Professor Martin Carlisle Shines at USAFA
June 29, 2008 | 
Email This Post
| 
Print This Post
| 
Dr. Martin C. Carlisle is Professor of Computer Science at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has been teaching at the Academy since 1996. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware. He received his MS and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Princeton University. He was recently awarded the Arthur S. Flemming Award for exceptional service to the Federal Government. Established in 1948, the Flemming Award honors outstanding public servants chosen from all areas of federal service.
CSR+: Dr. Carlisle, we would like to congratulate you on your receiving the Flemming Award. Out of hundreds of thousands of US Federal employees around the globe, you were chosen for this prestigious award. Can you tell us a little bit more about the award? When did you come to know that you had won it? How did you feel after having won it? Please share your thoughts about the award dinner on June 2, 2008 in Washington DC?
MCC: The Flemming Award is named for Arthur S. Flemming, who had a long and distinguished career in civil service from 1939 to 1996. This award is given to career federal employees or military members with three to fifteen years of service. Flemming initially persuaded the Jaycees to create such an award because he believed that the Federal Government did not adequately recognize the accomplishments of its younger employees. The award is now sponsored by the George Washington School of Public Policy.
On April 14, I received a phone call from Mr. Peter Williams, President of the Flemming Awards Commission, informing me that I had been selected to receive one of ten awards for 2007. He told me a bit about the award, including some of the past recipients: Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Paul Volcker, Jr., Neil Armstrong, Elizabeth Dole, and Robert Gates. It was a bit overwhelming, as I do not feel that my accomplishments measure up to those household names. I was not entirely sure there hadn’t been some mistake until I saw my name listed on their website a couple of weeks later.
The award dinner was a really nice ceremony at George Washington University. There were a couple of speakers. They presented each of us with medals as they read citations from our nomination packages. Following that was a dinner. Students from the public policy program were at each table as well as the judges. It was interesting to listen both to someone just getting ready to start a career as well as civil servants at the World Bank. I was also especially gratified that my parents, who live nearby in Annapolis, were able to attend.
CSR+: Obviously you were nominated by the Air Force Academy for the Flemming Award. What are some exceptional things you have done at this institution that merited this nomination and finally this extremely competitive award?
MCC: The citation noted three software packages I wrote during my time here: A#, AdaGIDE, and RAPTOR. Since my very first semester here, I’ve worked on writing software to make teaching computer science easier. I also share this software on my website. A# is an Ada compiler that targets the Microsoft .NET Framework. AdaGIDE is an integrated development environment for writing Ada code. Somewhat surprisingly, AdaGIDE ended up not only being used by over 100 universities in 9 countries, but also by companies that develop software for the F-22 and F-35. RAPTOR is a tool for teaching algorithmic thinking. It is based on flowcharts, which makes it easier for students to learn than traditional programming languages. RAPTOR is used at all three major U.S. service academies, as well as at numerous other universities, community colleges, and high schools in at least 13 countries around the world.
CSR+: Your contribution to the Federal Government for which you received this great recognition is primarily in the form of teaching Air Force Academy cadets. What is your philosophy about teaching these future leaders of this country?
MCC: I am convinced that, in general, one’s teaching is best measured by how much the students learn, and how much they enjoy the process of learning. My ideal is to teach classes where the students work hard, have reason to be proud of what they accomplished, and they would want to take a course with me again.
There are several things that I believe contribute to student learning. First, I do not believe class time should always be spent lecturing. At times the lecture is the most efficient way to communicate information to the audience. However, at other times students are not prepared to understand why they need to know the material, or how they would be better served by having an opportunity to struggle through something on their own, with expert assistance at hand. I usually try to have a mix of lecture and problem solving. This allows me to get immediate feedback on which topics they understand and which they don’t, as well as allowing me to give them problems that naturally lead them to the next concept I plan to present.
Second, I believe that professors should be approachable. I always give my students my phone number and encourage them to call. Also, rather than posting a limited number of office hours per week, I am in the office every day, and encourage people to schedule appointments when is convenient for them, or just pop by. I also try to get involved in student activities to get to know students and student life better.
