The curriculum materials, to be written by the DWC student developers of the Aurora Sector 3-D game and under the guidance of principal investigator Dr. Goulding and other DWC faculty, will be broadly distributed without restriction. The Aurora Sector multi-player space-based racing game with armed competitors developed in 2007 illustrates the level of software complexity and artistry possible by just two students grounded in independent learning, teamwork, and sound software engineering practices.

Demanding product development feats such as this also require a system of organized knowledge acquisition, according to Computer Sciences Division Chair Goulding. This award will allow DWC to develop laboratory exercises that will allow students everywhere to achieve this level of game development during their own college experience.

"Microsoft believes that gaming is a way to attract young people into one of the computer science disciplines," said Goulding. "College enrollment in this area is down so dramatically across the country that we are failing to educate the kind of engineers and scientist we need."

"Part of the purpose of the grant is for me to make my materials available so other colleges could potentially think about introducing gaming into their curriculum."

Goulding asserts that the advent of the more technically rich, experientially diverse and widely-applicable Gaming, Simulation, and Robotics degree at Daniel Webster will be instrumental in reversing the nation-wide decline of students entering computer science at the college-level. The laboratory exercises and course materials under development will provide successful templates for other educational institutions that wish to recapture the enthusiasm of young people for the computer sciences.   

Daniel Webster College has a long tradition of utilizing game projects as part of its curriculum to attract students to its disciplines in Computer Science and Gaming & Robotics programs. DWC's tradition of excellent Computer Science programs has resulted in substantial increases in student enrollment for fall 2007.

Goulding earned his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Florida and Washburn University. His research has produced wide-array of peer-reviewed conference presentations, and academic articles. A nominee for the 2007 Stanley J. Drazek Excellence Award and Teaching Recognition Award, Dr. Goulding is a nationally-recognized scholar-teacher who introduces innovative classroom programs to prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers. Goulding has been with Daniel Webster College since 2000.

For more information about DWC's Gaming, Simulation and Robotics program, click here or contact Dr. Goulding at 603-577-6561 or goulding@dwc.edu.