Eastern Connecticut State University
04/24/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 04/25/2024 09:59
Math major presents at regional computing conference Carter Kelly's research explores cycle-sort algorithm
Carter Kelly '25
Undergraduate students from across the Northeast traveled to The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY, for the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Northeast Region (CCSCNE) on April 12-13. Among them was mathematics major Carter Kelly from Eastern Connecticut State University.
"The conference was very instructive," Kelly said, "in that, as a math major, I do not put too much emphasis on the possible applications of my projects. Computer science, however, puts a much greater emphasis on the applications of research. While my research was not the most riveting, individuals who did come to talk to me about my research were pleased that it was not at all related to AI," he joked.
Kelly's research, titled "Explorations in cycle sort: Running time at the cost of memory usage," looks at cycle sorting, an uncommon numeric sorting algorithm, and whether the use of more memory would reduce sorting time. His work sought to improve efficiency at the cost of memory usage by focusing on "runs," or a sequence that is already in order.
"I am very proud and impressed with the work that Carter has done," said Garrett Dancik, professor of computer sciences. "His research was driven by his own curiosity and intellect. He found that by marginally increasing the amount of memory required, he could improve the speed of the cycle sort. Many faculty and students at the conference were impressed with his work, which was technically challenging."
"When I ran into issues, Professor Dancik was instrumental in providing guidance and possible solutions," said Kelly. "I was not going to present my research since it was more of something I pursued passively, but Dr. Dancik and Dr. (Megan) Heenehan encouraged me to apply."
Kelly hopes to continue working with the algorithm to make it applicable to a wider range of problems. In the future, he plans to attend graduate school to pursue a master's and doctoral degree in mathematics.