2012-2013
Spring Projects
A Swarm of Salesmen: Algorithmic Approaches to Multiagent Modeling
This project looked at the algorithmic abstraction of modeling a swarm of Mars rovers, where many "agents" must work together to achieve a goal. The formulation is built on the classic Traveling Salesman Problem.
Contextual Visualization: The Efficacy of Iconic Data Objects in Information Visualization
This project examines some of the background behind "contextual visualization" (designing a diagram to appear as an icon for the data it represent) and performs a user study to compare its effectiveness to that of traditional color coding.
Selfish Routing in Transportation Networks
This project examines a game of traffic networks in which infinitesimally small individual players selfishly determine their routes, which may or may not lead to a collectively optimal total latency across the network. Included are several important examples for understanding selfish behavior and several approaches to improving the game's outcomes.
Student/Faculty Research
Computer Science is a rapidly developing field, and our faculty are involved in diverse research areas within it. There are many opportunities for CS students to work directly with faculty on a number of research projects. Students are able to gain valuable experience while collaborating with their professors throughout their Oberlin careers. Most frequently, these research projects take place during the summer as part of the Oberlin Summer Research Institute. However, there are also opportunities to continue investigations during the year and as a Winter Term project. Oberlin students also participate in NSF funded research projects at other institutions during the summer as part of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.
OCCaM
The computer science department is also involved in the Oberlin Center for Computation and Modeling (OCCaM). OCCaM is an interdisciplinary research organization founded in 2005 and is devoted to promoting computation and modeling at Oberlin. The center helps coordinate and organize the various researchers on campus who use scientific techniques of model building and computer data analysis. The faculty span both the natural and social sciences. There is a 64-node Beowulf cluster available for participant use.
