CS Professionals Hatchery Program

About the Program

The CS Professionals Hatchery seeks to transform undergraduate education by replicating the best elements of a software company environment, layering in moral, ethical, and social threads with entrepreneurship and professional skills, to produce graduates who are not only technically adept and effective team members, but also empowered as agents of positive cultural change in their workplaces.

Goals

Create a culture of engagement across the entire curriculum
Through vertically integrated teaching and learning (VITaL)
Creating a “diversity for mutual gain” environment

CS Professionals Hatchery Project at-a-glance

CS Professionals Hatchery Program Info

Introduction

The Computer Science Professionals Hatchery seeks to transform undergraduate education by replicating the best elements of a software company environment, layering in moral, ethical, and social threads with entrepreneurship and professional skills, to produce graduates who are not only technically adept and effective team members, but also empowered as agents of positive cultural change in their workplaces.

Based on feedback from industry, the Computer Science Department will be offering several short courses (known as CS Hatchery Units) focusing on professional skills relevant to the industry. The skills presented in these hatchery unit courses will be threaded in other computer science courses.

Boise State faculty working with 17 industry representatives undertook an initiative to identify the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) which they look for in new hires or seek to develop with current employees. This resulted in over 60 unique or loosely related KSAs. These KSAs were then evaluated and grouped into separate unifying KSA categories. As a group, faculty and industry representatives reviewed the KSAs and voted on the more important KSAs in each category. The top KSAs formed the bases for the hatchery unit courses and will lead to enhancements in existing courses to strengthen/reinforce the KSAs.

Review the Finish in Four Flowchart (pdf) to see where the new hatchery unit courses fit into the curriculum.

Grant Recognition

Boise State University’s Department of Computer Science is one of seven engineering and computer science departments across the country to receive a five-year, $2 million REvolutionizing engineering and computer science Departments (RED) award from the National Science Foundation. The project is titled “Computer Science Professionals Hatchery: An Ecosystem for Nurturing the Next Generation of Computer Science Professionals.”
View the Boise State University NSF Grant Award #1623189

“This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. (1623189).”
“Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.”

Overview

Boise State University’s Computer Science department dramatic growth enables a wonderful opportunity to participate in the National Science Foundation IUSE/Professional Formation of Engineers: REvolutionizing engineering and computer science Departments initiative.

Rationale

With a large number of new, energized faculty, a move to co-locate the department with software industry in the heart of the state capitol, transformative student growth, and our successful efforts to grow computer science courses in Idaho high schools, the Computer Science department at Boise State University is well positioned to implement the changes necessary to develop and prove a transformative approach to CS education.
Explore the CS Hatchery Project at-a-glance

Technical Prowess is not Enough

There are numerous skills and knowledge sets required for a software engineer to be successful in industry. Certainly among these are those related to software development, such as skills in software design, interfaces, data structures, or an understanding of memory management, caching, threading, or programming languages. Most university-level computer science (CS) programs focus on this kind of technical content, which educates their students on the required core technical competencies of a software engineer. Our program is no exception to this—we feel that we provide a strong technical foundation for our graduates. Two data points we collect to evaluate our program on an ongoing basis substantiate this assertion:

Feedback from our industry partners who hire many of our graduates, which trends very positive.
Our students’ performance on the Educational Testing Service’s (ETS) Major Field Test in Computer Science over the past several years, which places our department in the top 10th percentile nationally.

Knowledge, Skill, and Abilities (KSA)

Boise State faculty working with 17 industry representatives undertook an initiative to identify the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) they look for in new hires or seek to develop with current employees.

This resulted in over 60 unique or loosely related KSAs. These KSAs were evaluated and grouped into separate unifying KSA categories. Faculty and industry representatives reviewed the KSAs and identified the more important KSAs in each category. The top KSAs formed the bases for the new 1-credit computer science hatchery unit (CS-HU) courses and enhancements to current computer science courses.

