Westminster Computer Science Professor Named Judge of International Competition in Czech Republic

Dr. John Bonomo, assistant professor of computer science at Westminster College, has been selected to judge the world finals of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (CPC) in Prague, Czech Republic, March 28-April 1.

Bonomo has been selected to judge this competition for the past three years. Two years ago, he also had his problem selected for use in the competition, and this year Bonomo's problem has been selected again.

"I can't tell you anything about the problem, since everything is kept secret until the start of the contest," Bonomo said. "I can tell you that once you are a judge you are assigned someone else's problem to solve. Another judge has been put in charge of my problem as well. This ensures that several sets of eyes look at and solve the problem. The problem is really not part of the competition until everyone's solutions agree."

International teams are selected from a series of 31 regional competitions from over 1,300 teams. Bonomo has been a regional judge for the past five years. His first experience as a international judge was in Hawaii, while last year's competition was held in Los Angeles.

"My experiences both years have been fantastic," Bonomo said. "I felt instantly at ease with the other judges. Even though I've only been involved for two years, there is a definite strong sense of comraderie between all of us."

"Last year I was quite busy since at the last minute one of the judges could not make it to the competition because of visa problems," Bonomo continued. "I was put in charge of grading his problem as well. This was a good thing, since many teams tried to solve his problem. I only got two submissions to grade for the original problem that I was in charge of because it turned out to be the hardest problem in the competition."

Bonomo, who has been with Westminster College since 1998, earned his undergraduate and master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a master's and Ph.D. from Purdue University.

For more information, contact Bonomo at (724) 946-7287 or e-mail bonomojp@westminster.edu.