Computer Science

L. Kristan Presnell, an assistant professor of computer science at Anne Arundel Community College, has been named the 1995 Maryland Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.She was chosen from 15 nominees at 13 two- and four-year state colleges and universities. The Millersville resident also was among 546 faculty members nominated for U.S. Professors of the Year honors.Ms. Presnell had students in her Introduction to UNIX courses keep in-class journals that she used to track their progress and problems.

This month Marylanders learned that Education Week had named our state's schools the best in the nation for the fifth year in a row. Credit goes to our students, educators, parents and policy makers for this exciting recognition. But as CEO of a nonprofit dedicated to science education, I would caution against excess celebration. A closer look at recent test scores reveals that we must improve how we educate our students in science, a discipline that is vital to success in the 21st century economy.

When Michael Beynon was deciding where to pursue his doctorate in computer sciences, he went down the list in U.S News and World Report's annual rankings. He found the University of Maryland, College Park in the top 25 and decided to apply."I think it was in the mid-teens," he said of the 1994 numbers. "So those U.S. News rankings are important."In the latest rankings of graduate schools and programs, released last week, UMCP's computer science department is tied for 11th with the California Institute of Technology.

Katelyn Baird and Eric Ottaway Katelyn Baird, daughter of Julie Baird, of Ellicott City, and the late Curt Baird, wedded Eric Ottaway, son of Ricky Ottaway, of Oak Island, N.C., and Julie Brown, of Hampstead, N.C., on June 2, 2012. The Rev. Sidney Venable III officiated at the ceremony, which was held in the Montjoy Barn at the Howard County Conservancy. Honor attendants were Ricky Ottaway and Lisa Baird, sister of the bride. A reception was held at the Gudelsky Center, also at the conservancy.

THERE'S MIXED news about the status of girls and women in science and math. Females have made significant progress during the past 20 years in medicine and the biological sciences. But the gender gap hasn't closed in technology and engineering, and in computer science it has widened. These are among the findings of a report issued yesterday by the National Council for Research on Women. Among the report's lowlights: In 1996, women constituted 45 percent of the work force in the United States but held only 12 percent of science and engineering jobs in business and industry - this at a time when U.S. firms couldn't fill technically advanced jobs.

Steven A. McGinley was not the class clown in his South Carroll High School graduating class.But he's made up for lost time since then.After graduating in 1991, McGinley planned to become a computer scientist, but he couldn't resist the lure of greasepaint. He sought to bring new depth and meaning to familiar stage roles such as Hamlet, King Lear and Willy Loman.Instead, he got serious about professional clowning.The former Mount Airy resident, a 1996 graduate of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's Clown College, is again enrolled in a class full of clowns, mimes and theater students at the Jacques Lecoq School of Mime and Theater in Paris.

Towson University graduate student Marcus Gates could turn his political science degree into a teaching certificate in high school social studies. Instead, he's set his sights on elementary school."

This month Marylanders learned that Education Week had named our state's schools the best in the nation for the fifth year in a row. Credit goes to our students, educators, parents and policy makers for this exciting recognition. But as CEO of a nonprofit dedicated to science education, I would caution against excess celebration. A closer look at recent test scores reveals that we must improve how we educate our students in science, a discipline that is vital to success in the 21st century economy.

F rances Bowman of Perryville asks: "What kind of education does a meteorologist need?" It's no cakewalk. The National Weather Service wants a bachelor's degree in meteorology or atmospheric science. Course work must include thermodynamics, analysis and prediction, remote sensing, physics and calculus. Then choose three: hydrology, statistics, chemistry, oceanography, climatology, aeronomy or computer science.

Gary N. Fostel, 49, resident of 2730 Circle Dr., died Monday morning in Durham Regional Hospital. He was born in Baltimore, MD, the son of the late Henry Fostel. Mr. Fostel graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He worked as a software engineer at Intermetrics, Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. He then taught Computer Science at N.C. State University in Raleigh.

Gov. Martin O'Malleycorrectly flags STEM fields - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - as critical economic enablers, and an administrative priority. Thus, it was good news when Towson University recently won a $2 million grant to study science instruction. They'll find better ways to teach traditional sciences, just asUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore County leads the nation with teaching mathematics. Unfortunately, the future is not bright for one key STEM area: computer science.

At funeral services for Nathan Krasnopoler held at Sol Levinson and Bros. Funeral Home on Aug. 12, the 20-year-old was remembered by a Johns Hopkins University professor for his "keen and incisive intellect. " Mr. Krasnopoler died Aug. 10 at Gilchrist Center in Columbia from a severe irreversible brain injury that he sustained Feb. 20 after being hit by a motorist while riding his bicycle on West University Parkway near the Hopkins Homewood campus. "Nathan was very bright, very creative and very self-motivated," said Edward R. Scheinerman, professor in the Johns Hopkins University Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, who is also vice dean of engineering education at the Whiting School of Engineering.

Chris Ashworth had studied computer science but never written an entire piece of software when a North Carolina theater production company asked for his help. What he came up with would be a huge hit with creative professionals who design elaborate stage productions across the world. The theater company needed software that could help manage sound effects for a play while running on an Apple computer. Ashworth was a computer science graduate student in North Carolina, and he and a friend built one for them in a little over a month.

Chris Ashworth had studied computer science but never written an entire piece of software when a North Carolina theater production company asked for his help. What he came up with would be a huge hit with creative professionals who design elaborate stage productions across the world. The theater company needed software that could help manage sound effects for a play while running on an Apple computer. Ashworth was a computer science graduate student in North Carolina, and he and a friend built one for them in a little over a month.

F rances Bowman of Perryville asks: "What kind of education does a meteorologist need?" It's no cakewalk. The National Weather Service wants a bachelor's degree in meteorology or atmospheric science. Course work must include thermodynamics, analysis and prediction, remote sensing, physics and calculus. Then choose three: hydrology, statistics, chemistry, oceanography, climatology, aeronomy or computer science.

A reader wrote in an e-mail that her third-grade daughter is already saying girls just aren't good at math. "Where in the heck did she get that?" the reader wrote. "Are there any resources for parents who want their girls to not fall into that trap?" I sent the question to Penny Rheingans, associate professor of computer science and interim director of the Center for Women and Information Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Rheingans wrote that this is largely a problem of perception, and that girls actually perform as well as boys at math at least through high school.

A team including a University of Maryland Baltimore County graduate student won the grand prize yesterday in an international competition to design more accurate voting machines. Judges at the VoComp University Voting Systems Competition in Portland, Ore., selected the four-person "Punchscan" team that included UMBC computer science graduate student Richard T. Carback III. One of four finalists, Punchscan designed, implemented and tested a complete voting system at a student election at the University of Ottawa, said Alan T. Sherman, a UMBC computer science professor who also works with the school's National Center for the Study of Elections.

The student: Svetlana Yarosh, 18 School: Centennial High School Special achievement: Yarosh was one of 18 Howard County high school students named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. School activities: She is a member of the National Honor Society and the Art Service. College plans: Yarosh will attend the University of Pennsylvania or Princeton University. She hopes to major in computer science or art.

Cecil to offer classes for 'Kollege' kids Cecil College's Kids in "Kollege" summer program, offering a variety of classes for children ages 7 to 12, will be held for four consecutive weeks starting July 7 on the North East campus. Children and their parents can select from 60 classes in science fiction, sports, art, music, dance, writing, science and history. Campers may select up to four classes each week, and can participate in one, two, three or all four weeks. Sessions are from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays and include field trips, guest speakers and demonstrations.