Linda Ott

Contact

linda@mtu.edu
906-487-2315
Rekhi 211

Professor, Computer Science

PhD, Computer Science, Purdue University, 1978
MS, Computer Science, Purdue University, 1974
BS, Computer Science, Purdue University, 1972

Biography

Dr. Linda M. Ott received her PhD in Computer Science from Purdue University in 1978. She joined Michigan Technological University's faculty shortly thereafter. She chaired the Department of Computer Science from 1996 to 2010. In 2019 she again took over the duties of Chair, as the Department transitioned into the newly formed College of Computing. From March 2015 through May 2018, she served as the Associate Dean for Special Initiatives in the College of Sciences and Arts.

Her early research interests were in software engineering, including software processes, software measurement, and software engineering education. She has been a co-Principal Investigator on nearly $1.5 million in grants from industry and the National Science Foundation. Ott is a 2010 recipient of the ACM SIGSOFT Retrospective Paper Award for the paper "The Program Dependence Graph in a Software Development Environment," co-authored with Dr. Karl Ottenstein and published in SDE 1, Proceedings of the First ACM SIGSOFT/SIGPLAN Symposium on Practical Software Development Environments, April 23-25, 1984. Ott taught Advanced Software Engineering at Siberian State Aerospace University in Krasnoyarsk, Russia as a Fulbright Scholar in 2012. She also taught Ethical and Social Aspects of Computing at Beijing Normal University - Zhuhai in Zhuhai, China during the summer of 2011.

Ott received the Michigan Technological University Inaugural Diversity Award in 2014. She was a founding organizer of the Michigan Celebration of Women in Computing and of the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Michigan Affiliate Award for high school women. She was the project lead for Michigan Tech's NCWIT Pacesetters team and for Michigan Tech's NCWIT Extension Services for Undergraduate Programs team. The team's efforts resulted in the Department being awarded an NCWIT Extension Service Transformation Award Honorable Mention in 2020 for excellence in recruiting and retaining women in computing-related fields.

Links of Interest

Area of Expertise

Software Measurement
Software Processes
Software Engineering Education
Women in Computing
Retention in Undergraduate CS Education

