Chris Coleman | Kahlert School of Computing

SOC Bob Kessler Passes

Posted on July 13, 2021July 13, 2021 by Chris Coleman

University of Utah School of Computing professor Robert R. Kessler, co-founder of the No 1-ranked Entertainment Arts and Engineering (EAE) video game development program at the U, and esteemed colleague, passed away on July 8, 2021.

“Without Bob there would be no EAE. I’m not sure I’d be a professor without his support, and I know that the hundreds of game developers out there who studied under him would say the same about their careers,” said EAE co-founder and associate director, Roger Altizer. “The U, EAE, it’s students, faculty, and staff all know that we owe so much of our happiness and success to Bob. Some shoes are hard to fill, his will be impossible to do so.”

Kessler earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in computer science in 1974, 1977, and 1981 respectively, all from the University of Utah. He became part of the faculty at the School of Computing in 1983, where his early work centered on the portable implementation of the Lisp programming language and then distributed and parallel implementations of Lisp.

In the early 90s, Kessler founded the Center for Software Science, a state of Utah Center of Excellence, which was a research group working in nearly all aspects of system software for sequential and parallel/distributed computers. In the late 90s, he served as chairman of the Department of Computer Science (which became the School of Computing in 2000). He was one of the very first researchers to explore pair programming and its potential in software engineering. He also dabbled in agent technologies.

In 2007, he co-founded and ran the Entertainment Arts and Engineering (EAE) program, a video games emphasis for undergraduates. It then became an official program in 2010, with its own master’s degree. In 2017, EAE added a BS in Games degree. Over the years, the program has been consistently ranked in the top 5 best video game design programs in the world and achieved No. 1 three times, according to the Princeton Review rankings. His insight and vision in creating EAE fixed the University of Utah as one of the world leaders in the discipline of games.

He authored two books, over 75 journal and conference publications, and received over $16 million in external funding. He founded two startup companies and was on several corporate boards. He was an award-winning teacher having received the College of Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award in 2000 and the University of Utah’s highest teaching honor, the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2001, and the IEEE Computer Society Computer Science and Engineering Undergraduate Teaching award in 2019. He began his phased retirement in 2009.

Through his work he had a great, positive impact on the dozens of staff members and faculty that had the privilege to work for him and the thousands of students that learned from him. Bob was a beloved teacher for 38 years and will be greatly missed.

Click here to read tributes and memories from faculty and students.

Click here to read a tribute from EAE about Bob.

Click here to read the family tribute about Bob and information to donate to the Kessler Family Scholarship Fund.

2021 Graduation Awards

Posted on June 11, 2021June 11, 2021 by Chris Coleman

The School of Computing would like to congratulate several 2021 graduates and other individuals with special awards this year.

School of Computing Outstanding Teaching Award
Peter Jensen

School of Computing Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
Ryan Howell

Computer Science Outstanding Undergraduate Senior Award
Gavin Gray

Gavin graduated with a 4.0 GPA at the U, including a semester with 22 credit hours (12 CS hours). He was excellent TA during his senior year, all while taking 4 CS classes per semester.

Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award
Nithin Chalapathi

Nithin is a highly productive students, he is a Finalist in the Computing Research Association (CRA) Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Awards, 2021. He has published as author/co-author for 4 research papers, including as one of the two lead authors for a journal publication at Computer Graphics Forum, 2021. He will be attending UC Berkeley in the fall for his graduate study.

Cohen appointed Distinguished Professor of Computing

Posted on March 22, 2021March 22, 2021 by Chris Coleman

Congratulations to University of Utah School of Computing professor Elaine Cohen, who has been appointed a Distinguished Professor of Computing. The rank of Distinguished Professor is reserved those whose achievements exemplify the highest goals of scholarship and a high dedication to teaching.

Cohen received her bachelor’s in mathematics from Vassar College and master’s and doctorate degrees from Syracuse University, also in mathematics.

Upon earning her Ph.D, she joined the University of Utah in 1974 as a research assistant professor. In 1985, she achieved the rank of Associate Professor, becoming the first tenured female professor in the U’s College of Engineering. In 1991, she was named full professor in the School of Computing.

