OU Logo

the ITS News

J. Warren McClure School of Information and Telecommunication Systems 

Scripps College of Communication  - Ohio University

 

In This Issue
Visiting FCC Speaker
ITS Day 2015
New Student Group
Schoonover Lab
Congratulations to Recent Graduates
2014 Advisory Board Classic
Moves, Adds, and Changes
Cincinnati Field Trip
Thanks!
View on InstagramView our profile on LinkedIn Find us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter
Quick Links
From the Director

Hans Kruse

It is truly an honor to write this column, having just completed my first year as ITS School Director. It has been a very busy year, and I can only touch briefly on some of the highlights. I hope you have noticed our increased presence on social media; while we continue to be on Facebook and LinkedIn, we have added Twitter, Flickr, and Instagram to our "bag of tricks". This summer, we will work on revamping our web site with more content and a first cut at incorporating a set of branding guidelines developed by the Scripps College.

 

Some notable changes have been made in the ITS curriculum. The Business School re-worked the definition of the Business Minor, and we followed suit by adapting the business classes required for the ITS degree. As a result, every ITS major going forward will automatically complete a Business Minor, while also having time to complete two more ITS electives. We also taught, for the first time, an ITS "scripting" class covering python, bash, and powershell. For ITS students, this can take the place of a more traditional programming class, but we also had non-ITS students from across the college in the class who use scripting in their majors.

 

We have had a very successful first year in our two new labs in Schoonover Center - students, faculty and visitors all love the new space! Speaking of moves, we moved our offices to the 3rd floor of Schoonover Center this month, and I am finishing this column from my new office! We are setting up the third lab in the basement of Schoonver Center as well as yet another lab in the RTVC building. The labs in Central Classroom many of you remember will be vacated.

 

We will have several opportunities to show off these new spaces during ITS events next year and I hope to see many of you at one or more of these events.

 

                                                         Hans   

 

Visiting FCC Speaker

 

     Gigi Sohn, FCC, discusses the FCC's efforts to  
     promote broadband during her March 12 presen-  
     tation at the Baker Center Theatre.

ITS welcomed special guest speaker, Gigi Sohn, on Thursday, March 12, to the Baker Center Theatre. Event co-sponsors included the Telecommunication Systems Management Association (TSMA) and Women in Information and Telecommunication Systems.

Sohn currently serves as the Special Counsel for External Affairs for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler.  Sohn discussed the FCC's efforts to promote broadband, including the FCC's ongoing actions related to Network Neutrality.   

    

Titled "Fast, Fair & Open: The FCC's Plan for our Broadband Future," Sohn's presentation addressed the wide range of issues before the FCC related to broadband deployment and competition, and Network Neutrality.   

 

"Gigi Sohn's visit provided a great opportunity for the Ohio University and Athens communities to hear firsthand about key issues related to broadband. The FCC's Network Neutrality proceeding attracted millions of public comments, which illustrates the importance of the FCC's approach to broadband.  Given that the FCC is expected to release its new Network Neutrality rules on February 26, the timing of her visit could not be better," said Dr. Trevor Roycroft, Associate Professor at the J. Warren McClure School of Information and Telecommunication Systems.  ~ Marisa Dockum 

 

Read More

 ITS Day 2015


Jonathan Rosenberg, Cisco

Dr. Jonathan Rosenberg, developer of session initiation protocol (SIP) and current Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Collaboration at Cisco, received the Strowger Award for Innovation in Telecommunications and delivered the keynote address for ITS Day for the J.W. McClure School of Information and Telecommunication Systems on the main campus of Ohio University in Athens on March 26, 2015.  The Strowger Award is presented to distinguished innovators in the field to recognize their contribution to technological progress.

 

ITS Day, an event that gives students in the school the opportunity to learn from and interact with alumni in the field, was part of Communication Week 2015.  

 

If session initiation protocol (SIP) sounds like a foreign technology term to you, you'd probably be more familiar with what SIP is used for. Rosenberg developed SIP, which is the foundation for all modern communication and is what enables voice calls on the Internet and services like Skype and Vonage.  

