Steven Skiena

Department of Computer Science
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY 11794-4400, USA
skiena@cs.sunysb.edu
631-632-9026

Books

Teaching

Research

Papers

Projects

Students

Press

Teaching

CSE 101: Computer and Information Technology, Fall 1996.
CSE 113: Foundations of Computer Science, Fall 1999.
CSE 214: Data Structures, Fall 1997.
CSE 373/548: Algorithms, Spring 2012. With online audio and video lectures!
CSE 392: Programming Challenges, Spring 2012.
CSE 547: Discrete Mathematics, Spring 1999. With online audio and video lectures!
CSE 549: Computational Biology, Fall 2013.
CSE 642: Algorithms Seminar, Spring 1999.
CSE 691: Computational Finance, Spring 2007. With online video lectures!
I am the original founder of Stony Brook CS donut hour and faculty advisor to the Stony Brook ACM ICPC Programming team.
Read my Commencement Address from the Baccalaureate Honors Convocation at Stony Brook, May 17, 2001, and my remarks as speaker at the Stony Brook Faculty Achievement Dinner, November 3, 2010.
I received the 2001 IEEE Computer Science and Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Award and the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Research

Our Data Science Laboratory studies large-scale text analytics and sentiment analysis.
Other interests include computational biology, combinatorial computing environments, and combinatorial algorithms and data structures.
Copies of my recent papers, talks, quotes, and vita in pdf or postscript.
See here for information on graduate study opportunities. Projects for Stony Brook masters and undergraduate students are available in both HTML.
I am also on the faculty of the graduate genetics program and the applied mathematics department at Stony Brook.
I am a member of ACM, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Finance Association, and Mystery Writers of America.

Projects

News Analysis, Medical Analysis, and Financial Analysis -- a series of ongoing projects performing daily analysis of significant text and data streams:
- TextMap identifies trends in the temporal and geographic interest in entities such as people, places, and things by analyzing roughly 1000 daily English language newspapers.
- TextMed identifies the relationships between medical or biological entities through an analysis of PubMed/Medline abstracts.
- TextBiz uses random-walk models to generate a probability distribution on the future prices for all NASDAQ, NYSE, and AMEX stocks.
The Stony Brook Algorithm Repository -- a collection of algorithm implementations and other resources, associated with my book The Algorithm Design Manual. An errata list and price comparison for the book is available.
Combinatorica -- a library of over 450 Mathematica functions for combinatorics and graph theory, associated with my book Computational Discrete Mathematics: Combinatorics and Graph Theory with Mathematica We have put together a collection of algorithm animations which is fun to check out.
Jai-Technology: Computers, Gambling, and Mathematical Modeling to Win -- We have developed a system to predict the outcome of jai-alai matches, a sport on which it is legal to gamble in parts of the United States. Biases inherent in the "Spectactular Seven" scoring system can be exploited to profitably bet on it. Thoroughly documented bets show we increased our initial stake by 544%. These experiences are being reported in my book Calculated Bets, published by Cambridge University Press. A related video is available online. We have also started a little project on horse racing.
Heuristic Optmization -- We are developing a general heuristic optimization engine which adjusts its search strategy to adapt to the amount of time alloted for it as well as problem specific constraints.
Ambiguity Resolution for Overloaded Keyboards -- Our patented technology uses statistical and grammatical constraints and algorithmic techniques to resolve the ambiguity inherent in keyboard overloading with high accuracy. Applications include telephone keypads and minimum motion QWERTY keyboards, as well as keyboards for the disabled.
Identifying Gene Regulatory Networks from Experimental Data -- We provide software tools for identifying gene regulatory networks in the yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, by analyzing time-series microarray data.
Stripe -- a utility program which converts polygonal models into optimized triangular strips for fast rendering.
Stroll -- an accurate and efficient fragment assembler for genome-level DNA sequencing projects.
LINK -- a C++ system supporting experimental discrete mathematics, built in collaboration with DIMACS.
Visualizing Objects with Mirrors -- ray traced graphics of virtual objects in a carefully constructed room of mirrors. We literally provide a new way to see the world!