New programming languages workshop founded by School of Computer and Cyber Sciences professors

School of Computer and Cyber Sciences professors Drs. Harley Eades and Clément Aubert, in collaboration with Dr. Chris Martins of North Carolina State University, have established a new annual regional workshop to build collaborations among students and researchers in the Southeast.

The Southeast Regional Programming Languages (SERPL) seminar brings together students and researchers in the design, analysis, and application of programming languages. Held at the Georgia Cyber Center on May 11, 2019, the event consists of a full day of research talks from undergraduate and graduate student researchers and provides a venue for students to receive feedback on their work before submission to major conferences. Augusta University’s School of Computer and Cyber Sciences and the National Science Foundation are sponsoring the inaugural year of SERPL 2019.

“The idea behind SERPL came from my experience as a graduate student at the University of Iowa.  There, my Ph.D. advisor, Dr. Aaron Stump, and his colleague, Dr. Cesare Tinelli, founded a similar workshop called Midwest Verification Day,” says Eades, assistant professor of Computer Science at Augusta University.  “I was lucky enough to attend the first five editions of this workshop where I gave some of my first research presentations and networked with other students working in my area.  It had a profound effect on my career.  We want to provide a similar event for our students and the students in the region.”

SERPL is an event specifically for student researchers studying the theory and applications of programming languages in the region.

“SERPL is a place where both graduate and undergraduate students can share their in-progress ideas, make new connections, and form new collaborations,” says Eades. “These new connections may be determinant for their career, and furthermore, it is a friendly, welcoming, and supportive event for students to get feedback on their presentation abilities and their research ideas.”

This year, seminar organizers have a goal of approximately fifty attendees, including presenters attending the inaugural seminar.  SERPL is open to the public, but registration, which is free, is required.  To help students from across the region attend the seminar, the National Science Foundation has sponsored SERPL by awarding Eades and Aubert a grant to fund student travel.  In addition, the organizers have reserved a portion of these funds for undergraduate students, women, underrepresented minorities, and LGBTQ+ people.

“We want to make it as easy for students to attend SERPL as possible, and we want SERPL to be as inclusive as possible,” says Eades.

Learn more about the seminar, submit your research talk or travel grant, or register to attend SERPL 2019.