Student Profile: Bryan Ward

BS in Computer Science and Engineering
BA in Mathematics

Why did you choose to major in CS?

Computer Science is a fun application of logic and problem solving that can a strong impact on a range of problems from engineering or science, to how people communicate. As technology becomes more and more a part of our lives, a background in Computer Science will become increasingly more valuable.

Why did you choose to join Bucknell?

I was looking for a small school with a strong engineering program, so Bucknell was a perfect match. After visiting and seeing the campus, and meeting the faculty, I knew that Bucknell was the place for me. I had a strong background in CS coming from high school so I knew I wanted to pursue computer science.

What is particularly good for you in studying CS at Bucknell?

My first semester I was offered the opportunity to do research in an independent study. I have continued in this work through the spring semester and I will be doing research here on campus this summer. I have learned much through this work that can't be taught in a classroom, and I think it has been a really great experience.

Projects

In my research project, I have written a program to distribute the load of running many simulations to multiple different servers to decrease runtime. The simulation results are sent back to a MySQL database, from which they can be mined later when someone needs answers to a question. On my own time, I have written a program that implements the classic game Othello in which a human player tries to win against an artificial intelligence player. I haven’t seen anyone beat the AI player yet!

Advice for incoming students

Get to know the faculty. Professors here are always willing to help you out. They can also help open doors to research and job opportunities.