News and Events | Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering

To submit news items, please contact Christy Jenkins or Joe Chung. Also see our student blog.

12/4/2024

“Clutch” Meeting Ends Semester of Monmouth Gamers United

On December 4th, Monmouth Gamers United, Monmouth’s very own digital and traditional gaming club, celebrated the end of the Fall semester with a gathering that featured student-owned systems, board games, card and role-playing games. In addition, several prizes were raffled off to lucky student winners. While the President, Mar Elbanna, is a Computer Science major, the club is open to all students. This club meets weekly in Edison Hall. For more information, or Spring semester meeting dates, please contact Mar Elbanna at s1328626@monmouth.edu or join the club discord: https://discord.gg/HydBsE64

11/15/2024

Computer Science Senior Presents at IEEE Conference in Malaysia

Computer Science Senior, Therese “Ez” Racancoj, traveled with Prof. Jay Wang to Kuching, Malaysia to attend the 2024 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics from October 6th-9th. During the conference, Therese presented her research work on an IEEE funded project titled “Comprehensive Humanoid Robot Control Project Design and Development”.

The goal of her research is to design and develop a set of reasonably challenging experimental projects that would allow students to fully explore the functions of humanoid robots and practice embedded software design skills for real-time robot control. The deliverables of this project can be used by scholars of the SMC society in their robotics related classes; they can also be used by industrial practitioners to learn about robot programming techniques.

“The opportunity to attend the international IEEE conference in Malaysia, especially while still an undergraduate, was an amazing experience of which I am extremely grateful to Professor Wang for. It was great being able to talk to people currently working in the tech field, not only to gain insight into what I have to look forward to in a future job but also because I was able to get to know some of the people who are dedicated to improving the field and making it that much more enjoyable.”

11/07/24

November Industry Speaker Event: David Libesman, AI & Data Thought Leader

Computer Science and Software Engineering held an exclusive event On November 6th featuring David Libesman, AI and Data Analytics Thought Leader and SVP & GM, AI & Data Analytics at WorkWave. David has revolutionized how businesses leverage AI for optimizing profits, operational efficiency and customer engagement. David Libesman has a proven track record in creating disruptive Analytics & AI-driven solutions, driving industry transformations through intelligent automated workflows, self-service customer interactions, and predictive service delivery models, ensuring that AI improves profits, efficiency, enhances customer satisfaction, and anticipates future needs.

5/20/24

SE Graduate in Summer 2024 School of Science Graduate Spotlight

Mahmoud Shabana (BSSE 2020, MSSE 2021) was a featured alumnus in the Summer 2024 School of Science newsletter. After working as a Junior Software Engineer, he applied for and was accepted into the Master’s program in Cybersecurity program at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. He discusses his cybersecurity research at NYU in the areas of election security, hardware reverse engineering, and leveraging generative AI for malware reverse engineering. He will continue his research at Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute as an AI Security Researcher.

He recalls his time as a student-athlete (football) at Monmouth, which taught him the value of hard work and persistence, which are required to be a successful researcher. He also recalls the passionate faculty of the CSSE department who instilled in him a dedication to learning. He fondly recalls his mentors and partners in the Summer Research Program which helped him to fall in love with the research process.

5/8/23

CS Graduate in Spring 2023 Issue of Monmouth Magazine

Zoë Klapman (BSCS 2023) was featured in the Spring 2023 issue of Monmouth Magazine, in an article titled, “Advantage, Zoë Klapman: The women’s tennis ace turned an internship in Silicon Valley into a full-time job.” In the article, she discusses her 2022 summer internship with a Silicon Valley-based digital agriculture company, an internship that will lead to a full-time position after graduation. She also recalls her journey as a student-athlete at Monmouth and how her love of new technologies and coding led her to the Computer Science major.

1/26/22

MSCS Student Wins Best Student Paper Award at International Conference

MSCS student Yuansi Hu won the Best Student Paper award at the 2021 International Conference on Cyber-physical Social Intelligence (ICCSI) on Dec. 20. She edged out six other finalists, all doctoral students, in the category with her winning paper titled, “Resource-Oriented Timed Workflow Nets and Simulation Tool Design.” Her paper was co-authored with Dr. Jiacun Wang, and Tongji University Professor Guanjun Liu. Dr. Wang credited her with the entire software design and development along with the core portion of the paper.

9/10/20

SE Graduate in Fall 2020 School of Science Graduate Spotlight

Darnell Leslie (BSSE 2017) was a featured alumnus in the Fall 2020 School of Science newsletter. He recently retired from professional football and is currently working toward gaining security certifications, in preparation for a career in information security. He recalls his journey to Monmouth from Maryland, the beautiful campus and the academic support network within the Athletics department. He also recalls the unique challenges of being a student athlete and how the support and availability of the CSSE faculty, particularly Dr. Rosca, helped him along.