Category	Description
Technical	Practical knowledge and skills associated with the computing field
Professional	A person engaged and qualified in the computing profession
Collaboration & Teams	Working with people and groups to achieve a goal
Research & Development	Seeks innovation and improvement of products and processes
Entrepreneurship	Organizes, manages, and assumes risks of a business or enterprise
Business	Understanding how a company makes money and executes strategy

When your industry partners say they are happy, and your students are performing at or near the top relative to other departments, it would be easy to say “we’re doing the right things” and set the department on cruise control. However, we know there is more we can provide from the university experience to better prepare a student for a successful career. Cruise Control is not Enough.

Effective performance on the job as a software engineer is not just about technical competency. A host of evidence from industry has shown that teamwork and communication skills are at least as important for success as are technical skills. Other examples of valuable skills include business and entrepreneurial skills, managerial skills such as project and team management, and general leadership and communication skills.

We have also read recent news reports in the popular press on questionable ethical behavior of software engineers, for example the Volkswagen software designed to evade emissions tests, and have wondered if we are truly giving our students the ethical and moral foundations they need to make the right choices and to be valued and responsible members of their communities.

Not Enough Women and Other minorities

There is also the disturbing data point that fewer than 20% of the students in our department are female. And when we inquire into the participation of females in the local software industry, and talk to them about their experience, we feel that there is much that can be done to improve company culture (and our own culture) in this area.

There are a multitude of reasons for the lack of participation of females (and other underrepresented groups) in engineering disciplines, all of which essentially boil down to one thing—members of these groups do not always feel welcome and commonly experience varying types of bias and discrimination (Fletcher, 2001; Tonso, 2007; Weyer, Barbercheck, Cookmeyer, Ozturk, & Wayne, 2014). Overt forms of bias and discrimination are relatively easier to identify and address by “calling it out,” by imposing rules, or formal lessons on proper and improper behavior. But within the social sciences and now in the popular press, there is substantial interest in what is being called “micro-aggression” as a factor that affects the climate of learning, working, and social environments in ways that inhibit our shared responsibility to create and maintain inclusive settings.

Micro-aggression is sometimes referred to as unintentional discrimination, and occurs when an otherwise well-meaning individual propagates stereotypes in a manner suggesting that some groups are “other,” or somehow outsiders or exceptions (Fox and Stallworth, 2005). A meaningful method to counter this type of bias in the educational environment requires affecting group projects and group learning activities across the curriculum, so that acting in ways that avoid bias are an integral part of computer science and being a computer scientist.

Keeping the Academic Experience Relevant

One of the criticisms of higher education is that the academic environment and coursework fail to replicate the industry experience, which leads to a lack of relevance in what is learned, and to graduates who still need training to be fully and productively integrated into company workflow and culture. Students are aware of this disconnect, which directly impacts their motivation and interest as they can feel they are merely “jumping through a hoop,” to meet requirements that may not seem relevant to them, further exacerbating the problem.

The solution is to revolutionize the teaching of computer science to model the best practices of a typical software company environment, and layer onto this the nurturing aspects the department wants to foster, such as those that promote ethical questioning, facilitate acceptance of greater “diversity for mutual gain”, and a focus on increased collaboration, communication, and teamwork. In summary, we would like to create a learning environment we call a Software Professionals Hatchery.

NOTE: “Diversity for mutual gain” means we collaborate to create and maintain an environment in which acceptance and valuing of diversity adds to our ability to continually learn and improve our skills, and produce beneficial products.

Plans and Impact

Goals and related objectives for this transformative project are to affect the student educational experience, and departmental and faculty culture, attitudes, motivation, and practice. Specifically:

Create a culture of engagement

Develop faculty members who understand and are invested in the major elements of the curriculum across all 4 years.
Build a strong sense of community amongst faculty, students, and industry partners, with stronger ties and working relationships between these three constituencies.
Overcome barriers and implement sustainable drivers for curriculum innovation.

