Attention CIT Students: If you have not yet formed or joined a group for your Spring or Summer 2010 Capstone presentation, please contact Neva Deutsch at 860-832-2710 or deutschgem@ccsu.edu as soon as possible. Please include your concentration (CET or CS) and interests for the project. Thank you.

Department of Computer Science will offer a section of CS 290 titled Secrecy: Science and Fiction in the Spring 2010 semester. The main focus of this course is cryptology, its evolution from ancient times to today, as well as the portrayal of cryptology and cryptographers in fiction and literature. Check out the course wiki for more details.

Conning’s undergraduate summer internship program will run between May through August. The area supervisor will be responsible for providing hands-on, technical work experience and mentoring relationship to the student. Deadline for resumes is Friday, March 27, 2009. The individual hired for an IT internship should have excellent writing and analysis skills, knowledge of Microsoft SQL 2005 and Visio 2003 would be helpful but not required.

Announcement

HYPACK, Inc. is looking for two computer programmers for paid Summer internships.

• Ideal candidates are students who have completed their junior year
• Coursework in C++ or another programming language
• The pay will be $15/hour (before withholding)
• 30-40 hours per week for at least 8 weeks (longer if student is able)
• A notebook computer will be provided (if needed)
• Each position will have a mentor

Contact: Mr. Pat Sanders at pat@hypack.com

Company website: www.hypack.com

ETS is a standardized comprehensive test for Computer Science students. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) conducts these tests nationally. This test is mandatory for all CS-Honors students and is required for graduation.

ETS exam announcement

Working with his family and friends, Central Connecticut State University has established a fund in honor of Brian M. O’Connell, a professor in CCSU’s computer science and philosophy departments who passed away in May 2008.

Official site

Fall 2008 issue of Threads, a newsletter published by the Computer Science Department is now available.

Threads (Fall 2008)

Brian M. O'Connell, Esq., 47, of West Hartford, died Wednesday, (May 21, 2008) at his home. He leaves his wife Sarah Cox. Born in Wethersfield to the late Robert F. and Elizabeth (Shannon) O'Connell he lived in the Hartford area all his life. He graduated from Northwest Catholic High School, Trinity College, and the UCONN School of Law. He practiced law in the Hartford area from 1987 to 1996 and was a professor in computer science and philosophy at Central Connecticut State University. He founded the Young Democrats of West Hartford, and was a member of DeMolay, IEEE, and the Connecticut Bar Assoc. He loved his students, his friends, reading, music, robots, and rocketry. Friends may call on Sunday, May 25, from 3-6 p.m. at the Molloy Funeral Home, 906 Farmington Ave., West Hartford. Donations in his memory may be made to www.alleycat.org. Messages of sympathy and condolences may be made at www.molloyfuneralhome.com

Dr. Zdravko Markov has been named co-principal investigator on a $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project involves developing, implementing, and testing curricular materials that teach core Artificial Intelligence topics using a unifying theme of machine learning. Machine learning involves developing systems or programs that improve on their performance based on experience.

CCSU news announcement

Drs. Kurkovsky and Kjell, together with Dr. Gotchev from the Department of Mathematics and Dr. Sharma from the department of Physics, received a nearly half million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation program Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM). Beginning in the fall 2007, this grant will fund scholarships for academically talented but financially needy students majoring in computer science, mathematics, or physics. Scholarships provided through this program will pay up to $5,200 per year for up to four years.

Scholarship program web site