News & Events Archive - 2001

Joint Appointments Announced
Two members of the Department of Computer Information Systems, Dr. Vijay Vaishnavi and Dr. Veda Storey, recently received joint appointments in the Department of Computer Science. Dr. Vaishnavi holds the rank of professor in CIS and specializes in software engineering. Dr. Storey is an associate professor and specializes in database systems. Both will be able to direct theses and serve on thesis and dissertation committees. (Posted 8/29/01)

New Department Server Installed
A new Sun workstation has been installed to replace zeus.cs.gsu.edu, the four+ year-old Unix server. The new server, suez.cs.gsu.edu, will continue to provide MAIL, POP3, IMAP, WEB, TELNET, SSH, FTP and XDM services to every user in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the Department of Computer Science. All PTIs, GRAs, GTAs, GLAs, and students in both departments are required to register in order to have accounts established on the new server. The following information is needed: full name, login name on zeus, student ID number, e-mail address, website address (if applicable), and department (Mathematics/Statistics or Computer Science). Please send this information to zeusmove@cs.gsu.edu immediately. Direct all questions and concerns regarding the migration to the same address.
     The new server will host web sites for both departments. The web site for the Department of Mathematics and Statistics will move to a new URL (www.mathstat.gsu.edu) on August 16. (Posted 8/14/01)

Department Welcomes Visitors
Professor Pingzhi Fan, Dean of the School of Computer and Communication Engineering and Director of the Institute of Mobile Communications at Southwest Jiaotong University in China, is currently visiting the Department of Computer Science. Professor Fan received his Ph.D. from the University of Hull in the United Kingdom. He is an expert in wireless networks and is the first author of the book Sequence Design for Communications Applications (published by John Wiley) and numerous research papers in wireless networks and coding theory. Currently, he is working with Professor Yi Pan in the area of channel assignments and performance evaluation for wireless cellular networks. Professor Fan came to GSU in May and will return to China at the end of August. (Posted 8/14/01)

Dogdu Joins Department
Dr. Erdogan Dogdu will be joining the department in August as a new assistant professor. Dr. Dogdu received his B.S. degree in computer science and engineering from Hacettepe University in Turkey. He received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in computer science from Case Western Reserve University. His specialties are transaction control and optimization in real-time databases, software engineering, transaction models and algorithms to increase system throughput in database systems with real-time constraints, and middleware support for database access and brokering in a wireless environment. His Ph.D. dissertation was titled "Real-Time Databases: Extended Transaction Models and the Utilization of Execution Histories." (Posted 7/6/01)

Balakrishnan Accepts Position at OPNET
Dr. Krishnan Balakrishnan, an assistant professor in the department, resigned in June to take a position at OPNET Technologies in Bethesda, Maryland, where he will be project manager for multiple wireless projects. We wish him well in his new job. (Posted 7/6/01)

Martin Promoted
Adrienne Martin, a long-time member of the Computer Science staff, was promoted to Business Manager II as of July 1. Congratulations! (Posted 7/6/01)

Gaither Moves to Psychology
Jakki Gaither has accepted a position in the Department of Psychology as of July 1. Ms. Gaither was a staff member in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science (and later in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics) for 16 years. We wish her good luck in her new position. (Posted 7/6/01)

Computer Science Students Recognized for Wireless Technology Project
A team from Georgia State was chosen to compete in an international computer design competition for its project, which has the potential for widespread use in police departments across the country. The project integrates wireless technology with databases, making it possible for police officers to automatically obtain registration and vehicle identification information in traffic stops.
     Three Georgia State computer science students, Eric Vega, Jean Dillard, and Darren Vick, along with Assistant Professor Michael Weeks, worked on the project, which was accepted for the 2001 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society's International Design Competition (CSIDC). The IEEE Computer Society is one of the leading organizations of computer professionals, with more than 100,000 members worldwide.
     According to Weeks, the Georgia State team's design could be used beyond law enforcement to send information to and from any two wireless devices, such as cell phones and personal digital assistants. The project has special significance for Weeks, who is a Yamacraw faculty member in the Computer Science department. Yamacraw is a state-funded initiative designed to establish Georgia as a world leader in high bandwidth wireless communications design through a combination of education and economic initiatives.
     The GSU team made it to the second round of the design competition, which offered a grand prize of $15,000 to the winning team. (Adapted from an article in the Georgia State Villager, May 31, 2001.)