HMC Expert: Zachary Dodds
Zachary Dodds, PhD, Leonhard-Johnson-Rae Chair of Computer Science, researches robotic hand/eye coordination and computer vision-based robotics.
He is interested in finding the best way to tell a robot what to do and ensure it gets done, using cameras as sensors. When a robot and a human are looking at the same thing, it isn’t obvious how to translate the human’s intentions into robotic action, and it is time-consuming to program the robot accordingly. Dodds’ goal is to push more of the work of generating those task-specific details onto the computer itself, increasing robotic capabilities for spatial-reasoning such as mapping, localization and autonomous navigation. His work leverages both wheeled and aerial platforms.
Dodds also specializes in computer science education and curriculum design.
He co-created a highly successful, innovative introductory CS course, CS5, designed to engage students in exploring the range and power of computer science and its impact on society, in a learning environment that appeals to women. Since its deployment, HMC has more than tripled its percentage of women CS majors, resulting in a gender ratio that is triple the national average.
He has broadened this curricular effort to middle and high schools with Middle-years Computer Science, a CS course that has been adopted by many districts and classrooms across the southwest United States.
Media Appearances
- hmc.edu 1/15/17 NSF Funds Computer Science Research Opportunities
- hmc.edu 9/8/16 NSF Supports HMC’s Efforts to Advocate Computing Owned by All
- hmc.edu 5/9/16 CS Faculty Members Receive Google Grant
- hmc.edu, 4/16/14 NSF Funds Research Opportunities in Computer Science
- The Student Life, 10/25/13 HMC Professors Promote CS Education
- Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/29/12 A Reboot in Recruiting Women Into Computer Science
- hmc.edu, 10/16/12 NSF Grant Helps Middle-School Students Gain Computer Science Skills
- The New York Times 4/2/12 Giving Women the Access Code
- Bloomberg, 9/22/11 A Campus Champion for Women in Computer Science
Further Resources
- Zachary Dodds’ website
- Women in CS: An Evaluation of Three Promising Practices(PDF)
- Summer research video:Helping Robots See