Read more about the Hour of Code …

7/21/14

Justin Schlemm (L), Taylor Klodowski (R)

CSSE Juniors Win Awards At Second Annual Marathon Hackathon

Two CSSE Juniors, Justin Schlemm and Taylor Klodowski recently earned a second-place award at Marathon Data Systems’ second annual “Marathon Hackathon,” which was held June 7 and 8 at Marathon Data Systems’ office in Neptune.

They also received a $400 prize for creating a mobile application to connect volunteers to relevant charity events. Their application, ChariTEA (technology, effort, action), allows charities to post times, dates and skill-set requirements when volunteers are needed. Volunteers can also post their skills, register for assignments and maintain a personal profile to keep a record of hours worked, which can be accessible to charity organizations as well.

The Hackathon lasted over 26 hours and challenged teams of software developers from the tri-state area to create a fully functional application from scratch during the allotted time. The application was to focus on connecting volunteers, individuals or organizations to relevant local charity events.

4/1/14

IEEE/ACM Student Chapter attends IEEE Region 1 Student Conference at NJIT

On March 29th, 2014, the IEEE/ACM student chapter of Monmouth University attended the IEEE Region 1 Student Conference at NJIT. At the conference Jake Vernon, President, had the opportunity to speak on behalf of the chapter during the Student Chapter Showcase. Following the showcase was the micro-mouse competition, where Sidhdhesh Patel, James Blessing, Justin Schlemm, Zixi Li, and Jake Vernon were able to display all their hard work that had been put into the device that they had been developing for months. Unfortunately the micro-mouse hardware did not function as intended, but the team was still asked to present their micro-mouse to all the other participants. Lead Developer, Sidhdhesh Patel, Vice President, lead the discussion and answered many software-related questions since the MU IEEE/ACM chapter was the only chapter present with a Software Engineering Background. During the awards dinner at the end of the conference, the chapter received an award for their participation in the Student Chapter Showcase.

3/5/14

CS Grad Student Featured in Faces of Monmouth

Christopher Del Fattore (BSCS, 2013) has a featured profile in Faces of Monmouth. As part of his Spring 2013 senior project, Chris and his team developed “The Mark,” a Java application allowing users to comment on PDF documents. The project earned his team the Dean’s Award of Excellence for Undergraduate Research at MU’s Student Research Conference. After earning his bachelor’s degree in computer science, he landed a job at ForeFront, Inc., a Fair Haven, NJ tech firm that specializes in cloud computing-services hosted over the Internet. He credits Monmouth for this opportunity. Also, in Fall 2013, he started in the computer science graduate program in pursuit of his master’s degree.

7/18/13

CSSE Department to Offer New Master of Science in Information Systems Degree

The Monmouth University Board of Trustees has approved the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering’s proposed Master of Science in Information Systems (MS-IS) degree program. The program is scheduled to be implemented starting in the Fall semester of 2014. The mission of the MS-IS program will be to integrate information technology and business management at the graduate level to provide well-trained students who would enter and be successful in local IT sectors. The goals of the program include the following:

to prepare information system designers, developers, and/or administrators for successful employment;
to produce scholarship in the area of information systems; and
to provide the surrounding community with a viable opportunity to augment current information technology management skills with new and systematic knowledge.

The Monmouth MS-IS program is designed to be interdisciplinary in that it brings together the fields of computer science, software engineering, and business management. The curriculum is designed to provide a sound basis for continued learning in the field beyond graduation. The degree program is designed to be either full time or part time and to prepare students for employment in the IT sector as information system developers or administrators. The program allows students to choose one of two tracks: the Technology Track or the Management Track. The Technology Track will emphasize the software life cycle, while the Management Track will emphasize information technology management and business strategic management.

5/28/13

Two Teams of CS Seniors Receive Dean’s Award of Excellence in Undergraduate Research

2013 Award of Excellence Winners — Back: With Dean Palladino, Patrick McDonald, Gage Jackson, Bruce Lukens, Christopher Del Fattore; Front left: Jesse Rosero

The following two teams of CS Seniors have received the School of Science Dean’s Award of Excellence in Undergraduate Research in integrative research:

Steven Cregan, Garrett Haas, Gage Jackson, Patrick McDonald
Project Title: Put-A-Tag: A Generic Tagging Tool
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Cui Yu

Christopher Del Fattore, Bruce Lukens, Jesse Rosero
Project Title: The Mark: A Commenting Application
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Cui Yu

They received the awards at the University’s Annual Student Research Conference, sponsored by the School of Science. The conference gives students the opportunity to present their work via poster presentations to their peers, faculty members, and friends and family.

