Dr. Susan Rodger

Susan H. Rodger is an outstanding computer science educator with a focus on formal languages topics. For over twenty years, she and her students developed the software tool JFLAP, which allows students to construct and test example automata. Unlike most software visualization tools that provide an abstract video for passive viewing, JFLAP allows students to actively build their own automata and to experiment with proofs involving automata, such as converting an automaton to an equivalent regular expression. JFLAP is used worldwide in formal languages and automata courses, as well as compiler design and discrete mathematics courses. She wrote a textbook (co-authored with Thomas Finley) to support the use of JFLAP in teaching. She has provided workshops for faculty development, showing others how to teach with JFLAP, and her work contributed to the creation of a professional community around the use of visualizations to teach algorithms. Susan has been a strong leader and a staunch advocate in developing and supporting computer science education at the primary and secondary school levels. She continues to lead efforts to introduce the programming language Alice in primary and secondary schools, has provided workshops for over 200 teachers, and impacted thousands of students. She is a past chair of the Advanced Placement Computer Science Development Committee. Susan has provided exemplary service to the computer science community. She is currently chair of the SIGCSE Board, has been program and conference co-chair for the SIGCSE Symposium, is a board member of CRA-W, and is a member of the ACM Education Policy Committee.