SCD Fall 2016 Newsletter

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Fall 2016 IssueSchool of Computing & Design
FALL 2016 NEWSLETTER
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY MONTEREY BAY
THE BIG BYTE

Welcome back, students, staff, faculty and supporters of The School of
Computing & Design. It is my pleasure to introduce Dr. Andrew Lawson, Dean of
the College of Science at CSUMB. The School of Computing and Design (SCD) is
one of the sub units under the College of Science at CSUMB. Dr. Andrew Lawson
joined us in July 2016 from another CSU campus. Please read his welcome mes-
sage on the next page.
As I look back on the past year (my first year as the Chair of SCD), I am amazed how quickly it went
by and how much we still need to do moving forward. The School of Computing and Design at
CSUMB is surely growing fast. The School graduated 150 students in the Spring and Summer of
2016, and admitted 290 new students in Fall 2016. This includes 90 freshmen, 120 transfer students,
35 CS online degree completion students, and 45 graduate students. All together SCD has about 910
declared students in its multiple degree programs in Fall 2016.
We have made good progress in the past year enhancing the quality of education and services to
our students by redesigning curriculum, streamlining pathways, placing more interns, building more
collaborations with industry, offering more summer programs, hiring over 40 teaching assistants to
provide academic tutoring, attracting excellent faculty to build up the teaching force, and hiring
dedicated staff to provide the level of support that the School needs. I am deeply appreciative of the
level of engagement, dedication, and enthusiasm demonstrated by our students, faculty and staff at
SCD; it’s quite inspiring. We find ourselves wanting to do more, to serve better and to reach further.
Please take some time to read through this issue of Newsletter. One of our big goals in the coming
years is to increase student retention and graduation rates. The School has been strategically
planning, implementing and evaluating new strategies to work toward this goal. I will continue to
provide updates on our progress as we move forward. -Dr. Bude Su, SCD Chair
Fall 2016 Issue
WELCOME FROM THE CHAIR
BECOME A PART OF THE CSUMB ALUMNI ASSOCIATION!
More than 10,000 people have graduated from CSUMB since it was founded in 1994. CSUMB’s
Alumni Association was created to help CSUMB graduates stay connected with other alumni and re-
main engaged with CSUMB. The Alumni Association works to provide events and opportunities to
alumni across the country. We help our future alumni by providing financial support while they are
students. The Alumni Association is free to join, and joining the Alumni also allows you to maintain
your csumb.edu email address. Visit these links to join the Alumni Association and stay connected
with your fellow Otters!
Please consider donating to the School of Computing & Design in one of the following ways:
 Send a check payable to the School of Computing & Design, CSUMB, and send it to the SCD
Office, 100 Campus Center, Building 506, Suite 250, Seaside, CA 93955
 Donate online at http://donate.csumb.edu. Select “Other” from the Designation drop down menu
and input “Donation to School of Computing & Design in the Comments Section.
All donation to SCD will be used on activities that enhance student learning, faculty growth, and the
School’s further development and community building.

Fall 2016 Issue
COS DEAN’S MESSAGE
Iam honored to serve as Dean of the College of Science and to be following in the
footsteps of founding Dean Marsha Moroh. The College of Science and the University
has had a strong history of innovation, starting with the creation of an outcomes
based curriculum in those early days up to the present day as the only university
receiving two of the Governor’s Innovation in Higher Education awards. One of those
Innovation awards was made to the School for Computing and Design for its
innovative CSin3 program which partners with Hartnell Community College to provide a pathway to a
computer science degree for students in just three years.
This is a very exciting time for the School of Computing and Design, the College of Science and the
University. With new leadership at all levels, a new modern facility in the Garmbord building, recent hiring
of exceptional new faculty, and increasing numbers of students in SCD programs, it is time to celebrate
all that we have achieved and build on those achievements to allow even greater innovation to
strengthen our future.
Exciting times are ahead. As the School continues to expand its outreach and interaction with industry
and community partners, more opportunities for internships are available for our students which in turn
opens up even greater career opportunities for them. These partnerships also allow our curriculum to be
even more cutting edge and aligned with current and future industry needs. I look forward to engaging
with the local community, industry and alumni as we embrace this next chapter in the history of CSUMB
and provide a world class education for our students.
-Dr. Andrew Lawson, Dean of the College of Science
CS faculty and staff this summer, in collaboration with faculty and staff from Hartnell college, hosted over
125 students during four different events focused on math, CS, and general college preparation. These
events exposed students to the opportunities in computer science with an aim to increase participation and
persistence in the field. The events included MACS for 9th and 12th graders to prepare and teach them
computer science through collaborative technology for upcoming high school and college terms, as well as
CSin3 summer bridge program for seniors preparing to start their three year bachelor program in Computer
Science. There was also a CS++ CSSIx workshop with Google, where CS++ students worked with Google
engineers and CS faculty on app development and developing soft & technical computer skills.
We’re thankful to everyone who participated in these events. We’re especially appreciative of Areli Mancera
from Monterey County Office of Education, Valente Mancera from Alisal Union School District, Magda
Campos from Fairview Middle School, and Jessica Espinoza from Gonzales High School who taught the
MACS workshops. We look forward to continuing these kinds of outreach activities and supporting students in
their pursuit of computer science. Support for these events came from the $5M award for innovation in higher
education we received in 2015.
CS PROGRAM HOSTS SUMMER COLLEGE PREP FOR COMMUNITY

