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| April 2005 Edition | |
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Greetings from the CSE Chairman |
Dear CSE Students, 
Early registration for Summer and Fall 2005 begins April 4, 2005. We have provided some information about our summer courses below. Summer 2005 will be the last time our courses will be separated into CSCI and CSCE. Beginning in Fall 2005, all of our courses will have the prefix CSCE to complete the change from the Department of Computer Science to the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. You can read more about the course number changes below. With these changes to our department, we will continue to strive toward our goal to be the Number 1 CSE department in the North Texas region, among the top 5 CSE departments in Texas and among the top 50 CSE departments in the US. We know that we are aiming high, but we are willing to work hard to achieve these goals. Your upcoming course and faculty evaluations are important in helping us improve our CSE Department. Your feedback and suggestions can help us achieve these goals. Thanks to everyone who participated in our activities during National Engineers Week. I also want to congratulate our UNT programming teams and our Verizon Foundation scholars. More information about these and other achievements can be found below. I hope you will continue to support CSE and UNT. Sincerely, Krishna M. Kavi | |
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Summer and Fall 2005 Course News |
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CSE Department to Change Course Numbers Beginning Fall 2005 |
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This fall the familiar CSCI department prefix will become a thing of the past. With the new Computer Engineering degree programs, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering decided to choose a new prefix, CSCE, and to renumber the courses so they could be grouped according to subject area. You can look at a cross referenced listing of the courses at the department web site - http://www.cse.unt.edu/education/course.php. The second digit course numbers indicates the subject area for that course. The areas are: 0 - Foundations The switch to the new numbers will be a difficult adjustment for both faculty and students who have been here a while, but in time, CSCE 4110 will be viewed with the same amount of reverence and awe as CSCI 4450 is now. ↑ | |
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B.A. and B.S. Degree Requirements Change in 2005-2006 |
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Beginning in the Fall of 2005, there are several changes that will take effect to the degree plans in the Computer Science and Engineering Department. All degree plans are affected by the course renumbering and change in designation to CSCE from CSCI. To find out if your degree plan will change, please make an appointment with a department advisor by calling 565-2767. Both the B.A. and B.S. are affected by the change in designation for the Computer Organization course from CSCI 3100 to CSCE 2610, as it will no longer count for advanced hours credit. Students in existing Computer Science degree programs who have not completed CSCI 3100 before it changes to CSCE 2610 in the Fall of 2005 should see an undergraduate advisor for instructions on how to receive advanced hours credit for the new course. In addition, the B.S. in Computer Science has been reduced from a minimum of 134 credit hours to 131, due to the elimination of one of the two technical writing courses and the option for foreign language. This reduction will only affect students entering the university beginning Fall 2005, or those choosing to complete their degree under the 2005 catalog. Please consult an advisor before deciding to change your catalog year in order to fully understand the effects on your degree plan. CSCE 4410 (Software Development I) has become a required class for the B.S. in Computer Science and the CSCE 4010 Social Implications of Computing course has increased from 1 credit hour to 2 credit hours. The B.S. in Computer Engineering has not changed other than a few courses having new numbers. New Undergraduate Academic Guides, effective beginning Fall 2005, will be available on the CSE website and in the main office after April 15. ↑ | |
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CSE Department’s Plan for Phasing in the New Introductory Course Sequence |
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Beginning with the fall semester of 2005, the introductory sequence for Computer Science and Computer Engineering students will change. So that new students and students already in the pipeline experience the new curriculum, the following plan for phasing in the change will be used. Fall 2005 CSCE 1030 will be taught for the first time using Java as the programming
language. Spring 2006 CSCE 1030 will be taught using Java as the programming language. After Spring 2006 CSCE 1030 will be taught using Java as the programming language. The reason for this phased approach is so students who are at any stage in the introductory sequence will have studied the same material and learned the same programming languages by the time they finish the courses. Since the content and the programming language for these courses will be changing for the next few semesters, it is important that students take these courses on schedule. Otherwise, they might find that the prerequisite course they took does not adequately prepare them or they may finish the introductory sequence without having learned material that will be needed by later courses. ↑ | |
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CSCI 2010 Assembler Language Farewell Tour |
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Some of the content of this course will now be taught in the new course CSCE 2610 (Computer Organization). A more concentrated Assembly Language course will still be offered periodically in the CSCE 2410 (Programming Laboratory) course.
