Robin Y. Flatland

 Dr. Flatland earned her Ph.D. in computer science in 1997 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and her B.S. in computer science in 1990 from Birmingham-Southern College.  She has been a faculty member in the Computer Science Department at Siena College for 16 years, served as the department head for four years, and currently is the Science Internship Coordinator.  Her research is in the area of computational geometry,  focusing primarily on algorithmic problems related to wireless communication networks, unfolding, and robotics.  She also does research on computer science pedagogy and recently team taught a course to math education majors on how to teach AP computer science. 

My Siena Experience

My Teaching Philosophy

My classroom/lab teaching style is interactive and student centered, mixing traditional lecture with student activities that reinforce and extend the lecture material. These activities include such things as team problem solving, experimenting with software tools, simulating algorithms and concepts, class discussion, demonstrations, and leading sessions in which the students assist me in developing solutions to problems. I think that students learn best when they are actively involved in the material, and I enjoy the give-and-take of an interactive period.

What I Love About Siena

 I love teaching at Siena because the students are enthusiastic and creative and class sizes are small so I get to know them very well.

My Favorite Courses to Teach

It is hard to choose favorite classes because I like teaching all computer science courses, but one of my favorites is our upper level course on computer graphics.  I like this course because the student projects are visually exciting and allow for lots of creativity. The course culminates with a final project in which the students create their own 3D virtual world or game. 

My Professional Experience

Current Research

My research is in two areas - computer science education and computational geometry.  I am currently the Principal Investigator on a NSF CSforAll:RPP grant that is researching how to increase the number and diversity of students taking CS in high schools in Upstate NY.  In computational geometry, I work on algorithmic problems related to wireless communication networks, unfolding, and robotics.  

Articles & Book Reviews

• Building CS Teacher Capacity Through Comprehensive College/High School Partnerships
  ACM Symposium on Computer Science Education
  2022
• Mathematics Teachers Should Lead on the New NYS Learning Standards for Computer Science
  New York State Mathematics Teachers Journal, vol. 71
  2021
• Unfolding Polycube Trees with Constant Refinement  
  Computational Geometry: Theory and Applications, vol. 98
  2021
• Unfolding a New Class of Orthographs of Arbitrary Genus
  Canadian Conference on Computational Geometry
  2021
• Universal Reconfiguration of Facet-Connected Modular Robots by Pivots: The O(1) Musketeers
  Algorithmica, vol. 83
  2021
• Universal Reconfiguration of Facet-Connected Modular Robots by Pivots: The O(1) Musketeers
  European Symposium on Algorithms, vol. 144
  2019
• 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
• Toward Unfolding Doubly Covered n-Stars
  Japan Conference on Discrete and Computational Geometry and Graphs
  2018
• Unfolding Low-Degree Orthotrees with Constant Refinement
  Canadian Conference on Computational Geometry
  2018
• Unfolding Genus-2 Orthogonal Polyhedra with Linear Refinement
  Graphs and Combinatorics, vol. 33
  2017
• Minimum Forcing Sets for Miura Folding Patterns
  ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms
  2015
• Squeeze-Free Hamiltonian Paths in Grid Graphs
  Canadian Computational Geometry Conference
  2015
• Supporting CS10K: A New Computer Science Methods Course for Mathematics Education Students
  Proceeding of the 46th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education
  2015
• Unfolding orthogonal polyhedra with quadratic refinement: The delta-unfolding algorithm
  Graphs and Combinatorics, vol. 30
  2014
• Coverage with k-Transmitters in the Presence of Obstacles
  Journal of Combinatorial Optimization, vol. 25
  2013
• Efficient Reconfiguration of Lattice-Based Modular Robots
  Computational Geometry: Theory and Applications, vol. 46
  2013
• Establishing strong connectivity using optimal radius half-disk antennas
  Computational Geometry: Theory and Applications, vol. 46
  2013
• Spanning Properties of Graphs Induced by Directional Antennas
  Discrete Mathematics, Algorithms, and Applications, vol. 5
  2013
• Switching to directional antennas with constant increase in radius and hop distance
  Algorithmica, vol. 56
  2013
• Unfolding Orthogrids with Constant Refinement
  23rd Fall Workshop on Computational Geometry
  2013
• Algorithms for Collective Construction of 2D Block Structures with Holes
  American Journal of Undergraduate Research, vol. 10
  2011
• Efficient Constant-Velocity Reconfiguration of Crystalline Robots
  Robotica, vol. 29
  2011
• Establishing Strong Connectivity using Optimal Radius Half-Disk Antennas
  Canadian Computational Geometry Conference
  2011
• Switching to Directional Antennas with Constant Increase in Radius and Hop Distance
  Algorithms and Data Structures Symposium
  2011
• Coverage with k-Transmitters in the Presence of Obstacles
  4th International Conference on Combinatorial Optimization and Applications
  2010
• Shape Replication through Self-Assembly and RNase Enzymes
  ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms
  2010
• Spanning Properties of Graphs Induced by Directional Antennas
  20th Fall Workshop on Computational Geometry
  2010
• Connecting Polygonizations via Stretches and Twangs
  Theory of Computing Systems
  2009
• Efficient Reconfiguration of Lattice Robots
  European Conference on Mobile Robotics
  2009
• Linear Reconfiguration of Cube-Style Modular Robots
  Computational Geometry: Theory and Applications
  2009
• Using Modes of Inquiry and Engaging Problems to Link Computer Science and Mathematics
  40th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
  2009
• Connecting polygonizations via stretches and twangs
  Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science
  2008
• Grid Vertex-Unfolding Orthogonal Polyhedra
  Discrete and Computational Geometry
  2008
• Realistic Reconfiguration of Crystalline (and Telecube) Robots
  Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics
  2008
• Unfolding Manhattan Towers
  Computational Geometry: Theory and Applications
  2008
• A New Lower Bound on Guard Placement for Wireless Localization
  Fall Workshop on Computational and Combinatorial Geometry
  2007
• Epsilon-Unfolding Orthogonal Polyhedra
  Graphs and Combinatorics
  2007
• Exploring the Polygonizations of a Point Set via Stretches and Twangs
  Fall Workshop on Computational and Combinatorial Geometry
  2007
• Linear Reconfiguration of Cube-Style Modular Robots
  International Symposium of Algorithms and Computation
  2007
• Vertex Pops and Popturns
  Canadian Conference on Computational Geometry
  2007
• Curves in the Sand
  Canadian Conference on Computational Geometry
  2006
• Grid Vertex-Unfolding Orthogonal Polyhedra
  Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science
  2006
• Unfolding Well-Separated Orthotrees
  Fall Workshop on Computational Geometry and Visualization
  2005
• Using Visualization Tools to Develop Geometric Reasoning Skills in a Computer Graphics Course
  Journal of Computing in Small Colleges
  2002
• Extending Range Queries and Nearest Neighbors
  Computational Geometry: Theory and Applications
  2000
• Using MINIX in the Closed Lab Environment
  Journal of Computing in Small Colleges
  1999
• Geometric Constraints and Stereo Disparity Computation
  International Journal of Computer Vision
  1996
• The Journey to Community-Engaged Transdisciplinary Research
  Impact: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning, vol. 10
  Summer, 2021

