Denise D. Byrnes

Department/Affiliation: Mathematics and Computer Science
Phone: 330-263-2489
Office Address: 303 Taylor
Email: dbyrnes@wooster.edu

Degrees

• B.S., The Ohio State University 1985
• M.S., The Ohio State University 1987
• Ph.D., The Ohio State University 1992

Courses Taught

• Animation, Gaming, and 3-D Virtual World
• Connecting Art and Computer Science
• Problem Seminar
• Computer Programming I and II
• Computer Organization
• Algorithms
• Computer Networking
• Theory of Computation
• Computer Graphics
• First Year Seminar

Recently Advised Senior Theses

• Computational profiling and identification of the 3' untranslated region within Paramecium tetraurela (Tristan Vrolijk, CS and BCMB, 2012)
• Procedurally generating everything (Micah Caunter, 2012)
• Exploring opinion dynamics from a computational science perspective (Trisha Fultz, CS and Math, 2012)
• Computer generated architecture through nature: using swarm intelligence and evolutionary computing to generate 3D models (Jason Palevsky, 2012)
• Data Mining and its Applications (Yanlong Hu, CS and Math, 2012)
• Exploring the Branch-and-Cut Algorithm (Itai Njanji, CS and Math, 2011)
• Selection Pressure on a Selfish Herd: Evolution of Ecological Relationships in an Agent-based Model (Robert Taylor, Math and CS, 2011)
• Go With the Lava Flow (Joshua Thomas, CS and Math, 2011)
• Music Genre Recognition: Developing a Tool to Identify Genre Specific Characteristics of a Musical Piece (Elena Fiocca, 2010)
• Real-time Simulation of Deformable Objects: Improving and Extending the Mass-Spring Particle Structure for Modeling the Draping Behavior of Cloth (Michael Liberatore, 2009)

Awards and Professional Memberships

• Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grant, Award 2008, summer research mentor program.
• Hewlett Mellon Presidential Discretionary Fund Award, The College of Wooster, 2005.
• Mellon Pod Grant Award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to sponsor the TARGET Workshop, 2005.
• Hewlett Mellon Presidential Discretionary Fund Award, The College of Wooster, 2003.
• GLCA Grant and M.A.A. RUMC Grant Awards to sponsor the Midstates Conference on Undergraduate Research in Computer Science and Mathematics in 2004 and 2005.
• Association for Computing Machinery
• Association of Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Techniques
• Council on Undergraduate Research

Recent Publications

• Bennjamin Snyder*, Ruth Steinhour*, Joshua Thomas*, Denise Byrnes and John David, “Extending the Schwartz-Saltikov Algorithm to Visualize Three-Dimensional Particle Distributions,"”. Proceedings of MCURCSM 2011, Denison University, Granville, OH.
• D. Byrnes and P. Pierce (advisors). Michael Liberatore*, Jeffrey Willert*, Wenyuan Wu*, “Approximating Tarski’s Circle-Squaring Problem”, poster, CUR Posters on the Hill, May 5, 2009, Washington, D. C.
• D. Byrnes and M. Liberatore*, “Visualizing an Approximation of Tarski’s Circle-Squaring Problem”. Proceedings of MCURCSM 2008, November 1, 2008, The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio.
• D. Byrnes and M. Liberatore*, “Selecting an Integrator to Model the Dynamic Draping Behavior of Cloth”. Proceedings of MCURCSM 2008, November 1, 2008, The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio.
• D. Byrnes and M. Liberatore*, abstract, “Selecting an Integrator to Model the Dynamic Draping Behavior of Cloth”, SIGCSE Student Research Competition, SIGCSE March 2009, Chattanooga, Tenn.
• M. Haile* and D. Byrnes. "A Flexible Parsing Engine for Lindenmayer Systems", CCSCNE 2002, The Consortium for Computing in Small Colleges Northeast Region, April 19-20, Worcester State College, Worcester, Mass.
• Jesse Smith*, Denise Byrnes (advisor),”X3D as a Usable, Powerful, and Web-Based Medium for the Creation of a 3D Virtual Tour “. Proceedings of MCURCSM 2005, October 29, 2005, The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio.
• J. Strecker*, J. Breitenbucher, and D. Byrnes, “The Simulated Annealing Group Assignment (SAGA) Application”. Proceedings of MCURCSM 2003, October 25, 2003, Denison University, Granville, Ohio.

Teaching Philosophy

The computer science discipline is driven by rapid advances in computing technology. It is difficult to catch one’s breath when your field is moving at a break neck pace and its application is extended to yet another discipline. This is exactly why I fell in love with the field; the necessity for continued learning and its ubiquitous application to general problem solving. I hope each of my students is infected with the same wonder and excitement I hold for computer science or at the very least, the importance of the field to their every day life. I hope my excitement is contagious. Showing the linkage between classroom theory and real-world problems is my favorite engagement tool.