Congratulations to all of our
Spring and Summer 2007 Graduates
On Friday, May 11, 2007, the Department of Computer Science celebrated
Spring 2007 commencement at a reception honoring undergraduates,
graduates, friends and families, and faculty. Approximately 85 students
completed a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, and 39 graduate
degrees were awarded. Special guests at the reception included Mrs. Anne
Gorsline, wife of the first department head Dr. George Gorsline, and
numerous alumni from the department’s early years. The department also
recognized several undergraduates and graduate students for achievements
in scholarship, leadership, and research.
Wayne Crissman was awarded the George Gorsline Memorial
Scholarship. Dr. Gorsline was the first
head of the Department of Computer Science.
Dr. Gorsline died in 1987, and in his memory, his wife Anne and numerous
grateful alumni established the George Gorsline Memorial Scholarship. True to George’s spirit, this scholarship is
given each year to a rising senior who has shown significant improvement in his
or her grade point average from freshman year through junior year, and who have
overcome obstacles to become successful CS majors. CS major Daniel Cohn was also a recipient of
a Gorsline Award, but was not able to attend.
 Mrs. Anne Gorsline, Wayne Crissman, Dr. Dennis Kafura Jessica Whitley was awarded the Anne and George
Gorsline Award for women in CS. Jessica
is pursuing a BS in Computer Science, a BS in Applied and Discrete Mathematics,
and a minor in Biology. She has served as
Vice President of Women in Computing, Educational Outreach Committee member of
the Society of Women Engineers, and is employed in a research position in the
Department of Plant Physiology and Weed Science. She is a member of Pi Mu Epsilon National
Mathematics Honor Society, Upsilon Pi Epsilon CS honor society, and was
recently inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
Her current overall GPA is 3.9. Dr. Dennis Kafura, Jessica Whitley, Mrs. Anne Gorsline
Stacy Branham was awarded the Department of Computer Science
Service Award for outstanding leadership and service. While at VT, Stacy served as President of the
Association of Women and Computing for two years and has been an undergraduate
teaching assistant. She has been an
enthusiastic recruiter for the department and represented the Department of
Computer Science at numerous visitor information sessions and other events,
including Women's Preview Weekend, CEED's Get Connected panel, SEC's Freshman Major
Mixer, Women in Computing Day, Advance VT for Henrico County Students, Hokie
Focus, CS Open House, SEC Engineering Expo, and she gave a speech on women in
computing at the CoE Executive Board Meeting. She has completed cooperative
education terms with IBM and with QSS.
This spring she was a Student Ambassador to the College of Engineering
and she has participated in Scholars of the Future undergraduate research
program. Stacy plans to start graduate
school in the fall at VT.
 Dr. Dennis Kafura, Stacy Branham
James Ladd is the 2007 Outstanding Senior in Computer Science. Jim is a double major in CS and Math, and a
Commonwealth Scholar. Jim has
participated in the Extreme Blue cooperative education program with IBM. He has also been active in CS Squared
including helping to gather and train a group of nine Hokie mentors, developing
curriculum documents, and holding two on-campus workshops. Jim has been active in InterVarsity missions
work. He ran a homeless shelter for a
night and volunteered at a school for Latino students in New
York City, and went with Mission to
the World to Belize. After graduation Jim will be teaching math
and serving as webmaster for a school called the Evangelical Christian Academy
(ECA) in Madrid, Spain. Jim was also
awarded Outstanding Senior Award from the Math Department. Jim’s GPA is 3.92.
Dr. Dennis Kafura, James Ladd
Alaina Ambrose was one of three seniors to
receive the Computer Science Scholar Award for outstanding academic
achievement. Alaina has interned for
Lockheed Martin and McQ, Inc. and has been an Undergraduate Teaching
Assistant. She is a member of Upsilon Pi
Epsilon Computer Science Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and the
National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
Alaina just completed a Semester Abroad Semester in Spain, and has
accepted a position with MITRE after graduation. Alaina’s GPA was a perfect 4.0. Dr. Dennis Kafura, Alaina Ambrose
Ashley Dooley received the Department of Computer Science
Scholar Award. Ashley has interned
with GE Nuclear Energy and GE Energy – Drives and Controls, and has served as a
Resident Advisor. She has been a member
of the Marching Virginians and Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority,
and Phi Beta Kappa. She received the
Anne and George Gorsline Scholarship in 2005.
