Scott L. Vandenberg

Since 1993 I have had the pleasure and privilege of teaching (and learning from) the students here at Siena.  Most of this teaching has been in Computer Science, but I also enjoyed and value my 4 years teaching Foundations (the forerunner to our current First-Year Seminar).  Two stints as visiting faculty at University of Washington provided great experience and a nice diversion.  Prior to Siena, I was on the Computer Science faculty at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.  Going back farther, I earned Masters and PhD degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BA from Cornell University.

My Siena Experience

My Teaching Philosophy

Students should learn (1) how to learn and (2)  that dividing knowledge into departments is not perfect:  there are fundamental links between disciplines, and it's important students learn to identify those.  This works best with a variety of activities, especially those that get the students actively involved in solving problems.

What I Love About Siena

It's the people, of course.  The students and faculty share the same goals, and I think everyone realizes this.  We have a great relationship here with alumni:  they often return to campus to speak with current students , and that willingness says a lot about the long-term success of Siena.

My Favorite Courses to Teach

 Introduction to Computer Science is one of my favorite classes to teach:  it's a great opportunity to meet students from all over the college and help them experience what computing is all about.  I also enjoy teaching Database Systems both for non-majors (Database Design and Applications for Business) and for Computer Science majors (Database Management).  The non-majors leave with a useful set of skills and a better appreciation of what is and isn't possible; the majors learn the fundamentals well enough to be able to adapt easily as the technology evolves.

My Professional Experience

Current Research

My research interests are in the areas of Database Systems, Computer Science Education, and Scientific Data Management.  

Articles & Book Reviews

• A Summer Program to Attract Potential Computer Science Majors
  ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
  2018
• Catch 'em Early: Internship and Assistantship CS Mentoring Programs for Underclassmen
  ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
  2018
• Connecting Colleges/Universities and Local High Schools: A New Model for High School CS Teacher Development
  ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
  2018
• Supporting CS10K: A New Computer Science Methods Course for Mathematics Education Students
  ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
  2015
• Predicting Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Clades Using Knowledge-Based Bayesian Networks
  BioMed Research International
  2014
• Epidemiological models of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex infections
  Mathematical Biosciences, vol. 236
  2012
• Market Basket Analysis for Non-Programmers
  Information Systems Education Journal, vol. 10
  2012
• TB-Lineage: An online tool for classification and analysis of strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex
  Infection, Genetics and Evolution, vol. 12
  2012
• Examining the sublineage structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains with multiple-biomarker tensors
  BMC Genomics, vol. 12
  2011
• Knowledge-based Bayesian network for the classification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex sublineages
  ACM Conference on Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, and Biomedicine
  2011
• Market Basket Analysis for Non-Programmers
  Information Systems Education Conference (ISECON)
  2011
• Examining the sublineage structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains with multiple-biomarker tensors
  IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine
  2010
• Multiway modeling and analysis in stem cell systems biology
  BMC Systems Biology
  2008
• Laminin-5 Activates Extracellular Matrix Production and Osteogenic Gene Focusing in Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells
  Matrix Biology: Journal of the International Society for Matrix Biology
  2007
• Proteomics reveals multiple routes to the osteogenic phenotype in mesenchymal stem cells
  BMC Genomics
  2007
• Comparing the Proteomes of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Human Osteoblasts using Gene Ontologies
  Stem Cells and Development
  2005
• Gene Focusing as a Basis for Controlling Stem Cell Differentiation
  Stem Cells and Development
  2005
• Introducing Computer Science Using a Breadth-First Approach and Functional Programming
  Proceedings of the Thirty-First SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
  2000
• Software Support for Introducing Computer Science
  Proc. Computers on Campus National Conference
  1999
• The AQUA Approach to Querying Lists and Trees in Object-Oriented Databases
  IEEE Intl. Conf. on Data Engineering, Taipei
  1995
• Ordered Types in the AQUA Data Model
  Fourth International Workshop on Database Programming Languages
  1993
• The AQUA Data Model and Algebra
  Fourth International Workshop on Database Programming Languages
  1993
• Algebraic Query Processing in EXTRA/EXCESS
  IEEE Data Eng. Bulletin
  1991
• Algebraic Support for Complex Objects with Arrays, Identity, and Inheritance
  ACM SIGMOD91 Conference Proceedings
  1991
• Practical Complex Object Algebras
  Workshop on Database Query Optimization
  1989
• A Data Model and Query Language for EXODUS
  ACM SIGMOD88 Conference Proceedings
  1988

