BVU Computer Science

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The Computer Science Department @ Buena Vista University

10/05/2026

It's hard to put into words how great it was to see everyone at Buena Vista University Homecoming this past weekend for the All-Class Computer Science and MIS Reunion. We had a fantastic turn-out. We'd like to offer some special thank-you's to the people who helped make this special event "go":

✅ University Advancement, especially Chelsea Hogrefe, Robin Wissink, and Mara Puente
✅ Event Services
✅ BVU Archives, specifically our resident history sleuth Joan Zwagerman
✅ President Brian A. Lenzmeier for sharing some thoughtful words at the reunion
✅ Excellent promotional graphic design/social media assistance from Tatum Shepherd
✅ ... and especially our stellar alumni and meritorious retired faculty, without whom none of this would be possible

Alumni: feel free to tag yourselves and your classmates in the photos below.

⏱️ Stay tuned for the next reunion! 'Til then, Go Beavers!

09/25/2026

ICYMI: BVU was featured in the Des Moines Business Record article "Meet the brains behind Buena Vista University's robots."

https://www.businessrecord.com/meet-the-brains-behind-buena-vista-universitys-robots/

09/17/2026

The George Wythe Award for Excellence in Teaching is BVU's highest faculty honor. Winners receive a $30,000 stipend and a sabbatical that is used to enhance their teaching even further.

The Comp Sci department has had the most Wythe laureates of any department on campus. Winners include:

1996: Dr. Ken Schweller
1998: Dr. Joe Traylor
2004: Prof. Ben Donath
2015: Dr. Jason Shepherd
2019: Dr. Nathan Backman
2020: Dr. Shawn M. Stone

09/16/2026

Inspired by the generosity of alumna Lauren Rae Siems, who is awesome and bought Finals Week snacks last semester for our current Beavers, here's a bunch of goodies to keep you motoring through your studies the rest of the week. Come and grab a few while they last!

09/15/2026

BVU Computer Science is unlike other computer science programs in the upper midwest. Swipe for recent highlights.

09/11/2026

Milestones in BVU Computer Science
2013: Inaugural Capture the Flag Computer Security Contest

In 2013, Dr. Nathan Backman unveiled BVU's Capture the Flag (CTF) hacking challenge, becoming the first in the nation to have a purely undergraduate computer security contest where teams must both attack and defend computer servers. The event is designed to be a learning experience providing students opportunities to discover software vulnerabilities and research ways to exploit and patch them.

Sponsored over the years by both Amazon and the Stine Endowment, the CTF has had many unique features over the years, including teams participating from multiple time zones and even an international team from Kyrgyzstan in one of the years.

Be sure to join us on Saturday, October 3rd, at BVU Homecoming to celebrate the shared legacy of BVU Computer Science and Management Information Systems at the All-Classes Reunion! Register with the QR code on the last image.

09/09/2026

Milestones in BVU Computer Science
2012: RoboBonobo and the Lexigram Keyboard

Dr. Ken Schweller and BVU computer science students partnered with the Great Ape Trust in Des Moines to apply interactive computing to bonobo communication research. They developed a touchscreen lexigram keyboard that allowed bonobos such as Kanzi to communicate with humans using hundreds of symbols, while the software recorded their selections, translated between English and lexigrams, and even allowed researchers to create new lexigrams dynamically.

Schweller also worked with BVU students to develop RoboBonobo, a mobile robot that the bonobos could control wirelessly in "human space," including an animatronic head and a sq**rt gun, giving the bonobos a novel way to interact with visitors while allowing researchers to study their cognition and ability to consider another individual's perspective.

Be sure to join us on Saturday, October 3rd, at BVU Homecoming to celebrate the shared legacy of BVU Computer Science and Management Information Systems at the All-Classes Reunion! Register with the QR code on the last image.

09/07/2026

Milestones in BVU Computer Science
1996: BVU is a WORLD Champion!

In 1995, Sun Microsystems released the Java programming language, a language touted for allowing programmers to write code once and have it work on nearly any hardware platform. To stimulate interest in the language, Sun partnered with Oracle (who would years later end up buying Sun) to create the inaugural Sun/Oracle Java World Cup programming contest in 1996.

A student team led by Dr. Ken Schweller entered a submission in the educational category. The software was a simulation of a Turing Machine, which was conceived by British mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing before computers were invented to describe how a computer would need to work in practice. Despite tough competition from across the world, the BVU team won the international contest, and with it over $75,000 in Sun computer hardware and software.

The students on the team were seniors Mark Blanchard, Brian Davenport, Brent Goodrich, Ryan Long, Nate Niceswanger, Lance Schaecher, junior Colin Pfannkuch, and freshman Jason Shepherd.

Help us celebrate this and other milestones in our program by joining us Saturday, October 3rd, at BVU Homecoming. Use the QR code on the last image to register for the "All-Classes" CS/MIS Reunion!

09/04/2026

Milestones in BVU Computer Science
1994: CollegeTown Virtual Community Brings National Attention

In 1994, Buena Vista College gained national attention as having created one of the first expandable virtual communities, CollegeTown, a "Multi-user domain Object Oriented" or "MOO" for short. Under the direction of Dr. Ken Schweller and with the aid of many students, CollegeTown became a creative hub for people both inside and outside the BV community, including a group of Alzheimer's researchers. CollegeTown was featured in a 1994 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, and in 1998, Dr. Schweller and Buena Vista University student Mark Blanchard were featured contributors to the book "High Wired: On the Design, Use, and Theory of Educational MOOs."

Join us on Saturday, October 3rd, at BVU Homecoming to celebrate our shared legacy at the Comp Sci/MIS All-Classes Reunion! Register with the QR code on the last image.

09/03/2026

Milestones in BVU Computer Science
1981 and 1985: BVC starts its Comp Sci and MIS majors

In 1981, Buena Vista College began its computer science major under the guidance of four faculty members: Dr. Charles Slagle, Dr. Ben Donath, Dr. Joe Traylor, and Dr. Ken Schweller. Drs. Slagle and Donath would write the first computer science textbook used at BVC, and Dr. Traylor would manage the computer center until 1997.

Not long after, in 1985, the Harold Walter Siebens School of Business created the Management Information Systems (MIS) major as a way to offer a blend of technical skills and business savvy. This coincided with the opening of new Forum building. The first leader of the MIS program was Professor Raj Shirole.

Join us on Saturday, October 3rd, at BVU Homecoming to celebrate our shared legacy at the Comp Sci/MIS All-Classes Reunion! Register with the QR code on the last image.

Address

610 W 4th Street
Storm Lake, IA
50588

Website

http://bvu.edu/compsci

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