The Debugger Spring 1997
Table of Contents
EDITOR'S NOTES
In this issue, Nadine Tatarko does double duty. In addition
to writing her usual article about what is happening in Tompkins
Lab, Nadine puts on her ISCC hat and describes the conversion that
has taken place in Stright 220 and will soon take place in the
public labs on campus.
Mary Micco tells you about a certificate program that the
department has initiated. This program, which awards certificates
of completion to students who are successful in selected groups of
courses, is meant to attract some of the Continuing Education
students to our courses. The idea is to give some recognition to
students who take some Computer Science courses and who may not
want to pursue a minor or major in Computer Science.
Carol Miller provides our standard alumni news with a little
extra thrown in. She has added some news of future alumni, a
couple of our current students who are soon to graduate.
Drew Dormann gives you a personal point of view of what has
been happening with the Computer Science Club. There are also a
few odds and ends in this issue: a brief report on the PACISE
programming contest, an announcement of the first recipients of
course-related awards and a photo of some of the December
graduates. You will also see a rare photo of the infamous Bruce -
he almost never consents to having his picture taken; but this time
we caught him as he witnessed the presentation of the course-related awards.
Jim Wolfe, Editor
Back to the Contents
From the Chair
Bill Oblitey
Hello again,
We are about three quarters through with the semester and it's
about time to let you know what is happening in your department.
I am, as usual, always happy to communicate with you through The
Debugger and we are all very pleased when you take time off your
busy schedules and come by to visit.
I have several interesting things to report to you this
semester. The first of them is that we have instituted an
ambassador program in the department. Prof. Gary Buterbaugh was
the brain behind the design of the program. The program is to
encourage and recognize outstanding students who are beginning
Computer Science students and who could be used as student
representatives for the department. It is a lifetime title. In
order to be selected to receive the title of Computer Science
Ambassador, a student must have received an "A" in CO 105,
Fundamentals of Computer Science and must have an overall quality
point average of 3.0 or higher after the first semester. We had an
awards luncheon for our very first ambassadors on January 24, 1997
and gave them their certificates. We then charged them with their
ambassadorial responsibilities: (1) If possible, to arrange for a
"diplomatic" visit back to their high school or community college
for a faculty member to make an appropriate presentation. (2) To
attend, when possible, functions such as Corporate and Educational
Advisory Boards dinners and meetings, and to represent the student
voice of the department. (3) To continue their academic
excellence. The pioneer ambassadors are: Ziad Afana, Geffrey
Caruso, Eric Grejda, Jeffrey Hill, Susan Jefferson, John Kaskan,
John Kondrat, Heather Kosakowski, Mark Long, Kathy Scott, and Barry
Sprangle. I am very proud of these ambassadors and I am working
with them to go to their high schools for recruitment purposes.
We had a High School Day program on Friday, March 15, 1997.
It was very successful and faculty were very satisfied with it.
The program was organized by the Recruitment and Retention
committee under the leadership of Prof. Ralph Grove. We brought
some High School juniors to campus and introduced them to aspects
of our program. The student were split into four groups and the
groups were respectively assigned the colors red, blue, green, and
yellow. The groups took turns to go to the four professors who
were stationed in their positions and took care of the following:
Prof. Micco introduced the High Schoolers to the Internet and Home
Page Development, Prof. Grove did Simulation and Games, Prof.
Buterbaugh did Careers, Internships and College Life, and I took
them through Using E-mail and Newsgroups. After all students had
been through all sessions, we took them to the Sally Johnson
Auditorium for the closing ceremony where we treated them to pizza
and fruit punch while some of our students (mostly juniors) who had
volunteered for the activity answered questions posed by the High
Schoolers. We used gift money to provide the pizza and the fruit
punch at the program. I think the success of this program should
actually be attributed to those companies and individuals who have
been donating monies for use at such occasions.
We have also planned to do our Technology Assisted
Problem-Solving (TAPS) competition on May 9, 1997. This day is the Friday
before May commencement and, as such, the computing laboratories
and classrooms are available for us to bring in high school
students for the competition. The TAPS competition is a
problem-solving activity which we have designed and it includes a series of
problems to challenge teams of the schools' best and most
technologically oriented learners. In this Competition, the
schools submit teams of five members and we give them programming
problems, Internet scavenger hunt, cryptogram problems, and carry
along logical problems. We also have them create web pages and at
the competition, they give us the URL of the page and we judge the
home pages. The winning team gets a prize which is furnished by
the office of Dr. Bruce Gersick of the ARIN Intermediate Unit #28.
We have instituted two of several proposed certificate
programs. The initial two instituted are Computer Literacy
Certificate and C++ Programmer Certificate. The Computer Literacy
Certificate is designed for the person who needs to become more
proficient in using the personal computer for a variety of tasks.
Students are made to explore advanced word processing including
mailmerge and desk top publishing, spreadsheets and databases.
This is followed by a switch to techniques for building multimedia
presentations in a variety of different ways. The courses required
for this certificate are CO 101 - Microbased Computer Literacy, and
CO 201 - Internet and Multimedia. The C++ Programmer Certificate
is designed for the person who wants to acquire basic programming
skills and requires completion of CO 110 - Problem Solving and
Structures Programming, and CO 310 - Data Structures, both of which
use the C++ programming language. The other proposed certificates
are still being discussed and I'll keep you informed about what
they are and we decide about them. The rationale for the
certificates is that there will be people who want some of the
ideas in computing but do not necessarily want to major or minor in
computer science. We also think that the certificates may attract
people to our courses and perhaps after taking the courses some
will opt for majoring in computer science.