Vertically Integrated Teaching and Learning (VITaL) experience

Improve real-world relevancy of the student educational experience, leading to improved student motivation and job preparation.
Fuse professional and entrepreneurial skills learning throughout the curriculum that complements technical skills learning.

Value “diversity for mutual gain”

We collaborate to create and maintain an environment in which acceptance and valuing of diversity adds to our ability to continually learn and improve our skills, and produce beneficial products.

Implement a progressive introduction of best practices supporting “diversity for mutual gain” based on common moral values and overarching ethical frameworks.
Develop and teach approaches for inseparably infusing common moral values and ethical frameworks into the practice of software engineering, that prepares students to be positive agents of change in their workplaces.

Research Plan

Social science research will be informed by related literature in curriculum development and organizational change, and collected from best practices among industry partners, in order to produce customized methods for identifying and addressing moral and ethical issues supporting professional work in computer science.

Similarly, social science research methods for investigating barriers and drivers to faculty participation in and progressive development of Software Professionals Hatchery goals will be customized for the unique context and contingencies of university level teaching and learning. These methods are primarily ethnographic and include one-on-one interviews, and focus-group interviews (Morgan, 2002; Schensul, Schensul, & LeCompte, 1999). These methods are well-documented and supported both in academic research and professional practice (Langdon, 2000; Morgan, 2002; Rawls, 1999; Rogers, 2003; Schensul, Schensul, & LeCompte, 1999; Watkins, West Meiers, & Visser, 2012).

Initial research questions posed by this project include:

What are the barriers and drivers influencing adoption or resistance to adoption of change among university faculty?
How does transforming the capstone design experience to involve students across all four years of their undergraduate education influence students’ persistence and sense of community within their department?
How can analytic philosophical principles of social justice be incorporated into undergraduate computer science curricula in order to bind moral and ethical responsibilities to social justice, with technical expertise in computer science undergraduate students?

The previous research questions will be addressed through social science methods that marry ethnographic processes with techniques for addressing issues in organizational performance. Reports of research toward these research questions will be similarly ethnographic in focus and provide readers with richly detailed descriptions of process and products.

Broader Impacts

By building a Software Professionals Hatchery combining a novel approach to capstone design incorporating students in all four years of their undergraduate education, a strong focus on moral and ethical development, and Hatchery Unit courses designed to integrate students, faculty, and industry, the work described in this proposal has the potential to revolutionize undergraduate computer science education and produce graduates who are better prepared for industry as members of agile, diverse development teams.

In addition to revolutionizing the undergraduate computer science education experience, the CS department at Boise State University is well positioned to revolutionize the study and practice of computer science, from elementary school through industry. By combining our ongoing work with the K-12 educational system with the work described in this proposal to revolutionize our undergraduate student experience and strengthen our ties to the local software industry, we can shape a culture of software development that is more innovative, inclusive, and morally and ethically grounded which provides a model of effective transformation of a local software ecosystem.

Hatchery Courses

See where the new required hatchery course fit into the undergraduate curriculum.

A Hatchery Unit (CS-HU) course is a short 1-credit course to develop specific professional skills for computer science.

A Hatchery Unit course is offered over a five or seven-week period.
The level of commitment and effort required in this course is the same as that of a three-credit course, during the shortened duration.

View the Computer Science Hatchery Unit catalog course descriptions.

Industry Partners

The Computer Science Professionals Hatchery will create a revolutionary learning environment by modeling the best practices of industry, layering nurturing aspects that promote ethical questioning, value “diversity for mutual gain”, and a focus on professional skills.

We collaborate to create and maintain an environment in which acceptance and valuing of diversity adds to our ability to continually learn and improve our skills, and produce beneficial products.

Continuous innovation together: industry, students, faculty

A key pillar of the CS Professionals Hatchery program is industry involvement. Below are the partners assisting in the formulation of this vision and working with the Boise State Computer Science department to develop and enhance the students educational experience.

