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Dean's Bio

Appointments
Dr. Jorge L Díaz-Herrera became Professor of Computer Science and founding Dean of the B Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, in July, 2002.

Prior to this appointment, he was Professor of Computer Science and Department Head at Southern Polytechnic State University in Atlanta and Yamacraw project coordinator with Georgia Tech. He was a senior member of the technical staff of the Software Engineering Institute teaching in Carnegie Mellon's Master of Software Engineering and conducting research in Product Line Engineering. He was department chair of the Software Engineering Department at Monmouth University in NJ, and on the faculty of the departments of Computer Science at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA and at SUNY Binghamton, NY.

Education
Dr. Díaz-Herrera completed his undergraduate education in Venezuela, and holds both a Master's and Ph.D. in Computing Studies from Lancaster University, in the UK.

He recently completed the Graduate Certificate in Management Leadership in Education from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education.

Professional Experience
Dr. Díaz-Herrera has conducted extensive consulting services with a number of firms and government agencies including: New York Stock Exchange (SIAC), MITRE Corp., the Institute for Defense Analysis, General Electric, Singer-Link, TRW, EG&G, IBM, among others.

He has also provided professional expertise to international organizations including the European Software Institute, Australian Defense Science and Technology Office, Kyoto Computing Gaikum, Kuwait University, Cairo University, and Malaysia University of Technology.

He has chaired several national and international conferences, and has been a technical reviewer for NSF, ASEE, and several conferences and journals.

He has been a member for the British Computer Society, ACM, IEEE-CS, SACNAS, and ASEE. He was an ACM National Lecturer for four consecutive years, and an invited speaker on numerous occasions, and has given many short courses and tutorials both in the U.S. and abroad.

He has more than 80 publications. Today, he is focusing his experience in software engineering in the areas of education, and software product lines for embedded, ubiquitous systems. His most recent publications include (previous two years):

  • K. Qian, X. Fu, L. Tao, C-W Xu, and J. L. Díaz-Herrera. Software Architecture Design Illuminated (in print) Jones and Bartlett Pubs.
  • J. L. Díaz-Herrera, M. Makabenta-Ikeda, M. Ardis, and D. Coleman. "Understanding the University/Industry Gap." Workshop in Engineering Education, ASIA/Pacific Software Engineering Conference. Nagoya, Japan, December 2007.
  • J. L. Díaz-Herrera, H. Kashihara, M. Makabenta-Ikeda, and T. Nakaguchi. "The Japanese Software Puzzle Revisited." Journal of the Nippon Association of Information Systems. June, 2007.
  • T.C. Lethbridge, J. L. Díaz-Herrera, R. J. LeBlanc Jr., and B. Thompson. "Improving Software Practice Through Education: Challenges and Future Trends." International Conference in Software Engineering, Saint Paul, MN, May 2007.
  • T.C. Lethbridge, R. J. LeBlanc Jr. Ann E. Kelley Sobel, T.B. Hilburn, and J. L. Díaz-Herrera. "SE2004: Curriculum Recommendations for Undergraduate Software Engineering Programs." IEEE Software, Nov/Dec 2006: 19-25.
  • J. L. Díaz-Herrera. "Educating Software Practitioners: Untapped Potential to Improve Practice." 2nd Malaysian Software Engineering Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Dec 11-12, 2006.
  • J. L. Díaz-Herrera. "Cyberinfrastructure: Supporting Scientific Discovery & Product Development." IEEE ANDESCON, Quito, Ecuador, November 9-11, 2006.
  • J. L. Díaz-Herrera. "Software Process and Product Lines: Quality, Security, and The Bottom Line." II Jornadas Iberoamericanas de Ingeniería de Software, Guayaquil, Ecuador, Nov 13-14, 2006.

Boards and Affiliations
Dr. Díaz-Herrera is currently very active with the IEEE-CS as a member of its Distinguished Visitor Program, was a leading writer of the Software Engineering Professional Examination, and co-editor of the Software Engineering volume of the Computing Currricula project.

He is also an active member of the IT Deans group of the Computer Research Association in Washington, D.C.

He serves and has served on numerous boards including:

  • Technical Advisory Group, SEI, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. (Currently in third year term).
  • Advisory Committee for CISE (Computer Information Sciences and Engineering), National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. (Currently in 2nd 3-year term.)
  • Advisory Committee for GPRA Performance Assessment, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. (Currently in second year term).
  • Board of Trustees, Strong National Museum of Play, Rochester, NY (Currently in third year term).
  • Board of Trustees, Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C. (Currently in first year term).
  • NY Universal Broadband Council, action team on digital literacy, Albany, NY. (Currently in first year).
  • Research Board, Instituto Technológico de las Américas (ITLA), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Currently in first year).
  • Co-Chair IT Steering Committee, Mayor's Office, Rochester, NY (Dec 05-Jul 06).
  • Board of Trustees, Puerto Rican Youth Development Center, Rochester, NY (03-04).
  • Requirements Engineering Advisory Committee, New York Stock Exchange (SIAC), New York, NY (Jun 99- Oct 05).
  • Executive Committee Yamacraw Economic Development Initiative, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (April 98- June 2002).