Awards & Distinctions

• Raymond Kennedy Excellence in Scholarship Award
  Category: Research
  Siena College, 2015
• Phi Beta Kappa
  Category: Other
  Phi Beta Kappa, 2010
• The McNaughton Prize is a prize awarded yearly by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to an outstanding, graduating Ph.D. student in computer science, through nomination by the computer science faculty
  Category: Research
  McNaughton Prize Recipient, 1996
• GTE Graduate Fellowship Recipient
  Category: Research
  GTE Graduate Fellowship Recipient, 1992
• Rensselaer Scholar and Doctoral Topper Awards
  Category: Research
  Rensselaer Scholar and Doctoral Topper Awards, 1992
• Rensselaer Scholar and Doctoral Topper Awards
  Category: Research
  Rensselaer Scholar and Doctoral Topper Awards, 1990

Presentations

• Great Opportunities for Math Educators Interested In Teaching Computer Science
  2020
  Association of Mathematics Teachers of New York State (AMTNYS) Annual Conference, Virtual Conference, New York
• Introduction to Programming with Pencil Code
  2019
  Glens Falls Girls in STEM Workshop, Glens Falls, New York
• Teaching Computer Science is a Snap!: Introducing Programming
  2019
  AMTNYS NEW Cubed 2019 Conference, Loudonville, New York
• Your Students Can Earn College Credit by Taking Computer Science in High School
  2019
  Ten County Math Teachers Annual Spring Conference, Peekskill, New York
• Introduction to Java Programming for High School Students
  2018
  Siena Summer Camp, Loudonville, New York
• Returning Unrepresented Communities to New York State Historic Sites
  2018
  Decorative Arts Trust's Spring 2018 Symposium, Albany, New York
• Your Students Can Earn College Credit by Taking Computer Science in High School
  2018
  Association of Math Teachers of New York State Annual Conference, Saratoga Springs, New York