The School of Computing & Design hosted the Computer Science Internship
Symposium on August 26th, 2016 in the BIT building, The event was a grand
representation of the Computer Science students and the successful internship
projects they completed in summer 2016.
Forty undergraduates from California State University-Monterey Bay and
Hartnell College participated in internships with over 20 amazing host
organizations and community partners. There were over twenty organizations
who participated with SCD and Hartnell College, including Amazon, Apple,
Bank of America, Blackrock, Dolby, eBay, Firetide, HeavyConnect, Liberty Mutual, NBC, Naval
Postgraduate School, Salesforce, SSCS Inc., Uber and Verizon. Internship projects in the fields of
software engineering, scientific computing, computer science research,
and data networking were presented.
At the event, over 250 symposium attendees were able to talk with the
students about their projects as well as see presentations and view their
project posters. During the plenary session the students were able to
present their projects in more detail. Many of the organizations and mentors
who worked with the students this summer were in
attendance, and Google’s own Peter Norvig,
Director of Research, was on hand as the symposium’s keynote speaker.
SCD and Hartnell College wish to congratulate the Computer Science
Program students on their dedication this
summer.
SCD PRESENTS THE FALL 2016 CS INTERNSHIP SYMPOSIUM
COMPUTER SCIENCE INDUSTRY LEADERS MEET WITH STUDENTS
CSUMB & Hartnell College wish to acknowledge those that
have supported the SCD’s Computer Science internship
program. The program has been supported in part by CIG,
ICERT REU, Matsui Foundation, Monterey Peninsula Foundation,
National Science Foundation, Natividad Hospital, Rig, and the
California Public Utility Commission. It is due to support from
organizations like these that allow the students to participate in
such amazing programs that provide so many opportunities.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations
are those of the individual(s) and do not necessarily reflect the
views of these organizations.

Under the donor funds of the generous Jakob Heuser Grant, three SCD students were able to travel to
Bari, Italy, to attend AVI 2016, the international working conference on advanced
visual interfaces. Read on about their experiences as presenters at the AVI
Conference in Italy.
Brian Zimmerman
Our time spent at AVI 2016 was both educational and fun. As a prospective graduate school student, I think
students should take any opportunity they can to travel to conferences and present their research.
Not only do you get to share your projects with other people but you also have the opportunity to
meet other people in your field of study. Having the opportunity to see the state of your field with
regard to some of the cutting edge research being presented is really an invigorating experience.
Because AVI was in Bari, we also got to spend some extra time exploring Italy, a country I don't
think I would have otherwise traveled to. Having the opportunity to visit a country on the terms of
academics was pretty cool and it's something that comes up in conversation quite frequently. I will
definitely go back and, seeing how AVI is exclusively hosted in Italy, I hope I can be attending AVI in 2018 as a
Masters student when I do it.
Matthew Johnson
AVI was the first conference I have gone to as a presenter and it was an amazing experience. I had the
opportunity to talk about my work to other researchers in my field, all of whom had relevant insight that I was
able to take into consideration. I am thankful to have had this opportunity to present a poster that I
spent a lot of time on.
Our trip to Italy overall was incredible. The time we spent in Bari, which was where AVI was
located, was only a small part at the end of our time spent in Italy. We also visited Rome, Venice,
and Florence, which were three beautiful cities. I hope I will be able to visit Italy again in the future
to see what else the country has to offer.
Joshua Shallow
Making the trip to Bari for AVI2016 was an incredible experience. It was the first conference I have
attended and to have a poster to show to established researchers, which proved to be stressful
and fulfilling. Being able to talk to several others who share a research topic was insightful
because each person had experience with research and could offer suggestions.
Overall, the visit to Italy was awesome. Brian, Matt, and I visited Rome, Venice, and Florence
before attending the conference in Bari. The food was wonderful and the architecture was
incredible. If I was to go again, I would try to eat as much food as I could.
CSUMB & the School of Computing & Design wish to acknowledge those that have supported the SCD’s
students in our Computer Science, Communication Design, and Masters in Instructional Science &
Technology programs. Student traveling to conferences have been supported in part by donor Jakob
Heuser under the Jakob Heuser Grant. It is due to support from community members like Jakob Heuser
that allow the students to participate in such amazing programs that provide so many opportunities.
A BIT OF TRAVEL
SCD STUDENTS ATTEND ITALY’S 2016 AVI CONFERENCE