At the end of January, this year, I went to Philadelphia and
New Jersey with Mr. Tracy Harris, an Associate Dean of Admissions,
and Mr. James McGhee, an EDP Maintenance person who is now assigned
to our college on minority recruitment business. We donated a
computer each to two youth organizations at the Servants United for
Christ in Philadelphia and Union Baptist Temple in Bridgeton, New
Jersey. The machines are Dell 486's equipped with Microsoft
Office software and laser printers. This exercise is in
continuation of our DuPont Corporation sponsored Minority
Recruitment program.
Our Gift Money Committee is discussing the establishment of a
new scholarship fund with an initial deposit of $12,500 to be used
to present an annual scholarship to an incoming freshman, based
upon need and academic potential. We hope this will help in
recruiting quality students and that you will agree so much with it
that you will want to contribute towards the fund.
The Internship program is again picking up momentum and this
semester we approved twelve students to go on internship!! Dr.
Shubra is in the process of placing them with our internship sites.
I am particularly pleased that the number of students who go out on
internship has increased and as we see higher enrollment numbers we
are sure to see higher internship numbers also.
So, let me end with my usual encouragement to you to continue
to keep in touch with us and also to continue with your generous
contributions that help us to do the things that are otherwise
impossible to do.
Back to the Contents
Carol's Corner
Carol Miller
Hi Everybody -
Spring is finally making it's way through Indiana. No - that
doesn't mean the sun is shining. It means the trees are starting
to blossom and the bulbs are up and I've seen some shorts being
sported around. Actually, I won't complain about this past winter.
It was long but VERY mild and I think the schools only had a couple
snow days, maybe one. And, the blizzard we usually have during
spring break was very mild this year. So, we're chugging right
along.
Dewey Miller (12/94) finally let me know what he's up to.
He's in Maryland working for Manugistics, Inc. They produce the
industry's only complete/fully functional/deliverable/non-vaporware
suite of Supply Chain Management Solutions. He is a Technology
Consultant. He travels 80% of the time and advises clients on what
they should buy . . and they do! I'm not sure Dewey should have
that much power, but, oh, well. He also gets to travel
internationally, but so far the trips he has had scheduled (to
Bogota, Columbia and Sao Paulo, Brazil) had to be canceled, one
because of problems with murder (must have heard he was coming) and
the other because of the Carnival (must have heard he wasn't
coming). Don't worry, Dewey, you'll make it yet - just don't tell
them before hand. So, now Dewey is living in Germantown, MD in a
townhouse with Ellen and the cats. He and Ellen formally became
engaged on December 17. Ellen is also working for Manugistics.
Thanks, Dewey, and keep in touch.
Jim Barrett (5/80) called the other day. He's from this area
and had been back visiting at Christmas. He's still with COMPAQ in
Houston and they are hiring a lot of new people, so if anyone out
there is interested, give me a call and I'll give you some details.
Thanks for calling, Jim, it's always nice talking with you.
I had e-mail from Chris Munson (5/87). Boy has Chris changed
his life. First, he got married two years ago. His wife's name is
Amy and they have a beautiful daughter, Meredith. Chris says she's
fabulous (now, why don't I find that hard to believe). Then, he
changed jobs. Previously he was a DB2 DBA for First Union National
Bank. Now he works as a DB2 Technical Specialist for IBM for the
DB2 development lab in San Jose, CA (but is still living in
Charlotte, NC). He helps customers with technical issues related
to DB2. Then, he and Amy decided, after Meredith arrived that they
needed a bigger house, so they built a new house and sold the old
one. They just moved into the new house in the fall. Chris says
he must have forgotten after building his first house just "how
much fun it is". Actually, his words were more like what a pain in
the butt it is. Then, he took the next step toward being a real
family man. He sold his sports car and bought a Ford Explorer
which, as he says, is probably one-step away from a minivan. Yeah,
it probably is! They're what we call a nice family car. Chris was
even here to visit over Christmas '95, but it was at a time when we
were closed so he didn't stop in. Hey, Chris, thanks!! I don't
hear from you enough!!!
Chris also gave me a run down on his brother Mike (5/86).
Mike is still with Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh. He is married and
has two kids, Emma, almost 3 and Alec, 1. Thanks again, Chris.
Please keep in touch!!
Our condolences go out to Dan Yuhas (5/88) on the death of his
mother last November. Very sorry to hear of your loss, Dan. Dan
is still working in the Computer Center here at IUP.
I heard via John Cross from Barb Ardary (12/82). For over
twelve years Barb had been at General Dynamics in Groton CT
developing weapon simulators and other software for submarines; and
last year she made a change to GTE Government Systems in North
Carolina (did the weather have anything to do with that decision,
Barb?) At GTE she is developing network management systems using
OOA/OOD and, since graduating, has gotten both her master's degree
and PhD. Also, Barb advises that there are tons of job openings in
the Raleigh-Durham area for anyone interested in warm weather and
a change. (I might have those priorities reversed.)
Chris Clair (12/94) called one day (in addition to the e-mail
messages I get from him). Chris is still with Keane and working at
Lockheed in King of Prussia. He's been really busy and it's paying
off cause he got another promotion this year. He's now a senior
consultant. Congratulations, Chris!! Chris was coming to town
some weekends in the fall to see the mighty IUP football team in
action. He also just moved to another apartment in King of Prussia
(I think he just moves so he doesn't have to clean - and personally
I don't think that's a bad idea). It was great hearing from you,
Chris!
