October 19, 2012
On Friday, October 19th 2012, two teams of four students from NDSU's Computer Science department competed at the annual Digikey Collegiate Computing Competition held at the Digikey corporate headquarters in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Twelve universities from the region came to compete.

This competition tests Mathematics, computer programming, and problem solving skills in three separate sessions. This year, NDSU's team Pi Rho received third place, earning each team member a $100 gift card and the Computer Science department an award of $1000.

The team Pi Rho consisted of Zechariah Anderson, a Senior double majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics; Cesar Ramirez, a Senior majoring in Computer Science; Samuel Stutsman, a Junior majoring in Computer Science; and Justin Anderson, a Senior double majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics.

The team Dacodas ended up placing 11th place. Dacodas consisted of Cody Wass, a Senior double majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics; Joseph Ching, a Senior double majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics; Ankit Kumar, a Junior majoring in Computer Science, and Michael Teubner, a Senior majoring in Computer Science.

A full picture gallery of students and the event can be found here: Digikey Image Archive.

August 10, 2012
Richard Dale Rummelt passed away suddenly on August 10, 2012. Richard was born on September 30, 1956 in Greenville, Michigan to Herman (who preceded him in death) and Judith Rummelt.

He leaves behind his beloved wife, Li and son, Long. He is additionally survived by his mother, Judy and brother, Herman; nephews, Brent Rummelt, Nick Rummelt, and Ryan Rummelt; nieces, Teagan Rummelt, and twins, Samantha and Sydney Rummelt.

Richard received a Bachelors and Masters degrees in Computer Science and Software Engineering from Grand Valley State University. At the time of his death, he was completing his Ph.D. at North Dakota State University (NDSU).

Richard was a senior lecturer in the computer science department at NDSU and was looking forward to teaching his classes this fall. He will be missed by his current and former students who rated him one of the best teachers at the University.

June 11, 2012
Information on courses offered by NDSU Distance and Continuing Education now can come directly to your iPhone or iPad. The new interactive mobile application, which has a variety of useful tools, has been recognized for excellence. The app received a 2012 Gold Addy Award in the Mobile Apps category from the American Advertising Federation of North Dakota.

Created through a collaboration of Distance and Continuing Education staff and a student employee, it is the first app in North Dakota created by NDSU staff and students for a university or college in the state. Ludvik Herrera, new media coordinator for Distance and Continuing Education, led the project. "The app was designed for anyone interested in taking Distance and Continuing Education Courses - NDSU faculty, staff and students and NDSU visitors such as parents and prospective students," Herrera explained, noting the app is intended to be intuitive and easy to use. "It has many tools of benefit to everyone in the community, from an interactive campus map that can tell you directions to specific offices, to parking lots or bus shelters. It also has a Quick Response decoder/reader that can be of help now that QR tags are used on many publications and marketing pieces."

Student employee Saumya Singh is a graduate student studying computer science and made significant contributions to the project, making it a fine example of the outstanding creativity and quality of work offered by NDSU students. "Developing the app was a huge learning experience as it gave me insight into iPhone operating system development," she said. "I had to start everything from scratch, and finally coming up with the app, as it is today, was really satisfying."

"Getting an award for the very first app I developed feels great," Singh said, suggesting the app's easy-to-use design is what makes it stand out. "It was an elaborate procedure, taking days of brain-storming to figure out the actual presentation of the app and how to make it more usable to the targeted audience," she said. "The usability and the presentation of the app appealed to the judges, and we got the award for it." The app is free and can be downloaded at http://ndsu.me/dceapp

May 31, 2012
FARGO - Jane Schuh always keeps a picture of her 5-year-old daughter in her office at North Dakota State University for inspiration. To the associate professor of microbiology, the little girl’s fearless cry says, “I am woman, hear me roar!”

Perhaps Samantha takes after her mother, a confident, outgoing asthma researcher and immunology professor. As a woman, Schuh is in the minority in her field. Yet she, along with fellow NDSU scientist Anne Denton, want girls to know research and technology isn’t just for men. Schuh says she’s encountered little gender-specific resistance in her career, and she’s grateful for those who helped make that possible. “I’m so thankful for the women who did what they had to do to be successful in science to blaze the trail for those of us who came after,” she says. Her interest in math, science and medicine started as a youth growing up in the tiny town of Sheldon, N.D.