Cohen is recognized as a pioneer in her field of solid modeling with numerous honors. She co-founded the Alpha_1 research group. For 30 years, Alpha_1 was a testbed research system that enabled modeling and systems research using Non-Uniform Rational Basis Spline (NURBS) for design, graphics and visualization, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and analysis, and non-photorealistic rendering research.

Her commitment to teaching and mentorship is also outstanding. She has served as Ph.D. advisor to 21 students and as master’s thesis advisor to 20 students, all of them funded through Cohen’s research grants.

“Through her long and distinguished career in the School of Computing, Elaine Cohen has opened so many doors for women faculty in the School as well as the College of Engineering,” said Mary Hall, Director of the School of Computing. “From the first woman in the College to receive tenure, to the first woman in the College to be honored as a Distinguished Professor, she is an inspiration to students and faculty.”

Cohen was named a Fellow of the Solid Modeling Association in 2019 and has received the Pioneer Award from the Solid Modeling Association (2016); the John Gregory Memorial Award Schloss Dagstuhl “in appreciation for Outstanding Contributions in Geometric Modeling” (2014); and the Bezier Award for Solid, Geometric and Physical Modeling and Applications from the Solid Modeling Association (2009). At the University of Utah, she received the Distinguished Research Award (2001).

She has been a member of a host of associations including the Association for Computing Machinery, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Solid Modeling Association, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the American Mathematical Society.

Undergraduate Students Recognized by CRA

Posted on December 23, 2020December 30, 2020 by Chris Coleman

The Computing Research Association Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Program recently recognized four School of Computing undergraduate students who demonstrated outstanding potential in computing research.

Finalist – Nithin Chalapathi (top left)
Honorable mention – Oliver Flatt (top right)
Honorable mention – Garrett Moseke (bottom left)
Honorable mention – Austin Watkins (bottom right)

The CRA award program recognizes undergraduate students in North American colleges and universities who show outstanding potential in an area of computing research. Undergraduates in the School of Computing contribute to cutting-edge research in all areas of computer science.

We are incredibly proud that four of our students were recognized by CRA this year, including one that was a Finalist for the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award. This award is extremely competitive, and these honors show that undergraduates here at Utah are actively solving interesting problems in our field.

Rajeev Balasubramonian named IEEE Fellow

Posted on December 17, 2020December 17, 2020 by Chris Coleman

School of Computing Professor Rajeev Balasubramonian has been named an IEEE Fellow. He is being recognized for his contributions to in-memory computation and memory interface design. Rajeev will be elevated to IEEE Fellow status starting January 1, 2021.

The IEEE Grade of Fellow is conferred by the IEEE Board of Directors upon a person with an outstanding record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year cannot exceed one-tenth of one- percent of the total voting membership. IEEE Fellow is the highest grade of membership and is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.

Rajeev Balasubramonian received his Ph.D. in 2003 from the University of Rochester. His primary research interests include memory systems, security, and application-specific architectures. Prof. Balasubramonian is a recipient of an NSF CAREER award, an IBM Faculty Partnership award, an HP IRP award, an Intel Outstanding Research Award, and various teaching awards at the University of Utah. He has co-authored papers that have received three best paper awards and two IEEE Micro Top Picks.

“This recognition is shared by nearly two dozen students from the Utah Arch lab; I’m always amazed by their energy, creativity, and attention to detail,” says Balasubramonian. I’m also very grateful for the support and insight of several colleagues at Utah and beyond,”

The IEEE is the world’s leading professional association for advancing technology for humanity. Through its 400,000 plus members in 160 countries, the association is a leading authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics.

Dedicated to the advancement of technology, the IEEE publishes 30 percent of the world’s literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields, and has developed more than 1300 active industry standards. The association also sponsors or co-sponsors nearly 1700 international technical conferences each year. If you would like to learn more about IEEE or the IEEE Fellow Program, please visit www.ieee.org.