VIRTUAL REALITY INITIATIVES
On March 14th, Crytek announced their partnership with four new high-
profile partners and plans for seven new VR First Labs at universities. The SCD
Game Research Lab at California State Monterey Bay was one of the first to
apply for consideration and be selected. UROC
provided $30,000 for research equipment for the VR
lab, and by our Fall 2016 semester SCD lecturer Dr.
Christian Eckhardt and the Gaming students had begun building the
computers and setting up the virtual lab The equipment will provide
students with access to VR development-grade computers, VR headsets,
and CryEngine source code access. More equipment and supplies are on
schedule to arrive October 2016, and virtual reality game development has already begun as some
SCD students start utilizing the equipment. Professor Krzysztof Pietroszek is the key driver behind these
initiatives.
Crytek intends to pioneer advanced virtual reality research by providing
cutting edge hardware to laboratories at higher education institutions around
the world. The partners working alongside Crytek on this endeavor include
AMD as the exclusive partner for GPUs, Leap Motion, O5VR, and Razer.
Joining California State University Monterey Bay are Carleton University, Purdue University, Rochester
Institute of Technology, University of Florida, University of Southern California – School of Cinematic
Arts, and Vancouver Film School.
ENGINEERS IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM
Facebook is excited to partner with California State University – Monterey Bay to offer our first
Engineer in Residence program. The Engineer in Residence (EIR) program leverages outstanding
engineering talent from Facebook to develop and teach Computer Science curriculum to university-
level students at historically black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions. By acting
as instructors and mentors, our goal is for our Engineers in Residence to help develop the technical
skills, track record of achievement, network, and confidence in students traditionally underrepresented
in the tech sector.
Students of the Engineer in Residence can expect to receive a challenging academic experience in
software engineering as well as the coaching to prepare for and succeed in software engineering
interviews at the top companies in the tech industry. We hope to provide students increased access to
opportunities in the field of software engineering and the personal empowerment to pursue internships
and careers in the field, or graduate-level CS coursework.

SUCCESSFUL CODE
Students from School of Computing & Design programs have gone on to work for design and
technology companies in the Monterey region, Silicon Valley and beyond. Our students have built
successful careers in computer technology companies, on the art, design and development side
of the game industry or have gone on to many of the nation's best graduate schools.
IAN BOWERS
Since graduating from the CSIT (now called SCD) program over three years ago, I
have been working full time at Microsoft in various software engineering roles. I was
hired for a summer internship through the help of the CSIT mbrace program a year
before graduation at CSUMB. This was a great way for me to connect the dots
between the theory and values learned in the program with how things operate in a
real world environment. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree the next year
and instantly transitioned to working full time at Microsoft.
Currently I am working in the Universal Store Team, which is actually a large organization that takes care of
the research, design and operations that go into creating the software sales platforms that consumers and
business customers use to purchase and subscribe to Microsoft products. The specific team I am a part of is
working on the backend services that provide data for these sales platforms. My favorite part about working in
a large tech company is the vast amount of resources and advanced systems I am exposed to, as well as the
huge community that I can tap into for networking and collaboration. Previous to this I was part of a college
hire program which allowed me to rotate through different teams and responsibilities. I have been a tester,
software developer and now software engineer in three different parts of the
organization.
The emphasis the computer science program places on applying theory to
solve real problems has had a huge impact for me to be able to adapt to the
changes I have described as well as achieve my goals here at Microsoft.
Whenever I have changed roles and had to learn a new system or a new
technology/programming language, it is always the core knowledge and skills
that I acquired through the CSIT program that helped me to understand and
quickly adapt. It is a very interesting time to work here because of all the
changes that are going on not only within the company but in the industry in
general. In my opinion, while this means more effort is required to stay up to
date, it also opens up many opportunities if you have the right core skillset.
SCD’S ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT & STUDENT SUCCESS STORIES
“Whenever I have changed
roles and had to learn a new
system or a new technology/
programming language, it is
always the core knowledge
and skills that I acquired
through the CSIT (SCD)
program that helps me to
understand and quickly
adapt.”

