BIG RAPIDS – Ferris State University Mathematics associate professor Dr. J.F. (Jim) Nystrom has been recognized with an Outstanding Achievement Award for his leadership and research contributions in the field of cellular automata.
Nystrom was given the award in Las Vegas during the 2010 World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Applied Computing. At this conference, Nystrom also was responsible for acting as co-chair of a workshop on the famed subject.
Having conducted research in the area for the last eight years, Nystrom has written and published several papers discussing what he’s termed “computational cosmography.”
“It’s a term I use to describe some of the theoretical efforts to understand how the universe goes about its work,” Nystrom explained. “My viewpoint, and that of many others in the field of cellular automata, is that eventually we’ll be able to look at the universe as another type of computation – as a type of computer, if you will.”
Nystrom has been teaching at Ferris State since 2007 and holds four university degrees, including a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from University of Idaho. He teaches a variety of courses in Computer Science and Mathematics, including programming, computer organization, numerical analysis, discrete structures and trigonometry, among others. His research interests include the design of algorithms for the time-domain simulation of physical phenomena, and implications associated with the quantum mind. Nystrom also is the advisor for Applied Mathematics students with a concentration in Computer Science.