Skynet Is a Flexible, Extensible Framework for Gaming and Simulations

Sky.NET Simulations

Participants: Tony Elam (Engineering), Leslie Miller (CTTL), Dung Nguyen (Computer Science), Richard Stoll (Political Science), Jim Thompson (Statistics), Stephen Wong - PI (Computer Science).

Abstract: We propose to demonstrate that Sky.Net is a flexible, extensible, simulation environment applicable to both educational and government interests and use.

Project Description and Objectives: Sky.NET is a highly flexible, extensible simulation framework designed and built by Stephen Wong and Dung Nguyen’s Spring 2005 COMP 410, “Software Construction Methodologies,” class. It builds on previous COMP 410 class projects and technologies including Microsoft Enterprise Services, a Microsoft .NET distributed transaction library, Microsoft SQL Server, “MallSim,” a remote distributed agent simulation of arbitrary people moving through and interacting with arbitrary elements in a shopping mall (Comp410 Spring 2003) and “Voltron,” a peer-to-peer grid computing framework (Comp410 Spring 2004) built on the Pastry peer-to-peer networking substrate (Druschel, Rice University). Sky.NET can simulate any game (e.g. war, political, social, economic) by managing abstract “entities” moving about a “terrain” or virtual world. The entities possess various “attributes” such as their maximum velocity or speed, their health or strength, their possessions, etc, as well as behaviors, such as moving, attacking, using fuel or energy, etc. These behaviors include the ability to interact with other entities, which include objects in the virtual world such as lakes, mountains and rivers which are also technically other entities. The entities, their attributes and their behaviors are all dynamically configurable—the Sky.NET framework can handle an arbitrary number of arbitrary types of entities with arbitrary

1 of 23 Sky.NET Simulations numbers and types of attributes and behaviors. Multiple “players” are supported who can manipulate the entities they “own” in real time to perform their various behaviors. The simulator is designed to run continuously wherein players log on and off while retaining their roles, though their situations may change due to ongoing interactions with their entities. Sky.NET runs as a client-server application with redundant, load- balanced servers on the back-end while the clients display multiple, independent views of the simulation for the users on the front-end. The Sky.NET architecture is designed to be scalable to manage an arbitrarily large number of managed entities, players and servers, limited only by hardware constraints. To our knowledge, Sky.NET is unique in its flexibility, extensibility and simulation capabilities.

The Sky.NET framework can be used as a simulation environment for both educational interests as well as to address challenges of interest to government agencies such as Homeland Security and Defense. We believe the possibilities are enormous. Our project will explore two projects that will explore both of these areas.

EDUCATION: There are two main educational applications of a simulation/gaming system such as Sky.NET in the classroom:

1. As a means to introduce new materials

There are two distinct means in which Sky.NET could be employed to introduce new materials; as a simulation of a hypothetical or recreated scenario designed to reveal new issues and problems, or as an exploration of an unknown (to the students, at least) scenario designed to force the students to encounter the desired issues and problems.

2 of 23 Sky.NET Simulations

2. As a means to reinforce existing materials

Here, a simulation or game could be used by the students as an application of their knowledge. A game could be designed where the students’ knowledge of the course material would be a critical component in doing well and/or winning. This creates positive reinforcement of the material and doubles as a reward structure for effective learning. Another twist could be to have the students create or test against a simulation whose expected outcome is an a priori conjecture based their knowledge.

As a proof-of-concept, we are proposing to implement a discovery learning- based game in Sky.NET. This game, based loosely on a rare German board game, Jenseits von Theben (JvT), involves multiple players exploring a “world” (in this case Europe and the middle east, collecting information (building applicable knowledge) and resources (assistants and tools/technology) to be used to improve their chances to uncover rare artifacts during archeological “digs”. For instance, in JvT, the players race from one destination to another in Europe (London, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Berlin, Moscow) collecting information/knowledge as well as tools (shovels, transportation equipment) about antiquities and ancient civilizations (Egyptian, Greece, Mesopotamian, etc.) they even acquire archaeological assistants (graduate students) to help them. When they feel they have gathered enough knowledge and resources, they proceed to an archeological dig site, where what they have gathered affects their probability of finding relevant ancient artifacts. These “discoveries” (artifacts) are used to compete with other players in exhibits, which occur at various times during the game at various locations around the world. Victory (winning) is

3 of 23 Sky.NET Simulations determined by a variety of criteria including knowledge levels acquired across the various civilizations being studied, value of artifacts discovered in the “digs”, standings in the competitive exhibits, as well as participation in “congress” which represents presentations/lectures and publications to the relevant communities.

