Welcome to the home page of Prof. Brian Patterson, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at Oglethorpe University. This website is under construction while I figure out how to access/deal with the site (how to upload efficiently, what scripts are supported, etc.). Basically, it is not good web design but I want to get all the information out there. It's my first year as a professor so I'm understandably busy with some other concerns!

Here are the main areas you might be interested in:

Biography

I was a PhD student at Iowa State University in computer science. I do research on real-valued computation using multi-resolution cellular automata (MRCAs) as well as pedagogical work in developing computer science at a liberal arts college. Before this, I was a web guy for Carleton College External Development and, before that, I spent 4 years at Carleton ostensibly to get a degree in Computer Science and Psychology.

Classes

The following are my classes this semster (Fall 2011) with links to the Moodle pages for the course. All course content can be found there!

My office hours are MT 3-5pm, F 12-2pm, or by appointment. My office is in Goslin 320 (3rd floor, southern group of faculty offices).

Research

My research interests primarily fall into three areas and emphases: machine learning (Bayesian networks and hidden variables), theory of computation (MRCAs and real-valued computation), and pedagogy of computer science (teaching computer science in a small liberal arts school setting).

Other

I have a variety of other, fairly nerdy interests and will throw up information and links to them as I have time.