A recent ransomware attack took place at Molson Coors Beverage Company. Professor David Skillicorn provides a comment to the Welland Tribune with further details behind such a ransomware attack.
Read the full story to learn more.
Professor Nick Graham’s research on the Liberi Exergame gains positive attention
Dr. Nick Graham collaborated with Dr. Darcy Fehlings, developmental pediatrician from Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in developing the Liberi Exergame which is a video gaming system powered by exercise bikes. A former study participant shares his positive experience with the exergame.
Dr. Graham provides commentary on the challenges involved in integrating exergames into physical educational curriculum.
Read the full story to learn more.
Queen’s School of Computing students participate in winter sports
Computing students have a lot on their plates. With academics taking center stage, participation in Queen’s athletics has enhanced the student experience for many. We spoke with some students to tell us more about their experiences. Here’s what we learned.
Brittaney Everitt
How long have you been on the team?
I was on the Queen’s Varsity Figure Skating team all four years of my undergraduate Biomedical Computing degree at Queen’s. During third and fourth year I was a co-captain. This year I am no longer skating but still actively involved with the team. Currently I am a first year Research-Based Master’s student in the artificial intelligence stream and coach on the team.
How does your involvement in sports impact your student experience at Queen’s?
Coming to Queen’s not knowing anyone in first year, skating on the team immediately gave me a sense of belonging and involvement in the Queen’s community in addition to [the School of Computing]. Being on the team allowed me to stay active and continue something I love while also being in school. As a student athlete, I was able to live a very balanced, healthy lifestyle – where skating was a great refresh and study break and vice versa.
What aspect of this experience do you look forward to the most?
Traveling to competitions across Ontario with the team was definitely a highlight of the experience. As crazy as it might sound, I also really enjoyed our daily 6 AM practices. It was great to kick start every morning by spending time with my teammates. We worked very hard towards a common goal, but also had a lot of fun while doing it.
What words of encouragement do you have for any incoming computing student who is thinking about joining a sports team?
Trying out for the figure skating team was one of the best decisions I made while at Queen’s and ultimately has become a huge part of both my undergraduate and graduate life. Being a student athlete in the School of Computing is very manageable, but you have to manage your time wisely and make sure to start assignments early to get help if needed. Staying on top of everything will really help make both experiences a great success. As well, professors in the School of Computing are very accommodating to student athletes.
Emma Ritcey
How long have you been on the team?
I have been on the women’s basketball team at Queen’s for all five years of my undergrad.
How does your involvement with sports impact your student experience?
Being on a varsity team has been the highlight of my experience at Queen’s. Although it creates a busy schedule, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The experiences I’ve gone through have taught me so much about myself that I can take with me in my life after basketball. The memories I’ve made and relationships I’ve built with my teammates and coaches go much past sport and will last a lifetime.
What words of encouragement do you have for any incoming computing student who is thinking about joining a sports team?
As long as you manage your time and stay on top of your school work, you can definitely thrive in both academics and athletics. Things may feel overwhelming at times but you gain so much from being a student athlete that it’s definitely worth it!
We’d also like to recognize a number of our other students who participate in winter sports at Queen’s:
- Henry Van Herk (men’s basketball)
- Shouyue Hu (men’s fencing)
- Kenneth West (men’s fencing)
- Brandon Schuldhaus (men’s hockey)
- Nicholas Cheny (men’s Nordic ski)
Exercise and group sports can have such positive effects on physical health, mental health, and academic performance. At the School of Computing, we encourage students to participate in variety of activities so that they can broaden their educational experience. Athletics is certainly no exception.
We hope this inspires both our current and prospective students to join.
The 2020 QSC Awards Ceremony
On January 28th, the School of Computing held a virtual awards ceremony in celebration of the recipients of the 2020 QSC Awards. In the words of our School Director, Hossam Hassanein: “we are a department of achievers.” Although this ceremony is traditionally held in the foyer of Goodwin Hall, the virtual nature of the event allowed us to be creative and have a Hawaiian themed celebration as a way to bring some added cheer and chase the January blues away. From beach backgrounds to Hawaiian shirts, we saw a number of attendees get into the spirit.
The full recording of the ceremony is available here:
Congratulations to all our recipients!
Alice Santilli has been selected for 3rd place at the Ontario Regional 3MT Virtual Competition 2020
Congratulations to Alice Santilli on winning 3rd place at the the Ontario Regional 3MT Virtual Competition 2020 for her project titled “Sniffing Out Breast Cancer,” supervised by Drs. Gabor Fichtinger and Parvin Mousavi. The awards were announced at yesterday’s virtual event hosted by the University of Windsor. It is worth noting that Alice was glad to be in the company of other female students who were selected as finalists. Alice encourages computing students to challenge themselves and participate in this contest in the future because it is a great opportunity to gain the tools and confidence to effectively communicate computer science research to wider audiences. Well done Alice and keep up the great work!
