Published on November 18, 2010  

Junior math/computer science major Chris Walling and junior computer science major Jesse Kawell took second place at the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Mid-Southeast Conference in Gatlinburg last week for their presentation “Machine Consciousness and the Advent of Narcissistic Computers." Walling and Kawell, mentored by Dr. Steve Donaldson, were reporting on their summer research which was supported by an Alabama Power grant from the University Fellows program. Senior computer science major Jon Zeiger took third place for his presentation “Evolution of Neural Architectures." Zeiger was reporting on his summer project, with senior biology major Scott Cope, supported by their Clark Scholarship in Computational Biology; he was also mentored by Dr. Donaldson. Senior computer science major Josh Moore, mentored by Dr. Brian Toone, delivered a presentation on his summer work, "Community Mapping." Moore was supported by a mini-grant from Samford’s Big Questions program, funded by the Teagle Foundation.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.