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 third edition of my book: An Introduction to the Analysis of Algorithms, came out in the spring of 2018. This 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, and accompanying slides to all the chapters.
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 teach courses in Cybersecurity (e.g., fall 2018) and Algorithms (e.g., fall 2018 for undergraduate majors in Computer Science and Math, and spring 2018 for graduate masters students).
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.