2007-10-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

CSU anticipates building
New building proximity is welcomed by computer students

By Michael Albert

Computer Science majors at Colorado State University will soon have a new home on campus. A new building for the majors is currently under construction and is expected to be completed by the fall 2008 semester.

Since the groundbreaking on Sep. 21, the new Computer Science building has been renovated at the center of the CSU campus. The building will be located in between the Natural Resources building and the Lory Student Center.

Classes for computer science and applied computer technology are currently being taught at the CSU University Service building. The building is a 15 minute walk from the CSU campus and has been used extensively over the years by computer science majors and CSU faculty.

Many computer students and faculty have been eagerly anticipating the new building because of the proximity it will have to the rest of the CSU campus.

Douglas Borg, a senior applied computer technology student at CSU hopes that students will benefit from the new building and will make it easier to get to class.

“The current Computer Science building is pretty detached from the rest of the campus so it will be nice to be more centralized and not have to make such a commute,” Borg said.

One of the biggest advancements from the new Computer Science building will be the new technology and upgrades from the old building and its small size.

“The building itself is kind of a joke for students to get to class everyday,” Borg said. “We call the building a prison and the classrooms prison cells.”

Because of the number of faculty and students within the department, the new building will have several labs and study areas with a larger capacity for students.

CSU senior and computer science major Graham Arends is optimistic of the building's completion.

“There basically is one classroom in the building called CS-110, which is only big enough to hold about 40 students,” Arends said. “It’s always hard to schedule classes because the classroom is so small.”

One of the biggest assets of the new Computer Science building will be the computer lab that is open 24-hours a day and is open to all CSU students.

“I have classes all over the place at CSU buildings so it will be nice to be able to get my work done on my own terms at any time that I would want,” Arends said.

The completed building will have technological advancements and support from various corporate sponsors.

“I’m most looking forward to see the new computers that Hewlett Packard and Intel are going to support students with in the new building,” Arends said. “It should be a very nice upgrade.”

Students upset with construction
New construction site causes disruption for campus living and commutes

By Michael Albert

The newly constructed Computer Science building has been positively received by computer science students for the intimacy it brings them to the rest of the CSU campus. However, other CSU student body have been disappointed by the new building and its disruption on campus.

One of the main opportunity costs of the new construction for the Computer Science building is the loss of open space in the Lory Student Center. Students feel that the new building will condense what already is an overcrowded area.

Jamie Sugarman, a senior human development & family studies major at CSU feels that the new building infringes on other students.

“It’s really nice that there will be a new computer science building, but I just wish it was in a different part of campus,” Sugarman said. “ A lot of students used the grass area as a way to get around or rest in between classes. I used to see a lot of students napping there and using the sidewalks.”

Other students feel upset on ways the construction is interfering with everyday campus living and how it is in an inopportune time for the construction.

In 2006, a similar construction renovation at the student center was underkanen by repaving the student plaza and walkways.

Ryan Phipps, a senior history major one of many students that is annoyed by the accumulation of recent construction at CSU over the years.

“It has always seems like all of the construction is around the same time that school starts every fall,” Phipps said. “I wish that they wouldn’t make it inconvenient for students during the year and constructed during the summer months.”

Despite the tension among students, the new building is on schedule for its completion by Fall 2008.

Faculty ready to move
Professors grateful to be part of campus

By Dave Welch

It is odd that one of Colorado State University’s elite academic departments does not have its own building. With a top-60 ranking in the nation, and numerous faculty members’ names recognized on an international basis, a new Computer Science building is past due.

While most of the department’s funding comes from the National Science Foundation, financial support for the $12.9 million new building project came from student fees and many staff members are thankful for that.

Professor Ross Beveridge, who has been with CSU since 1992, is among those professors.

“It is wonderful to be part of the campus physically when we’ve been so actively involved,” Beveridge said.

Beveridge, who is the faculty advisor for the Association for Computing Machinery Club believes that the new building will help extra curriculum activities among computer science majors.

“Usually people do not feel like walking across campus at 5 in the afternoon for our meetings,” Beveridge said. “Being in the middle of campus will make it easier for us.”

The Association for Computing Machinery offers a wide range of activities from guest speakers to jeopardy, and with the new Computer Science building, meetings will be much smoother.

Another extracurricular activity that will be assisted by the new building is the “Not Just Robots” Club.