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CSCE 2020: Signals and Systems Offered During Summer 2005 |
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Topics include concepts of continuous-time and discrete-time signals and systems; linear time-invariant (LTI) systems, impulse response, convolution, Fourier series, Fourier transforms, and frequency-domain analysis of LTI systems; Laplace transforms, z-transforms, and rational function descriptions of LTI systems; principles of sampling and modulation. Beginning Fall 2005, CSCE 2020 will become CSCE 3010. ↑ | |
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PHP Programming to be Taught in Summer as CSCI 2320 and in Fall as CSCE 2410 |
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The course will discuss the process of developing web-based applications using this language, showing students what it takes to process forms-based data, as well as a variety of programming techniques for the manipulation and storage of both client-oriented data and webpage content. The summer course will be taught by Don Retzlaff, who first taught this course in the Fall 2004, as well as the discussion of the language in his 4010/4020 Software Development courses. ↑ | |
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CSCI 2980: Experimental Course to be Offered in Summer 2005 |
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Computer Science and Engineering students will be offered an alternative to the traditional MATH 2770 Discrete Math requirement in the form of an experimental course listed as CSCI 2980 Fundamentals of Computer Science. The course will be available at the Dallas Campus only on Tuesdays from 1:00 – 4:50 p.m., and will focus on an application-oriented approach to discrete mathematics and its applications in Computer Science. Portions of the course will also be conducted in an online format. Please contact David Keathly at keathly@cse.unt.edu for questions or details. ↑ | |
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Last Chance to Take CSCI 3100 as Upper Level Course |
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CSCI 4010 Offered for the First Time as a Summer Course |
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The project-oriented Software Development course CSCI 4010 will be taught this summer for the first time during the combined Summer I and II sessions. Beginning in Fall 2005, CSCI 4010 will change to CSCE 4410 and become a required undergraduate core course for a B.S. in Computer Science. Taking this course in the Summer is an excellent opportunity to get this core course out of the way. The course discusses and implements a web-based application specified by the instructor. Students will work in teams to develop the requirements definition and overall design of the project, but will implement the code individually. Students are allowed to use a variety of implementation languages to develop the project, yet the emphasis in class will be on PHP. Don Retzlaff, who helped develop the format and content of the Software Development course since it was first taught in the early 1980's, will teach this summer session's course. ↑ | |
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Dr. Akl to Offer Special Topics Course on Sensor Networks in Fall 2005 |
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Dr. Robert Akl will teach Introduction to Sensor Networks as a Special Topics Course in Computer Science and Engineering CSCE 4930/5933. Topics will include design implications of energy (hardware and software), and otherwise resource-constrained nodes; network self-configuration; services such as routing under network dynamics, localization, time-synchronization and calibration; distributed data management, in-network aggregation and collaborative signal processing, programming tools and language support. The prerequisite for this Special Topics course is CSCI 3600 (CSCE 3600 in Fall): Principles of Systems Programming. ↑ | |
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Department of Computer Science and Engineering News |
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CSE Programming Team Finishes First in U.S. |
UNT’s programming team (L-R): Michael Mohler, Matthew Watson, and John Rizzo One of our North Texas computer programming teams finished first among teams in the U.S. in the IBM-sponsored International Online Programming Contest (IOPC 2005) held February 20. Our team placed sixth out of 789 teams, but they finished as the top U.S. competitor. Team members were Matthew Watson, John Rizzo, and Michael Mohler. They had to solve 12 programming problems in only one day. According to John, "We basically coded for 18 hours straight and solved all 12 of the given problems." This is the first time a UNT programming team competed in this international competition. To see the results, go to here. To read the NT Daily article about this achievement, go to here. ↑ | |
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UNT Programming Teams Win Two Prizes in Programming Contest |
Third place team (L-R): Keith Hermes, Jack Lindamood, and Mitra Mahdavian. Second place team is pictured in the article above. Two programming teams from the Computer Science and Engineering Dept. at UNT placed 2nd and 3rd in the programming competition held Saturday, March 5 at East Central University in Ada, OK. The second place team, consisting of Matthew Watson, John Rizzo and Michael Mohler, completed 6 of the 8 problems, tying the 1st place team from Oklahoma State University, which included two graduate students. The tie was broken by total time used to achieve the solutions. The third place team from UNT includes Mitra Mahdavian, Keith Hermes and Jack Lindamood. This team solved 5 of the 8 problems in the 4 hour contest. These teams will compete this fall in the ACM Regional Programming Contest held at LSU in Baton Rouge, LA. ↑ | |
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Verizon Foundation Scholarships Awarded |