Pedagogically, this game is designed to take the facts of archaeology science and put them into an inter-related, cohesive context. The goal here is to challenge the common student notion that conclusions are predetermined and that one only needs to Google the right keywords and they will magically appear. This game takes the “book information” and puts into a discovery context where the students will be forced to examine each piece of data and relate it to the other data they may possess. This much more closely depicts the real science of archeology as an active mystery hunt rather than a dry reading of conclusions in a textbook. In the end, success will be a measure of how well they see the information in its proper relationships not just luck from random data collections and game actions.

Our implementation would have the following features:

1. Asynchronous time-based: The players are competing in real time and asynchronously, that is, the game is not turn-based. This enables a long, continuously running game to which the players can log in/out while still remaining players. Of course, player’s actions will require various amounts of “game” time to complete based solely on their strategy and direction. For example, a player may have to travel from Rome to Paris to study a particular set of documents to help prepare for a “dig” in Crete to raise his/her knowledge in that area. This may

require one week of “game” time. A player’s success at a dig is determined by not only his/her knowledge of the area and civilization being studied and their resources (tools and assistants) but also by how much time he/she spends at the dig (6 weeks, 12 weeks, etc.).

2. Multiple locations: The game would simulate numerous physical locations that the players “visit” to learn materials and gather resources. Travel between locations would not be instantaneous and thus represents one of many “costs” in the game (6 locations for knowledge and resources, 5 locations for “digs”).

3. Cumulative goal: The object of the game is to collect information (knowledge) and resources in order to acquire the most and “precious” artifacts (discoveries) which allow a player to compete in exhibits. However victory is determined by many components – strength of knowledge, success in discoveries, exhibit competition and an abstract form of “recognition” by the player’s peers.

4. Reconfigurable game elements: The information and resources gathered will be reconfigurable for different subjects and goals with zero (via XML files) or minimal programming. Likewise, to reconfigure the final goals (winning conditions) should require a minimum of coding.

Government/Defense Application: The U.S. Government has developed incredibly sophisticated detailed modeling and simulation systems for the modern war fighter. The “force on force” simulations are incredibly detailed down to the individual soldier and vehicle, and even incorporate the detailed physics for individual ordinance (shells) and armor. However, today’s

5 of 23 Sky.NET Simulations military is faced with far more challenging activities and roles – such as nation building, policeman, infrastructure defense, counter-terrorism, etc. By the DoD’s own admission (in a workshop in which Rice participated) our current military modeling and simulation systems are not flexible and are incapable of easily being adapted or modified to address these new roles and responsibilities. When you look at simulation systems to address Homeland Security – we see no solution at this time. Specifically, we in Houston do not have a simulation system capable of addressing our regional homeland security needs. Such a system would allow us to model the Houston region and construct “what-if” scenarios and games involving terrorist/counter- terrorists actions to be used by our decision makers (city and state officials). We propose to demonstrate that the Sky.NET framework would be a suitable base upon which to build such a simulation environment.

We will create a definition of a virtual world that reflects the Houston region and infrastructure (transportation systems, water system, power grid, population distribution, industrial distribution, etc.) and create entities to represent both our terrorists and anti-terrorist/counter-terrorist units and behaviors.

We will design a “gaming” scenario that allows teams of participants to play the role of terrorists as well as anti-terrorists in a real-time, online, massively multiplayer setting (distributed clients). We will base this simulation on concepts in “time” and “resource” management explored in the educational game previously described – although the subject material is radically different and the actions of the players will be much more “free” form and open.

Example: a terrorist action (planned event) may be to acquire the resources to initiate an explosion in a chemical plant in Texas City. This action requires communications amongst the terrorist cell, acquisition of resources (truck, chemicals/explosives, detonation device, etc.), knowledge of the chemical plant to target, time schedule, etc. At the same time the Anti- Terrorist and Counter-Terrorist players are utilizing their resources to attempt to intercept and/or prevent such actions by allocation of their resources and their actions (planned events) – deploying guards, gates and guns, interception of communications, monitoring of chemicals/explosive materials, inspection of vehicles in the chemical plant area, ongoing search for terrorists cells, etc. The Sky.NET framework will support implementation of such a simulation environment.

Project Innovations and Impact:

Gaming is a recognized emerging tool for education and training. Gaming brings goal orientation and motivational aspects into a simulation environment—two key features of a successful learning experience. Sky.NET is an innovative framework for a rich simulation environment but requires concrete demonstrations with specific applications. The two prototypes that we have selected will demonstrate the systems flexibility and capability as well as position us for seeking additional collaborators at Rice and help position us for pursuit of DOD or DHS funding.

We will seek involvement of someone from Social Science or Humanities regarding the Archeology/Discovery game to incorporate and maximize the “relevant” educational materials in the simulation (game). Leslie Miller (Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning-CTTL) will be

7 of 23 Sky.NET Simulations instrumental in exploring the use of the archeology game and the Sky.NET framework with CTTL’s expanding episodic educational adventure games for middle schools, “The Reconstructors.” Leslie was very impressed with the concepts of the modified JvT game as a vehicle for educational outreach on the web. It is our intent to explore NSF and DoEd funding opportunities with her and CTTL.

