UofG School of Computer Science

🎉 Celebrating Amazing SoCS Alumni 🎉

Javier Abud Chavez, B.Sc.’06 (Computing and Information Science) took to the global stage in May, to present his talk “Using Moody Camel s Implementation to parallelize code execution” at the using std::cpp conference in Madrid.

Javier’s innovative work in the world of C++ earned him an incredible opportunity to share his expertise on an international stage – Congratulations Javier!

He shares, “Using concurrent queues, we can achieve a notable performance boost by modifying well established algorithms to be parallelizable. By profiling the code, we can discover where all the hotspots are that we should be paying attention to.”

Watch Javier’s talk https://youtu.be/KI9upSqZK4k?si=cstWbmkaJ71H6DB0.

University of Guelph University of Guelph Alumni

Today kicks off the 3 part series on The Future in Cybersecurity in Agriculture at the University of Guelph.

SoCS professor and Canada Research Chair, Dr. Ali Dehghantanha, gave a very engaging Keynote Talk describing the real risks to modern Canadian farms using digital technologies and opportunities.

The event brings together thought leaders and innovators to delve into pressing challenges and opportunities facing the agricultural sector in the realm of cybersecurity.

This event is funded by Food from Thought. Research funding for Food from Thought is provided in part by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.

Today's Agenda

Keynote:
Securing Our Fields: Understanding and Addressing Cybersecurity Risks in Ag
Dr. Ali Dehghantanha
SoCS Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence
University of Guelph

Special Announcements in Agricultural Cybersecurity
Dan Herman (IPON)
Robert McMillan (OCI)
Rohit Nehru (CSA Group)

Announcements and presentations from the Canada Standards Association (CSA Group), Intellectual Property Ontario (IPON), and OCI (Ontario Centre of Innovation.) These brief talks will offer valuable perspectives on the intersection of digital security and agriculture, showcasing the latest initiatives aimed at enhancing cybersecurity within the sector.

Panel: Cybersecurity Capacity in Canadian Agriculture

Moderator: Janos Botschner, Lead, Cyber Security Capacity in Canadian Agriculture, Community Safety Knowledge Alliance

Panelists
Dr. Ali Dehghantanha, SoCS Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence, University of Guelph

Katherine MacDonald, Director General, Strategic Management, Information Systems Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

ADM Greg Wootton
Chief Administrative Officer / Assistant Deputy Minister, Research & Corporate Services
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs

Interested in cybersecurity?
Check out our research: https://www.uoguelph.ca/ccf/

Check out our training:
https://www.uoguelph.ca/programs/master-of-cybersecurity-and-threat-intelligence/

Did you graduate from the Master of Cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence (MCTI) program at the University of Guelph?

We want to hear from you!

We are seeking feedback from program alumni to help us continually improve the program, stay relevant, and deliver a fantastic student experience!

Email has been sent to program alumni with a link to our online survey.

Please check your inbox! (And maybe your spam folder!) 😀

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Did you graduate from the Master of Cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence (MCTI) program at the University of Guelph?

We want to hear from you!

We are seeking feedback from program alumni to help us continually improve the program, stay relevant, and deliver a fantastic student experience!

Email has been sent to program alumni with a link to our online survey.

Please check your inbox! (And maybe your spam folder!) 😀

Looking forward to hearing from you!

UPCOMING HACKATHON INFO SESSION!!

Curious about hackathons? Considering participating in the May 3-5th GDSC Hacks hackathon? What to expect? How to participate? Can you join alone? With a friend? Get all your questions answered!

Experienced hackathon participant, but want more details on the May 3-5th GDSC Hacks event?

Google Developer Student Club is hosting an Information Session next week!

When: Tuesday, March 12th, 6-7pm
Where: Peter Clark Hall, basement level UC

Can't attend the session, but want more info on the GDSC Hacks event, or want to participate? Visit the event website: https://www.gdschacks.com

.uog

Check out these March events hosted by our student society, SOCIS!

Why get involved?

Meet friends
Professional development
Personal development
Build your network for the future
Give back to the community
Have fun!
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Tonight, SoCS hosted the 2023 SoCS Alumni Awards!

The event recognized the tremendous achievements of outstanding alumni and friends of SoCS.

Our distinguished award winners are:

Young Alumnus of Honour: Nic Durish, BComp '16, MSc '20

Award of Excellence: Adknown Inc. (accepted by co-founder Bill Stagg)

Medal of Achievement: Liz Sandals, BSc '69

Attendees heard many inspirational stories highlighting the wide-ranging impacts that SoCS alumni have had within and beyond our campus, and how those impacts often come full circle.

