Anatomy of a Server Room

Thanks to the efforts of students, alumni, and staff here at USF who gave up a day of their Christmas break we have our first Computer Science server room.

Our heroes were Tim Archer, Joe Bozen, T.J. Eakle, Ben Gunnink, Jon Paul, Matt Ramuta, Arturas Zalenekas, Chris Bigott, Kyle Baczynski, Kevin Beckman, and Ross McCallister.

VPN access to the server room is up and working.

The server built during Fall Semester by Scott Walton for databases was also added to the server room. So far, we have a firewall, web server and a database server. Plans are in the works to incorporate a virtualization server as well. Stop in and take a peek, it’s next to the A116 computer lab.



Thanks to their efforts the resources in our new server are accessible from all labs on campus.

Oh and while they were at it, we now have a new wireless access point in the A119 lab.




VPN access to the server is available to all Computer Science department students, alumni and, of course, to our staff.

Thanks to all who devoted so much time and continue to help improve the learning environment at USF.

Our traditional end of the semester celebration was a success again this year. Pizza and conversation made for a nice break in the day before the rush to the last week of classes.


Information Technology senior Arturas Zalenekas presented the results of his Database Administration tutorial project. Arturas did an assessment and pilot run of the setup of a real time hot standby database server using Oracle’s Data Guard. He worked with the USF Information Systems department to demonstrate how a live standby in the USF environment could be built. His findings on this complex issue and demonstrations were appreciated by both the Computer Science department and the USF IS department.

Computer Science senior, Larissa Kries, reported on her internship with the USF IS department. Larissa developed several components in the portal using Java, Eclipse, and Banner. She considered her major accomplishment the Bookmark feature in the portal. Over the course of her work she became more confident of her skills in development and investigation into new features. She became accustom to the wider scope and demands of the production environment.

Computer Science sophomore, Nick Zelinski, spoke informally about the work he has done for the USF Health and Wellness Center. He had responded to a request for help with the medical records template system by the Center and donated his time. He worked with Silver Cross Hospital to become familiar with the system. So much work was needed that his job has evolved into a paid position. He is considered by Silver Cross to be the systems support for USF Health and Wellness.


We also want to congratulate our winter graduates this year, both Information Technology majors, Arturas Zalenekas and Ryan Mosier.

Good luck to you both!

Career in Automation

Congratulations to graduating Information Technology senior Arturas Zalenekas. He'll be starting as a system administrator with Cascade Solutions after his graduation this Fall semester. Cascade Solutions is a leader in automation engineering. It will be a new and challenging environment, but we know Arturas is well able to handle it.

Great work!

Fighting Crime

Information Technology senior, Nick Morris, is helping make everyone a little safer. He just began an internship with the Will County Sheriff's office. Not only will he be working supporting the computers and networks needed, he'll also work with the Computer Forensics unit. His workplace includes the sheriff's office, as well as the detention center, and the courthouse. Nick tells us in his first couple of days he met detectives, chiefs, lieutenants and correctional officers. The variety of work, the opportunities to be involved with the Criminal Justice system in all facets, and the people he can help and from whom he can learn are making this a great opportunity for Nick to move his career in the direction he wants to focus on.

Thanks to Computer Science alumni, Jackie Falbo, for making this internship possible. Nick has told us how great she is to work with. Thanks also to the Will County Sheriff's Office for giving one of our students this opportunity.

A New Server in Town

Frankly our lab server had seen better days. Namely when it was new before the turn of the century!

The Computer Science department wants to thank Computer Science Alumni and adjunct, Scott Walton, for lending his expertise to build a new test database server for the A119 lab. Scott combined putting together the server with putting together a show for his Comp 201, Introduction to Database students as he showed them the tricks and pitfalls for putting together a new 64 bit machine from scratch. That's real hands-on!

Now our students have a new test platform that can be configured and allow access to the latest tools. We appreciate Scott helping us out with our new ‘toy’ for the lab! Thanks, Scott!

Welcoming our new Portal

There's a new look to USF's electronic welcoming mat, our portal.

And a number of USF Computer Science alumni are to be congratulated for all the work they've put in. Tim Archer '98, Ben Gunnink '07, and T.J. Eakle '09 are the major force behind the portal. The amount of work done was incredible. Also contributing to these efforts were interns Larissa Kries, Computer Science junior and Chris Bigott '08.

To check it out, go to the USF website, http://www.stfrancis.edu/ and click on My USF. Use your USF signon to login. If you're an alumni and would like a login go to: http://www.stfrancis.edu/alumni/benefits/e-mail-for-life/ to find out how to get a USF signon.

Please offer your congratulations on a job well done when you see any of our Comp Sci stars!

Honors abound!

Way back in May (Yes, it was four weeks ago already!) these students from the Computer Science department were singled out for special notice.

Computer Science/Mathematics senior, T.J. Eakle was given the Joan Nahas Ramuta Computer Science Award, the most prestigious award given by the department.

Computer Science senior, John O’Brien, was our department’s recipient of the University’s Meritorious Service Award.

The Dean’s Scholar Awards are given to students who have a GPA of 3.9 or above and have completed at least 30 hours of course work at USF. Computer Science/Mathematics junior, Kevin Beckman and Computer Science sophomore, Larissa Kries were recipients of this award.

The Jason Chonacki Scholarship award for service was presented to Information Technology sophomore, Luis Escorza, by Athletic Director, David Laketa.

The department was represented in two different honor societies. Kevin Beckman and T.J. Eakle were inducted into Delta Epsilon Sigma.

The Computer Science honor society, Epsilon Delta Pi, requires the completion of nine hours of upper division course work in addition to the high GPA. This year’s new inductees were Kevin Beckman and Information Technology senior, Arturas Zalenekas.

Kevin Beckman, was selected for inclusion in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.

Our hats are off to all our illustrious students in the Computer Science department!