CS 8001 Seminars

Starting in Fall 2021, OMSCS began offering CS 8001 seminars. These seminars are intended to allow OMSCS students to explore and discuss certain topics in depth, often through discussion groups. Seminars are one credit-hour pass/fail courses that do not count towards graduation requirements.

The seminars offered vary each semester. Below are the seminars that have been offered so far:

Spring 2024

CS8001-OLP: The Language of Proofs Seminar, taught by Gerandy Brito. The language of proofs is designed to fulfill prerequisites to succeed in the Graduate Algorithms class of the OMSCS program. Students wanting to get introductory training in the formalism of proof writing will find this seminar useful. The seminar will meet every week, alternating between sections to cover the theory and review sections where the class will discuss the worksheets shared in the previous section. Students are strongly encouraged to work the exercises that will be provided (this is the way to learn the material). The class will have one simple assignment every two weeks to check your attendance. Students taking these quizzes should expect a satisfactory grade in the seminar.

CS8001-ORS: Research Seminar. In this seminar, several on-campus PhD students will present their work and hold a synchronous Q&A with students, either about their work or about PhD life as a whole. Hosted by Associate Director of Research, Nicholas Lytle, come hear talks by speakers like Idel Martinez (Computer Science Education), Niranjan Kumar Kannabiran (humanoid robotics), Sarah Matthew (Human-centered AI and technology adoption), and more! Learn about what state-of-the-art computing research is being done at Georgia Tech and get an opportunity to speak and learn from future leaders!

CS 8001 OCS: Computing in Python Seminar. This seminar is combined with David Joyner's online undergraduate CS1301 class and serves as a primer on computing in Python. It is an introductory course that presupposes no prior CS knowledge, but for OMSCS students without prior Python experience specifically it has served as a good, low-stakes primer in the past.

CS 8001 OOP: Object-Oriented Programming in Java Seminar. This seminar mirrors the undergraduate version of CS1331: Object-Oriented Programming in Java. Covering the same content as the CS1331 professional certificate on edX, the seminar takes students through the basics of Java, then focuses on object-oriented programming practices in Java. The seminar assumes some prior CS knowledge, and is especially good for students who want to pick up Java as an additional language or who have limited prior OOP experience.

CS 8001 ODA: Data Structures & Algorithms Seminar. This seminar mirrors the undergraduate CS1332 class, Data Structures & Algorithms. Covering the same content as the CS1332 professional certificate on edX, the seminar begins by covering intermediate to advanced concepts in data structures, including linked lists, stacks, queues, binary trees, heaps, and hashmaps. It then continues into intermediate to advanced concepts in algorithms, including divide and conquer algorithms, pattern matching, Dijkstra's minimum spanning tree, and dynamic programming. The seminar assumes prior CS knowledge and is useful as a preparation course for future studies in algorithms.

CS 8001 OWN: Women in Tech Seminar. This synchronous seminar meets on Mondays at 7PM ET this semester via teleconference. Led by Dr. Ana Rusch, students in the seminar discuss the contributions of women in the fields of CS and IT, engage with cutting edge research on technology, and network with others in the field. Synchronous sessions feature discussions, guest speakers, and more.

CS 8001 OFT: Futurism Reading Group. With recent advances in artificial intelligence, materials science, quantum computing, biotechnology, and more, the future promises to look very different. Futurism or futures studies is the discipline of exploring what the future will look like and how people will live and work with these upcoming advancements. Many books and papers have been written on this subject from well-known thinkers like Max Tegmark, Michio Kaku, and Mauro F. Guillén. In this synchronous seminar (a time will be selected based on a poll of enrollees) co-led by Eric Ianni and Ana Rusch, students will read through selected books and papers on the topic, then meet weekly to discuss what the future will look like based on those topics and how the work they are doing intersects with that future.

Fall 2023

CS8001-OCS: Computing in Python Seminar. This seminar is combined with David Joyner's online undergraduate CS1301 class and serves as a primer on computing in Python. It is an introductory course that presupposes no prior CS knowledge, but for OMSCS students without prior Python experience specifically it has served as a good, low-stakes primer in the past.

