Chao is a junior pursuing a double major in genetics, cell biology and development in the College of Biological Sciences and computer science in the College of Science and Engineering. Following his undergraduate studies, he plans to pursue a doctorate in bioinformatics and possibly an M.D. with a future specialty in internal medicine. Working under the guidance of professor Chad Myers, he has researched mapping gene interaction networks in yeast and has extended these studies into an interaction network of human genes to predict possible protein interactions in humans.

CS&E honors undergraduate Katie Wolf has been awarded a 2011 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. The NSF program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions.

Wolf will be attending Princeton University this Fall to pursue her Ph.D. in Computer Science. She has been working on research in computational music performance analysis with CS&E Professor Dan Boley and Elaine Chew of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. At Princeton, Wolf will be working in Princeton's SoundLab, continuing her research with computer music.

The submission deadline is Monday, April 18, 2011 with recipients to be notified by Friday, May 6, 2011.

Upper-division undergraduate students, with a Computer Science or Computer Engineering major are encouraged to apply. Priority will be given to students who plan to graduate after the 2011 calendar year and who have not previously received a Lando scholarship or other department scholarship.

A student transcript (including overall GPA), a one-page resume with contact information, and a one-page description of the applicant's career goals are required. Please submit the required information as a single PDF file to npapas@cs.umn.edu.

Some of the scholarships are limited to U.S. citizens or permanent residents. For additional information ... please contact Nikos Papanikolopoulos at npapas@cs.umn.edu or advisor@cs. umn.edu.

The award program recognizes undergraduate students in North American universities who show outstanding research potential. Students are evaluated based on the quality of their research work, their academic record and their service to the community.

The survey was released by the National Association of College and Employers, which produces a quarterly survey of graduates, breaking down their starting salaries by college major.

The most recent survey shows computer science as the only non-engineering major in the top five, with an average starting salary of $61,112. See the full article: The College Degrees With The Biggest Salaries.

Help us celebrate! All students participating in commencement and their families and friends are invited to join the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in celebrating their achievements.

Friday, May 7, 2010
3:30-5:00 p.m.
Room 3-176
EE/CSci Building

Light refreshments will be served. RSVP by May 5 to vold@cs.umn.edu or call 612.625.2424.

The NACE executive director says that "New graduates with degrees in the technical fields tend to benefit from their relatively low supply." See the full report here.