Kevin Austerlitz is a CS student who became interested in the program because he wants to get a broad picture of the subject rather than just focusing on a specific aspect. He likes the fact that it is a small program in which everyone gets to know each other. Specifically, he enjoyed taking csc436 because he has been able to apply it in his further endeavors in programming. Kevin has lots of experience in the field as a web designer and is currently doing an internship at APC working with Java and xml. Kevin enjoys programming and problem solving. When he isn’t at his computer he goes fishing, kayaking and skiing. He is interested in aviation as well and has his pilot’s license. After he graduates in 2009, Kevin plans on starting his career right away to gain enough experience to eventually start his own company in software development.
Department Spotlights
Brittnee Morgan is a senior in the Computer Science program and will be graduating this spring. She started out as a Biology major but then she became interested in forensics and discovered the digital forensics program through the Computer Science department. She currently works in the Digital Forensics Center and helped create the online content for the Digital Forensics classes. She also interned at the naval criminal investigative service in Newport where she worked with a cyber crime investigator and observed case work and investigations. She also worked on campus as a lab manager and has done research in steganography. Brittnee enjoys traveling and has studied abroad in England. She is also active in the Computer Science department by being a delegate to URI’s chapter of Women in Computer Science. Brittnee likes how the Computer Science program is open ended and allows for different career paths. Coming in to the program, she thought it would be all programming and was happy to find classes that were more suited to her interests. She also likes the fact that computer science can be used in many different areas of study.
Ian Lonngren is currently pursuing a B.S. degree in computer science and will be graduating Spring 2008. Ian has been actively involved in the department ever since his team won the freshman prize in Dr. Hervé’s programming competition. Since then he has been a constant presence in the Envision lab, recently doing work for the 3D Group and working as a TA for CSC 305. Outside of class Ian is a member of the Ballroom Dancing club, and a leader of Origins/Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. Off campus you might see him in full dress uniform playing his fife with the Kentish Guard Fife and Drum Corps, or driving the hayride at Stamp Farms.
Kenneth Rahn Jr. is a double-degree super-senior (computer science and computer engineering) who will be graduating in 2008. Besides a full class load, he has two part-time jobs - managing the CS Department EnVision lab and working in a local restaurant. In his free time Ken likes to tell really corny jokes, and has recently taken up scuba diving and swing dancing. He also hosts his own website, email, DNS, and is currently building a mirror server for certain open-source projects (i.e. Open Office, Gentoo Linux, etc).
Derek Aguiar is a senior, undergraduate student pursuing Bachelor of Science degrees in the fields of Computer Engineering and Computer Science. He has always had a strong interest in Computer Science which was revitalized by Professor Dave Stuart’s Software Engineering class and the Mythical Man-Month text. When Derek isn’t studying for his Professor Lamagna tests, you can find him cheering for the Red Sox or playing soccer. Currently, Derek works as a Software Engineer for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. While under the employment of Raytheon, he has developed and maintained relational databases, created web-based applications using ASP.NET and C#, and implemented newer technologies such as AJAX and DotNetNuke. After graduating, Derek plans on working for a few years before going back to school for graduate studies.
Cynthia Prudence, a second year graduate student, received her Bachelor of Science in General Mathematics with minors in Film Studies, Sociology, and Computer Science. It was her interest in Computer Forensics and Bioinformatics that sparked her decision to pursue her doctorate work in computer science. Currently, Cynthia is working on an independent study researching effective ways to use the interactive graphical languages to teach people how to program. Recently, she aided the SMILE program in training teachers from around Rhode Island in developing lessons to teach kids ages 9-17 the basics of programming. Besides taking graduate classes in the Computer Science Department, she also spends her time at URI teaching CSC101: Introduction to Computing Concepts and running the CS Summer Computer Camp. During her free time she enjoys traveling, running, playing tennis, reading and watching movies. It was traveling to Japan as a member of the Sony Student Project Abroad that inspired Cynthia to consider mathematics and computer science as possible career choices.
Krissy McCooey is currently a first year grad student in the Computer Science Department. As an undergraduate, she completed her freshmen year at Stonehill College, before transferring to URI to be a part of their Digital Forensics Interest Group. She graduated last spring from URI with a BS in Computer Science and a minor in Digital Forensics. As a graduate student Krissy is currently involved in helping teach the Digital Forensics courses at URI. She is also currently working on research in the area of analyzing and breaking different methods of computer steganography. Her favorite class as a graduate student has been CSC 541, Advanced Topics in Algorithms with Dr. Lamagna. “I recommend that everyone try to take it, It’s a very interesting class in which you learn about old and new methods of Cryptography.” When she’s not at school Krissy spends her extra time playing ball with her dog Chloe, or just relaxing on the couch.
Starting in Spring 2007, we will be Spotlighting undergradautes, graduates, faculty and staff. Every two weeks a new “person of interest” and their accomplishments will be highlighted. We will begin accepting recommendations in December for our first features!