School of Computing & Design
My name is Jan Clark and I work as an Instructional Designer at
Apple. It’s always difficult to work full time while you’re a full time student.
During my time at CSUMB I changed jobs during the hardest semester.
The instructors and the fellow students in my cohort were a great
resource to keep me grounded and moving on throughout the program. It
always felt like I was on a journey with others, working toward the same
goal, so I never felt like I was alone.
As a returning student I was initially apprehensive about coming back mid career. CSUMB proved to be
a comfortable home for me to finally get the formal education I always felt was lacking. I completed both
the BS in Communication Design (Web Design emphasis) and the MIST program. Now that I have the
MS in Instructional Science and Technology I feel more confident in my role. I frequently look back at
some of my work before CSUMB and think about how I would do it differently now. Understanding
instructional theories has definitely helped me improve the quality of my work. Also, the technology side
of MIST and the Communication Design BS helps me to keep up with the ever-changing environment in
learning technology. While the technology will continue to change, the strong grounding in theory and
Ilove spreading joy, inspiring content, and connecting with people all around the world.
The Communication Design program allowed me to dream big and have real world experiences that
prepared me for the start of my career at SoulPancake. The Capstone process was by far the best
project to equip students for everyday work load, independent motivation, and prioritizing daily projects.
Going into a small company all of these skills were vitally important. Taking on the multifaceted branding
project, with a real world client, also allowed me to strengthen my communication skills and ability to
take constructive criticism. Working with multiple departments (digital, TV, and branded) here at
SoulPancake means I have to take critique and notes from many creatives and production professionals.
Throughout the CD program (Digital Art & Design, Publication Workshop,
Web Design, Capstone) Bobbi Long and Kevin Cahill helped build and
toughen the skills and demeanor you need to have in the production world.
I’m now juggling branded projects, maintaining brand identity, and working
with professionals in the production world; it feels great to do all that for a
company that makes stuff that matters. If it wasn’t for the support and
lessons learned in the CD program and CSUMB I do not think I would be
creating inspiring projects here in L.A. Special thanks to Bobbi Long, Barbara
Beckmeyer, Troy Challenger, and Kevin Cahill!
CHELSEA PYNE
JAN CLARK

The third annual Summer Research Symposium took place on August 12th,
2016. Nearly a hundred student undergraduate researchers participated in local
research under the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC),
Monterey Bay Regional Ocean Sciences Research Experiences for
Undergraduates (REU) Program, and Naval Postgraduate School (NPS)
Internship Program.
Several UROC supported Game Research Lab students and Game Research
Lab student volunteers, under the guidance of Professor Krzysztof Pietroszek,
conducted five research projects over the summer and presented at the
Symposium. Students Brandon Lockwood and Donald Dong worked on their
research project PinThought, where they researched the EEG technology used as system
authorization using thinking patterns. Daniel Kharlamov researched the use of
smartwatches for interaction in mobile virtual reality environments, and produced
several papers that were submitted to the VRST 2016 and SUI 2016 Conferences.
John Sullivan, while collaborating with Dr. Glenn Bruns, conducted research of
machines’ abilities to recognize activities (e.g. walking, running, jumping) in VR
using the IMU of a smartphone. John wrote papers on his research as well, which
have been submitted to the IUI 2017 and IEEE VR 2017 Conferences.
Dr. Christian Eckhardt collaborated with students Matthew Johnson and Joshua
Shallow on their research into the design & construction of
large interactive tabletops. A research project on the
assessment of constant and fluctuating latency in pointing
tasks was conducted by students Brian Zimmerman and Kateryna Morayko, who
are preparing a paper on their research for the CHI 2017 Conference. Please visit
the UROC site, NPS site, and REU site for more information on their programs
and the Summer Research Symposium.
STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN SUMMER RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM
Approximately 20 students will begin an Applied Computer Science with Android Workshop hosted
by Google at SCD on Oct 8. The workshop will run from 10am-3pm every Saturday through November
12 and will be taught by a Google engineer. Students will revisit concepts from Data Structures and
Algorithms, as well as learn more about Artificial Intelligence as they develop games and apps on the
Android platform. This will be an excellent out of classroom learning experience, and we look forward
to seeing what they produce!
GOOGLE'S APPLIED COMPUTER SCIENCE WITH ANDROID
WORKSHOP SERIES KICKS OFF SATURDAY, OCT 8