John Hurst (5/87) called. John is working at the University
of Pittsburgh. He's development manager for a group of COBOL
programmers and was, at the time, looking for people to add to his
group. John has been married to Laura for nine years. They have
two children, Brittany who is 7 and Emily who is 5. They are in
the process of moving from Plum Borough to New Kensington where
they are just closing on a house. Good luck with the move, John.
Thanks for calling.
And, John works with another of our IUP grads, John Cassidy
(5/85). So, I got a chance to talk with John, too. He started his
career at EDS in Michigan, then went to DuPont in Wilmington for
five years and has been at Pitt since. John has been married to the
former Chris Foreback who was a 1986 MIS graduate. They have two
boys, Connor, who is 5, and Drew, who is 1 1/2. They live in the
North Hills of Pittsburgh. Nice talking with both you guys!!
Bob Torsch (12/82) has been back in the good US of A with his
family (wife and two daughters, Fiona and Natalie. He was on
campus visiting and stopped in to say Hi. He had pictures of his
family and his girls are just adorable. Nice to see you, Bob.
I heard from T. J. Hall (5/88) one day. T.J. is still with US
Air. They've sold their house and are renting until Spring when
they are going to think about building. T.J. is also applying for
a part time teaching position at the community college down there.
Always great to hear from you T.J.
Joe Karolchick (8/87) is still with HRB Systems in Maryland.
He still really enjoys his work - having spent last summer in San
Antonio TX at Lackland Air Force base installing a system and now
has been back in Maryland finishing up a second system that he will
be installing in Australia. It sounds like a REALLY nice trip,
Joe!! Thanks for the info and please keep me posted.
Janet Harrell (5/90) called one day. She's still out in the
good old midwest. She been promoted to project manager. She's
working in development on AS 400, client server and Power Builder.
Please don't wait so long to call next time, Janet.
Jim DeArment (12/90) stopped in the office one day. He and his
wife (Lisa) had a day off and decided to drive out and see what
had changed at IUP - not much, huh? Anyway, Jim is now working as
a programmer at BonTon in York. He is doing Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI). After graduation, Jim worked in Altoona for
Keystone Data Services, then in May, 1993, went to Pittsburgh with
Pittsburgh Business Consultants where he was sent to Mellon Bank,
then FiSERV bought Mellon and he went to work for FiSERV and stayed
until September 1994 when he went to BonTon. He and Lisa got
married in 1995. Lisa is a medical technologist and was working in
Baltimore but just recently got a job at a hospital in York. That
makes the commute much easier!! They are parents too. They have
a four legged orange furry thing whose name is Pumpkin but whose
alias is Meepers because of her funny meow. I think she just might
be a little spoiled, but you didn't hear that from me. Thanks for
stopping, you two; it was really nice to see you. Please don't
wait six years for the next visit.
Michelle (Emery) Davis (5/87) called one day. She's working
for a consulting firm and her company had some job openings. She
was going to fax me the info and an update on her life since IUP.
I didn't get the FAX, Michelle and I didn't get your phone number
so couldn't call you to let you know. Anyway, I do know that
Michelle is married and has a little boy and little girl. Thanks,
Michelle, but we need to talk again.
I had a postcard from none other than Marty Speranza (12/92).
If you remember, I mentioned I had heard a rumor that Marty was
living in Alaska and had married an Eskimo. WELL . . . the
postcard I received was from Alaska, and Marty said the rumor was
correct, he is in Alaska. Now, he didn't mention a marriage, so I
don't know about that. If you read this, Marty, please give me
more details. You know "everyone" would like to know what you're
up to.
I had a Christmas card from Becky Salter (12/94) telling me
she moving to Norfolk, VA where she has accepted a position as an
account manager at Nations Bank. Then I had a letter after she
arrived. Then, not long ago I had a phone call. She just finished
training at the bank. And, as Becky says, "so far, so good". She
sees a lot of chances for growth which is very good. AND, she can
actually see the sun (I think that's the big orange thing that
sometimes causes me to put on dark glasses, but I'm not sure since
we don't see such things in Indiana). Best of luck to you,
Becky. Let me know how it goes!
I also had a Christmas card from Mark (5/85)and Bev (Green)
Landry (5/85) and Justin. They also sent a picture. You two look
exactly the same as you did when you graduated. I'm not sure who
Justin looks like, I think his mother, but he sure is a cutie.
Mark is working for U.S. Steel and is the head of Traffic System
and Purchasing Local Area Networks. Bev is working three days a
week at Westinghouse Communications. She has survived all the
layoffs! Thanks so much for the picture, Mark and Bev and I hope
you send me one next year so I can see how he has grown!
I heard from Dale Lynn (5/85). He is living near Pittsburgh,
has been married for 3 1/2 years to Kisle. Like a lot of couples
now, their children have four legs. They have adopted two retired
(from the track) greyhounds. Isn't that neat?? I think at some
point I would like to do that. Anyway, back to business. Dale had
been working at Giant Eagle as the EDI Coordinator. He is still
at Giant Eagle, but is now the Unix Systems Support Manager. Dale
is also Chairman of the Greater Pittsburgh Electronic Data
Interchange User Group. They have about 50 members and get
together once a month to listen to speakers and share ideas. If
anyone is interested in joining (there is a meeting May 2), you can
call Dale at 412 953-3545 or e-mail him at dlynn@gianteagle.com.
Or, if you just want to say hi to Dale!! Congratulations on the
recent promotion, Dale, and thanks for letting me know what you've
been up to!!
