I joined the Capital faculty in August 1997 after earning my Ph.D. in volumetric graphics from The Ohio State University. Roni Yagel was my dissertation adviser. My minor studies areas were algorithms and parallel/distributed computing. Before attending OSU, I graduated with a double major in math and computer science from Wittenberg University. My wife, Sherri, and I currently have two dogs (boxers). In my spare time I’ve played Vintage Base Ball which is played by the rules from the 1860s (see above photo). And yes, base ball was two words in the 1860s.

I have a wide range of computing interests and teach about ten different courses for CS majors at Capital. I prefer the Mac OS X and Linux operating systems, but occasionally use that operating system written by a company in Redmond. At Capital, we use the Python programming in our introductory CS course and then transition to C++ in the second course. We use a mixture of Python, C++, and Java as the programming language in other courses. We have found that Python allows students to focus on problem solving and develop solid fundamental problem solving and programming skills they can easily continue to expand. We regularly hear from employers that they are impressed with the fundamental skills of our graduates and their ability to quickly learn new technologies.

Right now there is a shortage of CS majors at colleges and universities. Most CS faculty suspect this is mainly because of the perception that there are not many CS and IT jobs. This is definitely not the case and in fact, CS and IT is one of the job fields with the highest job growth. See the CS Career Info page for more information.