We heard about how young Liz Sandals, a Math student at the time, took sime of our earliest programming courses and then found her way back to us to become a founding faculty member in the new Department of Computing and Information Sciences (SoCS's origins). Later, during her distinguished and influential career in public service and politics, Liz drew on her CS background to help critically analyze problems and evaluate solutions from a systems perspective - skills she learned debugging code!

We heard how Nic Durish was inspired by the community-engaged scholarship he encountered in his SoCS courses and participating - and winning! - the Feeding 9 Billion hackathon event at Guelph. He brought his passion for using computing skills to tackle real-world problems to Master's, where he worked together with community partners in the remote indigenous community of Rigolet, Nunatsiavut to develop mobile and networking computing solutions to help address digital accessibility.

We heard how a small ad-tech company, AdKnown Inc., became one of our first co-op employers back in 2013. Since then, both AdKnown and SoCS have grown considerably. They have consistently provide quality internship experiences for SoCS students, who in turn have influence their growth and success, with many staying on as full-time staff after graduation. They also generously sponsor two $2,500 annually to SoCS students who demonstrate leadership and community engagement.

Congratulations to our awardees!

Thanks to event organizers, Alumni Affairs & Dev, our presenters and speakers, and to SoCS alumni, faculty, students, and friends for a wonderful event!

CBC Marketplace teams up with SoCS researchers, Prof. Hassan Khan and Master's students Angela Tran and Michael Lit to catch computer device repair technicians snooping into customer's private data. They found that over half of the technicians, working at a wide range of small and large retail tech stores, violated customer privacy, in at least one case even copying private photos.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-tech-repair-snooping-1.7000775

Please join us from 4:00 to 6:30pm today in the Summerlea Science Complex Atrium to learn about Computer Science and Computation Sciend Master and PhD programs. Meet faculty, staff, and current grad students in the School of Computer Science.

If you can't join us in person today, there will online info sessions at 5:00 and 5:15 on computing related programs. Register using the posted QR code to gain access to the online program.

! Research Alert !

Today the School of Computer Science launched the Canada Cyber Foundry (CCF) at the University of Guelph.

This cutting edge institute will serve as a beacon of excellence, focusing on cybersecurity research, education, and support for businesses andcstart-ups.

Learn more at canadacyberfoundry.com

!SoCS Research Alert!

Today many of our fantastic graduate students were among the 80+ students showcased their broad range of innovative research at the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS) Student Research Day!

Join us next week for Grad Preview Day!

Talk to SoCS faculty, staff, and current grad students about computing graduate programs.

What: Grad Preview Day for grad program in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS)

When: Wed, Oct 25th, 4:00 - 6:30pm

Where: Summerlee Science Complex Atrium

Learn about SoCS grad programs, including:

Course-based programs:
- Master of Cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence (MCTI)

Thesis-based programs:
- M.Sc. in Computer Science
- PhD in Computer Science
- PhD in Computational Sciences (interdisciplinary)
- Collaborative Specialization in Artificial Intelligence (MSc)
- Collaborative Specialization in One Health (MSc & PhD)

New signage today in Reynolds!

Hope everyone had a great first day of classes! Welcome new Gryphons! Welcome back returning Gryphons!!

❗❗ SoCS in the news ❗❗

SoCS cybersecurity research lab, Cyber Science Lab, recently helped family-owned Ontario hog farm deal with an unusual randsomware attack...the attackers did not demand money.

Read more about how SoCS cybersecurity expert, Dr. Ali Dehghantanha, and his team helped the hog farm with the attack and learn what was so unusual about this attack.

"There was not a playbook for these kinds of situations.”
- Dr. Dehghantanha

Hog farm targeted by ransomware | Farmtario Activists attacked an Ontario hog farm with ransomware this spring. But instead of cash, the attackers demanded the family publicly admit to what the activists claimed were instances of livestock mistreatment. For Ali Dehghantanha, a cybersecurity expert and professor at the University of Guelph, th...

Nominations are now open for the School of Computer Science Alumni Honours and Awards! 🏆

Do you know an outstanding School of Computer Science (SoCS) alum that deserves recognition for their success? Award categories include:
- Award of Excellence
- Medal of Achievement
- Young Alumni of Honour

Nominate a SoCS grad today!
Nomination form: https://tinyurl.com/SoCSAwards2023

Nominations close Friday, September 15, 2023
UofG School of Computer Science

!! SoCS Research Alert !!

Four School of Computer Science summer research projects were presented today at the CEPS Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium along with projects from across the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

The four SoCS projects presented were:

"Understanding Language Barriers of Global K-pop Fans While Watching Live Stream Events"
Mahek Patel, BComp Software Engineering student
Supervisor: Dr. Stacey Scott, SoCS

"Automated Categorization of Student Feedback for Educational Enhancement" Prateek, BComp Computer Science student
Supervusor: Dr. Ritu Chaturvedi, SoCS

"Investigating Challenges and Barriers that International Computer Science Students Experience at a Canadian Institution"
Thomas Phan, BComp Computer Science student
Supervisor: Dr. Ritu Chaturvedi, SoCS

"Identifying Social Support among K-pop fans"
Vibhuti Bajaj, MEng student
Supervisors: Dr. Stacey Scott and Dr. Ritu Chaturvedi, SoCS
Collaborator: Dr. Benjamin Giguère, Psychology

The event was held at the University of Guelph campus in the Summerlea Science Complex Atrium.