CS8001-OOP: Object-Oriented Programming in Java Seminar. This seminar mirrors the undergraduate version of CS1331: Object-Oriented Programming in Java. Covering the same content as the CS1331 professional certificate on edX, the seminar takes students through the basics of Java, then focuses on object-oriented programming practices in Java. The seminar assumes some prior CS knowledge, and is especially good for students who want to pick up Java as an additional language or who have limited prior OOP experience.

CS8001-ODA: Data Structures & Algorithms Seminar. This seminar mirrors the undergraduate CS1332 class, Data Structures & Algorithms. Covering the same content as the CS1332 professional certificate on edX, the seminar begins by covering intermediate to advanced concepts in data structures, including linked lists, stacks, queues, binary trees, heaps, and hashmaps. It then continues into intermediate to advanced concepts in algorithms, including divide and conquer algorithms, pattern matching, Dijkstra's minimum spanning tree, and dynamic programming. The seminar assumes prior CS knowledge and is useful as a preparation course for future studies in algorithms.

CS8001-OWN: Women in Tech Seminar. This synchronous seminar meets on Mondays at 7PM ET this semester via teleconference. Led by Dr. Ana Rusch, students in the seminar discuss the contributions of women in the fields of Computer Science and IT, engage with cutting edge research on technology, and network with others in the field. Synchronous sessions feature discussions, guest speakers, and more.

CS8001-OED: CS Educators Seminar. It seems like every few weeks we read another article about the shortage of computer science graduates and how that is having negative effects on the tech industry. The issue doesn't stem from a lack of interest in the field, but rather a dearth of computer science educators. Led by instructional associate and Oregon State University lecturer Eric Ianni, this seminar is designed to help prepare future computer science teachers for success or help update current educators' pedagogical tool chest. No matter your teaching experience, there is something in this seminar for you. We will start with general educator best practices and progress to computer science specific techniques. The seminar will cover all sorts of modalities of learning: in-person, online/remote, synchronous, and asynchronous. So if you ever had the itch to teach computer science this seminar is for you!

Spring 2023

CS8001-OUS: Usable Security Seminar. How can we design systems that improve end-user agency over their data and experiences online? How can we design systems that encourage better cybersecurity and privacy behaviors? These are important questions in computing: without agency over their data, users are subject to exploitation; without good end-user cybersecurity and privacy behaviors, the full potential of computing is hamstrung by its dangers. The field of usable privacy and security combines ideas from HCI, cybersecurity and privacy research to explore solutions to these questions. In this class, you’ll learn the basics of usable privacy and security research. You’ll learn about why usable privacy and security is important, why it’s hard, and what you can do about it. We’ll focus on building the skills necessary to conduct original usable privacy and security research, which requires an understanding of both core concepts in cybersecurity and privacy (e.g., encryption, authentication) as well as HCI research methods (e.g., human-centered design, prototyping). To build these skills, the class will include a small set of weekly readings and a number of in-class activities.

CS8001-OFT: Futurism Reading Group. With recent advances in artificial intelligence, materials science, quantum computing, biotechnology, and more, the future promises to look very different. Futurism or futures studies is the discipline of exploring what the future will look like and how people will live and work with these upcoming advancements. Many books and papers have been written on this subject from well-known thinkers like Max Tegmark, Michio Kaku, and Mauro F. Guillén. In this synchronous seminar (a time will be selected based on a poll of enrollees) co-led by Eric Ianni and Ana Rusch, students will read through selected books and papers on the topic, then meet weekly to discuss what the future will look like based on those topics and how the work they are doing intersects with that future.