Publications and Conferences

An important part of any research project is the participation in a broader community: gathering together in various forums to share information and best practices to increase each others effectiveness. This sharing takes many forms from internal project/faculty meetings, meetings with our industry partners, active participation in educational conferences, and publications.

Dissemination Strategies

Since the NSF award, grant members have disseminated information via poster fairs, panel discussions, presentations at educational conferences, and even a book.

This web site is a key location to share information with our project partners and others involved in “Revolutionizing Engineering and Computer Science Departments.”
Faculty buy-in is crucial, thus we have created an internal web site with additional content for faculty members.

Books

Title: Navigating Linux Systems Authors: Amit Jain, Luke Hindman, John Rickerd

Conferences

Project members have presented (prefixed with an “*“) or attended the following conferences:

2019 Conferences

*2019 Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICCS)

Jan 8-11, 2019 in Maui, HI

Title: The Hatchery: An Agile and Effective Curricular Innovation for Transforming Undergraduate Education

Tim Andersen, Boise State University
Amit Jain, Boise State University
Noah Salzman, Boise State University
Don Winiecki, Boise State University
Carl Siebert, Boise State University

Mini-track Presentation: The Hatchery: An Agile and Effective Curricular Innovation for Transforming Undergraduate Education

*2019 Research on Equity & Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, & Technology (RESPECT) (ASEE, IEEE & IEEE-CS)

February 27 – March 2, 2019 in Minneapolis, MN

Title: Teaching Professional Morality and Ethics to undergraduate CS students through Cognitive Apprenticeships & Case Studies: Experiences in CS-HU 130 ‘Foundational Values’

Don Winiecki, EdD, PhD, Boise State University
Noah Salzman, PhD, Boise State University

* 2019 Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (ACM)

February 27 – March 2, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Submitted special session proposal: SIGCSE Special Session on Revolutionizing the Culture of Computer Science

Noah Salzman, Boise State University
Amit Jain, Boise State University
Venkat N. Gudivada, East Carolina University
Mary Lou Maher, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Celine Latulipe, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Ann Q. Gates, University of Texas, El Paso
Sarah Hug, University of Texas, El Paso

2019 PSA (Pacific Sociological Association)

March 28 – March 31, 2019 in Oakland CA

Title: Influencing Inclusion, Diversity, and Social Justice in Undergraduate Computer Science: Knowledge, Hegemonic Power, Performance, and Uncertainty of the Status of Membership Status

Michelle Fretwell, Boise State University
Erika Abbott, Boise State University
Donald Winiecki, Boise State University
Noah Salzman, Boise State University

2019 ASEE conference

June 16-19 in Tampa FL

Title: The Computer Science Professional’s Hatchery

Don Winiecki, Boise State University
Amit Jain, Boise State University
Noah Salzman, Boise State University

2019 American Sociological Association (ASA)

August 10-13, 2019 in New York, NY

Paper submitted: Yes, There’s a Problem (But Not) Here: Some Facts of Disparate Participation in Undergraduate Computer Science

Michelle Fretwell, Boise State University, Department of Sociology
Erika Abbott, Boise State University, Department of Sociology
Noah Salzman, Ph.D., Boise State University, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering; IDoTeach
Don Winiecki, Ed.D., Ph.D., Boise State University, Department of Organizational Performance & Workplace Learning; Department of Computer Science

* 2019 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) (ASEE, IEEE & IEEE-CS)

October 16-19, 2019 in Cincinnati OH

Title: Assessing Community in an Undergraduate Computer Science Program Using Social Network Analysis (Technical Session List)

Amit Jain, Boise State University

Don Winiecki, Boise State University

* 2019 NSF RED Consortium “PI” Meeting

Nov 4 – 5, 2019 in Alexandria VA

Session Title: Using a highly portable rubric to guide dynamic analysis and proposing solutions to issues of inclusion, diversity and social-justice in STEM contexts