Awards & Distinctions

• Jerome Walton Award for Excellence in Teaching
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College, Jerome Walton Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2012
• Finalist, Jerome Walton Excellence in Teaching Award
  Category: Teaching
  Finalist, Jerome Walton Excellence in Teaching Award, 2009
• Upsilon Pi Epsilon, Siena College
  Category: Other
  Upsilon Pi Epsilon, Siena College, 2009
• Finalist, Jerome Walton Excellence in Teaching Award
  Category: Teaching
  Finalist, Jerome Walton Excellence in Teaching Award, 2005
• Finalist, Jerome Walton Excellence in Teaching Award
  Category: Teaching
  Finalist, Jerome Walton Excellence in Teaching Award, 2004
• Selected for Who's Who Among American Teachers
  Category: Teaching
  Selected for Who's Who Among American Teachers, 2004
• Pi Mu Epsilon, Siena College
  Category: Other
  Pi Mu Epsilon, Siena College, 1995
• IBM Graduate Fellowship
  Category: Other
  IBM Graduate Fellowship, 1991
• IBM Graduate Fellowship
  Category: Other
  IBM Graduate Fellowship, 1990
• IBM Graduate Fellowship
  Category: Other
  IBM Graduate Fellowship, 1989
• IBM Graduate Fellowship
  Category: Other
  IBM Graduate Fellowship, 1988
• Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Fellowship
  Category: Research
  Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Fellowship, 1987
• National Science Foundation Fellowship, Honorable Mention
  Category: Other
  National Science Foundation Fellowship, Honorable Mention, 1986
• Phi Beta Kappa, Cornell University
  Category: Other
  Phi Beta Kappa, Cornell University, 1986
• Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Fellowship
  Category: Research
  Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Fellowship, 1986

Books & Book Chapters

• Database Concepts, 10th edition
  Pearson/Benjamin Cummings
  2023
• Database Processing: Fundamentals, Design, and Implementation, 16th Edition
  Pearson/Benjamin Cummings
  2021
• Database Concepts, 9th edition
  Pearson/Benjamin Cummings
  2019
• Database Processing: Fundamentals, Design, and Implementation, 15th edition
  Pearson/Benjamin Cummings
  2018
• Database Concepts, 8th edition
  Pearson/Benjamin Cummings
  2017
• Readings in Object-Oriented Database Systems
  Morgan Kaufmann
  1989

Presentations

• A Summer Program to Attract Potential Computer Science Majors
  2018
  ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Baltimore, Maryland
• Supporting CS10K: A New Computer Science Methods Course for Mathematics Education Students
  2015
  ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Kansas City, Missouri
• Market Basket Analysis for Non-Programmers
  2011
  Information Systems Education Conference (ISECON), Wilmington, North Carolina
• Introducing Computer Science Using a Breadth-First Approach and Functional Programming
  2000
  Thirty-First ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Austin, Texas
• Software Support for Introducing Computer Science
  1999
  Computers on Campus National Conference, Columbia, South Carolina
• Languages and Algorithms for Retrieving Ordered Objects
  1998
  Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, Schenectady, New York
• Finding Patterns in Ordered Relations
  1997
  Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, Williamstown, Massachusetts
• Locking and Concurrency for Queries on Tree-Structured Data
  1996
  Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, Saratoga Springs, New York
• The AQUA Approach to Querying Lists and Trees in Object-Oriented Databases
  1995
  IEEE Intl. Conf. On Data Engineering, Taipei, Taiwan
• Mathematical Applications in Information Retrieval
  1994
  Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, Loudonville, New York
• The AQUA Data Model and Algebra
  1993
  Fourth Intl. Workshop on Database Programing Languages, New York, New York
• Algebraic Support for Complex Objects with Arrays, Identity, and Inheritance
  1991
  ACM Intl. Conf. On Management of Data, Denver, Colorado
• Complex Object Algebras
  1989
  IBM Fellowship Holders Conference, Yorktown, New York