12/10/02

Cheryl Cobb, 334/844-4218

AUBURN TO GRADUATE FIRST IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

AUBURN -- Two Alabamians -- Chris Fuller and Wesley Driver -- will have the distinction on Monday of being the first to graduate from Auburn University with a degree in software engineering.

Fuller and Driver will be among the 1,437 who will receive academic degrees at AU's fall semester commencement ceremony on Monday at 2 p.m., at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

"I've been hooked on computers since I wrote my first program at a neighbor's house," says Driver, who grew up in the southwest Alabama town of Jackson. "When I got to Auburn and found out that the university was going to offer a degree in software engineering, I knew I'd come to the right place."

Auburn made the decision to offer the new degree -- the first of its kind in the Southeast -- four years ago when the university was reevaluating its degree offerings.

"There's an analogy that I like that compares software to our brains," says Larry Benefield, dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. "Our bodies, our hardware, so to speak, won't function without the direction the brain provides. In computers, that direction comes from the software. The university's decision to create a software engineering degree, acknowledges software's critical role in computer systems."

Auburnšs software curriculum builds on basics introduced in freshman and sophomore pre-engineering classes. Course work includes traditional programming classes, as well as courses in software ethics, planning, testing and quality control.

"I learned that there is a lot more to software engineering than writing code," says Driver. "To work well, software has to be integrated into the entire system. Quality control is key and so is project management."

Chris Fuller, an Ozark native, agrees.

"I grew up knowing that I wanted to go to college at Auburn and that I wanted to study computers," said Fuller. "When they added the software option during my freshman year, I was first in line to sign up. I feel well prepared for the workplace."

Driver said his senior design project helped bring together all that he had learned in the classroom. He and four others had the job of designing the software for the command center of AU's award winning Solar Decathlon house, an interdisciplinary project involving a team of engineering and architecture students who spent a year designing and constructing a fully-solar powered home for an intercollegiate competition held in Washington, D.C.

"The software design work had to be coordinated with a lot of other activities," said Driver. "I enjoyed working on the project so much that I signed on as a volunteer after my design semester was over and traveled with the team to Washington. The competition really opened my eyes. I loved the city, and the experience of working as a team. As a result, I've broadened my job search to include a wider geography and range of jobs."

For the time being, Fuller will remain in the Auburn area with his wife, a second year veterinary student. He has found that the software degree has already opened doors for him, and is excited to be a member of the pioneering software engineering class.

Richard Chapman, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, reports that student demand for the program has been strong from the start. Currently, 225 students are majoring in software engineering.

"The marketplace demand for software engineers is increasing," says Chapman. "There are currently 450 million computer systems in this nation. In addition, nearly one in five people now use a wireless phone. The software that allows the user to interface with the computer technology that is embedded in these phones and other consumer electronics will continue to change the way we live, which is what engineering is all about -- improving peoplešs lives. We at the Ginn College of Engineering plan to remain in the forefront of these changes."

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