2009 UAB Computer Science Summer Camps

The UAB Computer and Information Sciences (CIS) Department will continue to offer a rich sequence of computer camps in Summer 2009. Since 1999, the Department has offered a graphics camp; since 2003 the Department has also offered a robotics camp. The expanded series, which started in 2007, continues to offer these two core camps, but also provides an introduction to programming with Java. The Department will continue to offer a camp this year for middle school students that is focused on game programming with Alice. An overview of the camps is provided below, along with information regarding registration, tuition, and scholarships.

Additionally, the CIS Department will offer four weeks of Alice camps in July that are free to rising sophomores in the Birmingham City Schools. These camps are in collaboration with UAB CORD and is part of a National Science Foundation sponsored project called Aladdin. Details about Aladdin are available by writing to gray@cis.uab.edu.

RELATED EVENTS: The UAB High School Programming Contest and the Alice Film Festival will be held on May 16, 2009.

Archives from Previous Years

Photos and videos from previous camps are available at the following links:

Previous Graphics Camps (1999-2006)

Previous Robotics Camps (2003-2006)

2007: High School Camps and Middle School Camps (students from 4 different states attended)

2008: Please check back soon...

Overview of 2009 High School Camps

The high school camps target rising sophomores through seniors. The camps begin at 9am and end at 3pm each day of the week. Students will be given an hour lunch break (lunch not provided in the high school camps). If desired, students attending the computer science camps may also elect to enroll in CS 201 (Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming)  for Concurrent/DUAL enrollment at UAB (4 hours of college credit).

The printable flyer that was used for advertising these camps is available here.

	Week 1: June 1-5, 2009 Introduction to Programming with Java Description: This first week will introduce students to Java, which is an object-oriented programming language. This week provides the initial skills required for some of the other weeks. Students will learn to design and compile programs, learn the basic constructs of a programming language, and practice their new knowledge on fun projects. The exercises throughout the week will be focused on media computation, which will involve writing programs that modify pictures, movies, and audio. This week may be skipped by those students who already have significant programming experience in Java. Prerequisites: Only basic familiarity with a computer is required (e.g., using a mouse and using Windows Explorer). Instructor: This week will be taught by Dr. Jeff Gray
	Week 2: June 8-12, 2009 Robotics Camp Description: Students will build simple robots from the Lego NXT robotics kit and learn to program their robot using Java. Several small robotics projects will be assigned, such as Sumo Wrestler, Kick the Can, Balloon Buster, Self-Parking Car, and Homing Pigeon. A team-based project will be the focus during the last two days of the camp where students coordinate their robots through Bluetooth communication to perform a simple search and rescue mission. Please note: The robots remain the property of UAB at the end of the camp. An archived website of all robotics camps from past years is available here. Prerequisites: Students participating in this camp should have basic programming skills in Java, such as those covered in Week 1. Instructor: This week will be taught by Dr. Jeff Gray.
	Week 3: June 15-19, 2009 Graphics Camp Description: The camp is designed to introduce students to computer science at a deeper level than they may have seen before, develop some fun working software for real problems, and prepare students for potential study at the university level. Students listen to daily lectures and do hands-on supervised laboratory work, developing software in C++ and OpenGL that implements the material learned in lecture. By providing prototype software developed by the faculty members running the course, which is then altered, the students can explore sophisticated ideas. Prof. Johnstone emphasizes aspects of computer graphics, while Prof. Sloan emphasizes aspects of algorithm design and visualization. Past projects have included the geometric modeling of smooth objects, visualization of sorting algorithms, and motion design. We have discussed visibility analysis for interactive rendering in complex environments, motion design for computer animation, design of curves and surfaces for population of virtual scenes, various optimal and practical sorting algorithms, algorithmic complexity, and algorithmic shortcuts. An archived website of all graphics camps from past years is available here. Prerequisites: Students participating in this camp should have basic programming skills, such as those covered in Week 1, in addition to strong mathematical skills. Instructor: This week will be taught by Dr. John Johnstone and Dr. Kenneth Sloan.

Overview of 2009 Middle School Camp

The middle school camp targets rising sixth through eighth graders. The camp begins at 9am and ends at 3pm each day of the week. Students will be given an hour lunch break (lunch is provided in the middle school camps). This camp is designed to be especially appealing to both girls and boys. This camp is in high demand each year.

Middle School Camp: June 22-26, 2009 Introduction to Game Programming with Alice (Middle School) Description: Alice is an interactive 3D-programming environment from Carnegie Mellon University. The goal of Alice is to offer the best possible first exposure to programming for students by providing a more intuitive environment for teaching object-oriented programming. During this week, students will learn common programming constructs, basic algorithm design, and storyboarding of movies/games. Projects throughout the week will involve the creation of video games and movies. A showcase event is held at the end of the week where family members are invited to attend and various prizes are awarded to students. Prerequisites: Only basic familiarity with a computer is required (e.g., using a mouse and using Windows Explorer). Instructor: This week will be taught by Dr. Jeff Gray.

Registration, Tuition and Scholarships

Registration and Attendance

All students registering for the camps must commit to attending each day of the camp for the full day. It is not possible to miss portions of the camp and expect to be successful in mastering the concepts. The information that is taught will build upon each day's experience. Please only register if you can commit for the full period of the requested week. 

Students desiring to participate in the camps must first pre-register before April 24th. Students will be notified by May 1st regarding whether they are invited to attend, based on availability (we are expecting far more requests than we have seats; selection is not based on order of registration). An invitation to the camps will include information about payment of tuition. If any camp receives registrations that are double the camp capacity, then the registration may be shut down before the April 24th deadline (please register as soon as possible).

Registration is now closed. If you would like to be placed on the mailing list for the 2010 summer camps, please send an email to Dr. Jeff Gray at gray@cis.uab.edu.

Tuition

Tuition details will be sent to those who receive an invitation to a camp. Tuition is non-refundable.

High School Camps: If attending separately, the tuition for each week is $200. As a discount, tuition for all three weeks is $500 (a $100 discount). The high school camps do not include lunch.

Middle School Alice Camp: The tuition for the one week middle school camp is $250. This includes lunch each day of the week.

Scholarships

High School Camps: There will be two merit-based scholarships and only a few need-based scholarships available to prospective students applying to the high school camps. These scholarships will cover the full tuition for three weeks. Students receiving a scholarship must commit to attending all three weeks. The merit-based scholarships are made available through corporate support from Cardinal Health/MedMined and ACIPCO. The recipients of these scholarships will be named the "MedMined Scholar" and the "ACIPCO Scholar" for that summer.

The National Science Foundation provides support for two need-based scholarships for students who can verify a difficulty in covering the tuition costs. For both the merit and need-based scholarships, parents of students will be asked to provide additional information (W2 verification or ACT/SAT scores) and may be required to visit UAB for a short on-campus interview.

The scholarships are very limited - please only request if you can later confirm a need that would prevent you from attending otherwise.

Middle School Alice Camp: Because of the high demand for the middle school camps, we only anticipate offering a small number of need-based scholarships. 

More Information

For questions or additional information please contact Dr. Jeff Gray at gray@cis.uab.edu.

Sponsors

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following organizations in providing resources and support to the 2009 summer camps:

National Science Foundation

Page last updated: April 11, 2009