The Armstrong Atlantic Computer Science Department

At the level of the individual professor, personal issues are focused on. The issues include but are not limited to: pros and cons of being a professor, good and bad memorable experiences, time spent outside of class for class preparation, departmental responsibilities, and research.

At the level of the department as a component of the university, the issues focused on include but are not limited to: general change in the faculty of the department, class make-up, class size, future of the department, involvement with other departments, and student involvement in the department.

The AASU computer science department has experienced growth, and will continue to grow in future years. In the past, the growth was in relation to faculty size, as well as the addition of new departments such as information technology, engineering, and the graduate program in computer science. In the future, the department will grow in the area of student involvement, as well as the size of their facilities.

Professor Dr. Mark Burge is a well known faculty member of the computer science department at AASU. Dr. Burge has been recognized in the past with many rewards, recognitions, and titles. For this reason, Dr. Burge was asked to and agreed to contribute his recollections and thoughts to the author of this report.

Body

The AASU computer science department has changed during the last few years, and continues to change. A pattern of growth in various areas, which will be discussed herein, has changed the make-up of the department. This report focuses on the computer science department from 1999 to the present day.

The department will be analyzed, on two levels, one being from the personal standpoint of a computer science professor. The other level which the department will be analyzed from is the department as a whole, and as a component of the university. Twenty-five issues were chosen to analyze the department, some of which overlap the two afore mentioned levels. For this reason, the report will flow in an issue by issue format instead of addressing the personal level, and then the outer level.

Generally speaking, one word describes the changes which the computer science department has gone through since 1999, growth. In 1999, the department consisted of only four faculty members, and was the only computer oriented department on campus. Present day, the faculty consists of nine individuals. Also, an information technology department, an engineering department, and a graduate program in the area of computer science have conglomerated with the computer science department to form the school of computing.

Classes conducted by the department have changed a small amount in recent years.

Class size, class make-up, the number of classes offered, and the topics covered in those classes were researched. Of these four areas, only class size has remained the same since 1999.

Class size has remained approximately the same over the years, except in the area of the new graduate program. Class sizes in the graduate program usually run from four to eight students, while normal computer science courses contain twenty to thirty students. As far as the student make-up of the classes, not much has changed. Criteria of age, ethnicity, and interest in class were questioned, and all have remained about the same since 1999.

The number of classes offered has increased due to the increase in faculty members. With nine professors instead of four, the computer science department now offers a much larger number of courses each semester (A concrete figure was not able to be attained). Also, because of the increase in faculty the graduate program was started. Each professor, individual, has their own personal areas of interest. For this reason, a broader number of topics are able to be covered in classes. Dr. Burge, for instance, has interest in computer vision and computer graphics. Before Dr. Burge was at AASU, perhaps no other faculty member shared his knowledge of computer vision. The addition of a new faculty member broadens the department as a whole.

While the department is growing, there is one issue constraining the expansion, economy. The faculty has increased to a nine person staff; however, the staff will most likely remain at nine people for a good time, as the budget does not currently allow for the hiring of anymore new professors. The only changes which would be possible as far as faculty members are concerned would be the replacement of current staff members. While new faculty will not be hired in the near future, Dr. Paulius Micikevicius was hired this year, 2003. Dr. Micikevicius received his Ph.D. from the University of Central Florida in 2002. His dissertation explored parallel computing, computer graphics, and graph theory. (School of Computing) He is the advisor of the programming team, and was an active member of the programming team at UCF during his time there. UCF has been known at the regional tournament as one of the top teams during recent years.

Research is a component of holding a position in the computer science department at AASU. The growth of the computer science department, as well as the school of computing, contributes to research efforts across the university in a few ways.

First, an increase of faculty enables a professor to find a research partner more easily. Also, as mentioned above, new faculty members bring knowledge in different areas of study with them. In the area of research, the growth of AASU as a whole encourages research by professors. The computer science department cooperates with other departments on campus in research efforts. These departments include: information technology, engineering, graduate program for computer science, mathematics, and psychology. Information technology professors, as well as engineering professors, provide new points of view and methods to research. The computer science department also works hand in hand with the psychology department to decipher results from psychological studies. The computer science department works with the mathematics department to present a weekly colloquium. The colloquium is a talk presented by an AASU professor, or an acquaintance of a professor who is employed in industry, in a field related to either mathematics, computer science, information technology, or engineering. The lecture is open to all students and faculty of AASU. Lunch and refreshments, which are prepared by a volunteer chef, are served for a one dollar fee.

The computer science department is working to present new courses and new opportunities for students today. The department hopes to offer courses concerning cyber-security in the upcoming semesters. In addition to new course material, the department is looking to extend more scholarships to students with undergraduate status. Finally, the department is interested in offering research opportunities to undergraduate students. Research is good experience, and also builds interpersonal relationships with the faculty member the student would be working with. Also, student involvement would offer help for professors conducting research projects.