5/2/13

Team of Current and Former CSSE Dept. Students Wins 24-Hour Hackathon To Benefit Jersey Shore Recovery From Super Storm Sandy

On April 28-29, three of our Monmouth CSSE students participated in–and won–a 24-hour Hackathon called the Jersey Shore Comeback-A-Thon. Gary Kagan is currently an undergraduate Software Engineering major at Monmouth University, and Cory Cardio received his MS last year. Together with Margaret Kim, also a past CSSE student, they formed “Team Mango” and worked through the night on Saturday, developing a new and novel mobile app.

The theme of the event was Jersey Shore Recovery from Super Storm Sandy and featured several talks by local businesspeople describing challenges that the Shore has faced in the past six months. The Hackathon challenge was to create a software application that could help businesses and local communities recover over the upcoming summer months. Team Mango created a “crowd-sourced application where members of the community could give and receive up-to-the-minute pertinent information in the event of a disaster like Hurricane Sandy, such as which businesses had electricity. Since connecting to the Internet was an issue for many during the storm, the application would include a texting component so users could update others as well as receive updates on their phone even if they did not have a Smartphone or could not get internet access.”

When the dust cleared and the sun rose, the team of judges named Team Mango the winning team and awarded them the $1,000 first-prize. The event was sponsored by Marathon Data and was held at CoWerks in Asbury Park.

1/22/13

Software Engineering Dept. Graduate Reflects On MU Experience

Software Engineering Dept. graduate (2012) Vishruti Desai wrote a graduation essay that appeared in the Asbury Park Press on January 19, 2013.

(Excerpt:)

I joined MU in fall 2011 to study MS in software engineering. I am glad that I selected software engineering at MU.

I am very much thankful to Dr. Daniela Rosca for providing me guidance on choosing the MS course. The faculty staff of Software Engineering offered me a wide range of support and advice about my academic career.

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely acknowledge and thank Dr. Jiacun Wang, my academic adviser and professor of some of my classes. Because of Dr. Wang’s continuous support and guidance I have successfully completed all my graduate courses.

University environment and students across the Monmouth University are very friendly. I enjoyed being part of such a nice university. Coursework that I completed during my time at Monmouth gave me strength in my technical skills. As a result of that I was able to successfully complete multiple internships during my graduate course. In addition, during my internship at Qualcomm Inc. my idea was selected in idea quest competition. Subsequently, my idea was selected for patent application.

1/21/13

Software Engineering Dept. alumnus named ‘Modern-Day Technology Leader’

US Army CERDEC Release No.: 130102

14 January 2013

Monmouth University alumnus named ‘Modern-Day Technology Leader’

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Jarad Wormley has been named a Modern-Day Technology Leader by the Council of Engineering Deans of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and the US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine. Jarad graduated from Monmouth University in 2010 with a Masters in Software Engineering.

Jarad’s accomplishments as a computer engineer for the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, CERDEC, have merited him as a Modern-Day Technology Leader, which recognizes men and women of color whose outstanding performance have and will continue to shape the future course of engineering, science and technology.

Jarad currently serves as the Project Leader for the DCGS-A Enabled Common Ground Station, a system that facilitates Soldiers in situational awareness and battlespace visualization. In addition to his required duties Jarad is active in student outreach, serving as a mentor to Edgewood Middle School children, in Edgewood, Md. and a representative on the CERDEC Intern Council.

He will be formally recognized at the 27th Annual BEYA (Black Engineer of the Year Award) Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Global Competitiveness Conference on February 8, 2013.

1/4/13

Professor Obaidat Publishes A New Book

“Handbook of Green Information and Communication Systems”

(Excerpt:)

Monmouth University is proud to announce that Dr. Mohammad S. Obaidat, a world renowned scientist/engineer/academic and professor of computer science and software engineering, has published a new book titled “Handbook of Green Information and Communication Systems,” published by Elsevier.

The book gives a comprehensive guide on the fundamental concepts, applications, algorithms, protocols, new trends and challenges, and research results in the area of green Information and Communications Systems (ICT). It is a valuable resource for both the new and experienced researcher in green ICT as well as a textbook in the discipline.

9/11/12

CSSE Department Hosts its 1st Annual First Year Students Breakfast

First Year Breakfast 1 — First Year Breakfast

The CSSE Department held its 1st Annual First Year Students Breakfast on Tuesday, Sept 11. First Year Computer Science and Software Engineering Majors gathered to meet each other, to hear important information about the CSSE Department and to get advice about being a student and a professional in CS and SE. Events included a Faculty Panel with Professors Scherl, Lutz and McDonald answering questions and a presentation by Pat McDonald, president of the ACM/IEEE Student Chapter describing that group’s projects. According to the First Year Advising Office, more than thirty-five first year students have planned a CS or SE major, making this First Year Class one of the largest in recent times.

