Associate Professor of Informatics

Office: NC 04
Phone: (574) 535-7024
Email: kpalmer@goshen.edu

Kent Palmer's Personal Site

Education

BS, Univ Wisc Green Bay, 1982
MA, University of Illinois Springfield, 1987
PHD, Nova Southeastern Univ, 2004

Current Projects

Research

  • Use of technology by nonprofit organizations
  • Effective teaching methods for undergraduate informatics classes
  • Humanitarian free and open source software
  • Glycome informatics

Courses

  • Info 200, Informatics I
  • Info 230, Programming I
  • Info 300, Informatics II
  • Info 330, Programming II
  • Info 340, Database Design
  • Info 345, Web Applications
  • Info 350, Computer Networking
  • Info 355, Systems Analysis
  • Info 399, Special Topics (Mobile Apps …)
  • Info 405, Project Management
  • Info 409, Capstone Project

Selected Publications

Bhattacharya, P., Guo, M., Tao, L., Wu, B., Qian, K., and Palmer, K. (2011, July) A Cloud-based Cyberlearning Environment for Introductory Computing Program Education. Poster presented at the IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies.

Fu, X., Qian, K., Palmer, K, Peltsverger, B., Campbell, B., Lim, B. and Volt, B. (2010, October) Making failure the mother of success. Paper presented at the ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference.

Palmer, E. K. (2009, March). Teaching system administration using Windows PowerShell. Presented at ACM technical symposium on computer science education, Chattanooga, TN. (Page 574 of Conference Proceedings).

Palmer, E. K. & Kent, J. A. (2007, March). Do computer science department websites meet the needs of students? Presented at IEEE Southeastcon, Richmond, VA. (Page 333-337 of Conference Proceedings).

Palmer, E. K. (2010, March). Introducing Open Source Tools Early: A Project Course Between CS1 & CS2 Based on Common Reading Text. Poster to be Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software Symposium, Milwaukee, WI.

Fu, X., Qian, K., Peltsverger, B., Palmer, E. K., Xu, C., & Zhang, Y. (2010, March). New Trends in Automated Project Grading for Web Programming Classes. Poster to be Presented at ACM technical symposium on computer science education, Milwaukee, WI.

Palmer, E. K. (2009, June). How experience in nonprofit organizations influences the instruction of computer science. Presented at SoftHum Workshop on Involving Students in Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software Projects, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA.

Palmer, E. K. (2009, March). Teaching system administration using Windows PowerShell. Poster Presented at ACM technical symposium on computer science education, Chattanooga, TN. (Page 574 of Conference Proceedings)

Palmer, E. K. & Kent, J. A. (2007, March). Do computer science department websites meet the needs of students? Paper presented at IEEE Southeastcon, Richmond, VA. (Page 333-337 of Conference Proceedings)

Grants & Fellowships

Wingate University Summer Research Grant (2008) for investigating the potential use of Windows PowerShell in system administation courses.

Icelandic Glaciers (2007) Earthwatch Expedition Grant for collecting geographical data to develop computer models of glacial outwash flood events.

Wingate University Summer Research Grant (2006) for investigating techniques to increase the effectiveness of college websites.

Memberships & Associations

  • Association for Computing Machinery
  • Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges
  • Upsilon Pi Epsilon-Computer Science Honor Society
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Employment

  • Assistant Professor of Computer Science, 2004 – 2010, Wingate University, Wingate, NC
  • Chair of Computer Science/Management Information Systems, 1999 – 2003, MacMurray College, Jacksonville, IL
  • Oracle Database Administrator, 1997 – 1999, Habitat for Humanity International, Americus, GA
    • Upgraded fundraising software to better meet the needs of a growing organization.
    • Maintained a fund raising database that was used to send over 30 million pieces of mail per year.
  • VMS System Administrator, 1994 – 1997, Habitat for Humanity International, Americus, GA
    • Support for VMS based financial Accounting Package
    • Responsible for maintaining and upgrading VMS cluster
  • Pathworks Network Administrator, 1992 – 1994, Habitat for Humanity International, Americus, GA
    •   Upgraded fundraising software to better meet the needs of a growing organization.
    • Installed and configured Server software
    • Provided support for PC and Mac networks
  • PC Network Support, 1990 – 1992, Habitat for Humanity International, Americus, GA
    • Provided support for payroll package and human resource database on PCs
    • Support for Graphic Arts applications on Mac network
  • Research Assistant, 1989-1990, Colorado Stat University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
    • Did research on chromosome repair following radiation exposure in Ataxia Telangiectasia patients
  • Microcomputer Specialist, 1987 – 1989, Koinonia Partners, Americus, GA
    • Wrote custom software to handle the marketing of Koinonia’s pecan and fruitcake products.
    • Converted Koinonia’s manual accounting and order processing systems to electronic systems.
    • Assisted with after school tutoring program.
  • Intern in the Radiochemistry Laboratory, 1985 – 1987 Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety, Springfield, IL
    • Wrote computer programs to determine radiation levels in environmental samples
    • Performed gamma spectroscopy analysis of natural samples.
  • Research Assistant, 1982 – 1983, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
    • Absorption of Sulfur dioxide in limestone slurries
    • Dispersion of air pollution
  • Research Assistant, 1982, Argonne National Laboratory, Joliet, IL
    • Assisted in the development of computer models of liquid metal MHD power plants