Don Winiecki, Boise State University

Noah Salzman, Boise State University

Hatchery Program Update Poster Presentation

2018 Conferences

2018 Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (ACM)

February 21 – 24, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland

Conference participation

*2018 Research on Equity & Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, & Technology (RESPECT) (ASEE, IEEE & IEEE-CS)

February 21, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland

Panel Paper: Revolutionizing the Culture of Computer Science

Noah Salzman, Boise State University
Don Winiecki, Boise State University
Venkat N. Gudivada, East Carolina University
Junhua Ding, East Carolina University
Bojan Cukic, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Celine Latulipe, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Ann Q. Gates, University of Texas, El Paso
Sarah Hug, University of Texas, El Paso

Panel Presentation: “Revolutionizing the Culture of Computer Science” representing 4 CS departments (Boise State University, East Carolina University, University of North Carolina Charlotte, and University of Texas El Paso).

*2018 American Educational Research Association (AERA):

April 13 – 17, 2018 in New York City, NY

Conference Presentations:

Identifying gender differences in undergraduate Computer Science students: Women aren’t so different

Dr. Carl Siebert, Dept. of Curriculum Instruction and Foundational Studies
Kathleen Mullen, Dept. of Curriculum Instruction and Foundational Studies
Dr. Noah Salzman, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Handout: Poster Handout Data

Poster: AERA: The Computer Science Professionals Hatchery

AERA: Overview Paper – Noah Salzman, Tim Andersen, Amit Jain, Don Winiecki, Dianxiang Xu, Carl Siebert

*2018 Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity (CoNECD) (ASEE)

April 29 – May 1, 2018 in Crystal City, VA

Paper: The Computer Science Professionals’ Hatchery at Boise State University: Incorporating Inclusion, Diversity and Social Justice into the Computer Science Curriculum

Don Winiecki, Ed.D., Ph.D., Boise State University
Noah Salzman, Ph.D., Boise State University
Timothy Andersen, Ph.D., Boise State University
Amit Jain, Ph.D., Boise State University
Dianxiang Xu, Ph.D., Boise State University

Presentation: Incorporating Inclusion, Diversity & Social Justice into the Computer Science Curriculum

*2018 ASEE Annual Conference

June 24 – 27, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah

BSU Presentation Material: Computer Science Professionals Hatchery

Session locator

*2018 Revolutionizing Engineering and Computer Science Departments – PI Meeting (ASEE)
July 10 – 11, 2018 in Alexandria Virginia

Presentation materials:

Poster: Nurturing the Next Generation of Computer Science Professionals – Tim Andersen, Don Winiecki, Carl Siebert, Noah Salzman
Lightening Talks – Tim Andersen
PechaKucha presentation – Don Winiecki

*2018 Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF)

May 9, 2018 in Capital Hill DC

Poster: Nurturing the Next Generation of Computer Science Professionals

Amit Jain, Boise State University

24th Annual CNSF Capitol Hill Exhibition

Boise State University was chosen by the National Science Foundation to select one NSF grant award to be highlighted on Capital Hill. The
The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) is an alliance of over 140 organizations united by a concern for the future vitality of the national science, mathematics, and engineering enterprise. CNSF supports the goal of increasing the national investment in the National Science Foundation’s research and education programs in response to the unprecedented scientific, technological, and economic opportunities facing the United States.

2017 Conferences:

*2017 Annual Conference and Exposition (ASEE)

June 25-28, 2017 in Columbus Ohio

Title: T514B · Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED)

Paper: Talking about a Revolution: Overview of NSF RED Projects

Dr. Susan M. Lord, University of San Diego
Dr. Edward J. Berger, Purdue University
Dr. Nadia N. Kellam, Arizona State University
Dr. Ella Lee Ingram, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Dr. Donna M. Riley, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Dr. Diane T. Rover, Iowa State University
Dr. Noah Salzman, Boise State University
Prof. James D. Sweeney, Oregon State University