 

Rosenberg gave a detailed lecture about how SIP started in the mid 1990's as a research project and then grew from there into a growing industry in the early 2000's. Despite all of the positives that SIP has brought to telecommunications, SIP is due to be overshadowed by new advances in technology and cloud computing. However, Rosenberg is not saddened by the fact that SIP will become old technology and that inspiring ITS students will continue to advance telecommunications as we know it. ~ Claire Berlin   

 

Read more about ITS Day. 

 

New Student Group

 

ITS is forming a new student group focused on Internet Security, called INSEC. This group will operate as a semi-professional organization, providing real services to real clients, and publishing security notes and bulletins in response to Internet security events.

 

Students who are in Athens during the summer can get involved right now! The group will begin full operation in the Fall Semester.

 

For more information or to apply to become part of the group, contact Dr. Kruse (kruse@ohio.edu). More information at the INSEC web site at  http://insec.profkruse.net. 

 

    

Schoonover Lab Open House

Scripps College faculty, staff, and students gathered in the ITS Lab in the Schoonover Center April 23 to celebrate a successful first year in the new facilities.  To view a YouTube video of the ITS lab, go to http://bit.ly/1AbpJUw

ITS offices moved to the Schoonover Center this July as part of an initiative to have all the Schools in the Scripps College in one building.  We are on the third floor, Room 360, so stop by.

Congratulations to Recent Graduates Who Found Employment
    
Robert Ahuja - Sogeti
Derrick Airing -
1 EDI Source
Keith Albert
- Sogeti
Madhur Adusumalli - West Corporation
Matthew Angkosaala - Cisco
Charlotte Berejena - Resolvit
Jennifer Botah - geoAMPS
Kyle Brown - Cincinnati Bell
Simon Dicki - Stewart McDonald
Sarah Eckles - Progressive Insurance
Sam Fox - Marathon Petroleum
Sharath Guduguntla - GTL Americas
Meng Guo - ESPN
Colin Householder - Progressive Insurance
Christina Maharjan - Sprint
Steven McCullough - Progressive Insurance
Patrick O'Regan - Ohio University
Tony Prestifilippo - Progressive Insurance
John Schenkelberg - Quicken Loans
Zack Sims - CGI
Eric Spaulding - Ohio University
Zach Tumblin - Ohio University
Brian Walborn - AmTrust Financials
Austin Whytsell - Nationwide Children's Hospital

 2014 Advisory Board Lonsbury Memorial Golf Classic
     
  Participants in the 2014 Advisory Board Lonsbury Memorial Golf Classic
The 13th annual J. Warren McClure School Advisory Board Thomas Lonsbury Memorial Scholarship Golf Classic was Thursday, September 25, 2014, at the Ohio University Golf Course and the Ohio University Inn.  As you can see from the photo above, the event attracted a large group of loyal ITS alums, advisory board members, and other telecom professionals. 

Thanks to volunteers Leah Beltz, Riley Berning, Alan Hudak, CJ Johnston, Ryan Kemper, Dylan Maloni,  2014-2015 golf scholarship recipient, Dylan's father Jeff Maloni, Barb Moran, Evian Napier, Robin Stock, and Payge Winfield for their time and commitment.    

"The passion and enthusiasm from within the ITS community has allowed us to become a premier scholarship fundraising event at Ohio University," said Tournament Chair Garon Gentzel.  "It is because of your support that we can continue to help our ITS students with their academic pursuits.  The ITS Alumni Board thanks you for your support and we look forward to another great event."  The 14th annual Golf Classic will take place Thursday, September 24, 2015, at the Athens Country Club.   To register and pay your fee go to https://commerce.cashnet.com/lonsburymemorial.


 Moves, Adds, and Changes
     
Lynnette Baughman BS '91
is a Senior Network Design Engineer at Windstream Communications.  John Tompkins BS '03 is a Senior Cloud Network Engineer - OneCloud with VMware. Victor Paini BS '96 is the Technology Director, Integrated Operations Center at Huntington National Bank.  Patrick Sullivan BS '01 is a Sr. Project Manager at The Longaberger Company. 

