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QSC Homecoming 2026

On Saturday, October 17^th, Queen’s School of Computing will be hosting our very own Homecoming event. Join Alumni, current students, and faculty as we celebrate the accomplishments of everyone who comes through our School. The event will run from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Computing Commons (Goodwin 230).

During the event, attendees will receive a snapshot into the frontiers of computing through several “lightning talks” hosted by our faculty, followed by further opportunities to mingle and enjoy light refreshments.

Speakers and Topics

Nick Graham – Using Augmented Reality to Teach History to Elementary School Children

Working with a group of medieval historians, educators, and geological and climate scientists, we have developed the Medieval Northeye game to teach medieval history to grade 4 students. The game uses augmented reality to allow players to interact with and explore a medieval village and to take part in stories about the villagers’ daily lives.

Filipe Cogo – Agentic AI supply chains: A software engineering discipline to create autonomous applications we can trust

For decades, software engineering processes have been developed and adopted to create applications we can trust. Today, a new generation of such processes is being developed to create trustworthy agentic AI applications. As they grow in popularity and expand across domains, this talk will motivate a vision for creating provenance, verifiability, and governance layers for Agentic AI applications, enabling downstream stakeholders to explain the origin of Agentic AI-generated artifacts and create accountability for using them.

Sidney Givigi – Physical AI in Action: A Case Study on Smart Vehicles

This presentation explores the evolution of artificial intelligence toward Physical AI, where intelligent systems interact directly with the physical world through autonomous vehicles and robotics. Using real-world research examples, including multi-robot coordination, autonomous racing, and reinforcement learning, it illustrates how traditional control methods and modern AI techniques enable increasingly capable and adaptable autonomous systems.

The Tom Bradshaw Museum of Computing

Our homecoming event will also feature a fundraiser for the new Tom Bradshaw Museum of Computing, which we aim to open once our fundraising goals are met. Attendees will be able to view a temporary pop-up exhibit of some of our existing collection, learn more about the initiative, and have opportunities to donate.

Learn More & Donate

Gabor Fichtinger wins MICCAI Enduring Impact Award

We are proud to announce that our very own Gabor Fichtinger has won the MICCAI (Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention Society) Enduring Impact Award. This is the most prestigious award of the MICCAI Society. It is awarded to a senior researcher whose work has made an enduring impact on the field of medical image computing and computer assisted interventions.

It is an honour and a privilege to have him lead us in this area in the world.

About Gabor Fichtinger

Gabor Fichtinger is a Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Computer-Integrated Surgery. He works at the School of Computing with cross appointments in Surgery, Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Electrical, and Computer Engineering for Queen’s University. Dr. Fichtinger holds Adjunct Professor appointment at several prestigious universities: in Computer Science and Radiology at The John’s Hopkins University (Baltimore, USA), in Medical Biophysics at Western University (London, ON) and in Medical Physics at the Medical University of Vienna (Austria). He is an Honorary University Professor at the University Budensis (Budapest, Hungary) and Affiliated Faculty at the Techna Institute of the University Health Network and University of Toronto.

Help us build the Tom Bradshaw Museum of Computing

Items from Tom Bradshaw’s Collection, displayed on August 5^th, 2021

Honouring a legacy, preserving computing history. Help us build the Tom Bradshaw Museum of Computing.

Tom Bradshaw joined Queen’s School of Computing in 1979 after graduating with a BSc in Applied Mathematics in 1978, and spent his career enabling students, faculty, and staff to thrive in our growing school. Tom served Queen’s School of Computing for 42 years, witnessing the evolution of computing from punch cards and early mainframes to Unix workstations, virtual machines, the rise of Linux, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and machine learning.

With his passing in December 2021, Queen’s School of Computing is working to realize Tom’s dream of a museum devoted to the machines and stories he collected, as well as the future he played a role in shaping. On August 5th, 2021, Tom was honoured with a special exhibition of his collection.

Introducing the Tom Bradshaw Museum of Computing

The planned museum, an idea that Tom initially spearheaded by curating items of significance from the history of the School, will display a remarkable collection of historic computing equipment, preserved and interpreted for students, researchers, alumni, and the public. Throughout his career, Tom, his team, and members of the School of Computing family have built an amazing collection with such components as Unix workstations from the 90s, a selection of Apple computers, including the famous G4 iMac purchased in support of the then-new COCA program. There is a selection of “portable” computing devices from the 90s, a Zenith Portable Computer, an Apple PowerBook 150, an IBM ThinkPad and early BlackBerry devices. A variety of tape drives, hard-drives, old manuals, and other internal parts round out the assortment of equipment.