3/29/12

Professor Obaidat Wins Prestigious SCS Presidential Award

(Excerpt:)

Monmouth University is very pleased to announce that Dr. Mohammad S. Obaidat, professor of computer science and software engineering, has been awarded the Society for Modeling and Simulation International’s (SCS) prestigious Presidential Service Award.

The Board of Directors of SCS approved this award in its meeting on Sunday, March 25, 2012.

The Chair of the SCS Awards and Recognition Committee Tuncer I. Ören stated in his letter to Professor Obaidat: “Your worldwide distinguished, outstanding, and dedicated technical contributions and services to the modeling and computer simulation discipline and to the Society for Modeling and Simulation International, SCS, that span over two decades are highly appreciated and well recognized by your peers, SCS, and professionals. Your worldwide outstanding technical contributions and leadership services have influenced the future of SCS and the modeling and computer simulation discipline and profession.”

3/6/12

Professor Obaidat Featured In Asbury Park Press Article On Digital Reading Devices

Computer Science and Software Engineering Professor Mohammad S. Obaidat was featured in the Asbury Park Press on 2/25/2012.

(Excerpt:)

Mohammad S. Obaidat, a professor of computer science and software engineering at Monmouth University and the editor-in-chief of several technical journals, said early predictions of a paperless culture were just premature, not wholly inaccurate. A Business Week article in June 1975 offered diverging views on the paperless office, an early mention of the concept.

The tipping point of the decline of world paper use arrived as the Internet, e-business, e-government and social media made large strides, Obaidat said.

Those developments rose along with the expansion of the economies of India and China, which allowed far more people to acquire information technology devices.

Obaidat ticked off some of the benefits of a paperless world: fewer environmental issues like deforestation and greenhouse gas buildup, less space needed, greater searchability, reduced costs.

“But are we ever going to be 100 percent paperless? I doubt it,” Obaidat said.

Obaidat predicted that world paper consumption will decline by 75 percent by 2020.

Steps like Google’s efforts to digitize existing books and the widespread acceptance of electronic signatures will speed the drop.

“The world will be digital,” Obaidat said.

2/2/12

CS Alumnus Featured in School of Science Newsletter

Michael Barnathan (BSCS, 2006) is the featured alumnus in the Spring 2012 issue of Science Buzz, the School of Science e-newsletter. Michael is currently a software engineer with Google, where he works on the internal development tools used to build and test Google’s software. He earned a Ph.D. in Computer and Information Sciences at Temple University in 2010. His doctoral research involved the application of machine learning to medical image diagnostics, leading to the development of systems capable of diagnosing tumors in mammograms and brain MRIs with approximately 90% accuracy.

11/16/11

Professor Obaidat Publishes Two Books, Gives Two Keynote Speeches, and Receives an Award

Monmouth University is proud to announce that Professor Mohammad S. Obaidat (IEEE Fellow and SCS Fellow) of the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering has published recently two books: Pervasive Computing and Networking (Wiley 2011) and Cooperative Networking (Wiley 2011). Both books can serve as excellent textbooks for graduate and senior undergraduate courses.

9/14/11

Professor Obaidat Receives “Best Paper Award” at IEEE International Conference

Professor Mohammad S. Obaidat received the Best Paper Award from the 2011 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Data Communication Networking (DCNET 2011) for his paper titled “Computational Intelligence applied to wildfire prediction using wireless sensor networks.” Read more…

5/24/11

CS Alumnus Successfully Defends Ph.D. Thesis

We congratulate Raffi Khatchadourian, who completed his B.S. in Computer Science at Monmouth in 2004. Raffi has successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis at Ohio State University’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering. He also earned his M.S. in Computer Science at Ohio State. His Ph.D. dissertation work was done under the supervision of Dr. Neelam Soundarajan, and the thesis was titled Techniques for Automated Software Evolution. Raffi has since gone on to work for Apple Inc. as an RF Systems Integration Engineering with the iPhone/iPad team.

5/9/11

Professor Paparella Visits Abu Dhabi in Her Role as Executive Director of the International Council in Innovation in Higher Education Conference

Prof Paparella in Masdar City — Prof. Paparella with Dr. Youssef Shatilla in Masdar City

Professor Maureen Paparella presented Dr. Youssef Shatilla, a professor of nuclear engineering and associate dean of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, with an award of recognition for his contributions to the ICIE 2010 Conference in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in March 2011. Professor Paparella also toured Phase I of Masdar City, the world’s first “post-petroleum” city during her visit. Also receiving awards of recognition were Dr. Nabil Ibrahim, chancellor of Abu Dhabi University, Dr. Donald Baker, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at United Arab Emirates University, Dr. Gary Ingersoll, dean of the College of Education at United Arab University, and Dr. Saliba Sarsar, associate vice president for academic initiatives at Monmouth University. Monmouth University students and faculty participated in the ICIE 2010 Conference, which was held in Abu Dhabi in June 2010. As the executive director of the ICIE 2010 Conference, Professor Paparella promoted the Middle East conference location and invited Monmouth University students and faculty to participate as partners in research and presentations.

