Dr. Clifton Kussmaul
Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Education
| B.A. & B.S. | Swarthmore College | 1989 |
| M.A. & M.S. | Dartmouth College | 1991 & 1993 |
| Ph.D. | University of California, Davis | 1998 |
Contact Information
| Office: | Trumbower 143 |
| Phone: | (484) 664-3352 |
| Fax: | (484) 664-3546 |
| Email: | kussmaul@mathcs.muhlenberg.edu |
| Web Site: | http://mathcs.muhlenberg.edu/~kussmaul |
| Mailing Address: |
Department of Mathematics & Computer Science Muhlenberg College 2400 W. Chew Street Allentown, PA 18104 |
Biography
Teaching Interests
I teach a variety of courses in the CS curriculum, ranging from Computer Science I and II (CSI 110 and CSI 111) through Software Engineering (CSI 210) to advanced courses such as Theory of Programming (CSI 310).
Professional Interests
My experiences and interests are connected by three themes. The first theme is software engineering, which is changing radically due to trends such as open source software and offshore development. As a result, software developers will be working with networks of people in other locations, and integrating executables and code from a variety of sources.
The second theme is the application of computing, and digital signal processing (DSP) in particular. Computer scientists have been described as the blacksmiths of the 21st century; like blacksmiths, we create tools for ourselves as well as for other people. At UC Davis and at Dartmouth, I collaborated with neuroscientists, psychologists, and others on projects that used DSP to help understand how the brain functions.
The third theme is programming languages. I am intrigued by the effects of design goals on language features; for example, what language features might support unit testing, refactoring, and programmer documentation? I am also interested in the problems of translating between high-level languages, and the relationships between programming languages, natural languages, and music.