Regional Advisor Recognition

Sharlyn Gunderson-Izurieta, who is a part-time Computer Science advisor, received a Certificate of Merit in the New Advisor category from NACADA (National Academic Advising Association).  Our NACADA region includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, British Columbia and Alberta.  Congratulations Sharlyn! [December 2014]

2015-2016 Computer Science Scholarships

If you are a computer science major, please consider applying for one or more of the CS scholarships that are available for Academic Year 2015-2016.  The application deadline is February 6, 2015.  More information.  [December 2014]

Ressmeyer Computer Science Scholarship

A new $1000 scholarship opportunity is available to undergraduate students in the 2015-2015 school year thanks to the generosity of Don and Susan Ressmeyer.  Don is a Montana State University graduate who has spent more than 20 years in the mobile phone industry.  More information.  [December 2014]

NCWIT Extension Services for Undergraduate Programs NSF Cohort

Our department received a two year mini-grant from the National Center for Women in Information Technology, NCWIT.  During 2015 and 2016, we will receive expert guidance from NCWIT to help us better attract and retain more women in computer science.  An Extension Services Consultant will visit in January to help launch the project.  [November 2014]

2014 ACM Regional Contest

Two teams of Montana State Computer Science students competed at The Colorado School of Mines site of the ACM Regional Programming Contest on Saturday, November 8th.  Out of 13 teams, the Montana State teams finished 3rd (Jacob Barthelmeh, Alex Huleatt, Leah Thompson) and 4th (Stuart Dilts, Bridger Howell, Sage Smith).  Each team solved two problems.  Congratulations! [November 2014]

Spring 2015 Special Offerings

  • CSCI 441, Computer Graphics will be taught by John Allwine.  John previously worked for DreamWorks Animation, creating all of the drool scenes for the movie, How to Train Your Dragon.
  • CSCI 476, Computer Security will be taught by Eric Fulton.  Eric is an ethical hacker who companies hire to identify and fix security flaws.
  • CSCI 246, Discrete Structures will be taught by Brendan Mumey.
  • CS 204, Multimedia Development Methods will be taught by Hunter Lloyd.  Blender is used to create short stories.
  • CSCI 442, Robot Vision will be taught by Hunter Lloyd.  NAO robots are used.

2014 Grace Hopper Conference

14 Montana State Computer Science students attended the 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference: Ashley Bertrand, Kierstyn Brandt, Russell Ericksen, Agata Gruza, Karen Igo, MacKenzie O'Bleness, Kelsey O'Keefe, Lisa Peters, Emily Rohrbough, Janette Rounds, Hannah Schuele, Tia Smith and Megan Weller.  Workiva and 3M each generously supported three students.  The CS Department was a bronze level academic sponsor of the conference; John Paxton and Jessi Smith (Psychology) staffed the department's booth.  Photos.  [October 2014]

Homecoming Awards

Larry Hattery, a 1984 graduate of the Computer Science Department,  was inducted into the College of Engineering's Academy of Distinguished Alumni for his contributions and leadership at TriplePoint Incorporated.  Chris Nelson was named an Honorary Alumni for founding and building Zoot Enterprises.  Congratulations to both!  [September 2014]

IEEE AUTOTESTCON Runner-Up Best Student Paper

For the fourth year in a row, computer science student research has been recognized and honored at IEEE AUTOTESTCON, the leading conference focused on new technologies and techniques for automatic test systems. Houston King and Nathan Fortier, two graduate students advised by Dr. John Sheppard and members of Dr. Sheppard's Numerical Intelligent Systems Laboratory (NISL), received the runner-up Best Student Paper award for their paper titled, "An AI-ESTATE Conformant Interface for Net-Centric Diagnostic and Prognostic Reasoning," which was based on work NISL has been performing for the US Navy. The paper was presented by Houston King at IEEE AUTOTESTCON, held this year in St. Louis, MO. [September 2014]

MSU Strategic Plan Contributions

The 2014 Strategic Plan Progress Report mentions two of our department's contributions.  Under Access, the team-taught, dual enrollment Joy and Beauty of Computing class at Bozeman High School is listed as a success.  Under Stewardship, the EPS 254 remodel into a functional, aesthetic student workspace is listed as a success.  [September 2014]

ACM Local Programming Contest

The contest takes place the evening of Friday, September 26th.  Teams of three students work together to solve as many problems as possible during a five hour period.  The contest is generously sponsored by Golden Helix.  The winning team will represent MSU at the ACM Regional Programming Contest in late October.  More information.  [September 2014]

FY 2014 Research Expenditures

From July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014, the CS Department contributed more than $600,000 to the MSU Research Enterprise.  Congratulations to all faculty, staff and students who made this possible! [September 2014]

Fall 2014 Extra Course Offerings

The CS Department is pleased to offer the following Fall Semester 2014 courses, thanks to funding received from the Provost's Office.  The courses were added to the Schedule of Classes on July 15th. [July 2014]

  • CSCI 112, Programming with C, 3 credits
  • CSCI 232, Data Structures and Algorithms, 4 credits

NASA Phase 2 STTR

The Numerical Intelligent Systems Laboratory, under the direction of Dr. John Sheppard, has been selected for a NASA Phase 2 STTR. MSU will receive $284K from NASA's Johnson Space Center for research performed over two years. This project continues work completed previously under a Phase 1 STTR, developing algorithms and tools for probabilistic hazard analysis and risk mitigation of spaceflight systems. The goal of this research is to support mission management teams and flight crews in identifying, quantifying, characterizing, and mitigating risks in spaceflight operations before hazardous conditions arise. [August 2014]