Along the lines of student involvement, the computer science department is active in on campus clubs. Two clubs which the department participates in heavily are the ACM, Association for Computing Machinery, and the AASU computer programming team.

The ACM is a computer science and information technology based organization which began in 1947. The organization's goal is to advance the skills of both professionals and students in the two mentioned fields. (ACM)

The programming team is a group of students who work together to solve computer science applications in a limited amount of time. The team is broken down into teams of three members or less, and each team is presented with a packet of problems to solve. At the end of the allotted time allowance, the teams are graded via a sophisticated grading system. The team with the highest score is the winner for the current session. Later in the academic year, the team competes in a regional tournament in which they battle with colleges from neighboring southeastern states. The team with the most victories in the on campus competitions represents AASU, while other additional teams from the university participate, but are not considered for placing in the tournament. If the team representing AASU places either first or second, the team is granted a spot in the international programming competition, which was held in Prague, Czech this year. The winner of the international programming competition is crowned world champion, for that calendar year.

While student involvement is encouraged, and faculty members would like more students to become involved in department activities and functions, the professors are busy people. With the addition of the graduate program, professors have new duties, such as managing graduate projects. Dr. Mark Burge is currently overseeing six graduate projects, and expects to manage two or three additional projects during the upcoming spring and summer semesters.

The growth in the department also has need of accommodations. Currently, the faculty members of the computer science department are spread across campus, in different buildings and office groups. Plans for a new building are in the works which will significantly help the computer science department in this area. The building is part of a project to erect a new library building, as well. Upon completion of the new facility, the computer science department will be able to relocate all faculty members to one building, which will increase interoffice communication. The department will benefit greatly from having all of their equipment, as well as personnel in one location. Also, having all of the equipment in one concentrated area will allow for easier student involvement. Currently, the building's projected construction cost is twenty-seven million dollars.

Dr. Mark Burge is an active faculty member of the department. Dr. Burge has been with the computer science department since 1999. He has studied in various countries, including the United States, Switzerland, Scotland, and Austria. Since 1987, Dr. Burge has been involved in academic study and research. He spent 1987 to 1990 attaining a Bachelor of Arts in computer science from Ohio Wesleyan University. He went on to complete the fifth year honors courses offered at the University of Aberdeen, in Scotland. After his undergraduate studies were completed, Dr. Burge continued his education by earning a Master of Science degree in computer science from Ohio State University. He then spent a number of years as a researcher at the Department of Computer Science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland as part of the Swiss Federal Commission for the Advancement of Scientific Research's Automatic Interpretation of Cadastral Maps project. He earned his doctorate degree in computer science at Johannes Kepler University in Austria while a research scientist in the Austrian Science Foundation's Robust and Adaptive Methods for Image Understanding research program. Later, he worked at Ohio State University as a post doctorate in their NASA Commercial Space Center's Image Understanding and Interpretation project. (Vision) Then in 1999, Dr. Burge came to AASU as an assistant professor of computer science.

For Dr. Burge, becoming a professor was a bit of a surprise. Since Dr. Burge had previously worked as a research scientist in an academic setting, he knew what his new job was going to be like. However, the amount of extra work outside of class surprised him. The extra work was not limited to grading papers, exams, and assignments. Preparing for class, as well as departmental and university responsibilities added to his workload. When asked how much time grading papers takes in relation to other time spent outside of class on planning, etc., Dr. Burge jokingly replied, "too much J." (Burge 17)

A few highpoints in Dr. Burge's time as a computer science professor include activities with the AASU chapter of the ACM. Earlier this year, Dr. Burge was awarded with the honor of serving as chair for the 41st ACM Southeast Conference, which was held at AASU. During the conference, Dr. Burge served as chair for the

Special Track on Handheld and Ubiquitous Computing. Dr. Burge teaches a course on handheld and ubiquitous computing at AASU. A few ACM activities which Dr. Burge enjoys are the high school quiz bowl, and working with undergraduate and graduate research projects in general. He adds, "I've taken students to conferences nationally and internationally and have always enjoyed how they presented themselves." (Burge 13)

As with any profession, pros and cons exist. While the extra work is a con, and the ACM activities serve as a pro for Dr. Burge, there are more positives and negatives in the line of work. While he notes he has had no memorable bad experiences, teaching is his favorite aspect of being a professor. "I like to see how students change over the semester," Dr. Burge says. (Burge 15) One tough aspect of his work, however, is assigning grades. Students work all semester long in a course in hopes of receiving a good mark. Alas, everyone cannot receive an "A."

As a department, and on the personal level of each professor, the AASU computer science department has grown since 1999, and continues to grow today. As the department continues to grow and contribute to the university as a whole, the faculty and student body involved with the department also benefit, via the activities and opportunities offered by the department. Also, the computer science department has become an integral component in certain activities of other departments on campus, such as the mathematics and psychology departments. The trend that has been evident the last few years looks to continue in the near future, bettering the computer science program as well as the new school of computing.

