"Grand Re-Opening" of CS Facilities

The Computer Science Department has no shortage of great places for students to learn and have fun. Recently, the CS Department hosted their “Grand Re-Opening,” which showcased many of the great places on campus where CS students can get involved. The Computer Science Grand Re-Opening event was held on Wednesday, October 26 on the third floor of Robinson Hall. Students were treated to an afternoon of fun, food, and computer science.

The Grand Re-Opening was divided into five parts, each of which took place at a different “station” in the CS Department. Each student received a folder containing a little quiz card with questions about each station. As students traveled to each station, they filled out corresponding questions on their quiz cards. Once they reached the end of the tour, they could turn in their completed quiz cards for a prize, such as a CS t-shirt or a full-size candy bar.

Station #1 was the CS Department Conference Room in Robinson 328U. Faculty in the CS Department can schedule meetings to be held here. It’s a convenient space to be able to meet up with a group of people and have important discussions. At this station, students were able to hang out, chat with one another, and enjoy some delicious pizza and soda.

Station #2 was the MakerSpace in Robinson 304. Here, students learned about all the fun tools available to use. There are raspberry pis, a 3D scanner, a 3D printer, and even a robot arm! All of these different scientific devices make for an environment that is not only fun but also a valuable learning experience. Many of the students who attended the event said that they were interested in the MakerSpace and hope that they’ll be able to visit it soon.

Station #3 was the new TechLounge in Robinson 303. Formerly the location of the advanced lab, this computer science hub has since been updated to be a collaborative space with some real state-of-the-art technology. Here, students got to meet up with the ACM-W Club and the UPE Club and received some information about them. Following the event, both clubs reported that there were a lot of students interested in joining. Be sure to keep an eye out in order to see what exciting activities these clubs are planning in the near future!

Station #4 is the newest area of the five: the CS Research Space. It provides an area for CS faculty to further their research in a wide variety of subjects, such as Cybersecurity Lab, Pharmaceutical Machine Learning Solutions Lab, Natural Language Processing and Text Mining Lab, High Performance Data Mining Lab, AI Lab for Signals and Wireless Systems and Virtual Reality, and Visualization Lab. Students at this station were also provided with a QR code that gave them some cursory information about the department and the university as a whole.

Station #5, the final station, was the new tutoring room in Robinson 330A. This room provides walk-in tutoring for students on many different subjects, including IOOP, OOPDA, DSA, and other Computer Science courses. Students can come in anytime on weekdays from 9 to 5 in order to receive extra help. The Cybersecurity Club made an appearance here, discussing their club and allowing interested students to sign up. Since this was the final station, this is also where students handed in their completed quiz cards and received their prizes.

Overall, the Grand Re-Opening of the CS Department’s facilities was a huge success. More than 200 students attended the event, and they got to see a great amount of what the CS Department has to offer. The CS faculty and staff are proud to provide these wonderful spaces and resources to the students. Whether you’re pursuing your CS degree, have an interest in studying CS, or just want to see what’s going on, there’s sure to be something in the CS Department that’s right up your alley! We hope you stop by soon to see all the great things we have in store!

Written by Cole Goetz  |  Posted 2022.11.10