BSU Presentation: BSU CS Professionals Hatchery project – Noah

*2017 Revolutionizing Engineering and Computer Science Departments – PI Meeting

July 10 – 11, 2017 in Arlington Virginia

Poster: Nurturing the Next Generation of Computer Science Professionals

*2017 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) (ASEE, IEEE & IEEE-CS)

October 18 – 21, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana

Panel: Influencing Culture and Curriculum Via Revolution

Kelly Cross, Bio-engineering, University of Illinois
Marina Miletic, Miletic Consulting/Chemical Engineering, University of New Mexico
Tiago Forin, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rowan University
Mani Mina, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University
Amit Jain, Computer Science, Boise State University
Elsa Villa, Computer Science, University of Texas El Paso
Lisa McNair, Engineering Education, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Ella L. Ingram, Center for the Practice and Scholarship of Education, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

BSU Presentation: FIE project summary conference packet slide and FIE panel speaker slides

National Grant Updates

Explore other REDCON projects

Rose-Hulman supports departments to create significant sustainable changes in their undergraduate programs and develop inclusive communities of engineering and computer science students prepared to solve 21st-century challenges.
Explore the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology MACH (Making Academic Change Happen) web site

Review the 2015 and 2016 NSF grant award list

See other RED Community (REDCON) Participant information spreadsheet

FAQ

Rationale

Why is the CS department adding the new hatchery unit (HU) courses?

These new courses along with future course modifications are designed to cover and highlight specific skills identified and prioritized by a group of 17 industry partners. In some cases, the skills have been pulled out of existing CS courses to highlight their importance and to thread more advanced information in the HU and subsequent CS course enhancements.

Here is how a graduating senior summarized the hatchery unit courses:

“I think this is awesome! I’ve talked to several students that think one of the missing classes is the program was basic system access and file control (a pre-253 class). I think that CS-HU 153 and 250 will cover it. Students eventually learn these skills (some better than others) out of necessity. I think making sure that everyone gets exposure to these topics early on will help future students a lot.”

Curriculum Changes

How do the hatchery unit courses and course modification change the current CS department degree plan?

In order to offer the hatchery units courses, the degree plan changed in the following ways:

The second semester science requirement, not required by ABET certification, was removed to free up 4-5 credits.
In first phase, six hatchery unit courses were approved: 5 required and 1 elective.
The first six hatchery unit courses rolled out between Fall 2017 to Fall 2018. Additional elective hatchery units are in development.
In the second phase, four additional hatchery unit courses are approved and will be rolling out through Fall 2019.
Elective HUs can be used to meet their CS elective credit requirements.
Students who are near graduation or choose to remain on an earlier catalog, any 3 CS-HU classes can be used to satisfy a CS elective credit.

Review the Finish in Four Flowchart (pdf) to see where the new hatchery unit courses fit into the curriculum.

Industry Involvement

Has industry been involved in the development of these hatchery unit courses?

Yes, BSU faculty has actively worked with 17 industry representatives in the following ways:

Identify the critical Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) industry representatives look for in their new hires and seek to enhance with their current employees
Provide course content input during syllabus development
Review course and project materials
Participate in select lectures or classroom activities
Led the development and delivery of one of the HUs

About Us

The following are championing the Boise State grant: IUSE/Professional Formation of Engineers: REvolutionizing engineering and computer science Departments (NSF Award #1623189). The 5-year, $2M grant was awarded to the Computer Science department, July 2016.

Amit Jain

Chair, Associate Professor

Amit is the Chair of the Computer Science Department at Boise State University. He is the PI of the CS Professionals Hatchery project, a $2 million dollar project funded by the National Science Foundation to serve as an national exemplar on how to revolutionize the undergraduate CS experience.

He was the lead for the $1 million IDoCode project that has led to 30x increase in students in Idaho high schools over the last four years with help from education, government and private sector.

He has received over $6 million in grants and awards over the last five years from various state-level and national-level organizations as well as from industry.