Fall 2022

CS8001-OSO: Computational Sociology Seminar. Led by Dr. Ana Rusch, this seminar will explore Computational Sociology, a sub-field of both Computer Science and Sociology. As part of this, students will participate in discussions, read case studies and papers, and have the opportunity to propose and get feedback on their own research ideas and progress. This seminar will be divided into three main sections. The first section will review case studies of how computer science, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, have been used to analyze and solve complex social problems. These case studies will analyze computer science through a multidimensional sociological perspective. The second section of this seminar will review the sociohistorical history and ethics of computer science. Finally, the third section of this seminar will give students a space to discuss their own research ideas, practice conference presentations, and receive feedback on papers for submission. Grading will be based on participation, either synchronous or asynchronous. The synchronous meeting times/dates will be determined based on most of the students’ availability. Asynchronous participation via will be conducted via Ed Discussion.

CS8001-OWN: Women in Tech Seminar. Now in its third semester, this synchronous seminar meets on Mondays at 8PM ET this semester via teleconference. Led by Dr. Ana Rusch, students in the seminar discuss the contributions of women in the fields of Computer Science and IT, engage with cutting edge research on technology, and network with others in the field. Synchronous sessions feature discussions, guest speakers, and more.

Summer 2022

CS 8001-OCS: Computing in Python. To brush up on Python skills, students joined David Joyner's undergraduate Computing in Python course. This seminar was well-suited to OMSCS students with programming expertise but with limited Python experience.

CS 8001-ODM: Machine Learning & Data Science Tooling. Led by instructional associate Robert Bates, this seminar introduced students to common tools used by ML and DA practitioners, such as SciPy, Matplotlib, PyTorch, and more.

CS 8001-OWN: Women in Tech. In this synchronous seminar led by Dr. Ana Rusch, students discussed the contributions of women in the fields of Computer Science and IT, engaged with cutting edge research on technology, and networked with others in the field. The synchronous weekly discussion promoted intellectual growth, facilitated community, and instilled belonging.

Spring 2022

CS 8001-OEN: Entrepreneurship. This seminar, led by Dr. Keith McGreggor and Dr. Ana Rusch, was for current and prospective entrepreneurs and start-up founders. Students reviewed the content used for Keith's on-campus Global Entrepreneurship class, discussed their ideas with classmates and the seminar's faculty, completed short assignments to structure their thoughts and share them with classmates, and joined synchronous meet-ups with others in the course.

CS 8001-OAI: AI Reading Group. In this semi-synchronous seminar led by David Joyner, students read and discussed books and papers about artificial intelligence. The main intent of the seminar was to use these readings as jumping-off points for synchronous and asynchronous discussions.

Fall 2021

CS 8001-OGV: GVU Brown Bag. The GVU Brown Bag is a weekly on-campus lecture series put on by the GVU (Graphics, Visualization, and Usability) Center where guest speakers are invited to Georgia Tech to give talks about their work. Some of the speakers included Jer Thorp from NYU, Krystina Madej from DePaul University, and Q. Vera Liao from the IBM TJ Watson Research Center—as well as Georgia Tech faculty such as Mark Braunstein, Beth Mynatt, and Noura Howell. Students watched and discussed the seminar synchronously among themselves. There was also an asynchronous forum to support having questions and discussion throughout the week.

CS 8001-ORS: Research Seminar. In this seminar, several on-campus PhD students presented their work and held a synchronous Q&A with students, either about their work or about PhD life as a whole. Presenters included: Chelsea Wang (AI in education), Charles Ramey (computer vision), India Irish (AI in education), Apoorva Beedu (wearable devices), Hantian Zhang (machine learning), Qihang Yao (health informatics), Huda Alamri (computer vision), Jiachen Yang (machine learning), Theodore LaGrow (computational neuroscience), and OMSCS alumna Bobbie Eicher (AI in education).

CS 8001-OLS: Learning at Scale. In this seminar, students read four books together: Failure to Disrupt by Justin Reich; Writers in the Secret Garden by Cecilia Aragon and Katie Davis; Peer Pedagogies on Digital Platforms by Michael Dezuanni; and The Distributed Classroom by David Joyner and Charles Isbell. Students discussed the readings asynchronously each week through discussion forums.

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