The department of Computer Science is actively involved in several research activities. Find out about our research programs and contact the responsible project leader, if you want to hear more about it.
Cluster analysis is a multi-step process for categorizing objects - based on measured attributes - into self-similar groups. It is commonly used for data mining techniques. Algorithms for performing cluster analysis have existed since the 1950s; however, modern data collection techniques have produced data sets so large that many of them cannot be loaded into the memory of a single computer. At UWF, we are researching algorithms that will handle very large data, as well as how to automatically extract the number of clusters in a data set (prior to clustering). Applications of our algorithms have been performed successfully on Human Genome data.
Contact: Dr. Jacalyn Huband
The Distributed Systems Working Group is composed of faculty and students from both the Computer Science and Software Engineering specializations. One area of current research conducted by DSWG is concerned with improving the cyber-security of the national electric power distribution grid. As a member of the North Florida Alliance for Power Systems Research, we work closely with the Florida State University and the University of North Florida with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Contact: Dr. Dennis Edwards
Software Engineers spend a lot of time trying to figure out: "Where in this program is feature X implemented?" Software Reconnaissance is a simple new technique to help answer this question. It has been developed with the support of the Software Engineering Research Center and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. It involves analyzing a test case that exercised a feature and a second case that did not. Traces are kept of program execution from each run. Software Reconnaissance then analyzes the traces to look for program components that were executed in the first set and not in the second.
Contact: Dr. Norman Wilde Project Home Page
Math Matters is a grant awarded by Florida Department of Education to the Escambia County School District and the University of West Florida as a partnership grant. The objective of the grant is to develop sophisticated 3 dimensional computer games to span across the syllabus of 7th and 8th grade mathematics. The games will be based on popular career themes will include elements of fantasy and fiction to motivate student participation.
Contact: Lakshmi Prayaga Project Home Page
Location-Aware Computing (LAC) is considered to be the next logical step in "Mobile Computing" (MC) and "Pervasive Computing" (PC). While MC mainly describes the technological aspects (small form factor devices and wireless connectivity) and PC deals with the integration of computers into the environment, LAC is concerned with the interaction of computations and the location of the device itself.
Sample applications for LAC technology are Guided Tours, Emergency and Rescue Operations, Computer Games, Robot Control, Computer Art
Contact: Dr. Bernd Owsnicki-Klewe Project Home Page