Computer Science Majors Present Projects at Endeavor Symposium

Two computer science majors received the Endeavor Award this spring. Seniors Isaac Hopf and Logan Oakley presented their projects at the 20th Annual Endeavor Symposium at USI. The award supports the creative and research efforts of undergraduate students.

Dr. Srishti Srivastava, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, was faculty advisor for both students' projects. "Isaac and Logan are two of the most stellar students in Computer Science at the Romain College of Business. They have been very enthusiastic students and have very innovative ways of thinking. During the development of their projects selected for the Endeavor Award, both Isaac and Logan had a very methodical and creative thought process. Both students never settled for the second-best solution and were always able to produce the best possible implementation for their projects. During their presentation at the Endeavor Symposium, their hard work and quality of their projects inspired their peers to strive for similar excellence."

Isaac Hopf: "Mario AI: Training an AI Agent to Play Super Mario Bros Using Reinforcement Learning."

"Isaac built an artificial intelligence agent using reinforcement leaning to optimally play the game of Super Mario Bros. He started this project as an honors project in my Artificial Intelligence class,” Srivastava says. “He showed excellent levels of determination and intellect towards learning the latest algorithms in reinforcement learning and spent time towards research that was beyond the actual requirements of the class.” Hopf is this year's recipient of The Outstanding Achievement Award in Computer Science from the Romain College of Business.

Logan Oakley: "Artificially Intelligent Snake Agent via Neural Network and Generic Training."

"Logan built an artificial intelligence agent that uses neural networks and genetic training to play the Snake game. He also started this project as an honors component in my Artificial Intelligence class,” Srivastava says. “He showed great enthusiasm towards learning new algorithms. He was also very determined to spend time and effort on the project research, which was outside the requirements of the course syllabus.”