Recent Publications

Bettin, B., and Ott, L. M. (2023) Pedagogical Prisms: Toward Domain Isomorphic Analogy Design for Relevance and Engagement in Computing Education, Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education. https://doi.org/10.1145/3587102.3588831
Bettin, B., Ott, L. M., Hiebel, J., More (Sema| Meta) phors: Additional Perspectives on Analogy Use from Concurrent Programming Students Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education. https://doi.org/10.1145/3587102.3588831
Bettin, B., Ott, L. M.(2022) Semaphore or Metaphor?: Exploring Concurrent Students' Conceptions of and with Analogy, Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education. https://doi.org/10.1145/3502718.3524796. Best Paper Award
Bettin, B., Ott, L. M. (2021) Frozen in the Past: When it Comes to Analogy Fears, It's Time for Us to "Let it Go", Proceedings of the 2021 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education. (pp. 359–365), https://doi.org/10.1145/3430665.3456381
Dillon, L., Doyle, M., Ott, L. M., Powley, W., Johnson, A. (2020) Regional Programs to Increase Participation of Women and Underrepresented Minorities in Computing: Experiences, Partnerships, and Lessons Learned. Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference 2020. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--35028
Pollock, I., Alshaigy, B., Bradley, A., Krogstie, B. R., Kumar, V., Ott, L. M., Peters, A.-K., Riedesel, C., Wallace, C. R. (2019) 1.5 Degrees of Separation: Computer Science Education in the Age of the Anthropocene. Proceedings of the Working Group Reports on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (pp. 1–25). New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3304221.3325530
Szabo, C., Sheard, J., Luxton-Reilly, A., Simon, Becker, B. A., Ott, L. M. (2019) Fifteen years of introductory programming in schools: A global overview of K-12 initiatives. ACM International Conference Proceeding Series. https://doi.org/10.1145/3364510.3364513
Bettin, B., Ott, L. M. (2019). More Effective Contextualization of CS Education Research: A Pair-Programming Example. Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (pp. 182-188). ACM. https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3304221.3319790
Luxton-Reilly, A., Albluwi, I., Becker, B. A., Giannakos, M., Kumar, A. N., Ott, L. M., Paterson, J., Scott, M. J., Sheard, J., Szabo, C. (2018) Introductory programming: a systematic literature review. ACM. https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3293881.3295779
Ott, L. (2018). Combatting Stereotypes in Computing using Personality Type. Proc. Of 2018 Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), San Jose, CA, October 2018. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8658710
Andrew Luxton-Reilly, Simon, Ibrahim Albluwi, Brett A. Becker, Michail Giannakos, Amruth N. Kumar, Linda Ott, James Paterson, Michael James Scott, Judy Sheard, and Claudia Szabo. (2018). A Review of Introductory Programming Research 2003–2017. ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE 2018). Larnaca, Cyprus. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3293881.3295779.
Ott, L., Bettin, B., Ureel, L. (2018) The Impact of Placement in Introductory Computer Science Courses on Student Persistence in a Computing Major. ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE), Larnaca, Cyprus. https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3197091.3197139
G. Archer, B., Bettin, L. Bohmann, A. Carter, C. Cischke, L. Ott, L. Ureel. The Impact of Placement Strategies on the Success of Students in Introductory Computer Science, Proc.2017 Frontiers in Education Conference, October 2017. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8190526
G. Archer, L. Bohmann, A. Carter, C. Cischke, L. Ott, L. Ureel. Understanding Similarities and Differences in Students Across First-Year Computing Majors, Proc.2016 Frontiers in Education Conference, October 2016. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8190526
L. Ott, "Alumni as a Resource to Increase Student Retention in Early Computer Science Courses", 2015 Frontiers in Education Conference, Oct. 2015. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7344025
L. Ott, "Explorations in Computing: Could this be the Key to Retention?, 2014 Frontiers in Education Conference, Oct. 2014. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7044198
S. Kumar and L. Ott, "Encouraging Talented High School Girls toward a Career in Computing through a Broader Understanding of the Field", 121st ASEE Annual Conference, June 2014. Read More
C. Brown, R. Pastel, M. Seigel, L. Ott and C. Wallace, "Adding Unit Test Experience to a Usability Centered Project Course", ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), March 2014. https://doi/abs/10.1145/2538862.2538964
L. M. Ott, "Object-Oriented Measurement of Software in J. Marciniak", editor, Encyclopedia of Software Engineering, Wiley, January 2002
Linda Ott, Atte Kinula, Carolyn Seaman, Claes Wohlin. "The Role of Empirical Studies in Process Improvement", Empirical Software Engineering 4(4): 381-386, December 1999.
L. M. Ott and J. M. Bieman. "Program Slices as an Abstraction for Cohesion Measurement", Information and Software Technology, 40, 1998, pp. 691-699.
Dianne M. Marsh and Linda M. Ott. "Distributed Processing: Requirements for an Object-Oriented Approach", Proc. 30th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences, January 1997.
Peck Cho, Diana George, Linda Ott, William Predebon and Philip Sweany. New Faculty Orientation and Seminar Series: Emphasis on Teaching and Learning, Proc. 1996 ASEE Annual Conference, June 1996.
Sue Beske-Diehl, Linda Ott, and Christine Anderson. Potential for Change: Going Beyond Recommendations in a Women's Climate Study, Proc. 1995 Women in Engineering Program Advocate's Network National Conference, June 4-6, Washington, D.C., pp. 189-194.
L. M. Ott. "The Early Days of Software Metrics: Looking Back After 20 Years", in A. Melton, editor, Software Measurement: Understanding Software Engineering, International Thomson Computer Press, 1995.