We have had multiple discussions with the City of Houston (Adrian Garcia – City Council leader for HLS) and are exploring additional contacts (Captain Richard Kaser (Houston Port/Region), Wade Battles (Managing Director Houston Port Authority) as well as with a Senior Science Advisor for the Department of Homeland Security (Leland Ellis). It is our intention to pursue a joint proposal with the City of Houston to acquire funding from DHS to implement a modeling/simulation system for the Houston region. This work would be an excellent example of a prototype to demonstrate the possibilities for a decision support system for our city leaders. In addition, we would look to pursue DOD US Army funding opportunities in modeling/simulation as well as they become available. Jim Thompson has a long track record of such funding (25 years). He and Ric Stoll will be key in these proposal activities.

An innovative artificial intelligence implementation will be required for a successful the Homeland Security simulation prototype. Currently, the Sky.NET framework includes very simple AI constructs to manage movement and attacks, but is missing the large scale, multi-entity situation processing and manipulation necessary for realistic threat responses. This sort of large scale AI extensibility however, is already designed into the

Sky.NET architecture. Wong, Nguyen and Elam, in conjunction with the Spring 2006 Comp410 class will be spearheading this effort.

Project Schedule/Milestones:

(Participants in the various milestones are in parentheses).

August 2005: Define detail specs for archeology game (Wong, Elam and students)

December 2005:

1. Working demonstration of archeology game (Wong, Nguyen and students)

2. Define specifications and outline architecture for behaviors and interactions for Houston Homeland Security game. (Elam, Wong, Nguyen, Stoll, Thompson and students)

3. Explore and submit educational oriented joint proposal with CTTL and Social Sciences/Anthropology. (Elam, Wong, Miller, Stoll with others from Social Sciences/Anthropology)

May 2006:

1. Working prototype of Houston Homeland Security game, developed in conjunction with COMP 410 class. (Wong, Nguyen, Elam and students)

2. Explore adaptation of archeology game to other disciplines. (Elam, Wong, Miller, Nguyen, Thompson, Stoll and others)

3. Explore DOD/DARPA modeling and simulation proposal opportunities – submit joint proposal by Jim Thompson, Ric Stoll, Tony Elam and Stephen Wong.

August 2006:

1. Test, refine and document Houston Homeland Security prototype system. (Elam, Wong, Nguyen and students)

2. Modify and launch a Homeland Security web-based game server for general use (non-Houston based – general game model). (Elam, Wong, Nguyen and students)

3. Explore use of the Archeology game and HLS game in future classes (Rice, A&M, other). (Elam, Wong, Miller, Nguyen, Thompson, Stoll and others)

Project Budget:

Sky.NET proposal budget

Quantity Item Cost Total Cost Student assistants 4 $5,000/yr $20,000.00

Dell SC240 servers 3 $ 1,106.00 $ 3,318.00 (3.6 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB HD)

Total $23,318.00

We are requesting funds to support the following:

1. Support for a student research assistant for two semesters and one summer (full time). -- $5000 each. One focused exclusively on the Archeology game, 2 on Homeland Security, and one shared.

2. Purchase of 3 servers for development and hosting of the games -- $3300 total. Three servers in the minimum needed to test and demonstrate fail-over redundancy and re-load-balancing. The Rice CS department currently has no Windows-based server resources that can be dedicated to this project. Future grant proposals will seek to

increase the number of servers to the production size of 10-20 as well as explore the feasibility of using Rice’s Terascale and/or other clusters for back-end processing, particularly for large-scale AI processing.

Participants (Short CVs):

Anthony J. Elam, Associate Dean of Engineering, Rice University

EDUCATION

INSTITUTION AND LOCATION DEGREE YEAR CONFERRED FIELD OF STUDY University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY BS 1977 Computer Science

Professional Experience:

1977-1995 IBM Programmer, Development Engineer, Manager, Systems Engineer, Architect 1977-1981 Development Engineering – Product Development: Compilers, Assemblers and Tools, Junior to Senior Associate Programmer 1981-1983 Graphic Systems – CADAM/CATIA Enhancement & Performance – Staff/Advisory Programmer 1984-1984 Product Planning for PC Printers – Advisory Engineer 1985-1986 Development Engineering manager – New Printer Functional and Compatibility Testing 1987-1995 Federal Systems – Senior Engineer working High Performance Computing and Complex Systems 1988-1990 NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System Conceptual Design Studies, Technical Study Manager 1990-1991 DOE Superconducting Super Collider Solenoidal Detector Collaboration Study Project, Lead Systems Engineer and Technical Study Manager 1992-1992 DOE HPC projects including FNAL (clusters), ANL (scalable parallel) and LLNL (storage systems); acted as lead system architect and technical engineer on multiple HPC projects. 1993-1993 IRAD Facility Manager – 4 major project areas: Software Engineering, Data Management and Access, HPC Data Systems and Embedded Onboard Systems 1994-1995 Senior Systems Architect on digital library, parallel databases and data mining projects and proposals, Lead System Engineer on DOD JTASC DL Study, Lead System Architect on Census 2000 Proposal 1996-present Executive Director of the Computer and Information Technology Institute at Rice University. Responsible for coordinating and directing the pursuit of new research projects and initiatives for over 90 faculty from a variety of departments in both Engineering and Natural Sciences. Develop and promote research projects with both Government and Industry in the Computational Engineering and Information Technology areas. 2000-present Associate Dean of Engineering at Rice University. Responsibility to promote, develop and manage research across all engineering departments and disciplines including multiple institutes and centers. Responsible for management of cost sharing and conflict of interest issues as well as for exploration of new strategic industrial partnerships.

Gaming Related:

Recognized as a serious game collector and player for over 34 years. Current collection is one of the largest in the United States with over 5,750 games. He is a member of the Association of Game and Puzzle Collectors, Communicating member of GAMA (Game Manufacturer’s Association), and a member of the Gamer’s Alliance. Was recently offered the position of GAMA Director of Games in Education. Has extensive experience in testing and reviewing game designs for various companies and designers.

Affiliations and Honors: Technical Advisory Board - Keck Center for Informatics, Texas A&M Dean’s Advisory Committee – University of Kentucky College of Engineering Rice University Export Control Advisory Committee, Baker Institute for Public Policy Advisory Committee, Rice Space Institute Advisory Committee Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, Steering Committee Rice 2003 Board of Trustees Recognition Award IBM FSC Outstanding Achievement Award, 1992 IBM FSC Outstanding Achievement Award, 1990 IBM FSC Outstanding Achievement Award, 1988 IBM IS&TG Outstanding Contribution Award, 1982 Oswald Undergraduate Research and Creativity Award, 1976

Leslie Michel Miller, Senior Research Scholar, Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning, Rice University

EDUCATION/TRAINING

INSTITUTION AND LOCATION DEGREE YEAR(s) FIELD OF STUDY

University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX BS 1969 Speech/Government Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL MS 1970 Communications University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX Ph.D. 1972 Communications

Professional Experience

1972-1980 Assistant Director, Research and Evaluation Department, Houston Independent School District

1987-1993 Project Director, Houston Science Alliance for Elementary Teachers, U.S. Department of Education, Coca-Cola Foundation, and Amoco Foundation

1988-1990 Project Director, Evaluation Component of National Science Foundation grant to the Houston Museum of Natural Science for the development of elementary science instructional materials

1989-1993 Project Director, Minority High School Student Research Apprentice Program, National Institutes of Health and Baylor College of Medicine

1991-1994 Principal Investigator, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Houston Science Education Partnership: BrainLink, Development of Neuroscience Materials for Grades 1-6

1988-1994 Assistant Professor and Director of Student and Teacher Programs, Division of School- Based Programs, Baylor College of Medicine

1994-1996 Director, GTE Project, Using Technology in Mathematics, Science and Engineering, Rice University

1994-present Chair/Reviewer, National Institutes of Health, Small Business Innovation Research Panel

1994-1999 Co-Director, Rice University/Southwestern Bell OWLink Distance Learning Project

1993-1995 Faculty Fellow/Electronic Studio Project Leader, Rice University

1995-present Senior Research Scholar, Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning, Rice University

1996-1998 Chair, Teacher Workshops, Society for Neuroscience Annual Meetings

Principal Investigator, Medicinal Mysteries from History, NIDA, National Institutes of Health

1999-2003 Principal Investigator, Community in History Project, National Endowment for the Humanities

Principal Investigator, Medical Mysteries from History, SEPA, National Institutes of Health

Principal Investigator, Reconstructors Investigate Club Drugs, NIDA, National Institutes of Health

2004–2006 Principal Investigator, MedMyst Dissemination, Phase II, SEPA, National Institutes of Health

Principal Investigator, MedMyst Materials: Middle School Infectious Disease Materials

Principal Investigator, Web Adventures to Teach about Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIAAA, National Institutes of Health

Recent Publications

Miller, L.M., Moreno, J., Mayes, J., Rice University, USA. Using Web-Based Multimedia Narrative and Simulations to Teach about Drugs of Abuse . Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2004: World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, Lugano, Switzerland, Vol. 2004, Issue. 1, 2004, pp. 3959-3961. (Recipient of the Ed-Media 2004 Outstanding Poster Award)

Miller, L.M., Moreno, J., Smith, D., Rice University, USA. Two Types of Web Adventure Games: Feedback from Users . Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2004: World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, Lugano, Switzerland, Vol. 2004, Issue. 1, 2004, pp. 1550-1552.