Fundraising goal: $70,000

To bring the museum to life, we’re seeking $70,000 to create a safe, accessible, and engaging display space. Funds will be used for:

Display cabinets & lighting
Signage: interpretive panels that tell the stories behind the equipment and the people who used them
General renovations: space upgrades to ensure an accessible, welcoming visitor experience

Why your support matters

Your gift will do more than buy cabinets and lighting. Your support will:

Preserve rare equipment and the history of computing for future generations
Create a space where alumni and community members can reconnect with the School’s shared history with computing
Inspire students to continue building upon computing’s legacy, and work towards our shared future
Honour Tom Bradshaw’s lifelong commitment to technology and education

How you can help

Give a gift. Gifts of all sizes make a difference. We are accepting monetary donations, exhibit sponsorships, and donations of retired items suitable for display. To provide a monetary donation, please follow the steps listed further below. For exhibit sponsorship and the donation of items, please contact Daniel Snider at daniel.snider@queensu.ca.

Share a story. If you have a story or information to share about any of the items in Tom’s collection, please contact Ben Hall at bhall@queensu.ca.

Spread the word! If you can’t give today, please share news about the Tom Bradshaw Museum of Computing with colleagues, friends, and alumni. Follow the School’s updates for announcements about the museum’s progress and opening.

Join us in preserving Tom’s collection and the stories it tells. Together we can reach our $70,000 goal and create a space that honours Tom’s legacy, and inspires the next generation of computing .

How to give

Step one: Click here!
Step two: Follow the steps to donate. On the dedication step, let us know that this donation is going towards the Tom Bradshaw Museum of Computing fund

Step three: Continue providing details and complete the forum.

Step four: Visit us at the grand opening!

Dr. Kai Salomaa Recognized at CIAA2026

During this month’s CIAA 2026 Conference, Professor and Graduate Chair Kai Salomaa was honoured for his several decades of contributions to CIAA and to the theory, implementation, and application of automata and related structures. As a special thanks, Salomaa was gifted with a personal book titled, “From Possibility to Reality”.

Thank you Dr. Kai for all you do at the School of Computing!

About Dr. Kai Salomaa

About CIAA 2026

Queen’s Hosts CIAA and DCFS 2026

From August 5–11, researchers and practitioners from academia and industry gathered at Queen’s University for CIAA 2026 and DCFS 2026.

Hosted by the Queen’s School of Computing and organized in part by our very own Dr. Salimur Choudhury and Queen’s School of Computing alumnus (PhD’21) Dr. Taylor Smith., these conferences brought together the international automata community to explore research spanning automata theory, algorithms, verification, natural language processing, quantum computing, bioinformatics, pattern matching, and more.

CIAA 2026 featured three distinguished invited speakers:

Nataša Jonoska, University of South Florida
“Traversing Crystals by Automata”

Anthony Bonato, Toronto Metropolitan University
“Burning, Cooling, and Liminal Burning Graphs”

Ian Mertz, Charles University
“Computing with a Full Hard Drive”

The conference also featured the prestigious Sheng Yu Award, research and tool-track presentations, and proceedings published in Springer’s Lecture Notes in Computer Science.

Dr. Kai Salomaa receiving a personal book.

Dr. Kai Salomaa was also honoured for his several decades of contributions to CIAA and to the theory, implementation, and application of automata and related structures. As a special thanks, Salomaa was gifted with a personal book titled, “From Possibility to Reality”.

CIAA 2026 was held alongside DCFS 2026, continuing a week of international research and collaboration in theoretical computer science here in Kingston.

DCFS 2026 featured three distinguished invited speakers:

Michael Blondin, Université de Sherbrooke
“The Power and Limits of Population Protocols”

Michaël Cadilhac, DePaul University
“Formal Language Theory and Transformers”

Sandra Zilles, University of Regina
“Representing Concepts with Small Teaching Sets”

Thank you to all the researchers, speakers, organizers, and participants who made CIAA and DCFS 2026 a success!

For more information on CIAA 2026

For more information on DCFS 2026

Ahmed Hassan to Speak at Inaugural ACM AI Leadership Summit

Queen’s School of Computing professor and Mustafa Prize Laureate, Ahmed Hassan has been announced as a speaker at the inaugural ACM AI Leadership Summit, taking place from August 30 to September 2, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Summit will bring together leading researchers, industry experts, policymakers, and educators to explore the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of artificial intelligence. His expertise in agentic software engineering will contribute to conversations about the rapidly evolving capabilities and applications of AI.

Congratulations to Ahmed on this exciting recognition and opportunity to represent Queen’s School of Computing on the global AI stage!

Learn more about the ACM AI Leadership Summit: https://aisummit.acm.org/

Wendy Powley Receives A. Nico Habermann Award

Wendy Powley receiving the prestigious A. Nico Habermann Award from the Computing Research Association (CRA)

The School of Computing is delighted to celebrate retired professor, Wendy Powley on receiving the prestigious A. Nico Habermann Award from the Computing Research Association (CRA).

This award recognizes Wendy’s contributions that have increased the numbers and successes of women in computing across Canada and beyond.

We are incredibly proud of this well-deserved honour and grateful for the impact Wendy continues to make through her continued work in this area. Congratulations, Wendy!

New AI Literacy Courses Open to All Undergraduate Students

Curious about AI but not sure where to start? This fall, the School of Computing is offering a series of introductory AI courses designed for undergraduate students from all faculties and programs. Whether you’re studying Arts, Science, Business, Engineering, Health Sciences, or anywhere in between, these courses will help you understand how AI works and how to use it effectively in your studies and future career (no programming experience required).