Ashley graduated with a 4.0 GPA.
Dr. Dennis Kafura, Ashley Dooley
Tingting Jiang is a recipient of the Department of Computer
Science Scholar Award. Tingting also has
a BS in Medicine from Nanjing Medical University
in Nanjing, China. She was a research assistant developing KPP
software for chemical kinetic systems with Dr. Adrian Sandu. She has been active with Association of Women
in Computing, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She also is the mother of a beautiful little
girl. Tingting’s GPA is 4.0.
 Dr. Dennis Kafura, Tingting Jiang The outstanding MS student award is given to
students who have demonstrated a high level of academic achievement at the Masters level with a research thesis published in peer refereed conferences and journals. This year's recipients are Lauren Shupp and Ryan McMahan. Ryan McMahan's thesis is in the area of human-computer interaction, and he developed a testbed for evaluating interaction techniques in virtual environments. Dr. Dennis Kafura, Ryan McMahan
Lauren's thesis developed a new personal computing workplace, in the form of a large curved display, and showed that it can improve human productivity by as much as 600%. Dr. Chris North, Lauren Shupp, Dr. Dennis Kafura, Dr. Naren Ramakrishnan The outstanding Ph.D. student award recognizes
doctoral thesis work of exceptional quality and achievement. Besides publications and presentations,
the originality and long-term impact of the candidate's work is taken into account. This year's recipients are Shahrooz Feizabadi and Jian He.
Shahrooz's thesis solves an important problem in the area of soft real-time systems and interleaves multiple considerations, such as type safety, system resource usage, and garbage collection.
Dr. Dennis Kafura, Shahrooz Feizabadi
Jian He's (not pictured) thesis focuses on algorithms and software for numerical global optimization, a problem that surfaces in all fields of science and engineering.
The outstanding teaching assistant award recognizes graduate students who play a crucial role in our teaching mission. Teaching assistants work with professors in lecturing, grading, lab management, and course delivery, and sometimes teach courses themselves. This year's award goes to current
Ph.D. student Anthony Allevato.
Tony is a highly-regarded and much sought after teaching assistant in our department. He has served as a GTA for six semesters, covering five different courses with four different professors. The instructors with whom Tony has worked all rate him among the best they have ever had. His average
ranking by his supervising faculty members is a perfect 5.0 out of 5.0, compared to a departmental average of 4.0.
Dr. Dennis Kafura, Anthony Allevato Kimberly Bateau, James McIntyre, Suzanne Gorsline Irwin, Randy Marchany, Karen Walker, Anne Gorsline Terry Arthur, Suzanne Gorsline Irwin, Karen Walker, Anne Gorsline, Jessica Whitley Brad Hunt and family Brad Vogel (2nd from left) and family Alaina Ambrose (2nd from left) and family Brian Michaud (middle) and family Dr. Cal Ribbens, James Ladd, Dr. Dennis Kafura Brad Vogel and Michael Ziray Christopher Laffoon (4th from left) and guests Dr. Cliff Shaffer, Dr. Cal Ribbens, and James Ladd Curtis Wilkes (3rd from left) and family Dr. Dennis Kafura and Alaina Ambrose Dr. Dennis Kafura, Jessica Whitley, Anne Gorsline Dr. Dick Nance, Nora Narum Dr. Ed Fox, Ashley Dooley, Alaina Ambrose, Dr. Dennis Kafura Dr. Ed Fox, Dr. Dennis Kafura, Wayne Crissman, Anne Gorsline Dr. Ed Fox, Stacy Branham, Dennis Kafura Wayne Crissman (3rd from left) and family, Dr. Ed Fox (left), Dr. Dennis Kafura (right) James Ladd (2nd from left), Matthew Haase (3rd from left), Terry Arthur (right) and guest John Woods (2nd from left) and family John Woods, Stacy Branham, Robert Ackermann, Chreston Miller, Matthew Haase, Jessica Whitley Matthew Haase (middle) and family Deept Kuman, Dr. Naren Ramakrishnan Ron Forbes (right) and family Ryan Silva (2nd from right) and family Stacy Branham (right) and family Anthony Allevato, Dr. Steve Edwards Walker Workman (2nd from left) and family Wayne Crissman (2nd from left) and family Bill Urrego (2nd from right), family and guests Kevin Denny Ashley Dooley (center) and parents
Virginia Morgan and her mortarboard at the College of Engineering's Commencement Program
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