Three Top Ten SoS Teachers in Computer Science
04-01-2004
The juniors and seniors in the School of Science have selected the Top Ten Teachers of 2003-2004 and the school's Outstanding Teacher of the year. Their selection included three CS faculty members. Professor Mikhail Atallah is the Outstanding Teacher of the year, and Professor Greg Frederickson and Dr. Gustavo Rodriguez-Rivera are in the Top Ten Teachers in the School of Science. The Top Ten SoS Teachers are determined by Purdue's Science Student Council based upon student votes and accompanying comments.
Professor Mikhail ("Mike") Atallah's teaching style is the reason many students chose him as a top teacher in the School of Science. He made me "think outside the box," "encourages critical thinking," and "made class fun." According to one student Professor Atallah is the Outstanding Teacher for the School due to his ability to "increase my interest in Computer Science." Another student enjoyed Atallah's class so much he said "Professor Atallah is the best professor I have come across in my entire student life!" Professor Atallah's current research interests are in information security (in particular, software security, secure protocols, and watermarking). This semester he is teaching an interdisciplinary CS and Management course, with graduate students from both Departments enrolled.
Students ranked Professor Greg Frederickson in the top ten because "he has a lot of enthusiasm for the class" and "cares about Purdue and the students." According to one student, Professor Frederickson "forced me to study more than I do for any other class," and it was "a lot of pleasure to understand the material." In Frederickson's CS 381, Introduction to the Analysis of Algorithms, a student wrote, "This is actually the first (and only) really worthwhile CS course that I feel I've taken since CS 182, and the only class that I'm compelled to attend every day." Professor Frederickson's research includes the analysis of algorithms, with special emphasis on data structures, and graph and network algorithms. This semester he is teaching the graduate course CS580, Algorithm Design, Analysis, and Implementation.
Dr. Gustavo Rodriguez-Rivera was chosen as a SoS Top Ten Teacher for the forth year in a row. One of his students found him to be "knowledgeable, energetic, and willing to help students," while another proclaimed, "Give this man a raise!" Another student stated, "Gustavo is the best teacher of any class that I have taken. His passion for teaching is unmatched." Dr. Rodriguez-Rivera is a Continuing Lecturer in the department of Computer Science, and his areas of interest include internetworking, distributed systems, and operating systems. In the current semester he is teaching CS 251, Data Structures, and CS 354, Operating Systems.
Congratulations to Professors Atallah and Frederickson and Dr. Rodriguez-Rivera!