Mohammad Zulkernine and Steven Ding awarded funding from DND IDEaS
The School of Computing is pleased to congratulate Mohammad Zulkernine and Steven Ding on the award of funding support from the DND IDEaS program for their project An Explainable Active Learning Agent for Intrusion Detection and Risk Assessment on MIL-STD-1553-based Avionics Networks.
Canada’s Department of National Defence Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program, announced in Canada’s new defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, commits to $1.6B of investment in innovations for defence and security over the next 20 years. The program fosters innovation to provide creative thinkers with the structure and support to encourage solutions, which will assist in solving some of Canada’s toughest defence and security challenges. For more information about the program, see https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/programs/defence-ideas.html.
Professor David Rappaport Retires from the Queen’s School of Computing
Professor David Rappaport will be retiring from the School of Computing on December 31st. He has been a professor at the School for 21 years.
Here are well wishes from some of his colleagues:
All the best in your retirement David.
– Tom Bradshaw, School Manager, Administration, and Technology
I have really enjoyed the years working with you, first as the Graduate Coordinator and then later as the Admissions Officer. I will miss our friendly chats about family and life in general. Happy Retirement David!
– Debby Robertson, Graduate Program Assistant
For decades, David Rappaport has been my running companion. We took part in several races together, including Beat Beethoven and the Kingston Half-Marathon. But our most important and most enjoyable runs have been our daily jogs that started and ended at the old Queen’s gym on Union Street (the PEC, for those who remember), and more recently at the new Queen’s gym (the ARC). Every weekday (almost invariably at lunch hour) our route has taken us along the lakeshore, through downtown, over the Lasalle Causeway, around Point Frederick at RMC, sometimes to the top of the hill at Fort Henry, and back to the gym. Along the way, we would have animated conversations on science, politics and everything we can think of. The main topic of discussion is usually computational problems and we designed many an algorithm on the run (puns just happen). We would also tell each other all manner of stories, mostly funny ones. Sometimes we laugh so hard that we almost need to stop in order to catch our breath. In about an hour we are back and wonder where the time went. Running through a storm in heavy rain, our private joke has been that our feat surely deserves a medal. Naturally, a run in a blizzard, we always felt, should earn us an “Order of Canada”. Lately, our walks along the Cataraqui River with David’s loyal dog Abel have taken me to parts I did not know existed. Thank you David for the runs, the walks and the friendship. Enjoy your retirement!
– Selim Akl, Professor
I retain a compound of many small fragments of delight of his wit and company over the years. It was always good to stop by his office during my floor rounds, I always knew I was stepping in for some fun product (or byproduct) of his eclectic mind.
– Gabor Fichtinger, Professor
When first working at the School, I was still learning about the field of computing. David told me about his work in computational geometry and his love of music and how the two went together. I was fascinated by it all. Enjoy your retirement David!
– Aysha Tayab-Ratsep, Marketing and Communications Coordinator
We thank David for everything he has done at the Queen’s School of Computing community and we wish him all the very best!
2020 School of Computing Awards
The Queen’s School of Computing is proud to announce the recipients of the 12th annual School of Computing Awards. This year’s recipients are:
- School of Computing Research Award: Andras Lasso
- Distinguished Service Award: Karen Knight
- Distinguished Student Award (Undergraduate): Duncan Stewart
- Excellence in Teaching Award (TA): Yudong Zhou
- Howard Stavely Teaching Award: Ting Hu
- Howard Stavely Teaching Award (Honorable Mention): Wendy Powley
- Ian A. Macleod Award: Taylor Smith
- Distinguished Thesis Award: Zac Baum
- PhD Research Achievement Award: Alireza Sedghi
Congratulations to all recipients. Well done!!
Hossam Hassanein receives Technical Achievement and Recognition Award
The School of Computing is pleased to congratulate Dr. Hassanein on receipt of the 2020 IEEE IoT, Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks Technical Committee (IoT-AHSN TC) Technical Achievement and Recognition Award.
The award recognizes members of the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) who have made significant contributions to technological advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT), ad hoc networks and sensing systems.
Rachel Theriault is the Recipient of the Vector Scholarship in AI
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Undergraduate student Rachel Theriault has recently received the AI Scholarship for her innovative work in bringing AI to cancer analysis.