For the past 14 years, CST 404 Publication Workshop has designed the posters
and promotion materials for First Night Monterey. First Night Monterey, Inc.
promotes community diversity by celebrating visual and performing arts and
celebrating the local community and families by promoting art and workshops to
the public as well as provide the community an amazing
New Year’s Eve Celebration. The event takes place in
beautiful downtown Monterey, and features a multitude
of local artists and performers that provide education and
entertainment for thousands of community members and
tourists.
Out of over 30 submissions, this year's poster design winner is Annalisa
Lopez, a Visual Design major who graduated this Spring and is already
working at SAP in Palo Alto. Congratulations to Annalisa for her beautiful visual
design and win!
VISUAL DESIGN STUDENT WINS FIRST NIGHT MONTEREY
DESIGN CHALLENGE
SCD Assistant Professor Glenn Bruns has recently founded the Monterey Bay Data
Science Meetups, along with co-founders Dr. Marcus Stefanou of the Naval Postgraduate School and
Paul Temple, CEO of Advanced Onion. The co-founders hope to build a community where local
government, academia, and businesses can share knowledge and experiences in the data science
fields. According to their Meetup site, “Data Science is about using computing and statistics to make
sense of data. There's a lot of interest around the Monterey Bay in data science coming from
businesses, universities, and government. Let's get together, get to know each other, and share
knowledge and experience. “
Meetings take place the first Thursday of each month at 7:30pm in room S219 of the Chapman
Science Center, and include presentations, open discussion, and networking. Refreshments are
provided. The meetings are open to anyone wishing to attend or present data-science related talks,
including tutorials, case studies, and briefs on related papers.
At October 6th’s meeting, SCD Computer Science students Zac Leids and Austin Zielinski will be
presenting “Exploring Chicago Crime Data” & “Trends & Predictions in Car Accidents”, works from their
projects in last semester’s Data Mining course.
MONTEREY BAY DATA SCIENCE MEETUPS BEGIN AT CSUMB

To support student success and community in the department, space in the
BIT building has been dedicated for students studying computing. You can
always go to the following rooms to work, except in the rare case when there is
an activity scheduled or it is already full occupied:
There other rooms unoccupied at various times and usually more rooms are available on Fridays.
We hope this reserved space promotes a consistent investment in studying and the formation of
study groups among our students. We encourage you to study in these locations in order to get
ahead in classes, meet other computing students, and get help from TAs.
STUDY TIME AND THE LAB
 BIT 230 - Networking lab, has computer workstations that convert into
desks. TAs hold their office hours in this room.
 BIT 202 - Graduate lab, has several small tables suitable for group work.
 There are also designated Study Times each week when additional space is
reserved:
Mondays and Wednesdays
12pm-8pm Room 202, 12pm-2pm Rooms 108 & 223
Wednesday
6pm-8pm Room 223
Tuesdays and Thursdays
12pm-2pm Rooms 109 & 223, 4pm-8pm Room 202
ALUMNI & CURRENT MIST STUDENTS PROGRAM SURVEYS
At SCD, we are always striving to improve the programs and overall experience for our students, as well
as keep up with impending technology. Our degree programs go through periodic reviews, and this
semester it’s the Masters in Instructional Science & Technology Program’s turn. MIST graduate alumni,
you will be receiving via e-mail an online survey regarding your experience in the MIST Program at
CSUMB. Your feedback on your experiences while in The School of Computing & Design's MIST
Program and since graduation is incredibly helpful to us as we look for ways to grow and improve.
There is no better way to learn than from the people who have gone through it. We also find that current
students provide crucial information to the MIST program as it is currently operated, and that insight is
also highly valued when we develop program improvement ideas.
When you receive the survey, please take a few minutes to provide us with your reflections and insights
about the MIST program. We sincerely appreciate it.

CSU Monterey Bay
3052 Divarty Street
Seaside, CA 93955
Building Code 506
Department Office: Room 250
Phone: 831-582-3621
Fax: 831-582-4484
E-mail: scd@csumb.edu
SCD students apply state-of-the-art information
technology to solve real world communication problems in a
socially responsible way. In addition to mastering the
technical knowledge and skills, graduates of SCD programs
excel in communication, collaboration and innovative
problem solving.
SCD values innovation, rigor, project-based learning,
inter-discipline collaboration and global perspective. By
integrating media arts design, computer science,
information technology, management, and learning
sciences, SCD's faculty, staff, program directors and chair
strive to provide an innovative environment that supports
world-class teaching,
learning and research.

SCD Fall 2016 Newsletter

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