The International Collegiate Programming Contest (ACM-ICPC) is an algorithmic programming contest for college students. Teams of three, representing their university, work to solve the most real-world problems, fostering collaboration, creativity, innovation and the ability to perform under pressure. Through training and competition, teams challenge each other to raise the bar on what is possible.
ACM-ICPC is the oldest, largest and most prestigious programming contest in the world. On November 2, 2019, the team from Southern Arkansas University made up by Kristopher Johnson, Aziztitu Murugan and Austin Simms made first place in a competition encompassing 20 teams representing the University of Arkansas, University of Central Arkansas, Hendrix College, Harding University, Ouachita Baptist University, and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.
Kristopher Johnson, Aziztitu Murugan, and Austin Simms
The event was hosted by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. Dr. Hong Cheng, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science served as the team coach. The same team traveled to Little Rock last April to compete in the Consortium for Computer Science in Colleges (CCSC) programming contest. At that time they placed fourth in the competition against top colleges.
“The April event was an excellent preparation for the competition at Fayetteville, this shows the team is resilient,” said Dr. Abdel Bachri, dean of the College of Science and Engineering. “Results such as these are perhaps the greatest affirmation that our programs are robust,” Dr. Bachri added.
The BS in Computer Science was initiated at SAU in 1996. The Department of Math and Computer Science was formed soon after. Since then the BS in Computer Science added two more concentrations beyond the traditional computer science degree. (1) The Computer Game and Animation Design option is for students interested in innovative video game development, offering experience in highly competitive introductory and advanced topics of game programming and art skills as well as mobile apps. (2) The Cyber Security and Privacy option where students develop a solid theoretical foundation and receive hands-on training on how to prevent, detect, and neutralize cyber-attacks. They also learn how to audit privacy compliance and design privacy compliant systems.
