M.S. and Ph.D. – Computer Science, North Dakota State University
B.S. – Mathematics, Northern State University
Damian has been writing code professionally since the turn of the century and has exhibited an entrepreneurial spirit through multiple tech startups. In 2015, he joined the computer science faculty in the Concordia College Offutt School of Business, melding his passion for technology and its importance to the world of business. In his short academic career, Damian has published numerous papers in conference proceedings and journals, as well as a book chapter on topics such as network optimization, sentiment analysis, and machine learning. While Damian equally enjoys nearly all aspects of computer science and software engineering, he has a particular affinity for artificial intelligence, web application development, optimization, and especially the pivotal interdisciplinary role computer science plays in every industry.
With extensive industry experience building custom applications, Damian understands real-world business requirements and is able to convey to students true insight into the professional and personal expectations companies place on their employees and contractors. Because of that background, Damian encourages students to be resourceful above all else. In today's world of instant information retrieval, it is imperative to be skilled in finding what is necessary to complete a given task as quickly as possible using all available resources. In technology fields especially, a focus on critical thinking and problem solving better prepares students with relevant career skills as opposed to expecting them to memorize a bunch of facts they will likely forget once an assessment is complete. To facilitate the sharpening of these skills, Damian introduces the material for a class period with a short lecture portion before breaking students into random small groups for an integrative learning activity that brings the concepts to life.