Mary Hall was recently appointed as ACM’s representative to serve on the Computing Research Association (CRA) Board of Directors. Hall’s three-year term on will begin July 1, 2015.

The CRA is an association of more than 200 North American academic departments of computer science, computer engineering, and related fields; laboratories and centers in industry, government, and academia engaging in basic computing research; and affiliated professional societies. The CRA’s mission is to strengthen research and advanced education in the computing fields, expand opportunities for women and minorities, and improve public and policymaker understanding of the importance of computing and computing research in our society. The CRA Board of Directors are a distinguished group of leaders in computing research from academia and industry. The board is elected by CRA’s member organizations. (Source: www.cra.org).

The University of Utah’s School of Computing undergraduate computer science degree with an emphasis in video game design ranked No. 2 in the nation, according to the new 2015 rankings by Princeton Review.

As an interdisciplinary program between the College of Engineering and the College of Fine Arts, students from both disciplines work closely in the field of video game design and development. Through these collaborations, students receive an interactive education that prepares them to work effectively in a team environment, an invaluable skill in the video game industry. A quarter of the current undergraduates in the School of Computing are involved in the EAE emphasis.

"Four years ago, I was a chimney sweep in Iowa who loved to play video games,” said Kyle Kern, a student in the program. “Now, I make video games that people love to play. The EAE program has allowed me to learn the technical, design, and interpersonal skills necessary to succeed in the games industry.”

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University of Utah School of Computing graduate and Westminster computer science professor Helen Hu will receive the Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology for developing a new innovative high school computer class, the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development announced March 16.

Hu is training teachers from around the state on a new course that promotes computer science and its impact on everyday life as opposed to focusing on writing code. The purpose is to attract more underrepresented minorities and females to computer science.

“It is very tempting to teach computer science with an eye on how to write the computer program, but that can drain the creativity and the fun out of the class,” Hu said last November. “In the real world, computer science is all about creativity and how to solve problems to make life better. That description of computer science appeals to a wide variety of students.”

Born and raised in New Jersey, Hu received her bachelor’s in computer science at Princeton and later earned her doctorate in computer science from the School of Computing at the University of Utah. Instead of pursuing a career in the tech industry, Hu has always wanted to become a teacher.

Her new course is the result of a three-year National Science Foundation grant, and she hopes that the Utah Office of Education can take over the program’s development after the grant runs out. Additionally, she wants to make the AP Computer Science Principles class more available to high schools across the state.

This is not the first honor Hu has received for her course. She also received one of the 2014 Women Tech Council Education Excellence Awards late last year.

In addition to Hu, four University of Utah faculty members will receive the Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology, including biology professors Phyllis Coley and Erik Jorgensen, pathology professor Ronald Weiss, and Troy D’Ambrosio, assistant dean of the U’s David Eccles School of Business and executive director of the university’s Lassonde Entrepreneurship Institute.

The Governor’s Medals for Science and Technology are awarded to residents and companies for distinguished service or for significant contributions to Utah’s science and tech industries.

From analyzing weather patterns to determining how many clicks it takes before a customer hits “buy now,” the vast world of data analysis has become a major focal point for business, science and industry. This rapid cruise into the digital frontier has made the gathering and analysis of data much more accessible than it once was, and that has prompted industry leaders to invest their resources into people who can mine these seemingly endless data streams for valuable market information.

As more organizations come to rely on data analysis, the job market for those trained in data analysis is becoming more economically viable. Upon seeing this inevitable demand for skilled workers in the field of big data, Jeff Phillips, an assistant professor in the University of Utah’s school of computing, organized a big data certification program at the university.

“The University of Utah has a Ph.D. and a master’s program in data management and analysis, and we wanted something that captured the core elements of that program while being a little more attainable to people who are also working full time,” Phillips says.

Essentially, the big data certification program offers an opportunity for those who are already working in the field of computer science the ability to expand their repertoire to accommodate the increasing demand for data collection and analysis. “We’ve tried to make these classes accessible to those who are working by having classes in the late afternoon or early evening. We’ve also been experimenting with live streaming the classes with some people at Adobe,” Phillips says.

Read this full article in Utah Business