Coker College Student James Shumpert Presents at Research Symposium

HARTSVILLE, SC (03/02/2012)(readMedia)-- Coker College student James Shumpert, of Pelion, S.C., recently presented at the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU) Undergraduate-Faculty Research Symposium held Feb. 17 in Spartanburg, S.C.

For his research project, "Parallelization of the Single Machine Weighted Tardiness Problem," Shumpert used distributed computing environments as well as general purpose graphics processor calculations to obtain solutions to the single machine weighted tardiness problem. Speedups of over 10 times were obtained using traditional distributed computers, while speedups of over 100 times were obtained using graphics processors. His project was supervised by Coker College Assistant Professor of Mathematics Paul Dostert and supported by SCICU. Shumpert is a junior mathematics major at Coker.

Established in 1908, Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the "Best Colleges" in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.