Clarkson University wins Linux Tech Competition Awards

12 August 2005

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY CAPTURES FIRST AND SECOND PLACE IN LINUX TECHNOLOGY COMPETITION

Clarkson University graduate students Todd M. DeShane and Patricia A. Jablonski recently won a
contest that allowed them to show that Clarkson is on top of their game when it comes to Linux, and
that the University is on the forefront of Linux development technology.  

The TuxMasters Invitational is an intercollegiate competition designed to encourage learning while
contributing to the advancement of Linux and the open source computing community. Billed as the
first annual competition, it was co-sponsored by Unisys and the Data Center Linux Initiative at
Open Source Development Labs (OSDL).  Projects submitted by student teams were judged by computing
professionals and graded on a points scale. When the points were all counted, the Clarkson
University team of DeShane and Jablonski brought home the grand prize. Another Clarkson team,
formed by students Mike McCabe, Justin Basinger, Ed Despard, and Jeremy Bongio, finished second in
the competition.  

The winning project of DeShane and Jablonski targets the need for a collection of tools to manage
large structured sets of persistently accessed data, offering users speed and ease of use when
accessing the information. To achieve their goal, the team implemented a system that allowed them
to search a large amount of data, and then make each subsequent search faster and easier to perform
based on the results of previous queries. Calls for such a program might come from places such as
the U.S. Government when sorting census and demographic data, scientific projects such as
monitoring NASA flight data and the Human Genome Project, and large companies like FedEx and UPS
that have immense amounts of data stored to track packages. 

As reward for their efforts, each student on the first- and second-place team will receive Sony's
new PSP gaming unit and an Apple iPod. DeShane and Jablonski will also receive a new Dell PC, while
the University gets a Unisys-built 8x Itanium 2 ES7000 series server for use in future Linux
development, valued at approximately $70,000. Unisys Corporation also provided airfare, hotel
accommodations, and Expo passes for Jeanna N. Matthews, professor of Computer Science at Clarkson
University and faculty advisor; Jablonski; and DeShane to attend an award ceremony at Linux World
Expo in San Francisco August 8   11.

This is not the first time Clarkson students have won an award for Linux development either.
Clarkson students have had great success in other computing competitions including winners in the
2001 and 2004 IBM Scholars Challenge and the 2005 IBM North American Grid Scholars Challenge. Of
the 65 winners in the three-year history of IBM's Linux Scholars Challenge, only 13 have come from
the United States. Four of these winners are from Clarkson. In the first Linux Scholars Challenge,
Clarkson also won the overall university prize, a z800 series e-server, valued at approximately
$250,000. In total, Matthews has advised seven winning entries involving 12 students from Clarkson
in computing competitions since 2001.

"The achievement of our teams finishing first and second in the competition is really remarkable,"
commented Matthews. "Along with the other awards we have received in recent years, it sends a
message around the world that Clarkson is at the head of its class in Linux development."

Clarkson University is a private, nationally ranked university attracting enterprising,
high-ability scholars from diverse backgrounds who thrive in a rigorous, collaborative learning
environment.  Learning is in a positive, friendly and supportive atmosphere that spans the
boundaries of traditional disciplines and knowledge. Faculty pursue research and connect students
to their leadership potential in the marketplace through dynamic, real-world problem solving. The
University enrolls 2,700 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. For more information, visit
http://www.clarkson.edu.  

[News directors and editors: For more information, contact Rick Burt, director of Media Relations,
at 315-268-3873 or rburt@clarkson.edu.] 

-30-