Mike Elder (5/94) and Lori had a baby girl on February 27.
Her name is Alexis Caroline. She weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz and was 20
inches long. Her big sister, Monica, is very proud of her (as are
her mother and father, of course). Congratulations, Mike and
Lori!! Send pictures.
Big, big news here!!! Janie (Pike) Kustaborder (5/92) and Ron
are expecting their first baby in October. I kept asking Janie
when they were going to have a baby and she told me not until
everybody quit asking when they were going to have a baby. So, I
quit. I guess everybody else did too, right, Janie? Anyway, I'm
excited cause I get to help spoil it. I'll be in touch!
I had an e-mail from Beth Blum Spiker (5/88), and I was sure
glad I was sitting down when I read it. Wait till you hear this:
She met the perfect man, married him on August 31, quit her job the
day before and moved to Germany on September 18 where her husband
is on assignment with the Department of Defense. They expect to be
there 2-4 years. Beth became a Mary Kay consultant before they
left the US and that's what she's doing in Germany. And, if I read
into what Beth is telling me, she doesn't care if she never has
another job in the computer industry (she might change her mind,
though, after she has about eight kids and wants to get out of the
house, what do you think???). They live in a small town named
Winkel outside Wiesbaden which is about a half hour from Frankfurt.
It's along the Rhine River and they are in the middle of wine
country (not beer). Beth is trying to learn a little more German
so she can buy some groceries. Beth's mother-in-law is originally
from Germany and her husband has family there, and his mother is
going over in July for a big reunion. Isn't that neat??? So,
Beth, let me know how it goes.
Tim Burns (12/90) called one day. He's working for CDS
Consulting in Weirton WV. He's married to Kelly who is a nurse at
Children's Hospital and they have a little boy named Brook
Christian. He was four months old at the time of Tim's call. They
live in Penn Hills. Thanks, Tim! Great hearing from you.
I think in the last issue, I told you Jason Moyer (5/96) had
stopped in and I wasn't here at the time. Since then I had e-mail
from him. He's really enjoying his job (I'm not sure he thought he
would). He's been given sole responsibility of all the PC LAN
technology for the company. He works in mostly a WIN NT and AS/400
environment with some support in a legacy Netware system. It came
with a healthy pay raise, too. He's also taking classes to become
a Microsoft Certified Engineer. Thanks for the info, I was really
happy to hear from you.
Big news from Julie Roxby (5/92). She and Darren got engaged
in December and they have moved to Cleveland. Darren who is an
electrical engineer got a really good job out there, (hence the
move) and Julie then got a job with CIBER, Inc. They are probably
setting a wedding date for April or May of next year. Their
apartment complex borders a state park with mountain biking trails,
so Julie thinks she may train for the MS150 this year. Sounds like
a LONG bike ride, Julie! Let me know what's going on!
Talked with Dan O'Donnell (12/87) one day. Dan is still with
Wilmington Trust in Wilmington DE and all is well with Dan and his
family. Nice talking to you, Dan.
I also heard from Valerie Bonito (12/93). She and Roger
Hughes (12/93) have moved to Cincinnati. You're getting closer to
home, Val!! They just moved, so Val didn't have any big news. Is
there any yet, Val??
Had e-mail from Mark Carrier. Mark is still with Tartan Labs in
Monroeville and Tartan has been acquired by Texas Instruments.
Mark is (in a manner of speaking) rolling with the punches. He
says Tartan has lost its small (family) identity but has gained
many of the advantages of big companies - for instance Mark was
sent to Houston for three months for an open-ended training period.
This year he took over development of a C compiler for TI's
floating point DSP products (C3x/C4x family of processors). He had
also started grad school in the Fall but had to drop out to go to
Texas. Fortunately, he got started again this Spring. He's going
to Pitt. Good luck! Thanks for the info. Keep me posted.
I've heard from Lance Tost (12/95) a couple times. Lance is still
working for Systems Automation and is going for Oracle training,
but his big news is that he moved out of the zoo. Since I don't
know DC I'm not sure how far from the zoo he is, but he's now
living near Georgetown . . in a wooded area . . Glover Park . .
wait a minute, that sounds like a zoo to me. Maybe he just moved
out of an apartment and into the actual zoo - hmmmm. No matter
where you are, thanks for the info, Lance. I hope everything is
going well???
Matt Yonkoske (5/96) is still with Integrated Systems and has
been really busy. Fortunately, he really likes his work, but he
hasn't had much time for hockey and pool .. and beer. But, you're
staying out of trouble, aren't you, Matt?
I had one of those e-mails I love to get - from someone who
graduated before I came to IUP. This was from Karen (Novak)
Williams (12/81). When Karen graduated, she left for Dallas to
work for Texas Instruments and has been there ever since. She now
lives in Euless (near the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport) and is working
for Motorola's Advanced Messages System Division in Ft. Worth.
She's been married for fourteen years to a guy she met at Texas
Instruments. They have 2 children, Michelle, 8 and Christopher 18
months (and no, Karen says he is not an accident, it just took a
long time to create). She's been doing application software since
day 1 and loves almost every minute of it. Currently, she is
working on a leading edge 2-way paging infrastructure platform
system. Motorola is manufacturing 2-way voice pagers and her group
is helping by deploying the systems that will send to the pagers.
Their first system will be going to China and Karen will go with it
for a couple weeks. WOW - that sounds like very interesting work,
Karen. I'm really glad you let us know about it. Please keep in
touch and let us know how it went in China!!!!
