Hodges to lead computer science

Hodges

A veteran Mississippi State faculty member is the new department head for Computer Science and the first female to lead a College of Engineering department.

Julia K. Hodges' appointment is effective July 1. Formal approval is expected at an upcoming meeting of the state Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning.

"After a national search, Dr. Hodges was judged the most qualified applicant," said Dean A. Wayne Bennett. "She has a wonderful background in teaching and is one of our top researchers. We're delighted that she'll assume this leadership role."

Hodges, who earned undergraduate and master's degrees from Mississippi State, taught in the Starkville Public Schools before joining the computer science faculty in 1984. She also holds a doctorate from the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

A Hearin-Hess Professor of Engineering, she is a specialist in artificial intelligence and object-oriented database systems, among other areas.

Her current research, in collaboration with other Mississippi State faculty members, focuses on an expert system for waste characterization, as well as on an object-oriented oceanographic database system.

She holds memberships in the Association for Computing Machinery, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society and the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, among others.

Hodges has served on the engineering faculty council and, since 1984, on the computer science Graduate Studies Coordinating Committee.