SoCS professor Dr. Rozita Dara is Co-Chairing and leading discussion panels in the 1st Int'l Conference on Digital Innovation in Agri-Food on campus this week. The conference takes place Thursday, June 8th following an invitation only 2-day workshop on Digital Innovation ecosystems in agriculture.

Dr. Dara joins Wageningen University & Research professors and scientists, Dr. Sjaak Wolfert
And Dr. Wilfred Dolfsma in bringing together an exciting and meaningful full-day program on topics such as,
o Data Economy for Food Systems (monetary and non-monetary values/goals),
o Responsible Digitalization (Ethics, Governance, Legislation),
o Technological Infrastructure (Artificial Intelligence, Data and Robotics),
o Food Integrity (Traceability, Transparency, Safety and Authenticity),
o Common Data Spaces and Research Data Infrastructures

Learn more at the conference website: https://www.agtechatguelph.com

Just about to kick off the first Annual CyberFusion Chronicles event in the School of Computer Science's Master of Cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence newly opened advanced cybersecurity research and training facility.

https://www.siberx.org/event/cyberfusion/

Thank you to our generous sponsors
SiberX https://www.siberx.org/
Cisco Secure https://www.cisco.com/
Synnapex https://www.synnapex.com/
CyberBPO https://www.cyberbpo.com/
UofG https://www.uoguelph.ca/

Thank you also to our amazing line up of industry and academic speakers:

Andy Lee - Cisco
Ali Shahidi - Ontario Health
Mahdi Raza - SiberX
Sofiya Makar, Elnaz Rabieinejad - PhD students, UofG
Ali Reza Sani - Longo's
Yoon-Soon Kim - Synnapex
Ehsan Emad - Freelance Network Solutions Architect
Ali Abbas - SiberX
Ali Afshari - Cisco

Interested in the Cybersecurity sector? Learning more about our Cybersecurity research and training programs https://www.uoguelph.ca/computing/graduates/graduate-programs

🔥 HEY THERE AMBITIOUS STUDENTS! ARE YOU READY TO TAKE YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL DREAMS TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND CHANGE THE GAME? 🔥

Then MARK your calendars for March 25th, 2023 from 2pm - 7pm and join us at the Startup Talk by Ignition Society! This event is going to be 🔥LIT🔥, and here's why:

🚀 Network with tech startup CEOs and like-minded peers who share your passion for success
💡 Gain INSIDER knowledge from CEOs of successful MULTI-MILLION dollar companies who know what it takes to make it in the industry
🤔 Ask your BURNING questions about the real-life struggles and victories of startups and get the answers you need to SUCCEED.

But that's not all! You'll also hear from exciting startups like Bidmii (funded by Google for Startups Accelerator Canada), ALTTEX (world's first biodegradable and carbon neutral fabric, Y Combinator funded), and Yurmo (a Guelph-based startup coming soon) who are making waves in the industry and changing the game.

🗓️ Spots are filling up quickly, so SIGN UP NOW to reserve your spot and be entered into a raffle for a chance to win a free sweater, shirt, and other COOL MERCH!! 🎁

This is an event for both laymen and academics alike, where you'll have the chance to gain real-world knowledge and learn from successful industry leaders.

So what are you waiting for? This is your chance to IGNITE your ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT and make your dreams a REALITY. Share the LINK with your friends and let's make this the BIGGEST EVENT YET! 💪

SIGN UP HERE: https://bit.ly/thestartuptalk
LEARN MORE ABOUT BIDMII: https://bidmii.com/
LEARN MORE ABOUT ALLTEX: https://thealttex.com/
LEARN MORE ABOUT YURMO: https://yurmo.app/ (Coming soon!)

Hosted by the University of Guelph Society of Computing and Information Science (SOCIS). https://www.instagram.com/socis.uog/

Applications are now open through Experience Guelph for 7 summer undergraduate research assistanceships (URAs) and NSERC undergraduate student research assistanceships (USRAs) in the School of Computer Science.

Ever wonder what your profs or TAs do during the summer when they're not teaching you? They are hard at work on cutting edge research in computer science! Did you know many of your profs are award-winning researchers as well as being fantastic instructors?? Consider working with a prof this summer to learn more about university-based research and scholarship!

Applications are due by February 27, 2023.

Employment dates are May 1 through August 18, 2023.

