Phillip Barbolla explains his research to an interested student.
What is life like at Roanoke College? Busy! A full weekend got started on Friday, 10/9, at Fintel Library with the Experiential Learning Showcase. All three MCSP disciplines were well represented as Phillip Barbolla from math, Dio Beck from physics, and Natalie Wilkinson from computer science presented posters from their summer work. Phillip used genetic algorithms (a version of machine learning) to create a program to find optimal MCSP class schedules. Dio worked with the School of Coastal and Marine Science Systems to study an offshore, underground stormwater outfall installed in North Myrtle Beach. Natalie examined an algorithm called Hidden Markov Models to improve Optical Music Recognition software. Very cool stuff, and just the tip of the MCSP summer research iceberg. Three CS students did national level REUs: Maya Shende, Thomas Lux, and Randall Pittman. Natalie and Phillip were Summer Scholars; Josh Carr and Linnea Kremer did physics research; Justin Giguere, and Derek LaFever did computer science research; and Stephanie LaFever did a project utilizing computer science, physics, and math. This is a great group of students to be around!