“This will be the first time we have had an artificial intelligence lab,” Beveridge said.

Among the many features the new Computer Science building has to offer, Beveridge says that the 24-hour lab will be the most helpful for most academics in the field.

“We have asked if our current office could stay open 24/7, but since we share this building with other organizations, we were unable to do so.” Beveridge said. “When I was an undergraduate, it was not unusual to be doing work at 3 in the morning.”

The 24-hour lab will offer the Linux operating system, a program that is crucial for computer science majors.

“Linux is an offshoot of Unix, which has been the backbone of computer programming for the last 23 years,” Beveridge said. “It is extremely valuable for those in our field.”

Labs for Linux
Faculty and students gain edge with Linux system

By Dave Welch

While it may sound like a mix of a forest cat and a blanket loving Peanuts character, the Linux system is crucial to all computer science majors. The new computer science building will offer a 24-hour a day Linux-based computer lab. Faculty and student alike are hailing this feature of the new building.

“I use Linux every day for at least two hours a day,” said Tyler Ryan, a junior computer science major. “My senior year will be much easier with a 24-hour lab dedicated to Linux.”

A computer operating system processes data and user input then allocates and manages all tasks and resources within the computer.

Linux is the most powerful system in the world and is used by 77% of all supercomputers. Think of Linux as an extremely strong version of Windows, but without the cute icons.

“Linux is an offshoot of Unix, one of the first programming systems invented,” Professor Beveridge said. Unix was developed in 1965, and due to its availability and portability, it was accepted by academic institutions on an international basis.

“Unix has been the backbone of our research for 30 years,” Beveridge said. ”It was very secure and reliable.” Unix evolved into Linux in the early 90s and college students like Tyler Ryan, have been using it ever since.

“With a lab full of Linux-running computers open for 24 hours, I can actually do something productive at 2 in morning instead of watching television,” Ryan said. “Computer sciences majors are nocturnal.”

CSU’s Computer Science chair looks toward future
Dr. L. Darrell Whitely optimistic for changes being made in CSU’s Computer Science Department

By Candace Taylor

Dressed in a solid blue shirt, black pants, a tie and glasses reflecting colors from the monitor of his computer, Dr. Leonard Darrell Whitley, calmly sits at his desk in the University Services building located 2 miles from the Colorado State University campus. Whitely, who is chair of the Department of Computer Science, looks relaxed as he starts his day’s work.
The compacted second floor of the University Services building is home to the Department of Computer Science and is the current location of the office.

When asked to explain how being part of the College of Natural Sciences has affected his professional career, Whitely seemed eager to answer.

“Being at CSU has given me a lot of opportunities to pursue interest into many different computer science research areas,” Whitely said. “Being here has given me a chance to learn as well as teach.”

Now, after being part of CSU for a little over 20 years, something different will affect his professional life and career: a new Computer Science building devoted to faculty, computer science majors, CSU students and researchers within the department.

“As professor and chair, I am very excited for the staff and students within the department to have our own, new building on campus,” Whitely said. “It is not fair to say that we have been forgotten, but it will be great to be on campus to interact with other departments and to remind everyone that we are still here.”

New CSU building to increase comp sci majors
Recent decline in computer science majors to change due to new CSU building

By Candace Taylor

The new Computer Science building, currently under construction in the heart of campus at Colorado State University, is expected to bring in more computer science majors within the next couple of years.

The building, which will include 45,000 square feet of labs that will be used to increase information technology research, will offer student’s incentives to become a computer science major and remind the CSU campus the importance of the Department of Computer Science’s presence.

Reminding the campus about the department seems to be exactly what is needed to increase the number of computer science majors not only at CSU, but across America.

“I certainly believe that expanding our presence on campus will attract more majors,” Department of Computer Science at CSU Chair and professor, Darrell Whitely said. “In the last 5 years, there has been a 50 percent downturn in computer science majors within the nation.”

While the downturn is occurring, industries like Hewlett Packard and Lockeed Martin are begging for computer science experts. Whitley seems optimistic that the new building will offer more research opportunities to expand computer science knowledge to bring in more students and supplying more interns.

“The building will have offices for faculty, offices for researchers, personal computing labs, many student work areas and new technology,” Whitley said. “Explaining this and talking about the new building at high schools will be a great way to reach out and recruit computer science majors at CSU.”

Colorado State University Computer Science Building