And, I had an e-mail from another of those people I love to
hear from - someone who graduated shortly after I started - Joan
Bowers (5/83). Presently, Joan is working for SAIC, having
previously worked for Honeywell and Centech. She has been a
computer trainer, integrator, maintenance analyst, site system
administrator, tester, and hotline analyst and has worked on
Honeywell DPS6, DPS8, MacIntosh, PC's and Suns. She's worked with
GCOS, MSDOS, Unix, AUX and Solaris. She's been to 20 or 30 states
and to Europe three times. For the past three years, she's been
working on a Department of Defense contract building systems at
military sites. An interesting sidelight to Joan's life: Joan
came from a background of coal miners who strove hard to get an
education so they wouldn't have to work underground and, guess,
what - Joan is working five or six levels underground on a
computer. There must be some truth to the saying "What goes around
comes around" (although I don't think that's exactly how it was
meant). But, she's going to be getting into the computer security
area soon. I'm sure you will all agree, Joan has been a busy lady.
Thanks so much for letting me know what you've been up to and don't
wait so long next time.
Brian Bevan (5/83) was on campus interviewing for HRB Systems.
I didn't see him, but Charley Shubra had lunch with him. Next
time, Brian, stop in.
Tammy Smith is working as a software engineer in Crystal City
and living in Fairfax, VA. She is working in UNIX and C. Her BIG
news is that she is in training for a four-day bicycle ride from
North Carolina to DC (300 miles). It's called the Washington DC
AIDS ride and is sponsored by Tanquery. It is to raise money for
HIV and AIDS related services of Food and Friends and
Whitman-Walker Clinic. If anyone else is riding, you might want to look up
Tammy! Keep us posted Tammy!!
I heard from Wendy Liskey (5/94). Wendy is still at Shared
Medical in the same department. I can't believe that Ashley has
turned 5. Wendy took her to DisneyWorld to celebrate.
Warren Hilton (5/95) has been accepted at IUP for graduate
work in Counseling. It will be nice to have Warren back among us,
should he decide to accept. Warren also has a new job. He's no
longer at DuPont. He's doing consulting work at Coretek
Consulting. He's been there since the middle of February. He made
the move for the experience, not because he wasn't happy at DuPont.
Maybe we'll see you in the Fall, Warren!
I've talked with Bo Gohn (12/94) several times in the last
couple months. Sheridan Press is looking for an intern to help
them move to client-server and Bo is the contact person at
Sheridan. Bo's personal life seems to be going smoothly with the
new apartment, the new dog (Snoopy) and the same cat. He also got
a Jeep Cherokee. I hadn't heard from Bo for so long I thought
maybe he had moved to Saudi Arabia or Cleveland or somewhere, but,
no, he's been over there in Hanover and York. It's always great to
hear from Bo. Hope all goes well!
Todd Livermore (12/94) was here one day. He came to speak at
High School Days where we hosted 80 high school students for a
morning. I didn't really get to talk with Todd much because I was
running around doing things when he got here, but he is still with
Commonwealth Systems Corporation. Nice seeing you Todd. Hope
you'll be able to do that again next year!!
Sean Van Scoyoc (12/90) was also a speaker for High School
Days; but I didn't see him. Sean is still here at IUP. Sean,
maybe you can speak again next year, too. (Of course, we can just
go down and sign you up anytime, now can't we?)
Lynn Styers (12/95) is still with Shared Medical and still
likes it. Her mother-in-law was down for a visit and they went
outlet shopping. Britney had her birthday on November 16. How
old is she now, Lynn, 5? Jeff was shooting in a professional pool
tournament in Lancaster. I haven't heard if he won. Thanks, Lynn,
always nice to hear what you're up to!
Pamm Gindlesberger (12/94) is still at RPS in Pittsburgh.
There is a new love interest in her life. I won't expand on that.
Let me just say he is a prints of a guy. Thanks for all the jokes
you send me Pamm, sometimes it's the only joy I get in life (just
kidding).
And speaking of jokes, I also send thanks for the remainder of
my sanity to Mike Gutzat (5/87) who also sends me jokes. I need to
check in with Mike instead of just reading the jokes, but last I
heard, the family was doing well and growing like weeds.
And, speaking of Pamm and RPS and all that, Vickie Pearce
(12/94) was a very sick girl back in January. It actually started
prior to January with a strep throat, then the antibiotics caused
a skin rash which, after steroids, etc. not helping, was diagnosed
as psoriasis caused by the strep throat. Then, she had heart
palpitations at which point she was hospitalized for about a week.
She was diagnosed with myocarditis and was sentenced to complete
bed rest at home. Her doctors said that something was toxic to her
heart and it could have been some of the medication she had had.
Well, the last I heard from her, she was back at work and still has
the rash, has been put on a very limited diet (she's lost 40
lbs.!!) and isn't allowed any strenuous activity. Does not sounds
like fun, does it??? So, Vickie, keep me posted on how you're
doing.
I heard that Derek Ochs (12/95), was seen in town having
breakfast with a "friend". I guess he thought he could get in town
and back out without anyone seeing him. I think he now knows
better. Derek is still with SMS and still really likes it. He's
with the same group and their client-server program is being beta
tested at a hospital in New Jersey. When the bugs are worked out,
it will go on the market. Well, Derek, next time you're in town to
visit your "friend" don't do it quietly.
I've heard from some of our most recent December grads. [See
the picture later in this issue.] Here's a run down on what I
know:
Dave Stange started working at Shared Medical where he's
coding in C++ on WinNT. He's working with Derek Ochs so I'm not
real sure how much actual work is being done if you know what I
mean.
