Professor @ BVU,
Software Developer

Background

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Bio

Dr. Shepherd joined the faculty at Buena Vista University in 2007. Prior to joining the faculty, he spent a decade working as a software engineer and IT architect, having spent most of his time in the national defense (DoD), energy, and transportation industries. He enjoys bringing those experiences into the classroom so that students can see the connection between computer science theory and real-world practical skills. Dr. Shepherd's research interests include software engineering, user interface design and testing, algorithms, interval numerical methods, and virtual reality.

Education

• Ph.D.
  Computational Science and Statistics
  University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota
• M.S.
  Computer Science
  University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
• B.S.
  Computer Science/Mathematics
  Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, Iowa

Student Success

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At BVU, our computer science department features a rigorous yet distinctive academic program that is coupled with a number of unique outside-the-classroom experiences designed to help students develop their skills and find their passion. The end result is having students we're very proud of by the time they graduate! Here is just a sample of where our students go for internships, full-time employment, and grad schools.

Before Graduation

(Internships, Research, Study Abroad, Conferences, etc.)

• Walt Disney World
• Microsoft
• National Security Agency (NSA)
• CUNY High Performance Computing Center
• Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference
• Charles Schwab
• DuPont Pioneer
• Nationwide Insurance
• Budapest Semester in Mathematics
• Wells Blue Bunny
• Principal Financial Group
• Summer Undergraduate Research Experiences at Argonne National Labs, Virginia Commonwealth University, Florida Atlantic University, and Washington State University

Employment

• Software Engineer, Venmo
• Game Programmer, Epic Games
• Software Engineer, PayPal
• Software Developer, U.S. Olympic Committee
• Specialist, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• Programmer, Angel AI
• Associate Gameplay Programmer, Hi-Rez Studios
• Software Developer, Stine Seeds
• IT Analyst, Principal Financial Group
• Software Developer, Nationwide Insurance

Graduate School

• Ph.D. student, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
• Ph.D. student, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
• Ph.D. student, North Carolina Sate University, Raleigh, NC
• M.S. in Computer Security, Duke University, Durham, NC
• M.S. in Cybersecurity, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
• M.S. in Information Assurance, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
• M.S. in Entertainments Arts Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

Learn more about Comp Sci @ BVU