Appendix A - The Interview

Question 1

Robert: How has the computer science department at AASU changed since

you have been teaching here?

Dr. Burge: Growth. It has gone from four members to around nine in the department and around 30 in the entire school of computing... the school of computing, IT, and graduate program, did not even exist when I started.

Question 2

Robert: During your time teaching, has the student body/make-up of your classes changed much? Issues such as age, ethnicity, interest in class, etc.

Dr. Burge: No, not much change.

Question 3

Robert: How has class size changed during your time here?

Dr. Burge: Not much changed - some smaller classes, 4 - 8 students, in the

graduate program.

Question 4

Robert: Do you think the above mentioned changes/trends will continue to

snowball in the future?

Dr. Burge: Class size has not changed much, but the number of classes

offered has increased dramatically.

Question 5

Robert: From a research standpoint, has the amount/intensity of research

you do increased/decreased during your time here? How does the involvement of other professors/departments affect your research?

Dr. Burge: The increase in faculty makes it easier to find other faculty to work with.

Question 6

Robert: How does the addition of a new faculty member affect the

department? (Pros/cons)

Dr. Burge: Brings more experience and expertise to the program, enables us

to deliver a greater variety of courses and a greater number of courses each semester.

Question 7

Robert: Has working with other professors broadened your horizons, so to

speak?

Dr. Burge: Yes, we now have IT and engineering professors who can

approach problems in different ways.

Question 8

Robert: Generally, where is the CS department headed? Are there projects

or goals the department is working towards? Confidentiality is respected.

Dr. Burge: New courses on cyber-security, more scholarships and research

opportunities for undergraduates.

Question 9

Robert: Is being a professor different from what you thought it would be?

What surprised you about your profession once you were in it?

Dr. Burge: Yes and no, I worked for many years as a research scientist in an academic setting... the biggest surprise is the amount of extra work, outside of the classroom, which must be done - not just preparation and grading, but university and departmental responsibilities.

Question 10

Robert: Does the CS department work with other departments on campus

and if so, how much?

Dr. Burge: Work very closely with engineering and IT - work together on a

colloquium series with Math... conduct research together with the psychology department.

Question 11

Robert: Rumor has it that a new computing buildings is to be built in the

coming years, do you think the CS department will benefit from it?

Dr. Burge: The new building will be part of the new library building - we will benefit greatly from being able to put all our faculty in the same building - right now they are spread across campus... new labs for the students will make it easier for them to be involved in research.

Question 12

Robert: In many classes the professors promote their department in

attempts to draw students to change their major to that discipline. However, in my CS courses, the professors do not plug their department that much in my experience, do you have any idea why that may be the case?

Dr. Burge: I wasn't aware that other departments did this... I'll have to think about this question.

Question 13

Robert: Have you had any good memorable experiences concerning the

CS department?

Dr. Burge: I really like the ACM club activities - like the high school quiz bowl and enjoy all working with the undergraduate and graduate research projects... I've taken students to conferences nationally and internationally and have always enjoyed how they presented themselves.

Question 14

Robert: What about bad experiences?

Dr. Burge: Nothing memorable.

Question 15

Robert: What is your favorite aspect of being a professor?

Dr. Burge: I enjoy teaching - I like to see how students change over the

semester.

Question 16

Robert: What do you hate worst about being a professor?

Dr. Burge: Assigning grades.

Question 17

Robert: How much time does grading papers take up in relation to other

time you spend outside of class, such as planning or making up exams?

Dr. Burge: Too much

Question 18

Robert: Do you think more faculty members will be hired in the near future

or next few years? Why/why not?

Dr. Burge: No plans currently due to their being no funds available... most

likely only replacement of existing positions will occur until the economy is better.

Question 19

Robert: As a student, how could one become involved or contribute to the

CS department?

Dr. Burge: Join the ACM club and the programming team... The programming

team has done extremely well in recent years.

Question 20

Robert: Do you wish more students would try to get involved in the department or in research? Why/why not?

Dr. Burge: Yes, though it is hard to have enough time since I manage six

graduate projects right now... I expect to take on two to three more in the next semester and summer.

Question 21

Robert: Do you have anything to add?

Dr. Burge: Great job on the questions, they were really good.

Post Interview

Robert: If you would like, I can send you a copy of the finished project.

Dr. Burge: Please.

Robert: Thank you Dr. Burge, I sincerely appreciate your cooperation in helping me with my research project.

Dr. Burge: You're welcome.

Works Cited

"ACM: Association for Computing Machinery" ACM. 2002 - Present. 20 November 2003.

"Dr. Mark Burge" Vision. 2003 - Present. 20 November 2003.

"Faculty, School of Computing, Armstrong Atlantic State University" School of Computing. 1998 - Present. 20 November 2003.

Burge, Mark. Interview. Robert Whitis. Electronic Mail. Georgia. 29 November 2003.