TOPIC: Ray Tracing in Python Utilizing the PHaRLAP Engine

The Pennsylvania Gamma Chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon, The International Honor Society for the Computing and Information Disciplines, was chartered at the University of Scranton in 1985. On Friday evening May 6, 2022 a dinner and induction ceremony will be held providing this years 13 inductees the opportunity to accept membership in the society. Current UPE members, departmental faculty, along with parents and guests of inductees normally attend.

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TOPIC: The University of Scranton Information Management System (TUSIMS)

TOPIC: Stonks: The Online Stock Market Investment Simulator

TITLE: Architecting Value ABSTRACT: In today's competitive career environment there is a key skill that can set yourself apart from your peers. Every engineer should be able to come out of school and be able to code features, write unit tests and collaborate with peers. The engineer that stands apart will be the one who is able to leverage their technical skills to architect solutions that provide real value across an organization. Their problem-solving skills will span beyond just the technical but will also need to account for aspects like user experience, design choices, maintainability, time to market, and build vs buy decisions. Tom and Steve will discuss these key ingredients of an engineer and cover real life examples of how to provide solutions that focus on value to an organization and some that failed. PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES: Tom Sprows is a Director of Platform Engineering and Architecture at SkillSurvey. Prior to Skill Survey, Tom worked at companies such as COX Automotive, Project Management Institute and Susquehanna International Institute. He also founded his own consultancy, Sprows Solutions LLC. His roles have spanned from building websites, architecting applications and databases, leading teams and providing expert architecture advice. Tom was a 1995 graduate of the University of Scranton's CIS program. Steve Shillingsburg has 20+ years of experience leading software and technology organizations through emergence, acquisitions and divestures, methodology rollouts, platform re-architectures, and technology consolidations with a successful track record for growth. Steve is currently the Chief Technology Officer at SkillSurvey, a technology company providing talent intelligence solutions, where he leads software engineering, cloud engineering and devops, client support, and IT. Prior to SkillSurvey, Steve was the SVP of Product Engineering at Dude Solutions, a leading SaaS provider of operations, asset and facilities management solutions, where he led the technology organization through five acquisitions, global expansion, and significant client and revenue growth. Previously, he also led technology organizations for PeopleFluent, a human capital management SaaS provider; Certara, the leader in model-based drug development software solutions; and Thomson Reuters, delivering disruptive product offerings in the life science and healthcare industries. Steve was a 1997 graduate of the University of Scranton's CIS program.

TOPIC: The ABET Accreditation Station

Title: Internships: From the Employer Perspective Abstract: Expanding your education beyond the classroom better prepares you for future career opportunities. College classes provide an excellent foundation but real world experience substantially expands your understanding and skills helping you choose your career direction. These opportunities are important in many fields, but especially in technology areas such as Computer Science. You've heard from your peers on their experience in internship positions, this presentation will provide you with similar information but instead from the employer perspective to help you understand what they are looking for when filling their internship positions and better prepare you for those opportunities. Biography: JIM FOX '85, (jim@foxnj.com) BS Computer Science - University of Scranton - 1985 Software Developer - The Scranton Times - 1985-1989 MS Computer Science - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - 1990 Bellcore, SAIC, Telcorida, Ericsson: -Software Developer, Team Lead 1991-1997 -Manager/Director 1997-2017 Product Areas: -Performance Management -Network Engineering -Wireless Network Planning -Billing Mediation -Real-time charging systems

The Department of Computing Sciences will be participating in the University's Preview Day for Accepted Students, scheduled for Saturday, March 26th on campus. Specifically, visitors are invited to speak with departmental faculty and students in an informal setting at our Open Department Visit in Loyola Science Center 091 or at our Open Lab Visit in Loyola Science Center 182 between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM. Preview Day Materials: https://www.cs.scranton.edu/openhouse.php

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Title: Blockchain Technology: Emerging Applications and Use Cases Abstract: Blockchain technology stores different transactions/operations in a chain of blocks in a distributed manner without needing a trusted third-party. Furthermore, blockchain is proven to be immutable which helps for integrity and accountability, and, to some extent, confidentiality through a pair of public and private keys. Blockchain has been in the spotlight after the successful boom of Bitcoin. There have been efforts to leverage salient features of blockchain technology for different applications and use cases for smart digital systems. This talk will present an overview of blockchain technology with its salient features and typical blockchain protocols, how it can help stop corruption and help increase transparency, security, and trust in different applications. This talk will also present research challenges and directions for blockchain and its applications. Biography: Dr. Danda B. Rawat is a Full Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS), Director of the Howard University Data Science and Cybersecurity Center (DSC2), Director, Director of DoD Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (CoE-AIML), Director of Cyber-security and Wireless Networking Innovations (CWiNs) Research Lab, Graduate Program Director of Howard CS Graduate Programs and Director of Graduate Cybersecurity Certificate Program at Howard University, Washington, DC, USA. Dr. Rawat is a Senior Member of ACM, an ACM Distinguished Speaker, a senior member of IEEE, a member of ASEE and AAAS, and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). He has served as organizing committee for several ACM conferences/workshop including ACM MobiHoc Workshop on Networking and Cybersecurity for Smart Cities (SmartCitySecurity 2018, 2019).