Miller, L.M., Estrera, V., Moreno, J., & Lane, D. Efficacy of MedMyst: An Internet Teaching Tool for Middle School Microbiology, Microbiology Education, May, 2004, Vol 5(1), p. 13-20.

Miller, L.M., Moreno, J., Estrera, V., Mayes, J.M., Smith, D.O. Constructing Web-adventure Games that Teach: A Model that Works, Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2003, World Conference on Education Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications, Honolulu, Hawaii; June 26, 2003, pg. 94.

Miller, L.M., Schweingruber, H., Oliver, R., Mayes, J., & Smith, D. Teaching Neuroscience through Web Adventures: Adolescents Reconstruct the History and Science of Opioids. The Neuroscientist, 2002 1 (8) 16-21.

Miller, L.M., Medical Mysteries on the Web: Turning Flash 5.0 into an Instructional Tool, Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2002, World Conference on Education Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications, Denver, Colorado; June 26, 2002, pg. 68.

Miller, L. M., Mayes, J.M.,& Smith, D.O. Flash Forward to Problem-based Science using a Web-based Adventure to Teach Science Standards. Science Scope, Middle School Teacher Journal for National Science Teachers Association. 2001 25 (3), 54-57.

Miller, L. M., Schweingruber, H., & Brandenburg, C.L. Middle School Students’ Technology Practices and Preferences: Re-Examining Gender Differences, Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 2001 10 (2), 125-140.

Miller, L. M., Mayes, J., & Smith, D. Problem-based Learning and Flash 4.0: An Experiment in Science Education. Conference Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2000: World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications, Montreal, Canada June 26-July1, 2000.

Miller, L. M., Schweingruber, H., & Brandenburg, C.L. Technology Acculturation among Adolescents: The School and Home Environments. Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2000: World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications, Montreal, Canada June 26-July1, 2000.

Miller, L.M. Middle School Students and Technology: Habits and Preferences.TechEdge,2000,20(1), 22- 25.

Miller, L.M., Gorry, G.A., & Kantor, R.A. Teachers' Uses of an Electronic Environment: A Case Study of Project OWLink. Conference Proceedings: Global Education on the Net, The Sixth International Conference on Computers in Education, Beijing, China October 14-17, 1998, p.459-465.

Dung X. Nguyen, Lecturer, Computer Science, Rice University

Education

Texas Tech University Mathematics/Physics minor B.S., 1976

University of California, Berkeley Mathematics M.A., 1979

University of California, Berkeley Mathematics Ph.D., 1981

Institute For Retraining In Computer Science (IFRICS), Kent State 1985-1986

Appointments

Lecturer, Computer Science, Rice University Fall 1999-present

Visiting Lecturer, Computer Science, University of Houston Spring 1999

Visiting Professor, Computer Science, Pepperdine University 1995- Fall 1998

Chair, Math/Physics/Computer Science, California Lutheran University 1994-1995

Assistant Professor, Math/Physics/Computer Science, California Lutheran University1989-1994

Visiting Assistant Professor, Computer Science, University of Houston 1986-1989

Assistant Professor, Mathematics, Texas Tech University 1981-1986

Relevant Publications

1. D. Nguyen, M. Ricken, and S. Wong, Design Patterns for Parsing. SIGCSE 2005, February 2005, 477-481. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/research/sigcse05/

2. D. Nguyen, M. Ricken, and S. Wong, Design Patterns for Marine Biology Simulation. SIGCSE 2004, March 2004, 467-471. http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm? id=971459&coll=portal&dl=ACM&CFID=21336081&CFTOKEN=11931670D.

3. D. Nguyen and S. Wong, Design Patterns for Self-Balancing Trees. OOPSLA 2002 Educator Symposium, November 2002, 60-70. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/research/OOPSLA02/

4. Nguyen and S. Wong, Design Patterns for Games. SIGCSE 2002, March 2002, 126-130. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/research/SIGCSE02/

5. D. Nguyen and S. Wong, Design Patterns for Sorting. SIGCSE 2001,March 2001, 263-267. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/research/SIGCSE01/

6. D. Nguyen and S. Wong, Design Patterns for Lazy Evaluation. SIGCSE 2000, March 2000, 21- 25. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/research/SIGCSE00/

7. D. Nguyen and S. Wong, Patterns for Decoupling Data Structures and Algorithms. SIGCSE 1999,March 1999, 87-91. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/research/SIGCSE99/

8. D. Nguyen, Design Patterns for Data Structures. SIGCSE 1998,March 1998, 263-267, 336-340. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/research/SIGCSE98/

