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Student Research

Research Feature

Rebecca Drucker '18 is no stranger to research at Juniata.  Graduating with distinction from not only one department, but from two (Computer Science and Mathematics), she has had to perform and present research in both disciplines, most recently during the 2018 Liberal Arts Symposium (below).  Rebecca was introduced to research at Juniata In the summer of 2016 when Drs. Gina Lamendella (Biology) and Kim Roth (Mathematics, Statistics) were looking for student researchers to help with a Chlostridium difficile (commonly known as C. diff) study.  Rebecca had two important skills for research:  math/statistics ability and programming skills.  The results of that summer's research included a poster presentation at the Landmark Conference Summer Research Symposium at Moravian College, a listing as co-author of the published paper, more information than Rebecca ever imagined knowing about C. diff, and important learning that she will be able to use well into her future.  Rebecca's experience also teaches us that research opportunities in computing can be found outside of any single college department.  This is one more example of the benefits of studying technology at a small, liberal arts college.

Research Presentations
  • Kyle Bargo, Katheryn Weeden, Chisa Taguchi:  "Traditional IT vs. The Cloud: Exploring Amazon Web Services"
  • Callie Daughn-Wood, Calvin Bembry, Chelsea Scafuro:  "Interpersonal Communication in the Digital Age"
  • Rebecca Drucker '18:  "Constructing Configurations of the Dr. Eureka Puzzle"
  • Tanvi Pande '20, Taylor Smallwood '19, Tzipi Crandell '18, and Zach Foust '18: "Go with GoDEZI: Transforming Company Marketing and Webpages."
  • Giana Picozzi '20: "Keypad Vulnerabilities Using Thermal Imaging Technology."
  • Bruno Rosa '18 and Kyle Bargo '18: "Developing a Cross-Platform Mobile Application." 
  • Blair Altland '18: "Hey Siri, I'm Home! Developing a Mood Data-Based Smart Home." 
  • Jacob Markey '18: "Nanotechnology and A.I." 
  • Christopher Peterson '17: "Managing Advanced Technologies: Project Demonstration and Research." 
  • Brittany Mlynek '17:  "Establishing an Online Presence for a Rural Business"
Programming Contests
  • Rebecca Drucker '18, Kate Marze '18, and Bruno Rosa '18:  CCSC-Eastern Conference 2017, Muhlenberg College - 11th place out of 19 teams
  • Cori Timney '19, Nate DeCriscio '17, Simon Rosner '17, Rebecca Drucker '18, Kate Marze '18, and Bruno Rosa '18: CCSC-Eastern Conference 2016, Frostburg State University - 11th and 23rd place out of 30 teams
  • Jason Boblick '16, Greg Stewart '17, and Rebecca Drucker '18: ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, Shippensburg University, 2016 - 74th Place out of 185 teams in the Mid-Atlantic region; CCSC-Eastern Conference 2015, Stockton University - 6th place out of 19 teams
Other!
  • I4I teams present their projects to the IT Advisory Board at the annual meetings each fall and spring.  The board provides valuable feedback to the teams on the projects and presentation skills.
  • Students annually present their projects from the Android Programming class at Android Programming Night.  It's a great opportunity to gather, have some pizza, and share student work.
Select Faculty Interests
  • Bill Thomas and Jerry Kruse presented at the 2018 Awards Convocation: "Who Do You Want To Be?"
  • Loren Rhodes, Bill Thomas, and Jerry Kruse contributed a chapter in the book New Directions for Computing Education titled, "A Capstone Experience in Information Technology"
  • Loren Rhodes attended the International Conference on Data and Databases 2016 in New Delhi, India.  This was part of a sabbatical in the creation of a Data Science curriculum at Juniata.
  • John Wright has been teaching a short term, after school program at Huntingdon Area Middle School to students in grades 6-8.  Over the past five years, this after school club has practiced programming through various means including Alice Programming, Ozobots, Scratch Programming, and Micro:bit microcontrollers.
  • Our faculty are regular attenders and participants at the National ACM SIGCSE (ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) and the regional CCSC-Eastern (Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges) Conferences