Appalachian State University
Department of Computer Science
C.
Curriculum Vita
Associate Professor
Department of Computer Science
Appalachian State University
(828) 262-2612
crr@cs.appstate.edu
Ph. D., Georgia Institute of Technology, 1989
Major: computer science (human factors, software
engineering)
Minor: psychology
Thesis: Effects of Withholding Information on the Design of Human Computer
Interfaces
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Albert N. Badre
MS, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1985 (computer science)
MS,
BA,
Associate Professor of Computer Science, ASU, 1998-present (on leave
2001-2002)
Professor and Director of the Computer Science Program, Abilene Christian Univeristy, 2001-2002
Chairperson the Computer Science Department, ASU, 1998-2001
Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences, ASU, 1997-1998,
Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences, 1991-1997, Appalachian State
University, 1991-1997
Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences (Division of Computer Science),
Virginia Commonwealth University, 1989-1991
Instructor of Mathematical Sciences (Division of Computer Science), Virginia
Commonwealth University, 1987-1989
Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Director of Academic Computing,
Freed-Hardeman College, 1980-1983, 1986-1987
Systems Consultant, Georgia Institute of Technology, Department of Continuing
Education, 1986-1987 (part-time)
Graduate Teaching/Research Assistant, Georgia Institute of Technology, School
of Information and Computer Science, 1983-1986
Minister, Ashland Church of Christ, Ashland, MS, 1979-1980
Association for Computing Machinery
ACM, Special Interest Group in Computer-Human Interfaces
ACM, Special Interest Group in Computer Science Education
Alpha Chi Honorary Society
1991 NASA-ASEE Summer Faculty Research Fellowship, NASA Langley Research
Center
1990 NASA-ASEE Summer Faculty Research Fellowship, NASA Langley Research
Center
Since 1991, Dr. Russell has been principal investigator or co-principal investigator for grants from the National Science Foundation Course and Curriculum Development Program (NSF CDC), National Science Foundation Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement Program (NSF ILI), and NASA totaling $211,238 in external funding for the university (this does not include matching funds.) The grants are summarized below; all have been vital to the work of faculty and students in the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
Parker, L. M., and Russell, C. R. Co-principal Investigator. "A Proposal for Intercepting Unsuccessful Students in a CS1 Course. " National Science Foundation Course and Curriculum Development, Grant Number USE-9150701, 1991-1992, $5,099.
This grant funded
startup investigations into a preparatory course for computer science students.
This work in part is a follow-up on Dr. Russell's dissertation research. (The
dissertation research included analysis of how people solve problems.) The work
sponsored by this grant is the subject of one published conference paper,
several conference and colloquium presentations, and the development of two new
courses described below.
Russell, C. R. Principal Investigator. "A Hypertext Based Pilot
Operations and Procedures Manual. "
Through this grant,
a hypertext operations and procedures manual was developed for the Advanced
Concepts Simulator at
An experiment
testing the usability of HOPM was performed at the USAir Pilot's Lounge in the
Students
implemented much of HOPM. Eight undergraduate students and one graduate student
worked on the project either for pay or for course credit. Upon graduation,
many of these students found work in the area of hypertext development.
Russell, C. R., and Harris, Mark. Co-principal Investigator. "A Laboratory for the Design and Implementation of Human Computer Interfaces. " National Science Foundation, Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement Program, Grant Number DUE-9350984, 1993-1995, $21,506
This
Russell, C. R., M. Harris, D. Parks, J. Wilkes, and A. McCrae. Principal Investigator. "Using the World-Wide Web to Enhance CS1 and CS2." National Science Foundation, Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement Program, Grant Number DUE-9650241, 1996-1998, $47,373.
This grant paid for
a new departmental computer to support faculty use of the World-Wide Web (WWW)
in teaching the first two computer science courses. This work greatly enhances
the availability of course materials and has provided a new departmental
computer that will be our "workhorse" for years to come.