Workshops

1. R. Cartwright, D. Nguyen and S. Wong, Taming Java in CS1 with Language Levels. SIGCSE 2005, February 26, 2005. 2. D. Nguyen and S. Wong, OOP in Introductory CS: Better Students Through Abstraction. Fifth Workshop on Pedagogies and Tools for Assimilating Object-Oriented Concepts, OOPSLA 2001, October 2001. http://www.cs.umu.se/~jubo/Meetings/OOPSLA01/Contributions/swong.pdf

3. R. Cartwright and D. Nguyen, OOP as Enrichment of FP. Fifth Workshop on Pedagogies and Tools for Assimilating Object-Oriented Concepts, OOPSLA 2001, October 2001. http://www.cs.umu.se/~jubo/Meetings/OOPSLA01/Contributions/RCartwright.html

Synergistic Activities

1. Teaching Design Patterns in CS1/CS2 Workshop, with C. Alphonse and P. Ventura at Universityof Buffalo, Michael Wick at University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and Stephen Wong at Rice University, 35th SIGCSE Technical Symposium, Norfolk, VA, March 05, 2004.

2. "Killer Examples" for Design Patterns and Objects First Workshop, OOPSLA 2002: with C. Alphonse and P. Ventura at SUNY Buffalo, and Stephen Wong at Rice University.

3. Fifth Workshop on Pedagogies and Tools for Assimilating Object Oriented Concepts. OOPSLA 2001, October 14, 2001: http://www.cs.umu.se/~jubo/Meetings/OOPSLA01/Program.html. Presented two position papers and particpated in discussions of OOP pedagogies and teaching tools. a. OOP in Introductory CS: Better Students through Abstraction, co-authored with Stephen Wong (http://www.cs.umu.se/~jubo/Meetings/OOPSLA01/Contributions/swong.pdf) b. OOP as an Enrichment of FP, co-authored with Robert Cartwright, Jr. (http://www.cs.umu.se/~jubo/Meetings/OOPSLA01/Contributions/RCartwright.html)

4. Design Patterns: Pedagogical Foundations For Object-Orientation. University of Wisconsin System Computer Science Education Workshop, University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point, Wisconsin, October 13, 2000. Co-conducted the workshop with Stephen Wong of Rice University. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/uwisconsin/

5. Co-developed with Stan Warford of Pepperdine University the entire Computer Science/Mathematics curriculum of Pepperdine University from the ground up to incorporate Programming Methodology, Object-Orientation, and Networking. http://seaver.pepperdine.edu/naturalscience/academics/computerscience.htm

Collaborators

1. Robert Cartwright, Jr., Rice University: http://www.cs.rice.edu/~cork/ 2. Stephen Wong, Rice University: http://www.cs.rice.edu/~swong/ 3. Stan Warford, Pepperdine University: http://seaver.pepperdine.edu/naturalscience/facultystaff/member.htm?facid=stan_warford

Graduate Advisor

Professor Tosio Kato (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Richard J. Stoll, Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean of Social Science, Rice University

Education

University of Rochester, A.B. Political Science (with distinction) 1974.

University of Michigan, Ph.D. Political Science 1979.

Professional Appointments

Professor, Department of Political Science, Rice University, 1990-on.

Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Rice University, 1984-1990.

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Rice University, 1979-1984.

Publications Most Closely Related to Research Project

Civil Reality? Simulation Experiments on the Impact of Civil War in a Realist World. 2005. Conflict Management and Peace Science 22,1: 19-38.

Exploring International Relations Theory with Computer Simulation. In Simulations in Social Sciences -- A Reader. Edited by Dietmar Herz in cooperation with Andreas Blatte. Hamburg, Germany: Lit-Verlag. 1999; p. 337-363.

Collective Security and State Survival in the Interstate System. (with Thomas R. Cusack) International Studies Quarterly 38: 33-59 (1994).

Multistate System Stability: The Benefits of a Collective Security Approach. (with Thomas R. Cusack). In R. Huber and R. Avenhaus (ed.) International Stability in a Multipolar World: Issues and Models for Analysis, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft. Baden-Baden 1993.

Balancing Behavior in the Interstate System, 1816-1976. (with Thomas R. Cusack) International Interactions 16,4 (1990), PP. 255-270.

The Russians are Coming! A Computer Simulation. Armed Forces And Society 16:2 (Winter 1990), pp. 193-213.

Rationality's Reward in a Warring State System. (with Thomas R. Cusack). In C. Gochman and A. Sabrosky (ed.), Prisoners Of War: Papers In Honor Of The Twenty Fifth Anniversary Of The Correlates Of War Project. Lexington Books. Lexington, MA. 1990.