2/9/11

Professor Obaidat Gives Main Distinguished Keynote Speech at GreenCom 2010 and CPSCom 2010 in China and Receives Prestigious IEEE Outstanding Leadership Award

Prof. Obaidat delivers the distinguished keynote speech at GreenCom-CPSCom 2010

Professor Mohammad S. Obaidat gave the main Distinguished Keynote Speech at the Joint 2010 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Green Computing and Communications (GreenCom 2010) and the 2010 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Cyber, Physical and Social Computing (CPSCom 2010) held in December 2010 in Hangzhou, China. His keynote speech was titled “On the Recent Trends and Challenges in Green Information and Communication Technology and Samples of Our Recent Research Works.” In addition, he received the prestigious IEEE Communications Society’s Outstanding Leadership Award for his distinguished contribution and leadership to IEEE GLOBECOM-Communication Software, Services, and Multimedia Applications (CSSMA) Symposium. Also, Professor Obaidat gave distinguished invited keynote speeches in December 2010 at three top universities in China: (1) Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, (2) Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, and (3) Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in Beijing.

11/8/10

Professor Milewski Receives Bright Idea Award

Professor Allen Milewski received a Bright Idea Award for co-authoring the paper titled “Occurrence and effects of leader delegation in virtual software teams,” published in the International Journal of e-Collaboration. The award is sponsored by the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University, New Jersey Business magazine, and the NJPRO Foundation–the public policy research affiliate of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA). Each year, these organizations present awards for the best research published by the faculty at New Jersey’s colleges and universities.

10/20/10

Professor Wang Visits Schools in Hyderabad, India

Prof. Wang at Hyderabad — Prof. Wang (center) in Hyderabad

Professor Jay Wang, Chair of the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, visited Hyderabad, India for student recruitment on October 8 and 9, 2010. He was invited by Dr. K. V. J. Rao, the Principle of St. Peters Engineering College, which has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Monmouth University. Prof. Wang gave a presentation to about 350 students at St. Peters, in which he introduced Monmouth University, the MSCS, MSSE and MSFM programs, Monmouth admission requirements and application process, tuition and living costs at Monmouth, and all possible financial support a student could receive. A press conference was arranged in the afternoon of Oct. 8 with the attendance of 10 local media agencies for this student recruitment activity. It was hosted by Mr. T.V. Reddy, the general secretary of St. Peters, who had visited Monmouth and signed an MOU with Dr. Bob McCaig in December, 2009.

Besides St. Peters, Prof. Wang also visited the Vignan Institute of Technology and Science, and the Vardhaman College of Engineering on October 9. A potential MOU between Monmouth and Vignan is under discussion now.

10/6/10

Professor Kretsch Gives Presentation at the Science & Engineering Learning Center in Manalapan H.S.

Professor Jamie Kretsch attended an Open House at the Science & Engineering Learning Center (SELC) in Manalapan H.S. (Freehold Regional H.S. District) on Thursday 9/30. This program was for students interested in applying to the Learning Center, and was very well attended. The SELC accepts about 24 students each year, and they anticipate receiving 150+ applications. Prof. Kretsch’s presentation concentrated on answering the questions: “Who are Engineers?” featuring a number of recent engineering graduates of her acquaintance in multiple disciplines, and “What are Engineers?” highlighting the wide variety of opportunities in engineering. She enjoyed meeting with these students and sharing a view of engineering that goes beyond the stereotype, and she hopes that a relationship between the SELC and Monmouth University can be built.

10/5/10

Professor Obaidat Gives Main Distinguished Keynote Speeches at Well-Known International Conferences and Chairs Major International Conferences

Prof. Obaidat at InfoWare 2010/ICWMC 2010

Professor Mohammad S. Obaidat gave the main Distinguished Keynote Speech at the IEEE International Conference on Information Technology Convergence and Services (ITCS-10) that was held in Cebu, Philippines from August 11-13, 2010. His keynote was entitled: “Advances in the Security of e-Systems and Computer Networks.” Dr. Obaidat also gave the main keynote speech on the challenges in wireless networking at the InfoWare 2010 multiconference which was held early September in Valencia, Spain; InfoWare 2010 consisted of five international conferences. He was also invited by the President of the National Ilan University, Taiwan, to give the distinguished invited keynote on recent advances on security of e-based systems. He was also invited by Tamkang University, Taiwan to give an invited keynote on Schemes for the Analysis of Rechargeable Nodes in Wireless Sensor Networks. Dr. Obaidat also chaired the 2010 IEEE International Conference on E-Business and Telecommunications that was held in late July 2010 in Athens, Greece which consists of six major conferences. And he also chaired the 2010 SCS/IEEE International Symposium on Performance Evaluation of Computer and Telecommunication Systems, SPECTS 2010 that was held late July in Ottawa, Canada.