(L-R) Dr. Krishna Kavi, Josie Campbell (Verizon Foundation), Hakan Ceylan, Christian Loza, Jack Lindamood, and Dr. Kathleen Swigger. Three CSE students from UNT were selected to receive scholarships from the Verizon Foundation for 2005-2006. Two graduate and one undergraduate students received these scholarships in February 2005. Jack Lindamood, the undergraduate recipient of the Verizon Foundation scholarship, will be a senior in Fall 2005. Jack graduated from the Science and Engineering magnet school in Dallas, and transferred to UNT in Fall 2004. Jack is a member of the UNT programming team known as Team Well Defined. His research interests include math intensive computing such as cryptography and computer graphics. His long term career goals consist of getting a Masters Degree and possibly teaching. Hakan Ceylan received one of the two Verizon Foundation graduate scholarships. Hakan received his undergraduate degree from the Department of Computer Engineering at Middle East Technical University (METU), which has one of the best computer science and engineering departments in Turkey. He is currently a Master’s student and a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at UNT. Hakan is working with Dr. Kathleen Swigger on Planning and Reinforcement Learning research areas of Artificial Intelligence. Christian Loza received the other Verizon Foundation graduate scholarship. Originally from Bolivia, Chris received a degree (with honors) in Software and Systems Engineering from the Bolivian Catholic University. In Fall 2004, Chris joined the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at UNT, where he is now working toward his Ph.D. degree. His research interests include computer networks and natural language processing. Chris is a member of the UNT Research Lab for Language and Information Technologies. Congratulations to Jack, Hakan, and Christian for being awarded these Verizon Foundation scholarships! ↑ | |
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Ke Xu, Ph.D. 2004, Receives Award for Dissertation |
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Dr. Sandra Terrell, Graduate Dean of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies at the University of North Texas has announced that Ke Xu was selected as one of the Graduate Council Dissertation Award Recipients for 2004-2005.
In his research, Dr. Xu showed how mobile code can be protected while on remote hosts in a provably secure way, through innovative use of cryptography and interaction. This work formed the basis for a successful $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. Dr. Xu now works as part of the security group at NEC Unified Solutions in Irving. The Department of Computer Science and Engineering congratulates Ke Xu for his achievement. ↑ | |
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National Engineering Week Winners Announced |
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The UNT Chapters of the IEEE Computer Society and the ACM have announced the winners of the student competitions held during National Engineers Week, February 21-25, 2005. Erik Carson was the winner of the Poetry in Code contest. His winning entry can be viewed here. For the Brain Twisters competition, Christopher Sims was first, Sudeep Patwardhan was second, and Christian Loza was third place. In the Name That Program contest, Harold Myles came in first, John Rizzo came in second, and Christopher Sims came in third place. Justin Pocta had the winning design in the CSE Department’s Logo Contest. Dan-Que Nguyen’s logo was awarded second place. Their entries can be seen here. The Best Box contest was won by Steve Borga. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who helped make National Engineers Week a success. Special thanks for prize donations go to UNT College of Engineering, Dr. Ian Parberry and the LARC, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft Imagine Cup, IEEE Computer Society, Association for Computer Machinery, and the UNT Bookstore. ↑ | |
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Alumni Support National Engineers Week |
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CSE Alumni helped to make National Engineers Week a success. Wil Clark,
Network and Systems Manager for UNT-Dallas Campus, was a “Professor for a
Day” in David Keathly’s CSCI 3100 class. Wil received his B.S. in
Computer Science in 1994, and addressed students on the need for sound
project planning and management in all types of software, hardware and
networking efforts.
Alumni support is important to our Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Thanks to our CSE Alumni for supporting our activities during National Engineers Week. ↑ | |
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Summer Internships Available Through TETC's All Across Texas |
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Students must meet certain criteria to be eligible to participate in the program:
Some of the companies involved with the program are AMD, Applied Materials, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Lockheed Martin, Motorola, National Instruments, SBC, and Texas Instruments. The TETC main website is http://tetc.engr.smu.edu/index.html. Interested students must have a username and password to upload their resume. Contact Kurt Krause, UNT Co-Op/Internship Coordinator at kkrause@unt.edu or by calling 940-565-2715. ↑ | |
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Faculty News |
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CSE Faculty Plans for SCOPES 2005 in Dallas |
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For the first time ever, the SCOPES workshop will be held in the United States. More specifically, it will be held in Dallas from September 29 through October 1, 2005, at the Fairmont Hotel, 1717 N. Akard Street, in downtown Dallas. A key goal of the workshop is to provide an interactive atmosphere. Questions are encouraged during all presentations. In addition, the workshop will include special discussion sessions. The workshop is open to all interested participants active in embedded systems. For more information about SCOPES 2005, please go to http://www.scopesconf.org. ↑ | |
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Dr. Kavi Appointed to IEEE Distinguished Visitor Program |
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The Society encourages its members to build Distinguished Visitors Programs in local areas to serve local member communities. For more information about this IEEE program, please go to here. ↑ | |
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Dr. Brazile and Dr. Swigger’s Research Takes Them to Turkey |
Dr. Robert Brazile, Dr. Kathleen Swigger, and Ph.D. student,
Brian Harrington,
visited Ankara, Turkey during spring break this year. Drs. Swigger and Brazile
have a National Science Foundation grant that involves doing a collaborative
project with Dr. Ferda Alpaslan of Middle Eastern Technical University in
Ankara. Dr. Alpaslan received her Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1993 from the
University of North Texas.