Schuh’s father was a farmer and high school science teacher, and the majority of her nine siblings work in medical-related fields. The married Fargo mother of two always thought she’d be a doctor, but she credits a microbiology teacher for steering her toward research. “One day, she took me aside and said, ‘You know, I think you should go into microbiology. You could work for the CDC or something like that,’ ” Schuh says. She says research science fits her through and through, right down to her shoes – snake-print platform wedges on a recent Friday afternoon. “What I’m interested in is the questions,” she says.

In her work, Schuh focuses on finding asthma candidate genes or targets and studies what initiates the disease process early and shows up later. The AgriHealth Initiative she’s working on combines state resources with national programs to provide agriculture workers with health care, safety and disability. She’s also been instrumental in securing funding for new top-of-the-line equipment for the university. Now she helps guide her own students and provides them with opportunities to help further their own careers. “It’s probably the most rewarding thing that you do as a professor,” she says. This summer, three undergraduate students and three graduate students will be doing research in Schuh’s lab. “For an undergraduate student to be able to do research, really good, hands-on, finding-the-answers-to-problems research, is a fantastic opportunity,” she says.

Schuh, who also attended NDSU as an undergraduate and graduate student, received tenure last year and was named an assistant dean a few months ago.

She continues to learn from her students’ fresh perspectives and inquisitive minds.

“Even though most of my job is research, I’ve found that every time I teach the basic immunology class, I think of things in a new way that affects my research, too,” she says.

GET WITH THE PROGRAM

A couple buildings over from Schuh, Denton teaches classes such as bioinformatics and comparative programming languages. The associate professor of computer science says maybe 5 percent (at most) of her undergraduate students are women. “I find that really disappointing,” she says. “I don’t know where it comes from.” She says younger girls seem more open to math- and science-related fields but lose interest around middle school. “If girls stick with it, I think it’s a very good environment to be in,” Denton says. The Fargo woman encourages her own children as well as her classroom “kids” to learn programming.

Her 14-year-old son recently earned the guitar he wanted by completing a programming book. Now her 11-year-old daughter is building Web pages with her sights set on an e-reader. Denton, who grew up in Germany, started learning to program as a teenager. “I was lucky I was exposed to computers fairly early on,” she says. She originally went into physics – up to the Ph.D. level – but switched to computer science. In 2003, she completed a master’s in computer science and was hired at NDSU, where her husband also teaches. Why the change? In computer science, “it’s a lot easier to get jobs wherever you are or whatever your situation,” Denton says. However, it wasn’t as much of a switch as it may seem. “Even in physics, most of what I was doing was working with computers, programming computers,” she says.

Now she’s combining research and education to benefit her students. “Professors are the ones who, by definition, have to be at the cutting edge,” she says. Her data-driven work includes “smart farming” and plant genomics. Essentially, she makes mountains of data useful in real applications. She works with companies such as American Crystal Sugar, John Deere and RDO Equipment that rely on her findings. “They want to be really sure if I tell them something, they can make decisions based on it,” she says. During the summer, Denton gives students the opportunity to get real research experience.

Denton says there’s a misperception about technology jobs going abroad. “The reality is that in this area, people are desperately looking for people who can do programming,” she says. Even for those who aren’t interested in a career in IT, a programming background opens up so many doors, she says. Denton says she’s never regretted going into a male-dominated field. For her, it’s never been an issue. “If you can solve problems, you’ll get a job,” she says. “It’s as simple as that.”

April 25, 2012
The department was just awarded membership of the STARS (Students & Technology in Academia, Research & Service) Alliance for the 2012-2013 academic year. The mission of the STARS Alliance is to increase the participation of women, under-represented minorities, and persons with disabilities in computing disciplines through multi-faceted interventions. The STARS Alliance is a group of 20 colleges and universities and 88 regional partners. A few of the STARS Alliance activities include developing a STARS Leadership Corps (SLC) as a multi-year curricular program that catalyzes regional partnerships through the tiered participation of students, professionals, and educators in research and civic engagement and also to advance faculty through SLC participation and mentoring. Dr. Simone Ludwig, Associate Professor, and Joan Krush, Advisor/Lecturer, serve as academic liaisons for the STARS Alliance.

