Alumni News - [ Departmental Newsletter :: Fall 2009 ]
Sara Smolensky Ford, a 2001 graduate of the B.S. program in computer science who is now employed by Microsoft, has recently published the book Microsoft® Visual Studio® Tips: 251 Ways to Improve Your Productivity. Sara is donating all of her royalties from the book to a scholarship fund at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College as part of her effort to help with the rebuilding of her hometown of Waveland, MS, after it was devastated by Hurricane Katrina three years ago. The Save Waveland Scholarship Fund will help a variety of students, with preference being given to those majoring in mathematics or computer science. Sara’s book is available from amazon.com. More information can be found on Sara’s blog at: http://blogs.msdn.com/saraford/archive/2008/08/11/microsoft-visual-studio-tips-helps-katrina-survivors-rebuild-lives.aspx.
Hunter Jones received his B.S. in computer science in May 2004 and his M.S. in industrial engineering in August 2005, with both degrees from MSU. Hunter is now working as a business analyst supporting the Printing and Communication Papers business for International Paper in Tennessee. He specializes in business intelligence, leading projects to collect and display data to business leaders and supporting an enterprise-wide conversion to SAP. Hunter and his wife, Emily, are expecting a child soon, and he has promised to share a picture with us for the next newsletter.
Dr. Cary Butler, Technical Director for Computer Science and Informatics in the Information Technology Laboratory at the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, MS, is one of two ERDC scientists to be promoted recently to Senior Scientific Technical Manager positions under the Science and Technology Laboratory Demonstration Project. There are only 40 such positions in the Department of Defense. Dr. Butler is a computer science graduate of this department who later received a Ph.D. in computer science from Texas A&M University.