"The Distance Learning Experience: Medals of Honor
and
"Using the WWW to present Course Materials", 1998 Western
Region NCCTM Spring Conference,
"Using the WWW to present Course Materials", Tenth Annual
International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics,
"Beyond 'Emphasis on Process': What Computer Science
Students Need to Learn about Problem Solving", 1996 Annual Meeting of
the
"Using Hypertext in Mathematical Sciences Courses", Seventh Annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics, November 1994.
"Teaching Process and Algorithm Design in Problem
Solving," Western Regional Meeting of the NCCTM,
"A Hypertext Tool for Student Exploration of Fundamental Computer Concepts," Sixth Annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics, November 1993.
"A Preparatory Course for CS1", Frontiers in
Education 1992, November 1992, with
Russell, C. R. "The Distance Learning Experience: Medals of Honor and
Russell, C. R. and Harris, M. " Using the WWW to Enhance Introductory Computer Science Education," Teaching and Learning, March 1998.
Russell, C. R., and Harris, M. "Using the WWW to present Course Materials," Proceedings of the Tenth Annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics, November 1997.
Russell, C. R., and Dromsky, L."A Hypertext Tool for Student Exploration Of Fundamental Computer Concepts," Proceedings of the Sixth Annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics, November 1993.
Russell, C. R., and Parker, L. M. "A Preparatory Course for CS1," Frontiers in Education 1992 Proceedings, November 1992.
Russell, C. R., and Badre, A. N. "Human-Computer Interface Design and Implementation Details". Behaviour and Information Technology, Vol. 10, No. 4, 1991.
Russell, C. R. "Background Issues for On-Line Aircraft Documentation," NASA Contractor Report 187598, September 1991, pp. 198-201.
Russell, C. R. "Facilitating Researcher Use of Flight Simulators," NASA Contractor Report 182092. September 1990, pp. 107-109.
Badre, A. N., and Russell, C. R. "The Effects of Withholding Information about Implementation Details on the Design of a Human-Computer Interface," International Journal for Human Computer Interaction, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1989.
This was the focus of the NSF CDC grant listed above (with Dr. L. Parker).
In this study, we collected and analyzed data related to predicting success in
the first computer science course for incoming freshmen (CS1). Through this
study we developed a new course that has been taught twice at ASU and twice at
Through participation in the NASA-ASEE Faculty Fellowship Program and a research grant with NASA Langley Research Center Flight Management Division, Dr. Russell is doing research in the area of pilot-vehicle interfaces and flight simulation. This research project involves the use of hypertext to specify, prototype, and document flight simulation subsystems. Eight undergraduate computer science majors and one graduate psychology student have participated in this project over the past five years.
Dr. Russell assisted the Department of Family Practice, Medical College of Virginia, as a consultant for evaluation of "HealthTouch", a system for health maintenance to be placed in family practice clinics. This consultation involved reviewing the human-computer interface of the HealthTouch system.
This is the topic of Dr. Russell's Ph. D. dissertation and two publications listed above. Experiments studied the effects of access to implementation details on subjects' performance on a human-computer interface design task.
"Problem Solving for Computer Science,"
Appalachian State University Department of Mathematical Sciences Colloquium
Series, December 1996.
"Progress Report on the ACS On -line OPM," a briefing to NASA Flight
Systems Division, Vehicle Operations Research Branch, June 1995.
"A Hypertext Operations and Procedures Manual for Commercial
Aviation," a talk to the ASU Student Chapter of the ACM,
"Progress Report on the ACS On-line OPM," a briefing to NASA Flight
Systems Division, Vehicle Operations Research Branch, May 1994.
"Progress Report on the ACS On-line OPM," a briefing" to NASA,
Flight Systems Division, Vehicle Operations Research Branch, November 1993.
"Progress Report on the ACS On-line OPM" a briefing to NASA Flight
Systems Division, Vehicle Operations Research Branch, April 1993.