(L-R): Brian Harrington, Dr. Ferda Alpaslan, Dr. Kathleen Swigger, Dr. Robert Brazile The purpose of the NSF grant is to investigate how system designers and programmers in different cultures work together using computer-supported collaborative software to design, write, and test programs over the Internet. The purpose of the trip was to test the current version of the collaborative software and set up future projects with colleagues in Turkey. When Brian was asked what he thought of his first visit to Turkey, he said "I did not expect it to be so secular." Although Turkey is a Muslim country, it is very modern and similar to visiting a country in Europe. American students might expect flying carpets and turbans, while Turkish students might expect horses and cowboy hats from us. The reality is that we are not that different. Graduate students in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering may visit exciting foreign places during their studies at UNT. For more information about this NSF project, please go to http://zeus.csci.unt.edu. ↑ | |
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Dr. Parberry Gives Presentations and Publishes Papers |
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Dr. Parberry also gave a colloquium "Three Research Topics in Entertainment Computing" at the Computer Science Department at the University of Denver in March 2005. "Portholes and Planes: Faster dynamic evaluation of potential visible sets," co-authored by Dr. Parberry and Timothy Roden will appear in the April/June 2005 volume of ACM Computers in Entertainment. Dr. Parberry also co-authored "A New 4–Geometry Maze Routing Algorithm," with G.E. Jan, K.Y. Chang and S. Gao, in the January 2005 volume of ACM Transactions on Design Automation of Electronic Systems.
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The CSE Student Email Newsletter was assembled and produced by Genene Murphy and Don Retzlaff. It is a publication of the UNT Computer Science and Engineering Department. Contact the department at cse@cse.unt.edu. http://www.cse.unt.edu UNT Computer Science and Engineering Department |
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Don Retzlaff, who has taught CSCI 2010 since the beginning semester back in
1990, will teach this final section. He is calling it the course's
"Farewell Tour". 
Dr. Robert Akl will teach CSCE 2020: Signals and Systems during summer.
If you are planning to major in Computer Engineering, this is a required
course in that area. Computer Science students can take this class as an
upper-level elective.
Summer 2005 will be your last opportunity to take CSCI 3100 Computer
Organization as an upper level course. Beginning Fall 2005, this course
will become CSCE 2610. The course will be offered during the 10-week
summer session on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 – 11:50 a.m. at the
Research Park, as well as by video conference at the Dallas Campus. David
Keathly will be the instructor. Enroll early to get this class.
Ke Xu has received the Research Dissertation Award for Research
Achievement in Engineering. Dr. Xu graduated in Spring 2004, with Dr.
Steve Tate as his major professor. The title of his dissertation was
"Mobile Agent Security through Multi-Agent Cryptographic Protocols."
The Texas Engineering and Technical Consortium sponsors a summer
internship program called All Across Texas, which "promotes the
relationship between TETC universities and companies and provides an
opportunity for students in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
disciplines to gain valuable experience through a summer internship."
Dr. Krishna Kavi, Chairman of the UNT Department of Computer Science and
Engineering, will serve as Co-Chair for the 9th International Workshop on
Software and Compilers for Embedded Systems (SCOPES). Dr. Philip Sweany,
Associate Professor in the CSE Department, will serve as Co-Chair of the
Program Committee. Dr. Mehran Rezaei, Adjunct Professor in the CSE
Department, will serve as the Tutorial Chair.
The IEEE Computer Society has named Dr. Krishna Kavi, Chairman of
the UNT Department of Computer Science and Engineering, to the North American
Distinguished Visitors Program for 2005-2007. IEEE Chapters in North
America can choose from 37 speakers selected for this program.
Dr. Ian Parberry presented "Experience with an Industry-Driven Capstone
Course on Game Programming" at SIGSCE 2005, ACM's Technical Symposium on
Computer Science Education, in February 2005 in St. Louis, MO. His
co-authors were Timothy Roden, Lecturer in the Department of Computer
Science and Engineering, and Max Kazemzadeh, assistant professor of media
art in the NT School of Visual Arts.