SINCE HIS DOCTORAL work in Computational Number Theory at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, during which he developed computer programs to prove large numbers prime, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Thomas Valente has been interested in Cryptography, and he now teaches a Cryptography course at the College. He has more recently become interested in other areas of computer science, such as Artificial Intelligence, a course he also teaches as part of the College’s growing Computer Science program.

During his sabbatical leave in the spring of 2007, Valente studied two programming languages, Prolog and Lisp, in order to understand their comparative strengths and weaknesses with respect to some of the classical problem areas in Artificial Intelligence, such as planning, game-playing, and expert systems. Valente plans to use the insights gained to enhance Hampden-Sydney’s course in Artificial Intelligence and provide opportunities for other advanced courses, as well as for undergraduate research.

Valente uses JavaScript to develop interactive web pages to enhance the teaching of introductory computer science to majors and non-majors alike, including web pages that simulate a simple hypothetical computer in order to facilitate the learning of programming concepts. His work in that area has caught the eye of other computer-science educators, and he has demonstrated the web sites to interested colleagues at various conferences.

Valente is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery and of its special interest group in Computer Science Education. He is also an active member of the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges—an organization for smaller colleges and their computing concerns—and has traveled with students to regional meetings of the consortium.

In recent years, Valente has become a leader in the national Advanced Placement Computer Science community and usually spends much of June as a Table Leader responsible for heading the effort of other computer-science instructors to read Advanced Placement exams.

Thomas Valente arrived at Hampden-Sydney in 1993 with an A.B. from Colgate University, an M.A. from Wesleyan University, and a Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was promoted to his present rank in 1999.

BEYOND THE Classroom FOR THE Classroom
Hampden-Sydney College Faculty Scholarship 2005-2008
A report by the Office of the Dean of the Faculty