Computer science colloquia: Zachary Oster
| Date/Time: | Thursday, 15 Sep 2011 at 3:40 pm |
|---|---|
| Location: | B29 Atanasoff |
| Cost: | free |
| Phone: | 515-294-6516 |
| Channel: | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| Categories: | Lectures |
| Actions: | Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder |
Graduate school is a challenging experience for (almost) everyone who does it. Balancing courses, assistantship work and research is often difficult. In this talk, you will learn about one computer science graduate student's experience and receive tips for making your graduate school experience a little bit easier and more enjoyable. You will also learn about resources at Iowa State and elsewhere that can help you in your coursework and research.
Zach Oster is in his fifth year of graduate study at Iowa State. He earned a B.S. in computer science and B.A. in music from South Dakota State University, Brookings, in 2007, followed by an M.S. in computer science from Iowa State University in 2009. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. in computer science at Iowa State, with Samik Basu as his major professor. Oster's current research work (with Samik Basu and Ganesh Ram Santhanam) focuses on combining model checking with preference reasoning techniques to identify the most preferred set of optional ("nice-to-have") requirements that can be feasibly satisfied by a given system. This evolved from his previous work toward simplifying the process of creating Web service compositions, which combined local selection for individual component services with formal verification of the overall composition's required properties. In addition to his personal research, Oster is a research assistant in the High Performance Computing (HPC) Group within IT Services. He is also serving as president of the computer science department's Graduate Advisory Committee (GAC) for the 2011-12 academic year.