rural Maine is going to look like and the kinds of skills needed for those roles, she said.

The project isnt about getting more computers into rural schools, but rather leveraging technology to learn in more engaging ways that align with a modern workforce, she said. That will prepare students for jobs ranging from engineering at Texas Instruments to running saw mills at Hammond Lumber Co.

Jennifer Trowbridge, who teaches fourth grade at Ellsworth Elementary Middle School, is among the educators experimenting with how to build more computer science into everyday lessons. Her students are particularly drawn to Sphero indi, a robotic toy car that uses colored tiles to teach students how to give instructions to a computer. They are tasked with telling the car to speed up or slow down, travel a certain distance and drive around a table.

Trowbridge likes seeing her students get excited about using various tools because even when a problem is difficult to solve, they are motivated to find answers rather than intimidated by a task. Thats a skill that theyll need as they go through life, and its important to develop it early on, she said.

One of the biggest benefits to doing this is letting kids be problem solvers, she said. Dont just let the computer solve the problem for me, but figure out how to use the computer to help me solve the problem.

Eighth-grade students in Bar Harbor made a 3D mitochondria cell out of styrofoam, then programmed different parts to light up as ribosomes travel through the cell, Kermish-Allen said. In Bethel, a kindergarten class was given a grid with different characters. By drawing arrows pointing up, down, left and right, they had to demonstrate how a money bag would get to each character, which was a simplified way of writing an algorithm.

Businesses arent necessarily looking for young people who are experts in coding, but they want people who can think critically, solve problems and collaborate, which is what these activities are designed to do, she said.

The Maine Mathematics and Science Allianceswork on the project began before the COVID-19 pandemic, when the organization received a small grant from the National Science Foundation to study how computer science could take off in Maines rural schools, where resources and funding for a position dedicated to STEM or computer science tends to be limited.

More urban parts of the state, like Bangor and Portland, have bigger tax bases and resources that allow their students more opportunities. But some rural communities havent had any access to computer science in their classrooms, Kermish-Allen said.

It was a topic that other states were doing work on, but it was minimally researched and understood in Maine, Kermish-Allen said. We knew we needed to find ways to integrate computer science into the existing curriculum.

In 2021, the organization used a $1 million grantfrom the Harold Alfond Foundation to dive into solutions. About 40 teachers met in-person and virtually to look at how schools around the country have incorporated computer science into their curriculum. Then they designed their own lessons for students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and began testing them.

The program, which launches this summer, will expand those efforts by training more teachers and including high school students. There will be 50 lead educators who will be responsible for training 1,000 others over the next five years.

Seven school districts in Bethel, Ellsworth, Lincoln, Mount Desert Island, Rangeley, Rumford and Turner have committed to becoming regional hubs that will train from two to three nearby districts over time.

Educators will network, share ideas and participate in workshops during a CS Summer of Funevent from July 29 through Aug. 2 at the University of Maine in Orono. The Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance and Portland-based Educate Maine are hosting the week of professional development.

Educate Maine is also organizing trips for teachers to visit employers around the state, which are likely to start in October. They will tour the facilities and hear from leaders about the qualities and skills theyre looking for when hiring. Some teachers may even be assigned to a company for a two-week externship where they shadow workers and find a way to use what theyve learned in the classroom, said Angela Oechslie, a program director at Educate Maine.

Access to computer science in K-12 classrooms levels the playing field for students, increases their confidence and gives them a pathway to good jobs in Maine, she said.

As the project evolves, the idea is to make a lesson plan that works in Ellsworth accessible to a teacher in Presque Isle so nobody needs to reinvent the wheel, Kermish-Allen noted.

We hope this project is an initial step in whats going to become a much larger initiative for reform across the state, she said. We see this growing over time.

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The $8M project bringing computer science teaching to Maine's rural schools - Bangor Daily News