Robert Marmorstein

Assignments, syllabi, and class notifications can be accessed by following the links below. If you are a student in one of my classes, you should check the course web site at least once a week to be sure that you have not missed an important announcement (a new due date, for instance).

Fall 2024	CMSC 161: Software Tools and Principles CMSC 240: Linux System Administration CMSC 280: Programming in a Second Language CMSC 355: Introduction to Computer and Network Security
Spring 2024	CTZN 110: Technology and the Common Good CMSC 160: Introduction to Algorithmic Design I CMSC 455: Cryptography

I teach computer science at Longwood University , a small four year public school in Farmville, Virginia (yes, there is a real Farmville). I did my graduate work at the College of William and Mary, where my dissertation work was on Firewall Analysis and Repair (slides). I occasionally contribute to open source projects, including Freecol, kdepim and koffice. I have been published in several Usenix conferences, including LISA and Freenix. I am a huge open-source fanatic and run Linux on pretty much everything I touch. I use many distributions, including Arch Linux, Gentoo, OpenSuSE, and Debian. I am the co-advisor of Longwood's Cyber Security club and Chess Team. I also advise the game development club and the Upsilon Pi Epsilon computer science honor society. My family and I attend St. John's Lutheran Church (LCMS).

Beth and I were married in 2004. She taught high school math until our daughter was born, but is now very happy to be a stay-at-home mom. She does lots of sewing, knitting, and even a little programming. She leads the Farmville Area Homeschool Strings group, the Farmville Christian Homeschool Co-op, and plays Cello for the Longwood University String Orchestra. Among other projects, she designed and built a 1/8th size cello for our three-year old son. We have five terrific children, Abby, Ric, Caspian, Peter, and Luke, who we homeschool. My mom keeps a blog here and my Dad has a set of really neat presentations on different topics here.

If you plan to pass my courses, there are four things that you absolutely need to do. Computer Science isn't a magical skill that some people are born with and others aren't. If you work hard at these four things, you will almost always be able to earn at least a B in my class. If you don't, you will probably not pass the course. They may seem kind of obvious, but most students who fail my classes fall short in at least one of these four areas:

Show up for class on time

The book and other class resources are helpful, but usually are not enough to get you a passing grade in my class. It is very important to show up for each class so that you can make sure of getting ALL the material. Not only does lecture provide a structure and context for the readings, but I often include content in the lecture which you simply won't find in the book. Furthermore, if you don't show up for class, you are likely to miss assignments. I give unannounced pop quizzes, so if there is a good reason you must miss class, be sure to clear it with me ahead of time.

Take notes in class

Not only will taking notes help you stay awake, it will provide you with another resource to use for exam review. You don't need to write down everything I say (and shouldn't try!), but it is probably a good idea to copy down any definitions, theorems, examples, or blocks of code I write on the board.

Complete assignments on time

Late work really hurts your grade and makes it harder to keep up with the rest of the class. In computer science, the material tends to be cumulative. If you miss something at the beginning of the semester, it will make it much harder to understand what comes later and depends on that prior knowlege. The material also tends to increase in difficulty as the semester progresses. If you get behind, it can be very hard to catch up. Late work also makes my life much harder, so if you don't get an assignment to me on time, expect to earn a zero.

Take advantage of office hours

If you're really stuck on something, ask me about it. I won't do your work for you, but a lot of the time I can point you to a solution or help you understand what you missed. Often ten minutes in office hours can save you hours of work on your own! Even if you're not stuck on something, swing by my office from time to time! I enjoy hanging out with students and will show you something cool we didn't have time cover in class or play a game of chess with you. Getting to know you outside of class is especially helpful for writing letters of recommendation when you graduate and need help finding a job. (It's hard to be a reference for a student you only see in class). If I have a better idea of your plans and interests, I'm much more likely to think of you when internship or scholarship opportunities arise. Finally, being in my office when OTHER students have questions can help you "get" something you didn't even realize you'd misunderstood.

Whether or not you plan to go to grad school, a research project can be a great way to develop important logical, writing, and technical skills. It also looks great on a resume! Doing research on a topic you are interested in helps you develop marketable skills in that area and build a deeper understanding of that topic. If you are interested in pursuing a research project in operating systems, security, formal methods, or system administration, shoot me an e-mail or drop by my office to talk about setting up a directed study course.

Current and ongoing research projects

Past research projects

Ideas for future research

Publications