Computer Science Department

Quoc-Nam Tran, Chairperson
202 Arts & Sciences
(605) 677-5388
csci@usd.edu
www.usd.edu/csci

FACULTY

Professor:

Quoc-Nam Tran, Computational Methods, Symbolic Computation, Computational Mehods in Bio-Informatics

Associate Professor:

Douglas Goodman, Simulation, Real-time Systems, Graphics

Assistant Professor:

Etienne Gnimpieba, Bioinformatics, Systems Biology, Data Management

Research Assistant Professor:

Carol Lushbough, Bioinformatics, Programming Languages, Software Engineering

Instructor:

James Perry, Evolutionary Algorithms, Artificial Life, Web Development and Design

MAJOR:

Computer Science, B.A., B.S.

MINOR:

Computer Science

The Bachelor’s degree programs in Computer Science have been designed with the following educational objectives for students:

Become competent software developers, understand how computer software and hardware work, and understand and apply computer science theory;
(for the B.A. degree) Obtain a broad-based liberal arts education, while being prepared adequately in science, mathematics, and computer science; this could involve, for example, learning a foreign language or receiving a minor in a social science discipline;
(for the B.S. degree) Obtain the strongest mathematical and scientific background needed to compete for technically oriented computer science jobs at both the regional and national levels in business, science, government, and industry;
Be able to communicate technical subject matter effectively, both orally and in writing, in the workplace with colleagues, clients, and customers;
Be prepared to engage in lifelong learning by exploring new principles and practices in computing as the field advances;
Become familiar with social and ethical issues that arise from the increased use of technology in the society.

The Department of Computer Science maintains its computational facilities, classrooms, student laboratories, and the Computer Science Research Lab, in collaboration with the Office of Information Technology Services (ITS). The departmental facilities include a series of Unix, Linux, and Windows servers, all integrated into a single network. Students can access the network 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, using a single user ID and password to gain access to all network resources. All students are given accounts that provide network storage, email, and the ability to build their own web pages. We are a long time participant in the Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance, various academic initiatives with Oracle, as well as the IBM Academic Initiative.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Amy Fix Scholarship (available to junior computer science majors)
John A. Lushbough Scholarship (available to junior computer science majors)
Warner Family Scholarship (available to first-year, sophomore, and junior computer science majors)
Marjorie C. J. Lifto Amundson Scholarship (available to sophomore or junior computer science majors)
Dr. Marjorie H. Beaty Scholarship (available to computer science or math majors)
Smart Software Solutions Scholarship (available to computer science majors)
Motorola Mentor Program Current Fund (available to computer science majors)
Rick and Kathi Kessler Family Scholarship (available to computer science or math majors)