In Memoriam: Andrew P. Kosoresow 

Assistant Professor Andrew P. Kosoresow, a beloved member of the Columbia University Computer Science Department, died on June 1st, 2003, at the age of 39. He died of heart failure while at home in New York City.

A native New Yorker, Andrew received his BA in Computer Science in 1985 from Columbia before leaving for the West Coast to attend Stanford University, where he received his Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1996. He taught at Stanford and then at the University of New Mexico before coming back to Columbia in 1997, where he stayed until his death. A wonderful teacher, he was a great inspiration to the many students he touched during his six years as instructor in the department.

He had the unique ability to promote an atmosphere of belonging and openness, which extended well beyond the classroom. He acted as advisor to many undergraduates, regularly taking time, often well after office hours, to personally make sure that they understood and felt confident about their academic options, as well as helping them cope with the pressures of adjusting to the rigors of the CS curriculum. He single-handedly revived the Columbia ACM student chapter, and through constant attention as their faculty advisor, brought them to national recognition when they won the Excellence Award for Outstanding Chapter Activities in 2001 and the Best Community Service Award in April, 2003.

He also had a great influence on the Department in his role as “TA czar”, where he reorganized the system for assigning TAs to the myriad of classes being taught each semester. Andrew established, and was the teacher for the course, Computer Science Education, which taught TAs how to better teach CS. In recognition of his teaching skills and commitment to students, he received the 2001 Kim Award for Faculty Involvement from The Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science.

Andrew’s research interests were in the area of Artificial Intelligence, including agent-based systems, distributed artificial intelligence, emergent computation, and machine learning; analysis of algorithms including distributed and parallel algorithms, online algorithms, and randomized algorithms; and computer security including intrusion detection and cryptography. Applications of interest included epidemiology, economics, ecology, and archeology.

The Andrew P. Kosoresow Memorial Fund has been established by the department. A new award, The Andrew P. Kosoresow Memorial Award for Outstanding Performance in TA-ing and Service, will be given annually.