April 2012
NDSU junior Zechariah Andersen is among 282 awardees nation­wide selected for the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships for the 2012-13 academic year. He is a Computer Science undergraduate student of Dr. Saeed Salem.

The scholarship is awarded annually to college sophomores and juniors and covers the cost of tuition, housing, fees and books up to $7,500 per year. Students are nominated by faculty members and selected through an independent review process. Andersen is the sole North Dakota University System student to receive the scholarship in 2012.

“I’m honored to receive this scholarship,” Andersen said. “The best feeling was seeing myself on a list of students from top-tier universities like MIT and Stanford.”

Andersen is a native of Velva, N.D., majoring in mathematics and computer science, with plans to pursue a graduate degree. He is vice chair of the NDSU Association for Computing Machinery.

Andersen also participates in the Ronald E. McNair Scholarship Program, which is intended to help undergraduate students achieve academic success and increase the number of professors from traditionally under-represented populations.

Established by Congress in 1986, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was created to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences or engineering to foster excellence in those fields.

March 7, 2012
Adam Helsene, Systems administrator of the computer science department, received the NDSU Campus Kudos Award on March 7, 2012. Nancy Lilleberg, Information Technologies Service, read the nomination she submitted for Adam. Dr. Brian Slator was also present to participate in the award. Campus Kudos is a certificate of appreciation for anyone on campus including students, staff, and faculty (all-inclusive). The certificate is issued as a heart-felt thanks for contributions to campus and the people on campus. Staff Senate sponsors this program to encourage NDSU employees to recognize co-workers when they exhibit one or more of the following valued behaviors:

• 1. Customer Service
• 2. Continuous Improvement
• 3. Teamwork
• 4. Integrity
• 5. Quality

Campus Kudos recipients receive a coffee cart gift certificate, which may be redeemed at either the Minard Hall or Memorial Union Coffee Carts. The NDSU Bookstore also recognizes Campus Kudos recipients with a $10 gift certificate to the NDSU Bookstore.

February 22, 2012
Twenty-four faculty have been awarded Mentor Relationship Travel Grants through the FORWARD project. The grants offset the costs of meeting with mentors from outside NDSU to build long-term professional mentoring relationships. Some grants are used by NDSU faculty to travel to meet with mentors, and others are used to bring a mentor to NDSU.

Donna Grandbois, assistant professor of nursing, will use her funding to take part in the third annual Health Equity Leadership Institute: Building Collaborative Research Teams, facilitated by her mentor, Jared Jobe, former program manager at the National Institutes of Health. Jobe is a founding member of the National Institutes of Health's American Indian-Alaska Native Employee Council and the institute's Community-Based Participatory Research Scientific Interest Group. The institute is an intensive weeklong "research boot camp" focused on helping investigators, particularly investigators from underrepresented populations, engage in health equity research to achieve research funding through the National Institutes of Health.

With her funding, Simone Ludwig, associate professor of computer science, will meet this summer with her mentor, Wolfgang Banzhaf, professor of computer science at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, a leading authority in the field of genetic programming and evolutionary computation. Banzhaf and Ludwig will develop steps to advance her career and her research program in evolutionary computation and swarm intelligence.

Elizabeth Birmingham and Amy Rupiper Taggart, associate professor of English, will use their funding to travel to Philadelphia in May to participate in the 2012 Rhetoric Society of America Career Retreat for Associate Professors in conjunction with the society's conference. At the retreat, Birmingham and Taggart will work with senior members of the society serving as career mentors to analyze their current curriculum vita and develop an action plan to achieve promotion to full professor. This opportunity also will enhance the peer mentoring Rupiper Taggart and Birmingham engage in through NDSU FORWARD's mid-career mentoring program.

Other recipients for Mentor Relationship Travel Grants for 2011-12 include Senay Simsek and Kim Vonnahme from the College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources; Kjersten Nelson, Amy O'Connor, Kathryn Samuels, Courtney Waid-Lindberg and Christina Weber from the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science; Rajani Pillai from the College of Business; Stevie Famulari, Sumathy Krishnan, Annie Tangpong, Joan Vonderbruggen and Yechun Wang from the College of Engineering and Architecture; Kristen Benson, Elizabeth Erichsen, Jooyeon Ha, Christi McGeorge and Sherri Stastny from the College of Human Development and Education; and Hyunsook Do and Juan Li from the College of Science and Mathematics.