Study Abroad Course in Germany

13 Montana State University students and 6 Hochschule Ravensburg-Weingarten students are participating in a problem solving course being offered by the CS Department.  The course is being conducted at Hochschule Ravensburg-Weingarten in the Lake Constance area of Germany during the first six week summer session.  If you read German, this article provides additional details.  [May 2014]

Student Success Project

Brendan Mumey has received $20K from the Provost's Office to apply sequence analysis methods from computational biology to examine MSU student transcript and graduation data.  The goal is to determine if improvements can be made in course sequencing and student advising in order to bolster student success and graduation rates.  Ph.D. student Sean Yaw will assist.  Congratulations!  [May 2014]

2014 Summer REU Program

The CS Department welcomes the following students who are participating in an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site entitled, Research in Networking and Networks with Applications to Sustainability.  This year's participants are Ben DeMeo (MA), Jenna Hoole (MA), Brooke Kelsey (CT), Emily McCorry (MA), Samuel Micka (WI), Natalie Pollard (SC), Emily Rohrbough (NE), Kayla Skundberg (MN), Josh Thelen (MT) and Hanlu Ye (CO).  The REU program is led by Professors Brendan Mumey and Clem Izurieta.  [May 2014]

Louis Schmittroth

Louis Schmittroth, who served as Montana State's inaugural Computer Science Department Head from 1968 - 1975, passed away at age 89 on April 26th.  His contributions to our department and to MSU are deeply appreciated.  Our condolences go out to his family and friends.  [May 2014]

Big Sky Dev Con

Big Sky Dev Con 2014 is scheduled for Saturday, June 7 in the EPS Building.  More information.  [April 2014]

2014 Awards Ceremony

The following people received recognition at the end-of-the-year Computer Science awards ceremony.  Outstanding Teaching Assistant: Eben Howard, Outstanding Ph.D. Researcher: Liessman Sturlaugson, Outstanding Faculty Service: John Sheppard, Outstanding Faculty Research: Qing Yang, Student Selected Professor of the Year: Hunter Lloyd.  Congratulations!  [April 2014]

CS Faculty Candidate: Eric Rozier

A big welcome to Dr. Eric Rozier who visits campus on Monday, April 7th.  Dr. Rozier earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.  He presents a brief teaching demonstration at noon in EPS 126, followed by lunch with CS students in our conference room.  Dr. Rozier gives a public research seminar at 4:10 p.m. in EPS 108.  The seminar is entitled Defending Data from Digital Disasters: Engineering Next Generation Systems for Emerging Problems in Data Science.  [April 2014]

CS Faculty Candidate: Kristin Rozier

A big welcome to Dr. Kristin Rozier who visits campus on Friday, March 28th.  Dr. Rozier earned a Ph.D. from Rice University.  She presents a brief teaching demonstration at noon in EPS 126, followed by lunch with CS students in our conference room.  Dr. Rozier gives a public research seminar at 4:10 p.m. in Roberts 102.  The seminar is entitled Advances in Linear Temporal Logic Translation: Ensuring the Safety of Safety-Critical Aeronautical Systems.  [March 2014]

CS Faculty Candidate: Margareta Ackerman

A big welcome to Dr. Margareta Ackerman who visits campus on Monday, March 17th.  Dr. Ackerman earned a Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo.  She presents a brief teaching demonstration at noon in EPS 126, followed by lunch with CS students in our conference room.  Dr. Ackerman gives a public research seminar at 4:10 p.m. in 108 EPS.  The seminar is entitled Formal Foundations of Clustering.  [March 2014]

CS Student Success Center Grand Opening

Our remodel of EPS 254 into a Japanese-themed, student success center is complete.  Please help us celebrate by attending our Grand Opening on Friday, February 28th.  An open house runs from 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. that includes a program at 4:15 p.m.  MSU News Article.  [February 2014]

CS Faculty Candidate: Bowen Hui

A big welcome to Dr. Bowen Hui who visits campus on Friday, February 28th.  Dr. Hui earned a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto.  She presents a brief teaching demonstration at noon in the CS Conference Room, followed by lunch with CS students.  Dr. Hui gives a public research seminar at 2:10 p.m. in 102 Roberts Hall.  The seminar is entitled Intelligent User Interfaces: Where HCI Meets AI.  [February 2014]

Poster Exhibition

On Friday, February 21st, 12 Computer Science graduate students displayed posters of their research in the EPS Atrium.  Serving as judges were members of the department's advisory board.  Golden Helix provided generous prizes.  Sean Yaw, advised by Brendan Mumey, was awarded first place for a poster entitled Non-Preemptive Peak Demand Job Scheduling.  Guangchi Liu, advised by Qing Yang, took second for a poster entitled Assessment of Multi-Hop Interpersonal Trust in Social Networks by Three-Valued Subjective Logic.  Melissa Dale, advised by Clem Izurieta, took third for a poster entitled Design Pattern Grime and its Impact on Technical Debt.  [February 2014]

Bozeman High Dual Enrollment Course

The Computer Science Department is involved in a team-taught, dual enrollment course at Bozeman High School this semester.  Bozeman Daily Chronicle Article,  MSU News Article.  [February 2014, May 2014].

Spring 2015 Graduation Application Change

Students who graduate with a B.S. degree in Spring 2015 or later will use DegreeWorks to file for graduation instead of the current paper method.  Spring 2015 graduates should file their graduation application during August or September of Fall Semester 2015.  Our certification officer, Hunter Lloyd, will communicate additional information as the time gets closer.  [February 2014]

MSGC Scholarships and Fellowships

Applications are due April 1, 2014.  Women and minorities are especially encouraged to apply: http://spacegrant.montana.edu/scholarshipFellowship.html [January 2014]

2014-2015 Computer Science Scholarships

If you are a computer science major, please consider applying for one or more of the CS scholarships that are available for Academic Year 2014-2015.  The application deadline is February 7, 2014.  More information.  [January 2014]