New and Returning Courses for Fall 2026

ARIN 100 – Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence
Learn the foundations of modern AI, how today’s AI systems work, and how to use them effectively and responsibly. Explore the history of AI, ethical considerations, and the growing impact of AI across education, industry, and everyday life.

Learn More

ARIN 101 – Artificial Intelligence in Society
Discover how AI is shaping society through social media, business, law, and public life. Topics include generative AI, bias and fairness, ethics, public perceptions, and the opportunities and challenges AI presents for the future.

Learn More

ARIN 121 – Algorithmic Problem Solving with Artificial Intelligence
Develop computational thinking skills by learning how to solve problems using Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative AI tools. You’ll learn how to break down complex problems, design effective prompts, and apply practical problem-solving techniques—all without needing prior coding experience.

Learn More

These courses combine practical, hands-on learning with an accessible introduction to AI concepts, helping you build valuable skills that are increasingly relevant across every discipline.

Course Information

Course Codes: ARIN 100, ARIN 101, ARIN 121
Units: 3.0
Prerequisites: None
Who Can Take Them: Undergraduate students from any faculty or program
Programming Experience Required: No

Whether you’re looking to better understand AI, strengthen your digital literacy, or prepare for an AI-enabled workplace, these courses provide an excellent place to start.

We hope you’ll consider adding one of these courses to your Fall 2026 schedule. For further information or to discuss integration opportunities within your programs, please feel free to contact the School of Computing at advising@cs.queensu.ca

For more information on the differences between each course, please refer to the chart below:

	ARIN 100	ARIN 101	ARIN 121
Main Topics	History of AI How AI works, explained for a non-technical audience. Ethical issues and concerns. Guest lecturers explaining AI’s effect on specific fields.	Current social controversies around AI, including data centers, surveillance, AI art, and autonomous weapons. Some topics can be chosen by the class.	Computational thinking and problem solving. Working with LLMs and generative AI. Designing effective prompts and workflows. Introduction to coding concepts using AI.
AI Use?	Learning to use AI is not the primary focus, and personal use of AI is not mandatory, but plenty of advice will be given about effective, thoughtful, and ethical use.	This course is not about personal use of AI, but about understanding broader social changes and thinking critically.	AI is used throughout the course as a practical tool for solving problems and developing simple programs. Students learn how to use it effectively and responsibly.
Assessment	Tests and final exam, with a combination of factual questions and open-ended questions designed to allow imagination and reflection.	Tests with both factual questions and open-ended reflection questions, as well as a participation mark for technology-mediated class discussion.	Tests focused on computational thinking and problem solving. Hands-on assignments and practical exercises using AI.
Prerequisites	Not currently required for any other course.	Required for ARIN 201 and 210.	Not currently required for any other course.

Student Spotlight: Grace Odunuga

When Grace Odunuga arrived at Queen’s University, she set out to make an impact both inside and outside the classroom. As a Bachelor of Computing student specializing in Computer Science and Security, she combined academic excellence with a passion for leadership, equity, and community building.

Grace’s passion for improving the experiences of Black students in computing has shaped much of her work at Queen’s. In 2022, she founded the Black Computing Student Society (now known as Queen’s Black Tech), for Black students in Computing, Engineering, and other STEM programs. Through social events, networking opportunities, mentorship, and initiatives such as Black Student Coding Hours, the group has created a supportive community where Black students can thrive in Computing. Today, she sits as the Finance Director for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and is the Equity Director for Queen’s Computing Student Association (COMPSA).

Her advocacy also extends into research. Grace is currently completing an Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) project examining the Black student experience at Queen’s University. This work builds on an earlier research assistantship with Professor Katherine McKittrick, Canada Research Chair in Black Studies, and her interdisciplinary honours thesis jointly supervised by Professor McKittrick and Professor Erin Meger in Computing. Through this research, Grace has explored how Black students navigate computing education and how institutions can foster spaces where Black students have strong opportunities to succeed in academia.

Beyond her work in equity and research, Grace has made significant contributions across the Queen’s community. She served as a Residence Don for four years, supporting more than 250 students through mentorship, programming, and student support initiatives. As an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Computing, she helped students succeed in courses including Data Structures & Algorithms and Discrete Mathematics, sharing her enthusiasm for learning with the next generation of computing students.

Whether conducting research, mentoring students, leading organizations, or advocating for inclusion, Grace has consistently worked to make Queen’s a more welcoming and supportive place for others. Her leadership has helped strengthen the School of Computing community and has created lasting opportunities for Black students to succeed and feel a sense of belonging.

As she graduates, Grace leaves a legacy of service and community building that will continue to shape Queen’s Computing for years to come.

We’re Hiring! Join our Faculty.

The School of Computing at Queen’s University invites applications for a faculty position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor that centres on Computational Intelligence. The preferred start date for the appointment is January 1, 2027. The deadline to apply is July 27th, 2026.

Learn More