Research
Research
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Abstract of Master's Thesis
This thesis introduces a new model to the field of opinion dynamics in which each node in a network moves to the mass center of the opinions in its neighborhood weighted by the changing certainty each node has in its own opinion. An upper bound of O(n) is proved for the number of timesteps until this model reaches a stable state. A second model is also analyzed in which nodes move to the mass center of the opinions of the nodes in their neighborhood unweighted by the certainty those nodes have in their opinions. This second model is shown to have a O(d) time complexity on a tree, where d is the diameter of the network, and is compared with a very similar model presented in 2013 by Frischknecht, Keller, and Wattenhofer who found a lower bound on some networks of Ω(n3).
Southern Research Center, US Forest Service
Southern Research Center, US Forest Service
As a research fellow I created, updated, and increased the speed of a model used to predict tree cover in the contiguous United States for the next fifty years.
I organized and ran a two-hour networking event at which alumni answered questions as part of a panel and participated in a meet and greet with current students. The goal of this event was to help students network and prepare for the job market. In the future I would like to hold similar events while collecting data on how student's understanding of career opportunities change as a result of the event. I would also like to test the effect of these events on student perception of diversity in the field of computer science.
Faculty who might be interested in holding similar events and collecting data on their campus' or collaborating should email me at acwebster@smcm.edu
A study was run with 33 subjects to compare the effectiveness of reviewing prerequisite content at the beginning of the semester with traditional review activities and traditional review with the addition of an educational video game.
The study found that students showed more confidence on specific tasks and improved their answers for questions on those topics after playing the game. However, the students who played the game were less confident, compared to their peers, in their overall ability in computer science.
For more reliable results a second study should be run with more participants. Faculty who might be interested in participating this research by collecting data in their classes or collaborating to develop the second study should email me at acwebster@smcm.edu
A co-PI, seminar leader, and research mentor for a seven week REU at St. Mary's College of Maryland during the summer of 2022. There were twelve students admitted to the program and I led a team of four students researching a variation of Minimum Spanning Trees on Dynamic Graphs.
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