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Contact: University Communications & Marketing
Phone (678) 839-6464, FAX (678) 839-6645
ucm@westga.edu
Students receive Computer Science Award
October 11, 2004
CARROLLTON, GA - Two University of West Georgia students have garnered two prestigious national awards in Computer Science.
The
awards from Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE), an honor society for computing,
were given to Sunitha Shenoi and Anand Patel, who are students in the
UWG Department of Computer Science, in September. The society evaluates
a large number of outstanding scholarship applications each year at the
graduate and undergraduate level in computer science. UPE awards only
10 of the $1,000 scholarships each year and it is “very rare”
for one school to have two recipients, said Dr. Adel Abunawass, Chair
of UWG’s Computer Science Department. Both are honor students and
carry a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.
“They are exceptional. But actually, we have quite a few of them. Every year we tend to graduate honor students, so we are lucky,” Abunawass said. “(Shenoi and Patel) worked hard and got involved with undergraduate research, and faculty members Anja Remshagen and Muhammad Rahman. By being involved with faculty and undergraduate research, they accomplished a great deal besides getting the award. When they applied, they looked like obvious winner, but we were just surprised that they picked two winners from the same school”
In 2000, another UWG student, Pam Hibbard, won the same award and Abunawass pointed out by having that many UPE scholars from one school also provides evidence that the department is on the leading edge of technological education. He began the honors program shortly after coming to UWG in 1999.
“I’m not aware of any other school that has had this happen in the country. It’s pretty cool,” he said. “These awards recognize the outstanding work of the students, but also show the dedication and hard work of the faculty and staff who help the students get there.”
Shenoi, a native of Bangalore, India came to UWG two years ago and enjoys her time here so far. “I have had amazing experiences, like nothing that I thought I’d have,” she said. “I never expected to get (the scholarship) and it’s just awesome. The people here are really nice and the classes are good. There really is a supportive environment here.”
From Ahmedabad, India, near the capital of Bombay, Patel has been living with family here in nearby Newnan and is in his last semester at UWG. “I chose computer science because that is the ultimate goal for coming to the United States. ”
Dr. Thomas Hynes, UWG’s Vice-President for Academic Affairs, said that the accomplishments of Shenoi and Patel reflect well on the Computer Science Department. The department is one of only five schools in Georgia that is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission/Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (CAC/ABET).
"This recognition of our computer science students reflects both the quality of their work, as well as the quality of the program developed by our computer science faculty,” Hynes said. “Student success reflects the department's successful creation of excellence in a personal environment."
For more information about programs at UWG’s Computer Science Department contact Abunawass at 678-839-6485.
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