Mike Hritz is working for Integrated Systems, and I think Mark
Currier is also.
Zack Howe is in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a software engineer
working for LHS Communications Systems, Inc.
Quinn Yost stopped in to let me know where he was going. He
accepted a job with Endeavor Corporation, as a Sales Support
Technician, in Chicago. He was leaving the weekend of the January
17 in the big chill. He rented a U Haul and was attaching his car
to the back. I haven't heard anything from him since. Let's hope
he made it. Let me know, Quinn!
Milton Ferguson stopped in to tell us he was starting on March
4 for Sheetz Corporation in Altoona where he is their new
PeopleSoft programmer. PeopleSoft is a human resources management
system that deals with personnel assessment and payroll management
and has its own development application. Milt is commuting from
Blairsville right now, but something tells me he may decide to move
up there by winter. Thanks for stopping, Milt, keep us updated on
how things are going.
John Jenkins accepted a job with IBM in Poughkeepsie. He just
started in February and so far is enjoying it very much.
And, here is a preview for some of our alumni-to-be.
Mike Everett (5/97) will be heading for IBM in May when he
graduates.
Sherri Soltis (5/97) is working as a software engineer for
Kube & Plekker Microsystems, Inc. in Ford City. Sherri isn't
taking classes this semester, but she stopped in the other day and
said hello.
And, now I think that's all the news that's fit to print.
Make sure you keep in touch with me. This is job security, you
know. I'll be talking with you in the Summer. In the meantime,
have a wonderful Spring and do lots of exciting things in the
summer and write and tell me about them! Let's have a contest and
see how many new babies we can have by this time next year! (Just
checking to see if you read this far.)
Back to the Contents
News from Tompkins Lab
Nadine Tatarko
Hi all. As reported in the last issue of The Debugger,
the Computer Science Department had received its annual
allotment of ESF monies and had ordered some new computer
equipment for the lab. Well, those new systems finally
arrived and have been set up in the lab for use by all. They
are configured with Win95 as the primary operating systems;
but log on to both our NT and NetWare Servers for access to
shared applications. The lab is now down to only three (3)
Zenith 386s .. Almost all gone!
The lab also got a new Pentium that was originally was
going to be used for a new NetWare Server; but, this machine
was configured as the lab's new NT 4.0 server. This was done
because of all the 32-bit applications the department is using
now. Presently, the following 32-bit programs are being
utilized: Windows 95, Project 95, Office Professional 95,
Visual C++ 4.0, Kermit 95, and Netscape 3.0 with VRML.
The Win95 test project in the CoF (Classroom of the Future) is just about complete.
Some faculty have already begun using the new operating system. This test will continue for
this semester and on through the summer sessions. The three ISCC Public Data Centers
(Johnson, Mack, and Davis) will be converted to this dual-boot scenario in time for the start
of the Fall 97 Semester. The plan is to support the dual-boot method for one year. [See the
later article for more details.]
Finally, on the issue of the lab's lost space, no
official news yet.
Back to the Contents
Computing Certificates
Mary Micco
The Computer Science Department is planning to offer a
series of Certificates of Completion for interested non-traditional students registered through Continuing Education.
All students completing any prescribed course sequence with
grades of "C" or better will be issued the appropriate
certificate by the Computer Science Department, signed by the
Dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. This
initiative is an attempt to respond to the growing demand for
more courses and offerings in the new technologies by
professionals in other fields.
While they may not want to come back for a major, they
often want to add computer skills to their resume. The
certificates enable the Department to certify that certain
competencies have been achieved and to direct the efforts of
these students to specific marketable skill areas. It will
also be much easier to advertise and promote than a minor in
Computer Science.
The first certificate to be offered will be for non-programmers who want to be able to demonstrate that they are
able to use the Microsoft Office97 suite and that they know
how to manage a simple web site. The other obvious need is for
professionals in object oriented programming. After much
discussion, it was decided to offer a certificate for the
first two programming courses, CO110 and CO310 in C++. Non-majors or professionals in the work force may take these two
courses to earn a C++ Programming Certificate. The following
certificate descriptions were posted for Summer Sessions I &
II of this year.
Computer and Internet Literacy Certificate
This two course certificate program is designed for the person
who needs to become more proficient in using her/his personal
computer for a variety of tasks. Students will explore
advanced word processing including mailmerge, and desk top
publishing, spreadsheets and databases. Then, they will
switch to techniques for building multimedia presentations
using a variety of different software packages. Finally,
each student will develop a simple Web site. The courses
required are:
CO101: Microbased Computer Literacy
CO201: Internet and Multimedia.
C++ Programmer Certificate
This two course programming certificate is designed for the
student who needs to get up to speed with the newer
programming languages. Both courses will use C++, although
objects will not be introduced until the second course. This
certificate is not available to majors.
CO110 Problem Solving and Structured Programming.
This course focuses on problem analysis,
algorithm development, and computer solutions.
CO310 Data Structures. This course covers more
complex data structures with lists, trees,
and hashing techniques, as well as string
processing.
Intranet Manager Certificate
This certificate is targeted at the programmer already in the
work force or the student who is currently majoring in
Computer Science or MIS. There is currently a very high demand
for students with networking and programming experience who
can support a multimedia Intranet with database access and
proper security management. Students awarded this certificate
will be required to complete the following courses:
CO110 Problem Solving and Structured Programming (in
C++)
CO201 Internet and Multimedia (required)
CO310 Data Structures (in C++)
CO345 Data Communications
One of the following:
CO355 Computer Graphics
CO444 Productivity Tools and 4GL s (prereq: CO441)
One of the following:
CO362 Unix and C
CO441 Data Base Management
Two other courses currently in development will be added to
this list when they become approved. We are working on a
CO245, Local Area Networks, course and a CO301, Dynamic
Internet Programming, course. The CO301 course is being
taught as CO481 this summer.
