First-Year Computer Science The NAU ACM Club

What’s CS?

Computer Science How a computer thinks How to tell a computer to

solve your problem The math behind how a

computer solves your problem Designing systems that help

the computer and you

What can I do with a degree in Computer Science?

Software Engineer Network Administrator Security Analyst Scientific Computing Researcher Web Developer Game Developer Haxxor

What classes am I going to need to take?

• http://peoplesoft.nau.edu

What classes am I going to need to take?

• CS126: Computer Science I

• CS136: Computer Science II

• CS249: Data Structures

• CS200: Computer Organization

• CS301: Ethics of CS

• CS315: Automata Theory

• CS386: Software Engineering

• CS396: Principles of Languages

• CS421: Algorithms

• CS480: Operating Systems

• CS486: Capstone

The NAU Computer Science Faculty

Abe Pralle

• Take advantage of his early points! Up to 20% Extra Credit! Turn in projects early!

• Abe rewards above and beyond effort with extra points - if you do something peculiar in addition to your project (Make a cool GUI, etc.)

• The Big “Game Guru”: Teaches Virtual Worlds, Game Production

• Wrote his own language dedicated to gaming: Slag (Also teaches Compilers)

• Resident Vim Ninja: Will blow your mind with his vim ninjaness.

Dr. James Palmer

• Read the Textbook Chapter Pre-Lecture: Dr. P loves to talk about related stories that require prior knowledge

• Bring your questions about the chapter to class with you.

• Lectures to the most intelligent students without prompt - stop him with questions!

• Researching Ecoinformatics Visualization Techniques

• Loves Voronoi Diagrams!

• Resident emacs aficionado.

• ACM’s Daddy

Dr. Eck Doerry

• Dr. D loves to ask you randomly in class to define vocabulary from the lectures & textbook: Be sure you know these concepts. Know your vocab!

• Take Good Notes in his Classes: He talks above and beyond the topics in the textbook.

• Plan to devote 15+ hours on Projects and Focus on Requirements.

• Check for user input errors: He will actively try to break your program.

• Big Interfaces Guy: Seriously into GUIs & Functional Programming.

• Head Honcho: Computer Science Chair

Dr. Dieter Otte

• Dr. Otte is BIG on Presentations! Be sure to purchase Powerpoint or Keynote before his class!

• Again on Presentations, make sure you know the chapter well enough to present on it. *Read the Chapter*

• Follow directions (Pet Peeve) & Don’t miss deadlines.

• Big XML & Web Guru: Focuses on Web Services.

• Big RUP (Rational Unified Process) d00d.

Dr. Dan Li

• She loves Algorithms & Processes: Be sure you know them in detail.

• Detail-oriented: Know the nitty-gritty of anything she talks about in class.

• “Be the Computer”: Be sure you can process input just as a computer would for every algorithm - know the steps in detail for any input.

• Researching topics in Data Mining

• Teaches Information Retrieval class (Google, Yahoo! Web Searching Techniques)

Dr. Kefei Wang

• Know your tables: OSI Layers, etc.

• Press for Feedback: Go to his office hours and ask him about previous projects.

• Tests are almost entirely made up of Quiz Questions: Study those carefully!

• Currently doing research in Computer Networks & Architecture

• Big C++ Faculty Member on Campus

How to Take a CS Class in General...

• Think about how long a project is going to take you (overestimate this).

• Now double that number. And plan accordingly.

• Also, *ASK FOR HELP* It helps to even bounce ideas off a rubber ducky.

• ACM Lounge: There are always CS upper-classmen in Room 105. Swing by anytime, even 10:00 PM :)

• Good Luck!