The Computer Science Department, in a special ceremony held Wednesday, April 27, 2005, accepted a generous contribution from Caterpillar Corporation for use in its scholarship program to attract academically gifted students, in particular women & minority students. Caterpillar funds are also allocated for use in the departmental learning community and the enhancement of in-house virtual computing environment.
Dr. Carl Chang, chair of the department, gave a thank-you speech at the ceremony in the Gerdin Building on the Iowa State campus. Miriam Hauptman, a Caterpillar scholarship recipient, also spoke at the gathering. The department was well-represented with Drs. Carl Chang, Shashi Gadia and Johnny Wong in attendance. Undergraduate academic advisors Gloria Cain and Al Taylor and undergraduate scholarship recipients Miriam Hauptman and Sayan Ranu were also present at the ceremony.