Other Proposed Certificates
We are exploring other possible certificates and welcome your
suggestions. At the moment, we are looking into :
Client-Server Database Design Certificate
There is a great deal of emphasis today on the importance
of client-server technology. This certificate will
provide hands on experience with an NT server running a
SQL server as well as RDB on the Vax Mainframe. The
CO441 DataBase Management and CO444 Productivity Tools
and 4th Generation Languages courses will be key to this
certificate.
Software Engineering Certificate
This certificate is designed for the student who is
interested in learning how to manage large projects with
modern tools and techniques. It is assumed that the
person has already had training and experience as a
programmer. CASE technology is being covered.
We are trying to get funding for a Colloquium series that
would focus on Instructional Technology and Internet. If we
are successful, students would be required to demonstrate
attendance to obtain the Intranet Manager Certificate. We
would welcome suggestions from you about possible topics,
speakers and/or sources of funding.
I personally would also like to see the students develop
a full fledged Web site as a CO320 project or at an internship
site. But it seems there will be difficulty organizing this
requirement.
Back to the Contents
A Year in the Club
Drew Dormann
Many students are getting an edge by being members of
IUP's Computer Science Club. The CompSci club, sponsored by
Dr. Ralph Grove, has meetings every few weeks and is involved
in all varieties of events related to the computing field from
learning programming to special trips to just general
know-how. All without any homework.
I have learned a lot about the benefits of this club in
my short year as its elected secretary/Webmaster, an honor
that means much to me even after losing the election for
president. . . and vice-president . . . and whatever other
offices were voted on prior.
The club allows people to experience many different
facets of the field without getting too deeply involved.
Instead of following a rigid course schedule designating what
and when things are to be learned, the club allows members to
explore what they're currently interested in. I personally
gave a lecture on web authoring and setting up pages on IUP's
server. This apparently was a topic of interest, as young
students and old, computer science majors and others all
showed up and seemed delighted with how much they had learned
that evening.
The club is also has a relaxed, flexible atmosphere to
it. Non-members are welcome to come to a meeting, just to get
the feel of what it's like. We might even waive the $3
membership fee for any member of faculty that decided to drop
by. Heck, we'd probably have a slice or two of pizza for
him/her, as we usually do for all our members. The relaxed
environment makes it comfortable for members to interact, get
involved, and learn at their own pace. I recently gave a
lecture on the Java language. What was to be an interactive,
hands-on demonstration became a computer-less discussion when
IUP's network slowed to an absolute standstill. I'm sure
you've all been hindered by such an occurrence. (IUP's
network slowdown, not computer-less discussions)
I have found the club to be fun and rewarding, as I
believe many others do. It has helped many of us to discuss
our interests, ask and answer questions, and find a common
bond and sense of belonging. However, there are many students
that don't even know of the existence of this club. I would
ask that faculty mention upcoming meetings to their classes
and encourage the students to attend. The club has certainly
been rewarding enough for me to run for office for the next
year. Whatever my officer status is, if any , I would
certainly continue my involvement in the club. Perhaps I
could give another lecture on Java, network permitting.
Back to the Contents
New OS to be Installed in the Public Data Centers!
Nadine Tatarko, for ISCC
It all began last Fall; sometime in October to be more
specific. A number of faculty expressed interest in upgrading
the current operating system, Windows 3.1, in the public data
centers to Windows 95. A proposal was formulated and was to
be presented to the Academic Advisory Committee. The original
proposal was for a total conversion to the Win95 operating
system; thus abandoning the current Pathworks/Windows 3.1
model.
This topic was discussed at the first two Academic
Advisory Committee meetings of the Fall Term. This discussion
included members and interested non-members of the committee.
The committee recommended that it was time to upgrade IUP s
current PC operating system and that Windows 95 would be
appropriate. The committee also recommended that the academic
user community be given the opportunity to voice their opinion
on the matter; thus, two public hearings were scheduled for
December.
The first public hearing was held on December 9, 1996.
There were several ISCC members in attendance along with
several faculty and staff from various departments and
offices. In general, during this meeting, there was strong
endorsement for the planned change. The second public hearing
was held on December 10. Again, several ISCC members attended
along with a few faculty and staff. Discussion in this second
meeting dealt with the pros and cons of the proposed change.
Additionally, the discussion at this meeting suggested that
there was need for a better process of making these kinds of
decisions.
The pro issues expressed at this meeting were that: such
change was needed to improve teaching of current software; the
base of installed software (for Win95) is significant and
students need exposure to it; the base of software (for Win95)
is of good quality; the current operating systems (Windows 3.1
and DOS) are not meeting the needs; a commitment to change is
needed soon because of the preparation required; and a faculty
member stated that the faculty that he talked to favored such
a change.
The con issues expressed at this meeting were that: there
was already not enough time to make the changes necessary; the
process followed did not include enough key people; NT, not
Win95, is the next logical step; a full cost analysis
comparing Windows 95 to Windows NT and other alternatives
should be presented to faculty for consideration. Discussion
also included the concept of a multiple boot arrangement where
both Win95 and the full former environment would be maintained
for a period of time.