7/22/10

CS-298: Summer Study Abroad Class in Xi’an, China, June 4-15, 2010

A special topic summer travel class, CS-298 Technology in China, took place in Xi’an, China, from June 4 through 15. The class was hosted by Xi’an University of Posts and Telecommunications (XUPT), one of our MOU partners in China. Prof. Jiacun Wang developed and supervised the class. Seven undergraduate students from the School of Science, Leon Hess Business School, and Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences joined the trip. On a typical lecturing day, students were learning technological invention and development in China in the morning and Chinese culture in the afternoon. Students visited some famous historical attractions in Xi’an, such as the Terra-Cotta Army Museum. Interactions between MU and XUPT students went very well. At the closing ceremony, Prof. Wang thanked XUPT administrators for their effort in making the class successful, and invited XUPT students to visit Monmouth University next summer.

7/16/10

Summer Computer Camp at Monmouth University

For the sixth summer in a row, Monmouth University has offered a cutting-edge Computer Camp for students in middle school and high school. This camp, directed by Shauna Schubiger is taught by professors from the Software Engineering and Computer Science Departments. It is designed to provide advanced learning in computer skills, encourage teamwork, and promote creative thinking. Students have the opportunity to design their very own online portfolio to link all of the projects they create throughout the week. Sessions taught include Microsoft FrontPage and Dreamweaver for web design, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for graphic design, Windows Moviemaker for digital video, Alice and Flash for computer animation, Robotics, Flash for video game design, and Visual Basic for computer programming. Professors utilize a project-based learning approach to teach each different type of software to enable students to design based on their own particular interests. The culmination of this week-long camp ends with a parent showcase and the uploading of all projects to the Internet on individual student-designed websites. For more information on this camp, please contact Rebecca Hanly in the Computer Science Department at 732.571.7501.

3/15/10

Professor McDonald Publishes Book Titled Managing the Development of Software Intensive Systems, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The book is a primer on managing software-based development projects and complex software/hardware systems. The book discusses the application of project management and general management techniques to large software development projects and complex software/hardware systems. This practical guide allows readers to reliably develop large software applications and systems that require the simultaneous development of electronic hardware and the software that controls the hardware. Each chapter is accompanied by a case study based on a case with which the author is familiar. This gives the reader experience in doing the management work. The author teaches readers how to use their own experience to improve the way they manage projects and provides a method for reviewing successes and failures to help increase their capabilities in the future. Managing the Development of Software-Intensive Systems serves as both an introduction to project management for software and hardware developers and as an advanced material resource for experienced managers. The contents will benefit managers of software-based development projects and organizations, as well as organizations that outsource development work. The book can also be used as a textbook in undergraduate or graduate courses in computer engineering, computer science, software engineering, information technology, commerce, and business administration with an information systems orientation.

2/19/10

Professor Obaidat Publishes Book Titled Fundamentals of Performance Evaluation of Computer and Telecommunication Systems, John Wiley & Sons.

The book, co-authored by Dr. Noureddine A. Boudriga, is considered the only singular, all-encompassing textbook on state-of-the-art technical performance evaluation of computer and telecommunication systems. It has already been adopted for courses by several universities worldwide. It is the only available technical book to treat computer and telecommunication systems as inseparable issues. The authors explain the basic concepts of performance evaluation, applications, performance evaluation metrics, workload types, benchmarking, and characterization of workload. This is followed by a review of the basics of probability theory and, finally, the main techniques for performance evaluation—namely measurement, simulation, and analytic modeling—with case studies and examples. The book is an ideal textbook for graduate courses or senior year undergraduate courses in computer science, electrical engineering, computer engineering, software engineering, and information sciences, technology, and systems. It is also an excellent reference for practicing engineers and scientists.

1/04/10

Professor Obaidat Gives Main Distinguished Keynote Speech at IEEE ICUT 2009 Conference in Japan, and Invited Distinguished Keynote Speech at Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

Professor Mohammad S. Obaidat gave the main Distinguished Keynote Speech at the IEEE International Conference on Ubiquitous Information Technologies and Applications (ICUT 2009) that was held in late December 2009 in Fukuoka, Japan. His keynote was titled “Trends and Challenges in Wireless Networking.” ICUT is a major international conference on ubiquitous computing and communication that promotes discussion and interaction among academics, researchers, and professionals worldwide in this fascinating technology.

