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- All Subjects: Computer Science
- Creators: Burger, Kevin
- Creators: Richa, Andrea
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
- Status: Published
In the age of growing technology, Computer Science (CS) professionals have come into high demand. However, despite popular demand there are not enough computer scientists to fill these roles. The current demographic of computer scientists consists mainly of white men. This apparent gender gap must be addressed to promote diversity and inclusivity in a career that requires high creativity and innovation. To understand what enforces gender stereotypes and the gender gap within CS, survey and interview data were collected from both male and female senior students studying CS and those who have left the CS program at Arizona State University. Students were asked what experiences either diminished or reinforced their sense of belonging in this field as well as other questions related to their involvement in CS. Interview and survey data reveal a lack of representation within courses as well as lack of peer support are key factors that influence the involvement and retention of students in CS, especially women. This data was used to identify key factors that influence retention and what can be done to remedy the growing deficit of professionals in this field.
Among classes in the Computer Science curriculum at Arizona State University, Automata Theory is widely considered to be one of the most difficult. Many Computer Science concepts have strong visual components that make them easier to understand. Binary trees, Dijkstra's algorithm, pointers, and even more basic concepts such as arrays all have very strong visual components. Not only that, but resources for them are abundantly available online. Automata Theory, on the other hand, is the first Computer Science course students encounter that has a significant focus on deep theory. Many of the concepts can be difficult to visualize, or at least take a lot of effort to do so. Furthermore, visualizers for finite state machines are hard to come by. Because I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Automata Theory and parsers, I wanted to create a program that involved the two. Additionally, I thought creating a program for visualizing automata would help students who struggle with Automata Theory develop a stronger understanding of it.