NSU computer programmers win CCSC competition

By Dustin Woods
NSU Staff Writer

Computer science majors from Northeastern State University returned home recently sporting a top prize for their programming abilities.

The Consortium for Computer Sciences in Colleges (CCSC) is a non-profit professional organization for computer science faculty in the U.S. It hosts annual conferences in each of its 10 regional divisions.

The 2010 CCSC Mid-Central annual conference was held at Park University in Parkeville, Mo. April 9-10. Two teams of three NSU students each competed against 16 other programming teams from Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.

"The two teams placed first and sixth," said Dr. Rick Matzen, NSU associate professor of computer science. "They brought home the first Place perpetual plaque with NSU engraved as the 2010 champions. If they want to keep it next year, they have to go back and win it again."

Placing first was the team comprised of sophomores Jared Deckard, Stephen Ashmore and Zac Kindle.

Graduating senior Matt Stow, junior Jason Eads and sophomore Ansel Manning composed the NSU team that took sixth.

"When I first saw this group at our practice contest last fall I knew they would go far," Matzen said. "They are very talented and determined to succeed."

Programming contests typically require teams of three to compete. Each is given a computer, paper and pencil, a list of problems and 4-5 hours to solve as many problems as they can. The variance of problems to solve in practices and contests enhances the participants' skills, including their ability to understand and manage complex abstract ideas important to success in computer science.

"Solving the problems is a challenge, and it can be pretty fun,"Ashmore said. "The best part is working together on problems with smart people and, of course, winning."

NSU hosts a practice contest each year to interest students and aid preparation for larger contests like the recent Mid-Central Regional and the South-Central ACM Regional contests held each fall.

"Each of us on my team had shared strengths, and individual strengths," Ashmore said. "We each had a different way of looking at how to solve the problems, and when we combined our perspectives with our programming finesse we were an effective team."

Placing at a CCSC or ACM contest boosts a resume and can draw the attention of companies like IBM and Google, Matzen said.

"I expect these teams will go to the ACM Regionals this fall and do very well against the best teams from Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma which include graduate computer science students," Matzen said. "I am pretty sure that they are planning to place in the top five and beat some graduate level teams."