Department of Computer Science & Physics
Mississippi College
Clinton, MS 39058
Phone: (601) 925-3874
Fax: (601) 925-3918
E-mail: mwiggins@mc.edu
Areas of Specialization:
Computer Science Education, Introductory Programming, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence
Research Interests:
Robotics in Education, Introductory Programming Methodology, Computer Science Education, Artificial Intelligence, and techniques in Computer Security
Education:
Ph. D., Science Education emphasis Computer Science, The University of Southern Mississippi 1998.
M.C.S., Mathematics & Computer Science, Mississippi College, 1990.
B.A., Mathematics & Computer Science (double major), Mississippi College , 1988.
Positions:
Associate Professor of Computer Science, Mississippi College, 2004 - present.
Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Mississippi College, 1998 - 2004.
Part-Time Instructor of Computer Science, Mississippi College, 1992-1998.
Adjunct Instructor of Mathematic and Computer Science, Mississippi College, 1990-1992.
Mathematic and Computer Science Teacher, Raleigh High School, 1989-1990.
Jr. High and High School Mathematics and French Teacher, Brandon Academy, 1988-1989.
Programmer, Mississippi College, December, 1987 - July, 1988.
Student Programmer, Mississippi College Data Center, September 1987 - December 1987.
Student Assistant, Mathematics & Computer Science, Mississippi College, 1986-1987.
Student Assistant, Biological Sciences, Mississippi College, 1984-1985.
Honor Societies:
Phi Kappa Phi, The University of Southern Mississippi, 1997
Pi Mu Epsilon, Mathematics Honor Society, Mississippi College, 1987
Alpha Mu Gamma, Foreign Language Honor Society, Mississippi College, 1987
Scholarships and Awards:
Society of Distinguished American High School Students Scholarship, 1984-1987.
Carl Brewer Memorial Scholarship, 1986-1987.
Mathematics Award for Outstanding Senior, 1988.
Professional Scientific Organization Affiliations:
Association for Computing Machinery
ACM SigGRAPH - Special Interest Group for Computer Graphics
ACM SigSAC - Special Interest Group on Security, Audit & Control
ACM SigART - Special Interest Group for Artificial Intelligence (former member)
Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society (former member)
ACM Mid-Southeast Chapter
College Committees:
Institutional Title IX Committee, 1998-present.
Honors Council, 1999-present.
Pre-Professional Health Programs Advisory Committee, 2002-present.
Professional Education Advisory Committee, 2002-present.
Faculty Council Committee on 124 Hours
SACS Committee on Educational Support Services, 1999-2002
Ad-hoc Committee on Validation of Credit, 2000-2001.
Community Service:
Freshman Experience mentor on campus for all except the very first year of Freshman Experience.
Participant in Career Awareness Week at Forest Hill High School, 2002.
Presenter for the Epilepsy Foundation of Mississippi's School to Work program, 1998, 1999, 2000.
"Adventures in Robotics" a summer camp for 4th - 6th graders, based on current research in Computer Science Education, Summer 2000, 2001.
"Computer Kewl School" a summer computer camp for 3rd - 6th graders, 2000.
Church Clerk, FBC, Polkville, 1999-present.
Chairperson of the Membership, 2003-present and Children's Committees, 2002-present and member of the History Committee, 2003-present.
Served on the Youth Committee,1999-2002, Hostess committee,2000-2002 and Pastor Search Committee, 2000.
Teach Vacation Bible School, 1995-present.
Taught following Sunday School classes: Youth Girls,1998-1999, College & Career,1999-2002 and currently teach Children I (1st -3rd graders), 2002-present.
Sing in the Adult Choir, 1999-present.
Direct Children's Programs and Retreats, 2002-present.
Coauthored, along with Dr. Glenn Wiggins, the Children's Christmas Cantata at FBC, Polkville entitled "Christmas at Grandpa's: A Celebration of Jesus" as well as helped design costumes, set, and programs, 2001.
Helped prepare, served as travel director, cook, mentor, and tour guide for the FBC, Polkville youth retreat to Pigeon Forge, TN.,2000-2001 & Branson, MO, 2006.
Helped organize fundraisers for youth programs, 2000-2001, 2006.
Serve as co-narrator and cast member in FBC, Polkville Christmas and Easter Cantatas, 2001-2002.