In addition, Professor Obaidat gave the Distinguished Invited Keynote speech at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) on Security of Wireless Systems in late December 2009. KAIST is the most prestigious science and technology institution in South Korea and the Asia Pacific region, and is often referred to as the MIT of South Korea.

12/14/09

CS511 Students Produce Digital Campus Map

A group of students from Professor Kosaka’s CS511 Technical Communication class has produced a digital campus map that is integrated with a number of information sources deemed useful for a university community. The digital campus map is designed and implemented for a campus of small to medium size such as Monmouth University. The integration of information is independent of the size of the organization. The group took an informal survey of the campuses in New Jersey, and a few outside of the state. They did not find any campus maps that had a comparable level of information integration.

12/05/09

Computer Science and Software Engineering Dept. Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Xi’an University of Posts and Telecommunication

Palladino and Wen — Dean Palladino and Xiaozheng Wen of Xi’an University

On December 5, 2009, Xiaozheng Wen, Vice President of Xi’an University of Posts and Telecommunication, visited Monmouth University to sign a Partnership Agreement between Monmouth University and Xi’an University. Monmouth University and Xi’an University of Posts and Telecommunications have agreed to engage in joint research projects, foster the exchange of academic publications and information, and promote other academic activities. Xi’an University will establish a summer camp for Monmouth University students in China to learn about Chinese culture. Through faculty exchange and commitment, Monmouth University will have an opportunity to enroll more students into our Computer Science and Software Engineering programs. Dr. Michael Palladino, Dean of the School of Science, signed the MOU with Xiaozheng Wen in the presence of CS/SE faculty members Dr. Jiacun Wang, Chair, Professor Al Milewski, Professor Daniela Rosca, and Professor Cui Yu.

12/04/09

Vijaypaul Reddy of St. Peters Engineering College and Dr. Robert McCaig

Computer Science and Software Engineering Dept. Signs Memorandum of Understanding with St. Peter’s Engineering College in Hyderabad, India

On December 4, 2009, Mr. Vijaypaul Reddy, Secretary/Director of St. Peters Engineering College, visited Monmouth University to sign a Partnership Agreement between Monmouth University and St. Peters Engineering College. The foundation of this partnership is to increase the enrollment in our Computer Science and Software Engineering programs and to develop a cultural exchange between students and faculty. Dr. Robert Mc Caig, Vice President of Enrollment Management, signed the MOU with Mr. Vijaypaul Reddy in the presence of CS/SE faculty members Dr. Jiacun Wang, Chair, Professor Al Milewski, Professor Daniela Rosca, and Professor Cui Yu.

11/24/09

Professor Obaidat Wins IEEE GLOBECOM 2009 Best Paper Award for Paper Titled “Cross-Layer Based Data Management in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks”

The paper has been accepted in the IEEE GLOBCOM 2009 Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, November 30 through December 4, 2009. This is one of 14 best papers that received the awards out of 1,204 papers accepted at IEEE GLOBECOM 2009. These papers were selected through a rigorous process involving symposium co-chairs, Technical program committee and reviewers recommendations, as well as the best paper selection committee of the overall conference.

The IEEE Global Communications Conference, known as GLOBCOM, is the premier and most prestigious IEEE International Communications event for industry professionals and academics from companies, governmental agencies, and universities around the world. For more information visit www.ieee-globecom.org.

It is usually attended by huge number of attendees from all over the world. The acceptance rate in it is very low.

11/01/09

Professor Wang Visits Five Institutions in Four Cities in China for Student Recruitment and Student and Faculty Exchange.

From October 22 through November 1, 2009, Professor Jiacun Wang, Chair of Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, visited five institutions in four cities in China for student recruitment and student and faculty exchange. The five visited institutions are Jiangsu Teachers University of Technology (Changzhou), Nanjing University of Science and Technology (Nanjing), Xi’an University of Posts and Telecommunications (Xi’an), Guangdong University of Technology (Guangzhou), and Guangdong University of Business Studies (Guangzhou). While visiting Xi’an, Professor Wang received a gift from President Jianjun Lu for his efforts. CSSE currently has five graduate students and one undergraduate student from China.

10/26/09

Professor Kosaka Gives Talk on the “Analysis of Wishes” at Computer Science Academy, Freehold High School.

Professor Michiko Kosaka gave a talk to the students at the Computer Science Academy, Freehold High School, on October 26. The talk was entitled “Analysis of Wishes,” based on the work done at the University of Wisconsin. The data came from the actual New Year’s wishes (100,000 wishes) collected by the Times Square Alliance in December of 2007, who produces the famous New Year’s Eve Ball Drop. Professor Kosaka showed the students how to analyze raw data, organize them, and create hypotheses so that appropriate data structures can be set up with a view towards data mining and machine learning. Such techniques are being developed to respond to the current demands (business intelligence, security and political intelligence, medical information) for sentiment and opinion analyses of unstructured data, especially on the internet. The students from the whole Academy attended, were very animated and asked many pertinent questions, particularly how Search Engines leverage such information.

