Susan H. Rodger

Other ACM SIGCSE · 2023 For creating JFLAP, changing how the automata course is taught; and for helping to bring computing to primary and secondary schools through her work with the Alice environment. More about this award

Purdue University Distinguished Woman Scholar

Other Purdue University · 2022 Six Purdue alumnae from five Purdue colleges have been selected as 2022 Distinguished Women Scholars for their exceptional leadership and significant contributions to their fields. The Office of the Provost and the Susan Bulkeley Butler Center for Leadership Excellence will honor the alumnae during an award reception at 3:30 p.m. March 29, 2022 in Purdue Memorial Union, Anniversary Drawing Room. Awards will be presented by Jay Akridge, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity. The six honorees from the colleges of Agriculture, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Science, and Veterinary Medicine include Susan H. Rodger, who earned her PhD in computer science in 1989 from the Department of Computer Science. She is a professor of practice in the Computer Science Department at Duke University. More about this award

Taylor L. Booth Education Award

International IEEE Computer Society · 2019 Susan H. Rodger, a professor of the practice in the Department of Computer Science at Duke University, has been named the 2019 recipient of the IEEE Computer Society Taylor L. Booth Education Award “for leadership in undergraduate and K-12 computer-science education, and for broadening participation of women in computing.” Rodger created the JFLAP educational software package for visualizing and experimenting with formal language concepts including automata, Turing machines, grammars, parsing, and proofs. JFLAP is used worldwide in courses on formal languages, discrete mathematics, compiler design, and artificial intelligence. Having created the Adventures in Alice Programming Project that integrates computing into K-12 with the Alice programming language, Rodger has organized four Alice Symposiums and thirty workshops, teaching over 400 K-12 teachers the Alice programming language and how to integrate computing into their disciplines. She has developed free Alice curriculum materials and is currently co-developing an online Alice Coursera course. Rodger led other efforts including organizing workshops on JFLAP, integrating Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) into computer science, and career mentoring for students, faculty and researchers. Rodger has supervised over 100 students, mostly undergraduates, on JFLAP, Alice and other topics. She is also known for making computer science-themed cookies and integrating them into problem-solving activities that aid students in learning concepts. Rodger is a long-time SIGCSE contributor, including having chaired the SIGCSE Board. She led the effort to create a new SIGCSE conference named ACM Global Computing Education Conference (CompEd); its first conference will be held in May 2019. She is currently on the CRA-W Board, chaired the AP Computer Science Development Committee, and served on the ACM Education Policy Committee. She was awarded the ACM Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award and the ACM Distinguished Educator award. She was a finalist candidate for the NEEDS Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware for the software JFLAP. Rodger was previously an assistant professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and joined Duke in 1994. She received a Ph.D. in computer science from Purdue University, and B.S. degrees in computer science and mathematics from North Carolina State University. The Taylor L. Booth Education Award commemorates individuals who have an outstanding record in computer science and engineering education, as established by some of the following criteria: achievement as a teacher of renown in a relevant and applicable course; writing an influential text; leading, inspiring, or providing significant educational content during the creation of a curriculum in the field; and inspiring others to a career in computer science and engineering education. The award consists of a bronze medal and $5,000 honorarium. The award will be presented at the IEEE Computer Society’s annual awards dinner and presentation to be held on Wednesday evening, 5 June 2019 at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables during the IEEE Computer Society Board of Governors meeting. The award is named after Taylor L. Booth, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Connecticut who was instrumental in defining computer science and engineering curricula for program accreditation. His name was on the ballot as a candidate for president-elect of the Computer Society when he died of a heart attack in 1986. More about this award

David and Janet Vaughn Brooks Distinguished Teaching Award

University Duke University · 2019 More about this award

NCSU Computer Science Alumni Hall of Fame

University NCSU Computer Science Department · 2019 Seven Alumni Inducted into the CSC Alumni Hall of Fame The NC State Computer Science Alumni Hall of Fame officially inducted seven new members during a special ceremony held at the Park Alumni Center on Thursday, October 10th, 2019. More than 70 faculty, staff, award winners, their families and special guests were in attendance. The CSC Alumni Hall of Fame was established in 2017 to celebrate and recognize the exemplary contributions our outstanding graduates have made to their profession, their community, and to the world at large. With more than 9,600 CSC Alumni, only a select number will be chosen for recognition in our Alumni Hall of Fame making this a truly exceptional and noteworthy honor. Award winners were presented a specially designed award to take home and they will be featured on a permanent display wall on the 3rd floor of EB2, near the department’s main office. The Hall of Fame wall features an interactive component that is also accessible online (http://ncsucsc.touchpros.com/SearchBy.aspx). The 2019 inductees into the NC State Computer Science Alumni Hall of Fame include Susan Rodger (BS ‘83) – Professor of the Practice in the Computer Science Department, Duke University. More about this award

Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award

International ACM · 2013 For her outstanding contributions to the teaching of computer science theory, to the development of computer science education in primary and secondary schools, and to service on behalf of the computer science education community. 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. More about this award

In the News

Published March 27, 2019

Susan H. Rodger to Receive IEEE Computer Society 2019 Taylor L. Booth Education Award

Published July 18, 2014

Computer Science Teachers Look to ‘Alice’ for Help

Published May 28, 2014

Susan Rodger Named Outstanding Educator