David Schwartz

Assistant Professor
dis@cs.cornell.edu
http://www.cs.cornell.edu/dis/
Ph.D. State University of New York at Buffalo, 1999

My main area of research is in computational mechanics. My recent work

focuses on applying mathematical techniques of deterministic uncertainty to enhance methods of structural engineering analysis. I am applying one such technique, called Interval Analysis, that adapts traditional numerical operations by replacing numbers with intervals that model uncertain values. This set-based form of structural analysis uses discrete mathematics to perform types of parametric studies, which traditional techniques cannot. However, the interval approach introduces numerical inaccuracies in solutions that map to infeasible structural behaviors. A major goal of this research involves improving the quality of the interval-based solutions to reduce these inaccuracies to produce a technique suitable for design engineers.

In the spring 2000 semester, I coordinated the first-ever Academic Excellence Workshop (AEW) for CS100. An AEW provides a cooperative learning environment where undergraduates teach their peers. The AEW addresses many issues, such as lessening fear of computers, providing hands-on training, and demonstrating exciting aspects of problem solving with programming. The AEW provides an enriching environment that entices students, especially women and minorities, to consider engineering and computer science as fields of study. The pilot program from the spring will expand to include students in CS 100M, starting this fall semester.

University Activities

Coordinator: Academic Excellence Workshop (AEW) for CS 100, pilot program.

Faculty Member: Cornell Presidential Research Scholar (CPRS) program.

Professional Activities

Textbook Reviewer: Prentice Hall.

Publications

Deterministic Interval Uncertainty Methods for Structural Analysis. Ph.D. Dissertation, State University of New York at Buffalo (August 1999).

Introduction to Unix. (Japanese edition) Prentice Hall, 1999).