Eugene Beno BS '04
has a new position as Business Project Manager with Excel.  Christopher Crosbie BS '04, Healthcare and Life Science Solutions Architect with Amazon Web Services, just completed his second master's degree (MPH) in Biostatistics at the City University of New York.  Dave Kocan BS '05,  IP Litigation Associate with Ropes & Gray, is a MBA Candidate at Weatherhead School of Management.  He recently passed his bar exam.  Andrew Simmons BS '07 is an Attorney/Consultant with Clarity Solutions Group.  Kathryn Karney BS '09 is an IT Operations Analyst Senior with Progressive Insurance. 

Piyush Verma MITS '13, Principal Consultant at eLoyalty, had a baby girl (Jasmine) on December 23.  He and his wife recently bought a house in Allen, Texas.  Kevin McCartney BS '14 is a Sr Analyst-Infrastructure Engineering at Nationwide Insurance. 

                                                      __________________________

 

Send us your updated information. Click on "update your information" in the alumni section of  the School's website.  Want to keep in touch with other alums, let other alums know about a position available with your company, or looking for a job? Instructions for how to subscribe to the  alumni listserve are also in the alumni section of the School's website.   

 

The School has a group on LinkedIn (McClure School of Information and Telecommunication Systems) and Facebook (ITS at Ohio U).  Link to the School's pages to stay in touch.   

 

 

Cincinnati Field Trip

ITS faculty and students traveled to Cincinnati January 23 to visit Cincinnati Bell and Powernet Global.  Thanks to ITS alums Matt Bange, Mike Herrmann, Neil Okonak, Sruti Palepu, and Rob Rouse, who joined the CBTS presentation; Lori Huber-Meierdiercks and Bryan Hone who joined the group for lunch at Skyline; Kim Zdinak and Brent Baker from PowerNet Global who gave the afternoon presentation; Advisory Board member Sean Davidson who joined the afternoon meeting; and Professor John Hoag and student Dylan Maloni who organized this much appreciated event for ITS students.

Students enjoyed traveling in style in the OU bus.  This was the first time that a vehicle this large was used for a field trip, but it was such a hit, it won't be the last time.



 Thanks!
    
Thank you to the following alums who actively gave back to the McClure School by sharing internship or job information, participating in the golf classic or ITS Day, donating funds to the program or scholarship, hiring COMT/ITS students/alums, speaking to a class or TSMA group, donating equipment, and/or attending the Career Fair.  The faculty, staff, and students sincerely appreciate your continuing involvement in the program.

Peter Nugent '86, Bryan Ireton '90, Brad Chilton '91, Stephen Polinsky '91, David Langford '92, Mike Herrmann '93, Doug Bowie '94 and '06, Mike Spinning '94, Bob May '95,  Ron Minto '98, Matt Christian '99, Paul Hudec '99, Mike Johnson '99, Leah Beltz '00, Steve Wylie '00, Ben Sartor '01, Chris Whitham '01, Doug Hromco '02, Jason Ice '02, Neil Okonak '02, Matt Raider '03, Barry Spurlock '03, Kim McDonald-Rometo '04 and '14, Nicholas Whitney '04, Juan Echeverry '05, Travis Ollom '06, Marcus Anderson '07, Garima Bajaj '07, Matt Brainard '07, Max Putas '07, Dylan Conrad '08, Kislay Mukherjee '08, Bruce Tong '08, Kapil Bajaj '09, Jared Fliegel '09, Jeremy Shoup '09, Gary Clark '10, Rodrigo Iglesias '10, Alan Kutasy '10, Mohamad Al-Issa '11, Matt Bange '11, Torrance Freeman '11, Lori Huber-Meierdiercks '11, Andrew Kahn '11 and '13, Josh Offenberger '11 and '12, Austin Brown '12, Zach Miller '13, Somprova Nandy '13, Kathryn Wargo-Karney '13, Anthony Aerni '14, and Sruti Palepu '14.

      


The ITS new office on the third floor of the Schoonover Center, Room 360.  Pictures and plaques will be hung soon in the reception area plus a professional sign identifying the School. All the Schools in the Scripps College are now in one building.  Come see us!

    The McClure School