Designed, edited, and published "Good News Polkville", a newsletter for our church, 1998-1999.
Vice-President of the Polkville Friends of the Library
Courses Taught:
Concepts in Mathematics
Trigonometry
Calculus I
Computer Mathematics
Introduction to Computer Science
Introduction to Programming and Problem Solving
Ada Programming
Data Structures
Java Language Programming
Prolog Programming
Fundamentals of Computer Science for Educators
Internet and World Wide Web Basics
Discrete Structures
Social and Ethical Issues in Computing
Advanced Data Structures
Web-Centric Programming
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
Computer Graphics
Computer Security
Directed Theses:
Building a Beowulf Cluster for Computational Chemistry Calculations, Mary Beth Moore, Senior Honors Thesis, Mississippi College, May 2002.
Robotics as a Technological Tool in Secondary Education, H. Angie Hale, Senior Honors Thesis, Mississippi College, May 2000.
We Go Together: A Study of Robot Cooperation, H. Angie Hale, Master's Thesis, Mississippi College, December 2002.
Presentations:
Wiggins, Melissa C. (1997). "On-Line Multi-Arm Robot Motion Planning," Presentation presented at IEMS '97, Cocoa Beach, Florida.
Wiggins, Melissa C. (1997). "An Overview of Program Visualization Tools and Systems," Presentation presented at the ACM Mid-Southeast Chapter Meeting, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Wiggins, Melissa C. (1998). "An Overview of Program Visualization Tools and Systems," Presentation presented at the ACM Southeast Conference, April 1-3, Atlanta, Georgia.
Wiggins, Melissa C. (2001). "Using Lego® Mindstorms to Teach Programming and Problem Solving," Presentation presented at the ACM Mid-Southeast Chapter. Meeting, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Moore, Mary Beth, David Magers, and Melissa C. Wiggins (2001). "Timings of Gaussian98 Calculations on an Intel® Beowulf Cluster," a poster presented at the 10thConference on Current Trends in Computational Chemistry, Jackson, Mississippi, November 1-3, 2001.
Moore, Mary Beth, David Magers, and Melissa C. Wiggins (2002). "Timings of Gaussian98 Calculations on an Intel® Beowulf Cluster," a poster presented at the First Annual Mississippi College Chemistry Symposium, Clinton, Mississippi, March, 2002.
Moore, Mary Beth, David Magers, and Melissa C. Wiggins (2002). "Timings of SCF, DFT and MP2 Calculations on a Beowulf Cluster," Presentation presented at the 22ndAnnual Undergraduate Research Conference, The University of Memphis.
Moore, Mary Beth, David Magers, and Melissa C. Wiggins (2002). "Timings of SCF, DFT and MP2 Calculations on a Beowulf Cluster," poster presented at the Second Southern School on Computational Chemistry, Orange Beach, Alabama.
Moore, Mary Beth, David Magers, and Melissa C. Wiggins (2002)."Timings of SCF, DFT and MP2 Calculations on a Beowulf Cluster," poster presented at the 1st Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mississippi College.
Moore, Mary Beth, David Magers, and Melissa C. Wiggins (2002). "Timings of SCF, DFT and MP2 Calculations on a Beowulf Cluster," poster presented at the
223rdAmerican Chemical Society National Meeting, Orlando, Florida.
Publications:
Wiggins, Melissa C. Multi-Arm Robot Motion Planning Research Report, Submitted to Dr. Adel Ali, The University of Southern Mississippi, Summer 1996.
Wiggins, Melissa C. and Adel Ali (1997). "A Study of Multi-Arm Robot Motion Planning and Manipulation," Proceedings of the Industry, Engineering, and Management Systems 1997,Cocoa Beach, Florida.
Wiggins, Melissa C. (1998). "An Overview of Program Visualization Tools and Systems," Proceedings of the ACM Southeast Conference, Atlanta, Georgia.
Wiggins, Melissa C. (1998). A Comparative Study of Two Algorithm Animation Tools as Aids in Algorithm Understanding. Doctoral Dissertation. The University of Southern Mississippi.
Wiggins, Melissa C. (2000). "Adventures in Robotics." A curriculum for teaching robotics to 4th - 6th graders.
Wiggins, Melissa C. (2000). "Computer Kewl School." A curriculum for a computer science camp for 3rd -6th graders.