Kevin Webb

Kevin

He / Him

Associate Professor
Computer Science Department
Swarthmore College
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore, PA 19081

Science Center 255
610-957-6071
kwebb at cs.swarthmore.edu

I’m an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Swarthmore College. I received my Ph.D. in 2013 from UC San Diego, where my advisors were Alex Snoeren and Ken Yocum. My general research interests are networks, distributed systems, and computer science education.

Fall 2023 Schedule

CS 21: Intro to Computer Science

Class

Monday / Wednesday / Friday

10:30 AM - 11:20 AM

Science Center 256

Lab (Section D)

Wednesday

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Science Center 256

Office Hours — If these times don’t work, don’t hesitate to contact me for an appointment.

Tuesday

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Science Center 255

Thursday

2:45 PM - 4:15 PM

Science Center 255

Other times and/or via Zoom

By appointment

Dive into Systems Textbook

Along with Suzanne J. Matthews and Tia Newhall, I’m one of the authors of the free, online textbook Dive into Systems. The book serves as a gentle introduction to computer systems, computer organization, and parallel computing for an audience that has only a CS1 background.

If you’re an instructor who has questions about using the book, please contact me. You may also be interested in our low-volume mailing list.

Past Courses

CS21: Introduction to Computer Science (Fall 2021, Fall 2019)
CS31: Introduction to Computer Systems (Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014)
CS43: Computer Networks (Spring 2022, Fall 2017, Fall 2015, Fall 2013)
CS45: Operating Systems (Spring 2024, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018)
CS91: Cloud Systems and Datacenter Networks (Fall 2014)
CS93: Directed Reading / Seminar (Spring 2023, Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2016, Fall 2015)
Perspectives in Computing (UC San Diego, Winter 2012)
Principles of Operating Systems (UC San Diego, Summer 2011)

Publications

T. Newhall, S. Matthews, K. Webb. "A Free Online Textbook Introducting Computer Architecture Topics". Workshop on Computer Architecture Education (WCAE'23), June 2023. (pdf)
T. Newhall, K. Webb, V. Chaganti, and A. Danner. "Introducing Parallel Computing in a Second CS Course". NSF/TCPP Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Computing Education (EduPar), May 2022. (pdf)
K. Webb, D. Zingaro, S. Liao, C. Taylor, C. Lee, M. Clancy, and L. Porter. "Student Performance on the BDSI for Basic Data Structures". ACM Transactions on Computing Education, Volume 22, Issue 1, March 2022. (open access)
S. Matthews, T. Newhall, K. Webb. "Dive into Systems: A Free, Online Textbook for Introducing Computer Systems". ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), March 2021. (open access)
C. Taylor, M. Clancy, K. Webb, D. Zingaro, C. Lee, and L. Porter. "The Practical Details of Building a CS Concept Inventory". ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), March 2020. (pdf)
L. Porter, D. Zingaro, S. Liao, C. Taylor, K. Webb, C. Lee, and M. Clancy. "BDSI: A Validated Concept Inventory for Basic Data Structures". ACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER), August 2019. (pdf)
A. Danner, T. Newhall, and K. Webb. "ParaVis: A Library for Visualizing and Debugging Parallel Applications". NSF/TCPP Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Computing Education (EduPar), May 2019 (pdf)
D. Zingaro, C. Taylor, L. Porter, M. Clancy, C. Lee, S. Liao, and K. Webb. "Identifying Student Difficulties with Basic Data Structures". ACM International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER), August 2018. (pdf)
L. Porter, D. Zingaro, C. Lee, C. Taylor, K. Webb, and M. Clancy. "Developing Course-Level Learning Goals for Basic Data Structures in CS2". ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), February 2018. (pdf)
R. Collins, T. Gelles, B. Marks, A. Simms, and K. Webb. "STOIC: Streaming Operating Systems in the Cloud". IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), May 2017. (pdf)
T. Newhall, A. Danner, and K. Webb. "Pervasive Parallel and Distributed Computing in a Liberal Arts College Curriculum". Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing, January 2017. (journal details)
B. Marks, R. Collins, and K. Webb. "Parallel Simulated Annealing with MRAnneal". IEEE International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Systems (ICPADS), December 2015. (pdf)
C. Taylor, D. Zingaro, L. Porter, K. Webb, C. Lee, and M. Clancy. "Computer Science Concept Inventories: Past and Future". Computer Science Education, October 2014. (journal details)
K. Webb, A. Roy, K. Yocum, and A. Snoeren. "Blender: Upgrading Tenant-based Data Center Networking". ACM/IEEE Symposium on Architectures for Networking and Communication Systems (ANCS), October 2014. (pdf)
L. Porter, C. Taylor, and K. Webb. "Leveraging Open Source Principles for Flexible Concept Inventory Development". ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE), June 2014. (pdf)
K. Webb and C. Taylor. "Developing a Pre- and Post-Course Concept Inventory to Gauge Operating Systems Learning". ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), March 2014. (pdf)
K. Webb, B. Vattikonda, K. Yocum, and A. Snoeren. "Scalable Coordination of a Tightly-Coupled Service in the Wide Area". ACM Conference on Timely Results in Operating Systems (TRIOS), November 3, 2013. (pdf)
D. Logothetis, C. Trezzo, K. Webb, and K. Yocum. "In-situ MapReduce for Log Processing". USENIX Annual Technical Conference (ATC), June 2011. (pdf)
K. Webb, A. Snoeren, and K. Yocum. "Topology Switching for Data Center Networks". Workshop on Hot Topics in Management of Internet, Cloud and Enterprise Networks and Services (Hot-ICE), March 2011. (pdf)
E. Kiciman, B. Livshits, M. Musuvathi, and K. Webb. "Fluxo: A System for Internet Service Programming by Non-expert Developers". ACM Symposium on Cloud Computing (SOCC), June 2010. (pdf)
D. Logothetis, C. Olston, B. Reed, K. Webb, and K. Yocum. "Stateful Bulk Processing for Incremental Algorithms". ACM Symposium on Cloud Computing (SOCC), June 2010. (pdf)