Auburn computer science professor James Cross and his jGRASP research group have received an award from the National Science Foundation of $250,000.
The group, whose name stands for Graphic Representations of Algorithms, Structures and Processes, has created a development environment that provides visualizations to make software more comprehensive.
"This has been a long running project," Cross said. "It has been called jGRASP since about 1998, when we received our first NSF grant. This is about the fourth we've gotten in a series of them."
The project started out as a reverse engineering project where these visualizations were generated. It became useful in the CS1 and CS2 engineering courses at Auburn and is often put in conjunction with Java software, which makes up the "j" in jGRASP.
"Lots of schools are using it now," Cross said. "We're approaching 400 separate institutions, ranging from universities to community colleges to high schools. Usage this fall is up as much as 80 percent, which is something we didn't quite expect."
Application for the grant is competitive, as it took the team two years to attain. The submission is reviewed by a panel who, after one scores high enough, recommends it to the NSF program director.
"We submitted the application once and it was nicked up a bit," Cross said. "We revised it and the second time got funding."
The money is primarily devoted to supporting a research assistant who is a professional engineer. Auburn takes 40 percent of the money, while the remaining amount goes to the research assistant.
"The vice president for research gets the money that the University takes," Cross said. "That doesn't have anything to do with the grant, it's just overhead. We get what's left."
The team's research in applying the funds is devoted to generating a new version of the software called a canvas view. In this version, users can place items side by side on a "canvas."
One of the greatest implications of this software, Cross said, is that it carries the Auburn University name.
The program is used around the world, from Russia to local institutions such as Georgia Tech, each of which becomes aware of the work of Auburn engineers.
"Last year we had over two million uses," Cross said. "We're on track this year to have 2.75 million. Every time they start up the program 'Auburn University' flashes up, so we're spreading our good name."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