CCP 355 [City Center Plaza]

Call: (208) 426-3821

ajain@boisestate.edu

Amit is the Chair of the Computer Science Department at Boise State University. He is the PI of the CS Professionals Hatchery project, a $2 million dollar project funded by the National Science Foundation to serve as an national exemplar on how to revolutionize the undergraduate CS experience.

He was the lead for the $1 million IDoCode project that has led to 30x increase in students in Idaho high schools over the last four years with help from education, government and private sector.

He has received over $6 million in grants and awards over the last five years from various state-level and national-level organizations as well as from industry.
Tim Anderson

Professor

Tim received his Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1999 from Brigham Young University. From 1999 to 2001 he worked as Chief Scientist at IArchives, developing proprietary OCR and image processing algorithms. In September 2001, Dr. Andersen joined the faculty in the Computer Science Department at Boise State.

CCP 361

Call: (208) 426-5768

tandersen@boisestate.edu

Tim received his Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1999 from Brigham Young University. From 1999 to 2001 he worked as Chief Scientist at IArchives, developing proprietary OCR and image processing algorithms. In September 2001, Dr. Andersen joined the faculty in the Computer Science Department at Boise State.
Dianxiang Xu

Professor

Dianxiang is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at University of Missouri. He holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in computer science. His areas of expertise include software security, software engineering, and access control. He teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses, including Agile Development, Software Testing, Software Security, and Advanced Software Engineering.

He has published more than 120 peer-reviewed papers in international journals and conference proceedings. He has received more than $6.5M in grants as PI or co-PI, mostly from the National Science Foundation.

He created the PhD Computing program at Boise State University. He has served and is serving on the program committee of several international conferences. He is a reviewer for major journals in this areas of expertise. He is a senior member of the IEEE.

University of Missouri

dianxiangxu@boisestate.edu

Dianxiang is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at University of Missouri. He holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in computer science. His areas of expertise include software security, software engineering, and access control. He teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses, including Agile Development, Software Testing, Software Security, and Advanced Software Engineering.

He has published more than 120 peer-reviewed papers in international journals and conference proceedings. He has received more than $6.5M in grants as PI or co-PI, mostly from the National Science Foundation.

He created the PhD Computing program at Boise State University. He has served and is serving on the program committee of several international conferences. He is a reviewer for major journals in this areas of expertise. He is a senior member of the IEEE.
Donald Winiecki

Professor

Don holds an Ed.D. in Instructional Technology (Texas Tech University) and a Ph.D. in Sociology (Central Queensland University). He is a full-time Graduate Faculty member in the OPWL department and adjunct faculty in the Sociology department at BSU.

His current research and development activity focuses on morality and ethics, inclusiveness and diversity in professional practice, including instructional and performance-based interventions focused on outcomes (actual practice) in addition to outputs (course grades). He is also active in research and development of materials and technologies that support visually-impaired learners and professionals, especially those pursuing careers in fields requiring specialized symbol systems, including math, sciences and music.

College of Engineering, ENGR 328

Call: (208) 426-1899

dwiniecki@boisestate.edu

Don holds an Ed.D. in Instructional Technology (Texas Tech University) and a Ph.D. in Sociology (Central Queensland University). He is a full-time Graduate Faculty member in the OPWL department and adjunct faculty in the Sociology department at BSU.

His current research and development activity focuses on morality and ethics, inclusiveness and diversity in professional practice, including instructional and performance-based interventions focused on outcomes (actual practice) in addition to outputs (course grades). He is also active in research and development of materials and technologies that support visually-impaired learners and professionals, especially those pursuing careers in fields requiring specialized symbol systems, including math, sciences and music.
Noah Salzman

Assistant Professor/Engineering Educator

Noah is an Assistant Professor at Boise State University, where he is a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and IDoTeach, a pre-service STEM teacher preparation program. His work focuses on the transition from pre-college to university engineering programs, pathways from engineering into K-12 teaching, and creating more flexible engineering degree options via Boise State University’s Engineering Plus program . He has worked as a high school science, mathematics, and engineering and technology teacher, as well as several years of electrical and mechanical engineering design experience as a practicing engineer. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Swarthmore College, his Master’s of Education degree from the University of Massachusetts, and a Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Doctorate in Engineering Education from Purdue University.

