My Computer Science & Engineering Department

Dr. Gabriel Terejanu has received a research award from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)/USDA for his project, "TOXIMAP: Computational Framework for Prediction of Geographical and Temporal Incidence of Mycotoxins in US Crop Fields". This project will develop a general predictive modeling framework for calculating aflatoxin occurrence in US crop fields before harvest, and package this knowledge in a user-friendly predictive web/mobile interface for generating nation-wide and real-time aflatoxin hazard maps. This project has the potential to change certain behaviors in crop management to improve food safety.

Dr. Jason O’Kane and Dr. Jenay Beer have received a grant from the National Science Foundation to help create a Research Experiences for Undergraduates site for Applied Computational Robotics. This work will have significant impact by involving talented undergraduate students from around the southeast in robotics research projects here at USC. This experience will encourage these students to pursue graduate studies and research-oriented industry positions. We are proud of your efforts. Congratulations! Visit reu.cse.sc.edu to learn more and apply to this program.

Each year the Faculty of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) award four Outstanding Senior Awards. This process is never easy given the many excellent and accomplished students in our program. After much deliberation, we have decided that the 2017 Computer Science and Engineering Outstanding Senior Awards go to:

• Computer Engineering Outstanding Senior Award: Conor Campbell
• Computer Engineering SCSPE Award: Rickey Ward
• Computer Science Outstanding Senior Awards: Austin Pahl and Victor Reynolds
• Computer Information Systems Outstanding Senior Award: Caitlin Brock

All awardees will be honored at the USC Awards Day ceremony. In addition, Rickey will be honored at a special awards banquet of the South Carolina Society of Professional Engineers.

Dr. Gregory Gay has received an NSF Research award for his project on Understanding The Role of Software Test Adequacy Criteria in Search-Based Test Generation. This work aims to help improve automated software testing in industry.

We are proud to announce that Rukia Brooks (CS major) was chosen as an International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Scholar for 2017.
As a Scholar she will receive an all-access pass to the Game Developers Conference, a mentor for professional development, studio tours, and other benefits. The Game Developers Conference is a professional development conference for those involved in the games industry.

The inaugural Black Women in Computing Conference (BWIC) was held on January 6-8, 2017 at Howard University in Washington D.C. The theme of the conference was, “Honoring our past, celebrating our present, and looking into our future.” BWIC provided a venue to discuss, advance, and celebrate the intersectionality of race and gender in computing. The conference committee had the goals of catalyzing community between black women in computing, nurturing personal and professional growth, and discussing salient themes facing the group in society. Speakers ranged from North Carolina State’s Dr. Fay Cobb Payton, to White House representative Lisa Gelobter, to image activist Michaela angela Davis.

Karina Liles, a PhD candidate in computer science, and De’Aira Bryant, an undergraduate senior in computer science, attended the conference on behalf of the University of South Carolina’s College of Engineering and Computing. Liles is a graduate student advisor for the Minorities in Computing at USC student group and Bryant is the current president of the group.

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of South Carolina is seeking applications for multiple, full-time Instructor positions beginning immediately (or Summer/Fall 2017).  Instructors will be required to teach courses in computer science and engineering, which may include computer programming, data structures and algorithms, computer architecture, databases, operating systems, networks, computer security, and software engineering. Duties will also include participation in student engagement activities such as student advising and recruitment.  The position requires a Master’s or PhD degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Information Systems, or a related field. Relevant industrial experience or teaching experience is preferred.

We are happy to announce that two CSE ACM student teams placed first and second at the College of Charleston location for the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) southeast regional competition.

USC News has published an article, Can't hack this, describing SC Cyber, a statewide cybersecurity initiative led by USC, funded by a $1.5 million grant from the state Department of Commerce and announced by Gov. Nikki Haley in February.

Csilla Farkas, associate professor in computer science and engineering, has long understood the need for cybersecurity to protect against such attacks. Hired in 2000, she has led the development of cybersecurity education at the University of South Carolina and serves as director of the university’s Center for Information Assurance Engineering. The center is a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance and Cyber Defense Education (an achievement first earned in 2010 and bestowed jointly by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security); it earned the same designation for research in 2014.

Dr. Jenay Beer is part of a team, lead by Nursing professor Karen McDonnell , which has been awarded a two-year grant to study ways to improve the survival rates of lung cancer patients. The grant is funded by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and will allow for the creation of a statewide network that will survey existing support systems and identify gaps in patient coverage in the state. Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in S.C. and is also the leading cause of cancer deaths. More information on the official announcement.