Computer Science Students Win $6,000

Westmont’s computer science department has awarded three students National Science Foundation scholarships. Junior Michael Gardner and sophomores Sarah Coburn and Jonathan Tropper each received $6,000.

“The scholarship is a great help, allowing me to continue studying at Westmont,” says Gardner. “It also encourages us to be involved more in the computer science major.”

The scholarships result from a $287,500 grant that the National Science Foundation awarded Westmont professors Kim P. Kihlstrom and Wayne Iba earlier this year for their project Connection-Oriented Computer Science Education.

The grant provides scholarships to students majoring in computer science who demonstrate financial need and academic promise.

“We have many students with significant financial need and the scholarships will have a very positive impact on them,” Kihlstrom says. “The project aims to increase the number of talented and well-prepared computer science graduates, particularly women and culturally diverse students.”

The key activities for the project include an annual weekend scholarship competition and recruiting event, Connection Weekend, to be held at Westmont Feb. 22-23, as well as administration of study groups and tutoring.

One distinctive feature of the Westmont computer science program is the opportunity for undergraduate students to engage in cutting-edge research with Professors Kihlstrom and Iba. Several students traveled with Kihlstrom to Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 19-21, to present their paper at the 19th IASTED International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Computing and Systems, “Implementation and Performance Testing of a Gossip-Based Communications System.” The paper has already been accepted for publication.