Position details and application procedures can be found on the Experience Guelph website: http://experienceguelph.ca

The following positions are available:

110558 - URA: Improving international student experience in the School of Computer Science https://experienceguelph.ca/postings.htm?pId=110558

110578 - URA: Bayesian Modelling of Seafood Fraud in the Canadian Supply Chain https://experienceguelph.ca/postings.htm?pId=110578

110589 - URA: Machine Learning Advisors for Electronic Design Automation https://experienceguelph.ca/postings.htm?pId=110589

110593 - URA: The Globalizing K-pop Project: Designing Multi-Lingual Communication Interfaces https://experienceguelph.ca/postings.htm?pId=110593

110599 - URA: LINCS Computer Science Research Assistant https://experienceguelph.ca/postings.htm?pId=110599

111706 - USRA: Building an online dashboard for influenza modeling https://experienceguelph.ca/postings.htm?pId=111706

111720 - USRA: Object counting and its applications in precision agriculture https://experienceguelph.ca/postings.htm?pId=111720

Join Career Advisor, Amoy Marshall, and the for this event on November 23 in-person at Peter Clark Hall, 1:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.!

Drop in from 1:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. for free professional headshots to use on your LinkedIn or social media platforms, then stay for the Leveraging LinkedIn for Career Success workshop 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.!

In this workshop, you will learn how to:
👤Create a strong profile
🤝 Build your network & navigate LinkedIn
💻 Let your profile pound the pavement while you sleep
🗣 Stand out so recruiters can notice you

Link in bio to register!

Congratulations to SoCS faculty Dr. Ritu Chaturvedi and Dr. Stacey Scott for being awarded 2022 College Faculty Excellence Awards. Earlier today at the College of Engineering and Physical Science (CEPS)'s annual meeting, Dr. Chaturvedi received the CEPS Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award and Dr. Scott received the CEPS Excellence in Undergraduate Supervision Award.

Read more about all of the CEPS Faculty Excellence Award winners:
https://www.uoguelph.ca/ceps/news/2022/06/2022-ceps-awards

Thanks for sticking with us for the last 50 posts! We hope you enjoyed learning about our history and the successes of our community members.⁠

In honour of our , please consider making a one-time gift of $50 to support our students: https://tinyurl.com/socs50
⁠
Financial gifts help support SoCS students by enabling scholarships, equipment upgrades, new learning resources, and funding for student events and activities that improve the student experience.

If you'd like to learn more about the School of Computer Science, please visit us at: https://www.uoguelph.ca/computing⁠
⁠
⁠

Did you know only 4 professors from all of Ontario universities received this prestigious award in 2019?!
Well deserved, Dr. Gillis!

Source & 📸: https://news.uoguelph.ca/2019/10/u-of-g-prof-among-ontarios-most-outstanding-university-teachers/

Working with Prof. Dave Calvert, Mahmoud developed a model to help machines learn better and recognize patterns easier.
Mahmoud said computers can be trained to recognize patterns such as common phrases in your speech or trends in stock market data, but what we need more of are devices that can handle more information beyond that which was given to them during training.

Your computer might recognize a voice nine times out of 10 in training. But its performance might drop by two-thirds in the real world of mispronounced words or poor enunciation. “We need to close that gap," said Mahmoud.

Source & 📸: https://news.uoguelph.ca/2012/03/research-aims-to-teach-machines-how-to-learn-better/

Before being featured on Forbes' "Small Giants 2017," FreshBooks won the Employer of the Year award by the Toronto Board of Trade in 2013.
In 2017, Forbes reported Freshbooks had a $50 million revenue with 248 employees!

Source credits: Forbes - "Starting Over: How FreshBooks Reinvented Its Online Accounting Service On The Fly" (https://www.forbes.com/sites/boburlingham/2017/05/09/starting-over/?sh=5b5503af57ce)
📸: http://www.cis.uoguelph.ca/~sawada/

Laura Gatto is one of our two amazing U of G Bachelor of Computing co-op coordinators - she's been a BComputing co-op coordinator since 2012!
Kate McRoberts joined Laura in September 2016, and both have done outstanding work for our Computer Science and Software Engineering co-op students.

Source: https://www.recruitguelph.ca/cecs/news/2019/09/co-op-coordinator-laura-gatto-recognized-her-innovative-leadership
📸: https://www.uoguelph.ca/computing/content/school-computer-science-co-op-coordinator-laura-gatto-recognized-her-innovative-leadership

All winning teams also received a Harry Potter-themed trophy to take home with them - these trophies were made by some of our Bachelor of Computing students!
The first place trophy was the Goblet of Fire, the second place was the Golden Snitch, and the third was the Sorting Hat.

Source & 📸: https://www.uoguelph.ca/computing/news/school-computer-science-hosts-roboticon-2018