COMPUTER SCIENCE NEWSLETTER Department of Computer Science May 17, 2002
Dr. Johnson to Serve on Statewide Committee		Dr. Olin Johnson, Computer Science Professor, was invited to serve on an Advisory Committee of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). The Advisory Committee’s primary charge is to assist THECB in the development of a recommended Field of Study Curriculum for Computer Science, including seeking statewide concurrence among publicly-funded two-year and four-year institutions of higher education on a specific set of courses that would constitute the field of study curriculum. The field of study curriculum is “a set of courses that will satisfy the lower-division requirements for a bachelor’s degree in a specific academic area at a general academic teaching institution,” according to the Texas Education Code. "I'm honored by this appointment. Our curriculum is in line with the latest IEEE/ACM recommendations, and our program has been certified. We're a good role model for the state" said Johnson. Professor Johnson joined the Computer Science Department in 1973. “Traditionally UT and Texas A&M have a dominated role in the education issues in the state. I am very happy to see one of our faculty members playing a significant role in shaping the future Computer Science curriculum in the state of Texas,” said Dr. Stephen Huang, Interim Chairman of Computer Science. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board was created by the Texas Legislature to provide leadership and coordination for the Texas higher education system to achieve excellence for the college education of Texas students.
Awards at Visual Computing Lab		Prof. Ioannis A. Kakadiaris, assistant professor of computer science and Director of the Visual Computing Lab, has been elected to serve at the IEEE Computer Society Distinguished Visitors Program (DVP) 2002-2004. DVP is a popular offering of first quality speakers serving IEEE Computer Society professional and student chapters. In addition, three advisees of Dr. Kakadiaris have received the following awards: Mrs. Vanessa Zavaletta, graduating honors senior of computer science and math, won a 2002 Outstanding Senior Honors Thesis Award for her thesis "Fuzzy Connectedness Segmentation: Performance Evaluation". She also won an award for her poster at the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Alumni Association’s Student Challenge Award last February. Vanessa will join Mayo Clinic for her graduate studies. Mr. Amol Pednekar, Ph.D. candidate of computer science, won a poster award both at the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Alumni Association’s Student Challenge Award and the Sigma Xi Research Day for his poster on “Automatic calculation of ejection fraction using dual contrast short axis cardiac MR images”. In addition, he received a travel award from the International Society of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Medicine to attend ISMRM and present this paper. Amol is expected to graduate in December 2003. Mr. Carlos Barron, Ph.D. candidate of computer science, won the 2002 Sigma Xi Graduate Research Achievement Award for his work on “Anthropometry and Pose Estimation from a Single Uncalibrated Camera”. Carlos is expected to graduate in December 2002.
COSC Forge Partnership with Chinese Institute		HOUSTON, April 8, 2002 - A new academic cooperative agreement between the University of Houston's Department of Computer Science and a Beijing technological institute will extend the department's international reach to China. The agreement between UH and the Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology will facilitate the exchange of faculty in computer science from both universities and allow doctoral students at the Beijing institute to obtain their Ph.D.'s from the University of Houston, said Stephen Huang, interim chair of the UH Department of Computer Science. "This agreement benefits both universities," Huang said. "There are about 5,000 students at the Beijing Institute, mostly majoring in science and engineering. While most of the faculty have master's degrees from very reputable universities in China, this agreement allows their faculty members to come to the University of Houston to obtain their Ph.D.'s." The Beijing institute will provide financial support to their Ph.D. students for the first year of study at UH. "Doctoral students play an important role in research projects done here in the computer science department, and the number and quality of Ph. D. students are major factors in recruiting new faculty. This agreement will enhance our efforts to expand our Ph.D. program and increase our research funding," he said. The agreement, signed in March, allows faculty from UH's computer science department to travel to Beijing to teach courses, and the institute's faculty to come to UH as visiting scholars. UH's Department of Computer Science currently has several agreements with universities throughout Europe to promote student exchange, curriculum development and to stimulate the harmonization of degree programs in computer science. Countries represented include France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Houston Assembly of Delphian Grant		The Houston Assembly of Delphian Chapters gave the Department a $1,000 grant toward the purchase of three hard disks to be used in the new Leanring and Teaching Support Center. Dr. Robert Anderson wrote a proposal to Delphian Scholarship Foundation in April. The Foundation has provided more than $900,000 for the benefit of UH students since 1930. Founded in Houston in 1924, The Houston Assembly of Delphian Chapters is dedicated to intellectual enrichment, social enhancement, and philanthropic endeavors.