Education

• M.C.S, Computer Science; Human Computer Interaction, University of Iowa, 2012
• B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering; Embedded Systems, University of California, Irvine, 2010

Skills

• Primary Languages: Java, Objective-C, Bash
• Secondary Languages: Python, C/C++, PHP, MySQL, HTML, JavaScript, CSS, XML, Android 4.0
• Operating Systems: Mac OS X, Linux (Ubuntu, Arch Linux), Windows
• Foreign Languages: Fluent native Spanish speaker/writer

Teaching

• Tenured Full-Time Faculty – Computer Science
  • MiraCosta College (Fall 2012 - Present)
  • Teach the range of Java, C++, Intro to CS Principles, Android, Computer Architecture, and Data Structures courses
  • Exploring culturally responsive/sustaining approaches in CS
• Adjunct Professor – Computer Science
  • Saddelback College (Fall 2012 - Summer 2014)
  • Taught CS 1A Introduction to Computer Science, course begins with a broad overview of the field, covering topics like: history, simple arithmetic, hardware, software, and problem solving. Introduces C++ programming while providing a solid foundation in creating well-documented, manageable code. Also co-taught CS 1B (Intermediate C++), CS 1C (Advanced C++) and CS 1D (Data Structures) further exploring C++ and Object Oriented Programming.
• Adjunct Professor – Computer Science
  • Santa Monica College (Spring 2013)
  • Taught CS 55 Java Programming, intended for students who completed a course in C programming. Topics covered included the Java programming language, object-oriented programming (OOP), the Java applications programming interface (API), computer graphics programming, and graphical user interfaces (GUI’s).
• Associate Professor – Computer Science
  • MiraCosta College (Fall 2010 - Spring 2012)
  • Taught CS 111 Intro to CS I: Java, CS 220 Computer Architecture and Assembly Language, CS 113 Data Structures and Algorithms, CS 150 Intro to C++, CS134 Mobile App Development: Android

Grant Work

• Culturally Sustaining Computer Science Zero Textbook Cost (CS2ZTC)

  • MiraCosta College (Spring 2024 - Spring 2027), ZTC Acceleration Grant
  • Grant Lead overseeing 8 CS courses to ensure our 3 certificates and 2 associate degrees are ZTC paths
  • Integrating current research to promote equitable student success is a key component of our department’s philosophy, and the materials we develop will build on work we have already done to create interactive tools through real world applications relevant to our student population. In particular, use of OER, culturally relevant/responsive/sustaining pedagogy, decolonization, and active learning strategies are at the center of our approach.

• Giving Ownership of Active Learning to Students in Computer Science (GOALS in CS)

  • MiraCosta College (Fall 2019 - Fall 2022), CA Learning Lab Grant
  • Co-PI in partnership between CSU San Marcos, MiraCosta College, and Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU’s) Open Learning Iniatitive, redesigned CS111 and CS112 from the ground up
  • The projects goal was to create culturally responsive learning resources and activities, and build a variety of student-focused and selectable modules that are adaptive to students’ personal characteristics, background contexts, and learning experiences
  • In addition to online modules with learning goals assigned and assessed throughout the week, the newly developed courses will include weekly face-to-face lab activities that engage students in project-based learning and help students navigate and better understand the discipline of CS, thereby empowering students at the introductory level to gain a cognitive map of the field itself

Research experience

• Mars Lava Formation Identification App

  • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, (Summer 2013)
  • Developed a crowdsourcing prototype iPad application to gather Mars Lava Formation data for scientists at JPL. Aimed at middle school students or higher, it would teach students how to identify interesting formations and provide useful data to JPL. A student of mine from SMC (Santa Monica College) analyzed the crowdsourced data, through several data mining algorithms, to arrive at the best possible guess in identifying the formation.

• Survey of Pointing Task Studies: How Are Motor Impaired Users Assisted?

  • University of Iowa (Fall 2011)
  • Survey paper providing an overview of the techniques/algorithms that have been proposed and tested in the field of aiding a user with pointing tasks, such as adaptive CD-ratio and area cursor techniques. Specifically measures their usability and feasibility for users with motor impairments.

• Helping a User Make Secure Choices – Case Study

  • University of Iowa (Spring 2011)
  • Designed and performed user case studies to help users make secure choices in a more intuitive way by comparing a Linksys Router setup wizard against a custom setup wizard that was created for the study. Simulations created using HTML, JavaScript, PHP with a MySQL backend to log user choices for analysis.

Work experience

• Draftpedia iPhone App - Santa Monica, CA
  • Freelance iOS Developer (February - April 2013)
  • Converted a PhoneGap app into a native iPhone app using a local SQLite database to store all NBA/NFL Draft information for the last 40+ years. Added Twitter integration, user analytics using TestFlight, Retina display support, and both iPhone dimension support for iOS 5.1+
• Rapid Consulting Services, Inc. - Irvine, CA
  • Senior iOS Developer (September 2012 - April 2013)
  • iOS team leader managing multiple developers and projects to ensure adequate work dispersal as well as accomplishing deadlines on time. Facilitate communication between design team and development team to streamline software development lifecycle. Developed iOS applications for clients using various backends (Sybase Unwired Platform, SQL, etc.) to create a mobile solution for their business.

Publications

Technology We Can’t Live Without!

D Garcia, D Dastur, K Hermans, N Chapeton-Lamas… - Proceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on …, 2024

Student Voice and Choice: Cultural Validation Theory in Redesigned Computer Science Courses

M. Clark-Ibáñez, F. Saldaña, Y. Ouyang (2023) STUDENT VOICE AND CHOICE: CULTURAL VALIDATION THEORY IN REDESIGNED COMPUTER SCIENCE COURSES, INTED2023 Proceedings, pp. 6210-6216.

The Impact of Integrating Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Content in Introductory Computer Science

The Impact of Integrating Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Content in Introductory Computer Science. Y Ouyang, S Gutta, M Clark-Ibáñez, F Saldana - Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on …, 2022

Service and leadership

• Committee Member, MESA Faculty Advisory Committee, 2023-24
• Committee Member, MiraCosta Online Educators (MOE) Committee, 2021-23
• Department Chair, Computer Science, Summer 2018 - Fall 2020 & Summer 2025 - present
• Committee Chair, Diversity Equity and Cultural Competence (DEqCC) Committee, 2018-20
• Committee Member, Institutional Program Review Committee (IPRC), 2017-18