Finally, I believe a university education is not always about what goes on in the classroom. I have a “take a professor to dinner” program (I always buy my own dinner), where I meet students in the dining hall or student center, talk about classes, where the discipline is going, and current news or life issues.
CSR+: You teach computer science. It is a difficult subject to teach, especially to students who are not mathematically or analytically oriented. At the Air Force Academy, you have to teach computer science to all students, irrespective of major. It must be a grand challenge. How do you overcome this challenge?
MCC: At the University of Delaware, I used to work in the Math Center. I encountered a lot of “math phobia”. People would just shut down when they encountered a math problem, because they believed they could not do it. I see the same sort of thing in computer science. Cadets will come in with the attitude that they aren’t good at computers. One of the most important things I do is to help them overcome this. A lot of my research has been developing software to make this task easier. In the classroom, I try to create a culture of success, both in how I talk about the course, but also how to break the material down into manageable steps. Especially early in the course, it is important to have some simpler tasks for them, so they start to think, “maybe I can do this after all.” Once they have that idea, they’re willing to spend longer time working on the harder things later.
CSR+: As a professor in the Air Force Academy, you are much more than just a lecturer in the classroom. What other activities have you participated in at the Academy? How do you present an example for the nation’s future military leaders to follow?
MCC: I have tried to be involved in as many activities at the Academy as possible. Not only do I find them interesting, but I think it helps me relate to cadets better. After my first year here, I was the first civil service faculty member to serve as an associate air officer for Basic Cadet Training. Since then, I have also helped with Global Engagement (a program which teaches cadets about deployment) and Recognition (where the fourth classmen, or freshmen, receive their prop and wings). I’ve been attached to cadet squadrons as an academic advisor and also doing leadership training. I also mentor cadets and lead Bible studies for the Cadet Chapel program.
I have never served as a uniformed military member, so I do not expect any of my students will follow a career path like mine; however, I do hope I model things like being concerned about and taking care of your people, seeking excellence, and maintaining a positive attitude.
CSR+: It is clear from your web site that you are involved in research in many aspects of computer-programming languages and computer science education. Tell us briefly in layman’s terms about the research you are performing.
MCC: The biggest project I am working on right now is adding object-orientation to RAPTOR. Object-oriented programming is a different way of thinking about programming. Instead of thinking, “I want the program to do this, then this, then this,” you think about the nouns (like customer, account, and so forth) and organize your program that way. Object-oriented programming is much more abstract and therefore harder for students to grasp. So, I am working on a more pictorial presentation.
CSR+: How do you see computer-programming languages changing in the near-term and long-term?
MCC: The computers that people are buying now generally have more than one processor or core in them. The programming languages most people use make it hard for programmers to take advantage of this parallelism. I expect programming language design to change to make it easier to utilize multiple processors.
CSR+: Computer technology is having great impact on our lives in general, and the U.S. military in particular. How do you teach your students to be life-long learners of an ever-changing field?
MCC: This is a hard task, especially given the many competing demands on cadet time. In our curriculum, though, we try to teach cadets a broad range of things, so they will learn how to learn and not just a particular programming language or technique. We also try to get cadets to learn how to use the Internet to find their own answers.
CSR+: What are your goals and aspirations in your life and career? What are you doing at this moment to journey toward your goals?
MCC: I am lucky to have my dream job. So, I’m not really looking toward the next position or promotion. I hope to continue making a difference each year, not only in the lives of individual cadets, but also helping other educators with the software I write.
CSR+: On your personal web site, I saw a quote: “My biggest fear is not that you’ll fail at life, but instead that you’ll succeed at things that don’t really matter.” Why is this quote dear and significant to you?
MCC: It seems in our society that a lot of people are chasing after money and fame, finding it, and yet it’s not making them happy. They have failed relationships and are not satisfied by what they have accomplished. A friend once offered me a position in his company and he said, “in a couple of years, you’ll have enough money that you can do whatever you want.” Although making lots of money was certainly appealing, I realized I already was doing what I wanted, and I’d be giving up more than I gained. My relationships with God and others are the things that really matter, not my bank balance or the number of medals on my wall.
-J-
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