At the Council of Chairs meeting on December 11 Garry
Bozylinsky, Bill Creighton, and Mark Strawcutter presented
what had been happening on this issue. Discussion at this
meeting was very much in favor of making the change to Win95.
There was a "straw-vote" taken which supported this
perception. Consensus was that both environments should be
supported (i.e. both Win 3.1 and DOS and Win95).
On December 12, Garry Bozylinsky met with Bill Creighton
and Mark Strawcutter to further consider the dual boot
environment. Based on feedback of the previous two days, it
was concluded that a multiple boot scenario would be
maintained for an agreed period of time.
The Classroom of the Future (CoF/STR220) was selected as
the test site for the upcoming migration to Win95. During
semester break, Ed Zimmerman (of the ISCC SysComm group) set
up a Digital Alpha Workstation with Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
Server. This system would serve the CoF with it's network
connectivity, Windows 95 Client operating system, and other
Win95-based software applications. Nadine Tatarko (Academic
Technology Services support rep for the NSM College) worked
with Ed Zimmerman to migrate the CoF to the new set up. They
have continually worked on the Win95 environment in the CoF
all semester to correct unforeseen problems that have arisen
along the way.
Presently, the CoF test site is configured such that a
user is presented with a "Windows 95 Start-up Menu" upon
powering up the systems. From this initial menu, users have
the choice of booting to "Normal" (Windows 95) or to
"Previous version of MS-DOS" (former Pathworks/Win 3.1
System). Under the Win95 OS, four (4) generic user names were
created for connecting to and getting authenticated by the NT
4.0 Server. No passwords are needed. Once the user clicks
"okay" or presses the Enter key, the Windows 95 desktop
appears.
Other applications that have also been installed under
the Win95 environment include: Microsoft Office 97, Netscape
3.01, Kermit 95, WsFTP, WsPING, and WinVN (newsreader). A 50
megabyte "PC-common" area has been set up and shared on the NT
Server so users would have a common place to temporarily
store/share files while in the CoF. Short-cuts have been
created on the Win95 Desktop which allow the user to connect
(or map) to this directory.
Also, short-cuts have been configured that will allow the
user to connect M:\ONNET to their disk$user directory on the
VMS cluster. There is a short-cut on the desktop to "Attach
M" and another one to "Un-attach M". This works the same as
it does on the Pathworks/Win 3.1 environment. If a user
wishes to save bookmarks, and other Netscape settings, then
they would have to "Attach M" prior to entering into Netscape.
If the user chooses NOT to "Attach M", then a set of default
files for Netscape are utilized from the local drive.
A LAN Cache package has also been installed under the
Win95 environment. This caching software basically allows
applications to load faster. The more often the apps are
accessed the faster they get. This is because they are being
read from a cached area on the local hard disk instead of the
Server. This also reduces the amount of network traffic on
the LAN.
Note that the majority of Win95 lives on the NT Server.
There were many deciding factors for this type of networked
configuration of the client operating system. The main reason
was so that the "rebuild time" could be as short as possible.
(Rebuild refers to a procedure in which a single computer can
be fully restored in the event of a crash).
At the present time, some Computer Science faculty have
started using the Win95 environment in their classes. So far,
feedback has been favorable. Academic Technology Services
will continue to work over the summer to migrate Johnson,
Davis, and Mack data centers to Windows 95. These labs will
be configured similarly to the CoF. Other college and
departmental labs are expected to follow this change to the
Windows 95 environment.
Back to the Contents
Odds And Ends
December Graduation
This photo shows the December
graduates who
showed up at the departmental ceremony. Pictured left to
right in the front row are Zack Howe, Harry (Buck) Mears, and
Dave Stange. Left to right in the back row are Quinn Yost,
Milton Ferguson, Karl Morgan, and Mark Currier. The ceremony
was held College Lodge.
Course Awards
These are the first
winners of the
Course Awards which were discussed in the Fall
1996 issue. Two Course Awards have been created so far: the
Raytheon Software Engineering Award (associated with CO 319)
and the PPG Data Base Management Award (associated with CO
441). Kari Robson is the Fall 96 winner of the Software
Engineering Award; she is shown to the left of Dr. Oblitey.
Tony Popp is the Fall 96 winner of the Data Base Management
Award; he is shown to the right of Dr. Oblitey.
Looking on at the far left of the picture is Bruce,
Carol's special friend, departmental protocol consultant, and
halogen light supporter.
PACISE Programming Contest
IUP was represented by two teams from the Computer
Science Club at the annual PACISE Programming Contest. This
year's contest was held at Clarion University; twelve teams
from five universities competed.
IUP's two-person team (Dennis Hall and Tim Jamison)
placed third, solving two problems and winning a copy of
Borland's C++ Professional Edition. IUP's other team (Tony
Matous, Jason McCombie, and Brian Ziman) placed fourth, also
solving two problems. The contest winners were a team from
Shippensburg with a team from Clarion coming in second.
Back to the Contents
Century Club
You can become a member of the IUP Computer Science
Department's Century Club. Membership in the Century Club is
obtained by pledging at least $100 through the Foundation for
IUP for the Computer Science Department. Century Club members
will receive a gift (tee shirt, mug, glass, etc.) for their
membership each year.
A pledge of $100 is less than $10 per month. Please
consider this opportunity. To join cut off the form in the
next column, complete it and commit yourself to giving $100
for 1997. As mentioned in Bill Oblitey's comments, the
department is currently considering the establishment of
another scholarship. Your contributions will help greatly in
such a venture and in covering smaller expenses like sending
students to a programming contest.