One Small Step, One Giant Leap: Strategy Selection in Militarized Disputes. (with Russell J. Leng). In C. Gochman and A. Sabrosky (ed.), Prisoners Of War: Papers In Honor Of The Twenty Fifth Anniversary Of The Correlates Of War Project. Lexington Books. Lexington, MA. 1990.

Adaptation, State Survival, and System Endurance: A Simulation Study. (with Thomas R. Cusack) International Political Science Review 11:2 (1990), pp. 261-278.

Exploring Realpolitik: Probing International Relations Theory With Computer Simulation (with Thomas R. Cusack). Lynne Rienner. Boulder, Colo. 1990.

System and State in International Politics: A Computer Simulation of Balancing in an Anarchic World. International Studies Quarterly 31:4 (December 1987), pp. 387-402.

Simulating Government Behavior During Disputes. In M. Ward (ed.), Theories, Models, And Simulations In International Relations: Essays In Honor Of Harold Guetzkow. Westview. Boulder. 1985, pp. 510-519.

Nations at the Brink: A Computer Simulation of Governmental Behavior During Serious Disputes. Simulation And Games 14:2 (June 1983), pp. 179-200.

Synergistic Activities

Use of decision making game exercise in Political Science 211, Introduction to Political Science. Class website: http://es.rice.edu/projects/Poli211/.

Nuclear first strike planning homework assignment in Political Science 378, The Politics of American National Security Policy. Class website: http://es.rice.edu/projects/Poli378/

Taught computer simulation techniques in Political Science 505, Topics in Political Methodology.

Programming Background

At various points in time, have written programs in the following programming and scripting languages:

C/C++, Java, Stata, Perl, Pascal, SAS, Fortran/Watfor, Basic, PL/I, SNOBOL, 360 Assembler Language

Teaching Experience

I have taught courses at all levels, including

Undergraduate Poli 505. Topics in Political Methodology.

Poli 211. Introduction to Political Science Poli 540. International Relations

Poli 372. American Foreign Policy Poli 572. Foreign Policy Decision Making.

Poli 373. International Conflict Poli 599. Teaching Political SCience

Poli 378. The Politics of American National Security Policy Note: During my time at Rice I have won 9 Poli 379. Problems in International Relations university teaching awards.

Poli 395. Introduction to Statistics

Poli 405. Senior Thesis.

Poli 470. Special Topics: International Relations

Poli 472. Seminar in American Foreign Policy

Poli 479. Seminar in Quantitative International Relations.

Jim Thompson

Stephen Wong, Lecturer, Computer Science, Rice University

An experienced computer scientist, physicist and educator dedicated to combining the resources of an extensive and diverse background in teaching, software, hardware, experimental and theoretical physics and chemistry into a balanced and innovative liberal arts educational program.

EDUCATION AND HONORS Ph.D. in PHYSICS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 1988

"Magnetotransport Studies of the Magnetic Field Induced Metal-Insulator Transition in Hg1- xMnxTe," Professor Peter A. Wolff, advisor. Howard Hughes Doctoral Fellow (1986-1988). B.A. WITH HONORS, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA 1981 Major in Physics and minors in Physical Chemistry and Digital Electronics. Sigma Xi (1980)

TEACHING AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY TEACHING: Lecturer of Computer Science, Rice University, Houston, TX 2001-present Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 1999-2001 Visiting Asst. Professor of Computer Science, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 1998-1999 Visiting Asst. Professor of Physics, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 1996-1998 Asst. Prof. of Physics, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA 1993-1996 Instructor, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA Fall 1992 Designed and implemented a new software engineering course utilizing C#, .NET, TabletPC and PocketPC technologies. Designed and implemented an innovative introductory computer science sequence that utilizes pure object-oriented design and analysis, including a heavy use of design patterns and RAD/CASE tools. Developed and taught courses and laboratories in advanced and introductory computer science, physics, mathematical methods of physics, computer networking, and physics and mathematics for pre-service elementary school teachers. Developed computer- aided laboratories and introduced the use of symbolic and numeric mathematical software for analysis and visualization. Developed low-cost laboratory activities for use in elementary schools. Helped revamp the mathematics and physics curricula. Obtained a donation of a full physics/math/computer science technical library. Implemented virtual machine software for laboratory data acquisition. Initiated student involved research. Designed, created and maintained web sites in support of the courses, including on-line syllabi, assignments, labs, lecture notes, homework drop-off and file downloads. NT AND UNIX SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATION

Computer Science Program Systems Administrator, Oberlin College, Oberlin, 1999-2001 OH Administered the entire computer facilities for the Computer Science Program, including Intel- based NT servers, a DEC Alpha Unix server, and 44 dual-boot NT Workstation/Linux laboratory machines. Maintained users and user services, web servers, file and printer servers, installed software and maintained upgrades.

