Michael Soltys
Professor and Chair of Computer Science
California State University Channel Islands
Email: michael.soltys@csuci.edu and GPG key: 9B070A58
I joined the department in 2014. Before that, starting in 2001, I was a professor in the department of Computing and Software, at McMaster University. I finished my Ph.D. in 2001 at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of Stephen Cook.
My research is in Algorithms, especially in the areas of Strings Algorithms and Cybersecurity. I have done a lot of work in Proof Complexity, which takes a predicate-logic approach to algorithms and studies proofs of correctness of algorithms in formal systems. Recently I have also become interested in Ranking Algorithms, and especially in the elegant Pairwise Comparisons Method. I am a member of the Centre for Combinatorics on Words and Applications (CCWA).
The second edition of my book: An Introduction to the Analysis of Algorithms, has been published in 2012, and I just submitted the 3rd edition to the publisher, to be released in early 2018. The new edition has a comprehensive GitHub repository with Python solutions to all programing exercises in the book, as well as Python implementations of all algorithms.
I consult with business and industry in the fields of Digital Forensics and Information Security, especially for SoCal HTTF (High Technology Task Force) and for Executek, where I am part of the executive leadership as director of IT.
I regularly teach courses in Cybersecurity (e.g., summer 2017) and Algorithms (e.g., fall 2017).
Some professional highlights from recent years:
- March 2018, I am very honored to be selected by the Kościuszko Foundation to the Collegium of Eminent Scientists. Here is a short blog post.
- November 2017, this has been a very good year here at CI. We are implementing Mechatronics Engineering to start in the fall 2018, and we started our CS Advisory Board. We also hosted a CSU Computer Science chairs conference.
- August 7, 2017, together with COMP524 summer 2017 student we built and deployed a digital forensic tool, which we called SEAKER, for Ventura HTTP (High Technology Task Force). Here is a blog post.
- March 23, 2017, Keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Society of Military Engineers, SAME 2017, slides. Here is a short blog post.
- On April 21, 2016, it was a great honor to receive the 2016 Business & Technology Partnership Leadership Award. Here is my short blog post.
- Invited talk at LSD2016.
- In September 2014, I was awarded Best Paper at KES2014.
- In April 2013 I was honoured as “Best Prof” by the Software Engineering Club at McMaster.
- In July — December, 2012 I was a visiting professor in the mathematics deptartment at the University of California at San Diego.
- I was the Winner of the 2010/2011 McMaster Student Union teaching award for the faculty of Engineering.
- During the academic year 2007/2008 I was a “Visiting Ulam Professor” in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
- In February 2008, I taught a computational complexity workshop at the XV Escuela de Verano de Ciencias Informáticas, Departamento de Computación, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Argentina.
- During the Summer 2007 I was a visiting scholar in the Theoretical Computer Science Department at the Jagiellonian University.