"Progress Report on the ACS On-line OPM," a briefing to NASA Flight
Systems Division, Vehicle Operations Research Branch
"Problem Solving for Computer Science," a Mathematics Department
Colloquium Series presentation,
"Progress Report on the ACS On-line OPM, " a
briefing to NASA Flight Systems Division, Vehicle Operations Research Branch,
"Hypertext and Commercial Aircraft Documentation, "
a presentation to the local student chapter of the ACM
"Preliminary Design of the ACS OPM," a briefing to
NASA Flight Systems Division, Vehicle Operations Research Branch,
"On-Line Aircraft Documentation: Motivation Models, and
"Facilitating Researcher Use of a Flight Simulator",
Dr. Russell has been teaching college level computer science courses since 1980. He has taught a variety of courses including core computer science, advanced computer science, computer literacy, mathematics, and courses for computing teachers.
Curriculum development has been an important part of Dr. Russell's work.
Over the past two years, Dr. Russell has established relationships between the CS program and industry. In this role, he is in contact with computing professionals across the southeast. These relationships have led directly to new co-op positions, scholarship opportunities, and recruiting of CS graduates. Dr. Russell is now a primary contact with the Career Planning and Co-op offices at Appalachian assisting students with resumes, writing recommendations, and giving advice on career opportunities.
CS 3530 is an experimental course targeted for beginning computer science students who are not prepared to take CS1. Students develop an understanding of fundamental computer concepts, skills in using computer systems, and skills in designing and communicating algorithms.
CS 4570 is a new course exploring the design of computer systems from the user's perspective. Topics include cognitive models of human-computer interaction, system design principles and guidelines, measurement of system usability, interaction styles, building good WWW sites, and effective documentation for the user. Course materials form the distance learning version of the course are available at http://www.cs.appstate.edu/~crr/cs4570/.
This course has been designed for students working toward a Master of Education in Computing and Technology. The course explores the teaching of problem solving to elementary and secondary students. Problem solving is taught through a series of problems starting with everyday problems in the physical domain, progressing to graphical problems using Logo, and finally solving problems in more abstract (mathematical) domains.
This course was redesigned in 1994 when the department began teaching the C programming language in the CS1 course. The course now covers advanced features of C (dynamic allocation, multidimensional arrays, macros, separate compilation, etc.), elementary data structures (lists, stacks, queues), and techniques for designing and writing larger (up to 500 line) programs. Dr. James Wilkes and Dr. Russell worked jointly in the redesign of CS 2440.
"An Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Teaching, Menu-Driven UNIX
Interface" by David E. Paulson;
"A Relational Approach to Image Storage, "
Chandrasherar Challa,
Department of Information Systems,
"An Evaluation of a Tool for Evaluating HOPM,"
"Analysis of a Current Manual Administrative System; Recommendations
for a Computerized Administrative System," Tiffany Reece, Department of
Decision Sciences, Appalachian
Beginning in the summer of 1996, Dr. Russell began visiting CS professionals at several companies in the southeast. Most of these companies hire co-op students and full-time employees from our CS program. The immediate tangible result of this effort is the formation of the CS Industry Advisory Board. The board has meet three times and will meet again in April. The initial objectives for the board are:
These objectives are being achieved. Through the contacts made during the summer of 1996, new co-op positions have been opened, companies have been on campus interviewing seniors, and endowed scholarships are being pursued.
The formation of this board has the potential to have a major, positive impact on the CS program for years to come.
Frequently asked to speak at schools and community groups.
Interim pulpit minister, Boone Church of Christ, Spring-Summer 1996 and
August, 2002 -2003
Spear-headed church building project, Boone Church of Christ, 1994-1997
Volunteer at Parkway School, 1991-1993
Each week, one hour was spent teaching problem solving
activities using Logo in a fourth grade class.
Volunteer at
Assisted teachers in learning fundamental computer skills.
Book reviews have been written for one CS1 text, two CS2 texts, and one text for a Human-Computer Interface Design class.