WEB SITE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION Co-Director/Co-Founder, Innovatech Consulting Group, Elyria, OH 1998-2002 Designed, created and maintained web sites for both for-profit and non-profit organizations. The web sites included on-line catalogs/ordering, information, virtual tours, and other resources. SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE PRODUCT DESIGN: Research Consultant, Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, NY 1995-2000 Developed Windows database and numerical analysis software for chemical kinetics simulations and non-linear parameter estimations. Developed virtual machine software for QSAR and other modeling designs. Systems Consultant, E-Lite Corp., Thousand Oaks, CA 1994-1996 Developing intelligent traffic control hardware for emergency vehicles crossing intersections. Computer Systems and Software Consultant, Sunrise Energy Inc., Graham, WA 1985-present Developed and marketed user-friendly, menu-based software for residential and commercial energy efficiency analysis.

SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES Co-organized, with R. Cartwright and D. Nguyen, Taming Java in CS1 with Language Levels, SIGCSE 2005, Feb 26, 2005. http://www.exciton.cs.rice.edu/workshops/SIGCSE05 Co-organized, with D. Nguyen (Rice Univ.), Object-Oriented Programming and Design Workshops, Vietnam National University and Nong Lam University, July 19-20, 2004. http://www.exciton.cs.rice.edu/workshops/Vietnam/ Co-organized, with R. Cartwright and D. Nguyen (Rice Univ.), TeachJava Workshops, Rice University, 2003 & 2004. http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~tchjava Co-organized, with D. Nguyen (Rice Univ.) and C. Alphonce and P. Ventura (U. at Buffalo) and Michael Wick (U. Wisconsin, Eau Claire), “1st, 2nd & 3rd Killer Examples” for Design Patterns and Objects Second Workshop, OOPSLA 2002, 2003 & 2004. http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~alphonce/KillerExamples/OOPSLA2004/ Co-organized, with D. Nguyen (Rice Univ.) and C. Alphonce and P. Ventura (U. at Buffalo) and Michael Wick (U. Wisconsin, Eau Claire), Teaching Design Patterns in CS1/CS2, SIGCSE 2004, March 5, 2004. Invited, Guest Lecturer, “OOP in Introductory CS: Better Students through Abstraction”, Nong Lam University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, July 22, 2002. Invited, Visiting Minority Scholar,. Presented OOP in Introductory CS: Better Students through Abstraction and Design Patterns for Games, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, Nov. 11-14, 2001 Co-organized, with D. Nguyen, “Design Patterns: Pedagogic Foundations of Object Orientation” (U. Wisconsin, 2000). http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/uwisconsin/ D. Nguyen and S. Wong, OOP in Introductory CS: Better Students Through Abstraction. Fifth Workshop on Pedagogies and Tools for Assimilating Object-Oriented Concepts, OOPSLA 2001, October 2001. http://www.cs.umu.se/~jubo/Meetings/OOPSLA01/Contributions/swong.pdf

RELEVANT RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS AND REPORTS D. Nguyen, M. Ricken and S. Wong, “Design Patterns for Recursive Descent Parsing,” SIGCSE Bulletin 37:1, 2005, pp. 477-481. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/research/sigcse05/ E. Cheng, D. Nguyen, M. Ricken and S. Wong, “Rice Marine Biology Simulation”, Nifty Assignments, Educator’s Symposium, OOPSLA 2004, Oct. 26, 2004. D. Nguyen, M. Ricken and S. Wong, Design Patterns for Marine Biology Simulation, SIGCSE Bulletin 36:1, March 2004, pp. 467-471. http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm? id=971459&coll=portal&dl=ACM&CFID=21336081&CFTOKEN=11931670D.

C. Alphonce, D. Nguyen, P. Ventura and S. Wong, “Teaching Object-orientation and Design Patterns in CS1/CS2 with Killer Examples,” SIGCSE Bulletin 35:1, March 2003. D. Nguyen and S. Wong, “Design Patterns for Self-Balancing Trees,” OOPSLA 2002 Educators’ Symposium, Nov. 2002, pp. 60-70. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/research/OOPSLA02/ D. Nguyen and S. Wong, “Design Patterns for Games,” SIGCSE Bulletin 34:1, March 2002, 126-130. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/research/SIGCSE02/ D. Nguyen and S. Wong, “Design Patterns for Sorting,” SIGCSE Bulletin 33:1, March 2001, 263-267. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/research/SIGCSE01/ D. Nguyen and S. Wong, “Design Patterns for Lazy Evaluation,” SIGCSE Bulletin 32:1, March 2000, 21- 25. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/research/SIGCSE00/ D. Nguyen and S. Wong, “Design Patterns for Decoupling Data Structures and Algorithms,” SIGCSE Bulletin 31:1, March 1999, 87-91. http://exciton.cs.rice.edu/research/SIGCSE99/

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