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Call: (208) 426-5726

noahsalzman@boisestate.edu

Noah is an Assistant Professor at Boise State University, where he is a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and IDoTeach, a pre-service STEM teacher preparation program. His work focuses on the transition from pre-college to university engineering programs, pathways from engineering into K-12 teaching, and creating more flexible engineering degree options via Boise State University’s Engineering Plus program . He has worked as a high school science, mathematics, and engineering and technology teacher, as well as several years of electrical and mechanical engineering design experience as a practicing engineer. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Swarthmore College, his Master’s of Education degree from the University of Massachusetts, and a Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Doctorate in Engineering Education from Purdue University.
Carl Siebert

Assistant Professor

Carl is currently an Assistant Professor at the College of Education, and the lead associate for Program Evaluation and Research Lab (PEARL). He received his Ph.D. in Measurement and Statistics from Florida State University, MBA from Duke University, and MS in Biostatistics from Florida State University, and has undergraduate degrees in both mathematics and computer science.

His current work focuses on utilizing advanced measurement and statistical techniques for the analysis of social sciences data, and consulting with researchers and program evaluators on their data analytic strategies. Carl has many years consulting in the private sector and has particular expertise in program evaluation and research design, and currently receives project funding from National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Idaho State.

His professional background includes teaching, computer programming and systems analysis, and executive management roles in quality assurance, training, recruiting, human resources, and operations. He has been PI on multiple research projects, publishes in education and the social and health sciences, and published a book on nonparametric statistics.

Education Building, Room 408

Call: (208) 426-3270

carlsiebert@boisestate.edu

Carl is currently an Assistant Professor at the College of Education, and the lead associate for Program Evaluation and Research Lab (PEARL). He received his Ph.D. in Measurement and Statistics from Florida State University, MBA from Duke University, and MS in Biostatistics from Florida State University, and has undergraduate degrees in both mathematics and computer science.

His current work focuses on utilizing advanced measurement and statistical techniques for the analysis of social sciences data, and consulting with researchers and program evaluators on their data analytic strategies. Carl has many years consulting in the private sector and has particular expertise in program evaluation and research design, and currently receives project funding from National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Idaho State.

His professional background includes teaching, computer programming and systems analysis, and executive management roles in quality assurance, training, recruiting, human resources, and operations. He has been PI on multiple research projects, publishes in education and the social and health sciences, and published a book on nonparametric statistics.
Ernie Covelli

Program Coordinator

Ernie joined the Hewlett-Packard R&D lab in Boise after receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. While at HP, Ernie held various roles from Firmware/Software Developer, Firmware/Software Development Management, and Program Management for several LaserJet programs.

Ernie joined the staff of the Computer Science department as the IDoCode Program Coordinator with the goals of expanding CS educational opportunities within the State of Idaho and to broaden student participation by more, and more type of students. This role expanded to include coordination for the CS Professionals Hatchery project to revolutionize the undergraduate CS experience.

CCP 325.13

Call: (208) 426-5764

erniecovelli@boisestate.edu

Ernie joined the Hewlett-Packard R&D lab in Boise after receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. While at HP, Ernie held various roles from Firmware/Software Developer, Firmware/Software Development Management, and Program Management for several LaserJet programs.

Ernie joined the staff of the Computer Science department as the IDoCode Program Coordinator with the goals of expanding CS educational opportunities within the State of Idaho and to broaden student participation by more, and more type of students. This role expanded to include coordination for the CS Professionals Hatchery project to revolutionize the undergraduate CS experience.