Title: Introduction to Enterprise Java Software Engineering Development and Build Tools Abstract: This presentation will focus on introducing students to the development tools typically used by enterprise software developers. The presentation will begin with a brief discussion of enterprise software, what it is and how it differs from the software assignments students usually encounter in an academic setting. The discussion will then move to a description of the Eclipse software development suite, what it is, its primary components, and how it is typically used by enterprise software developers. A brief introduction to the Maven project management tool will follow. The presentation will conclude with a demonstration of how to create a simple Java enterprise application using Eclipse and how to use its debugging tools to troubleshoot a typical enterprise application. Biography: Daniel Brennan is a Scranton native. He graduated from the University of Scranton in 2012 with a Masters in Software Engineering. He has been a software architect with Cognizant Technology Solutions for the past four years, and he previously worked as a software developer for TMG Health in Jessup, PA until the company became part of Cognizant in 2017. Daniel has also been an adjunct faculty member of the Department of Computing Sciences since 2014.

Title: ACM Tech Talk (Video Replay from August 29, 2019) A New Golden Age for Computer Architecture with Dave Patterson Abstract: In August 2019, ACM Turing Laureate Dave Patterson gave an ACM Tech Talk in which he recaps some milestone events in the evolution of Computer Architecture and then emphasizes more recent developments, so as to set the context for some questions regarding the current state of and challenges faced for the 2020's. Biography: His Wikipedia entry, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Patterson_(computer_scientist) provides a worthwhile biography of this computing pioneer, who although now retired remains active in the field.

TOPIC: ABET Accreditation Station

All are welcome to attend and become involved. Contact Prof. Paul Jackowitz with questions, paul.jackowitz@scranton.edu.

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TOPIC: Modeling HF Radio Waves Propagation Using Numerical Ray Tracing

Title: Internships, Research Experiences, Etc. Abstract: Several students will present summaries of recent and current experiences they have undertaken. This will be followed by a panel format meant to encourage discussion and Q & A among all present. The following students are scheduled to present: Henry Lembo, '23, AC, IBM - Quantum, Summer 2021 Anthony Lucchese, '23, CS, IBM - Quantum, Summer 2021 Kevin McDonald, '21 & G'23, CS & SE, Sho Technology Solutions, Jan 2020 - Aug 2020 Sabrina Alvarez, '22, IT, Sho Technology Solutions, Sep 2021 - Present Thomas Maccari, '21 & G'23, CS & SE, Mack Trucks, Summer 2021 Alexa Baldon, '21, AC, Google, Visa, UofS, Startup, 2019 - Present Tim Gallagher, '22, CS, NSF-REU at Columbus State University, Summer 2021 Robert Naughton, '23, CS, Zudy, Summer 2021 Brian S. Memmen, '23, CS, Kerecis, 2018 - Present

Each fall the University holds day-long, campus-wide open house events, which in part, provide opportunities to learn more about the Department of Computing Sciences. Visitors to campus are invited to join faculty and students in both formal and informal settings for scheduled Meet & Greet opportunities, Information Sessions and Department Visits. Open Houses are typically held on Sundays in late October and early November.

Each spring the University holds a day-long campus-wide event for all students accepted for admission, which in part, provides opportunities to learn more about the Department of Computing Sciences. Scheduled events include presentations, panel discussions, and department visits which provide ample opportunities to meet and speak with faculty and students from the department. Preview Day is typically held on Saturday in late March.

Area high schools are invited to bring teams to compete in a programming contest hosted by the Department of Computing Sciences every year in the spring. Teams of two or three students use a programming language to solve computer-programming problems. Awards are presented to the top three teams.

The Pennsylvania Gamma Chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon, The International Honor Society for the Computing and Information Disciplines, was chartered at the University of Scranton in 1985. Those who qualify for membership in this honor society are inducted at an induction ceremony and dinner held yearly in May.

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