10/20/09

Professor Obaidat Receives SCS Most Prestigious McLeod’s Award for Outstanding Technical Contribution and Services to Modeling and Computer Simulation

Professor Mohammad S. Obaidat has been awarded the Society for Modeling and Simulation International (SCS) most prestigious award, the McLeod Founders Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession, in recognition of his outstanding technical and professional contributions to modeling and simulation. The McLeod Founders award has been given only six times in the 57 years of the society’s existence.

7/15/09

Professor Obaidat Elected President of the Society for Modeling and Simulation International and Received Best Paper Award

Professor Mohammad S. Obaidat was elected the new president of the Society for Modeling and Simulation International (SCS). In addition, he received the best paper award on his original research paper titled Adaptive Learning System For Congestion Avoidance in Wireless Sensor Network, accepted in the IEEE International Conference on Computer Systems and Applications, AICCSA 2009.

7/1/09

Departments of Computer Science and Software Engineering Merged

To better manage and market our CS and SE programs, the Department of Computer Science and Department of Software Engineering were formally merged into the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering on July 1, 2009. Prof. Jiacun Wang is the new department chair, Prof. Allen Milewski is the CS/SE undergraduate program director, Prof. Cui Yu is the CS graduate program director, and Prof. Daniela Rosca is the SE graduate program director.

1/30/09

Graduate Program Changes Starting Academic Year 2009

We would like to detail changes to the Graduate CS Program starting in the Fall 2009 semester.

The MS Degree will now require 30 credits (10 courses) for students with an adequate CS background (those who do not need to take any bridge courses). These students will be able to finish the degree in 1 calendar year (2 semesters and 1 summer).

In the new graduate program, new students will choose between:

Track A (thesis)
Track B (non-thesis)

Additionally, students will have the option of choosing one of the following areas of specialization:

Databases and Intelligent Information Systems
Security of Networks and Information Systems
Computer Networks

Students also will have the option of not choosing an area of specialization.

4/13/08

Significant CS Program Changes Starting Academic Year 2008

We would like to announce two recent program changes starting in the Fall 2008 semester.

First, our initial instructional programming language has been changed to Java from C++ for both the B.S. and M.S. programs. With this change, the typical undergraduate student will begin their study of computer science by first taking CS 120 “Foundations of Computer Science” in the fall and then learning to program using the Java programming language in CS 175 “Introduction to Computer Science I” which is offered during the spring semester. Students who have an advanced placement score of 3 or better in CS can be given credit for CS 175 and can, therefore, continue their study of Java from high school by taking CS 176 during their first semester (fall) at Monmouth. Students will be introduced to C++ when they take CS 310 “Object Oriented Programming and Design” during their junior year. In the Graduate program, the bridge courses that involve programming – CS 501A, CS 501B, and CS 503 – will now use Java for instruction. Graduate students will now be exposed to programming in C++ in CS 509.

Second, we now have two tracks in the B.S. program.

Track A: Advanced Computing. This track is recommended for students who plan to go on to a graduate degree in computer science or who are interested in mathematical or scientific computing. Honors students must take this track. The track requires 26 credits of mathematics and science outside of the major.

Track B: Applied Computing. The requirements within the major are identical to track A, but the only requirement outside of the major beyond the General Education requirements of Monmouth University is that the student take Math 109 “Pre-Calculus Mathematics” (or obtain an appropriate score in the mathematics placement test). This track is appropriate for students who plan to go directly to work in the software industry after graduation or to follow their undergraduate education with, for example, an M.B.A.

4/10/08

CS Students Present Research At Seventh Annual STE Student Research Conference

Two CompSci students presented posters at the Seventh Annual STE Student Research Conference. Julian Montefusco, a M.S. student, presented work that she did with Dr. Yu. The title of her poster was Enhanced B+-Tree with Dynamic Node Popularity Caching. Alex Karpodinis, a senior in CompSci, presented work that he is developing as an intern at the MU Rapid Response Institute. The title of his poster was CAPer: A Dynamic XML Software Solution.

4/9/08

CS Alumnus Makes Successful Ph.D. Dissertation Defense

Congratulations to Suhaib Obeidat, who completed his M.S. in Computer Science at Monmouth in 2001 under the supervision of Dr. Obaidat. Suhaib has successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation at Arizona State University’s School of Computing and Informatics. His M.S. thesis topic at Monmouth was “Performance Evaluation of Adaptive ABR Voice over ATM Networks”. His Ph.D. dissertation work was done under the supervision of Dr. Violet R. Syrotiuk and is titled Cross-layer opportunistic adaptation for voice communications over wireless ad hoc networks.