News Release –

PERTH AMBOY/ELIZABETH – Two Kean University Computer Science students, Yerika Jimenez of Perth Amboy, NJ and Nathaly Lozono of Elizabeth, NJ, have received scholarships to the prestigious Grace Hopper Celebration of Computing next month in Minneapolis. Being awarded scholarships to this conference that recognizes the achievements of women in computing – from a pool of over 900 applicants – is a high honor and a reflection of the exemplary work each senior has demonstrated in the Computer Science Department.

The project that earned Jimenez the scholarship involved research into smartphone design and use, resulting in her development of a predictive model for smartphone selection. She also received accolades from the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society with a first place award in research design for her role in this project. Jimenez has been instrumental in other projects at Kean as well, such as a comparative research study of visual programming language environments. This summer, she worked at Clemson University in SC conducting research on how young children learn as part of a Computing Research Association award.

Lozano’s role that merited the scholarship award was as part of the development team of a mobile smartphone app for the Grace Presbyterian Church graveyard in Elizabeth. This app has received many accolades from genealogists and historians for its comprehensive information about the graveyard “residents” and their tombstones, and the ease of accessing the data. It is in general circulation and available for free for iphone and android smartphones. Lozano has also been involved in designing and testing an educational computer game with middle school students at Roselle Park Middle School.

The Computer Science Department at Kean University in Union NJ is a vibrant and community oriented department. It has received much notice recently for such works as the Graveyard app, as well other new apps such as one focusing on Utility Outages. The Kean Computer Science Department also hosted its third annual CS4HS (Computer Science for High School) conference in conjunction with Google. With small classes (20-25 students) and a focus on undergraduate research, the Computer Science department is noted for its inclusive atmosphere and groundbreaking research and development. Their first fall open house is Saturday September 28. Learn more about it at:http://www.kean.edu/ku/open-house