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Words like encryption, emulation, and equidistance letter sequencing
may sound foreign to most people, but for John Cox, M.S. '95, they are
practically his native tongue. An award-winning software engineer for
Unisys Corporation and an esteemed
adjunct professor in the Department
of Computer Science at Azusa Pacific University, Cox manages to make
perfect sense of his success.
After earning his bachelor's degree from California
Polytechnic University, Pomona, Cox landed his first job at Northrop-Grumman,
working on the Terrain Following and Terrain Avoidance Program for the
B-2 stealth
bomber. "It's an operational flight program that reads live radar
data and digital maps to figure out how much the aircraft should pitch
up or down," explained Cox.
At that same time, Cox began work on a master's degree in software engineering
at APU. Since the classes were offered on-site at Northrop's Pico Rivera
facility, Cox was able to easily coordinate his classes with his work.
"But even more important to me was that I admired the instructors
as skilled professionals, who choose to work for a Christian university."
Cox had long struggled with the decision to be a missionary or pursue
a career in engineering. "I thought the balance the professors struck
was very cool."
The instructors were likewise impressed with Cox. Shortly after completing
the master's program, he received a call from then department chair and
current associate professor, Wendel
Scarbrough, requesting that Cox teach a software class. He enthusiastically
accepted the adjunct teaching position that would allow him to integrate
his faith and vocation.
"Now it's so much more convenient to share my faith," said Cox,
who admits that a connection between the two is not always obvious.
After he began teaching, Cox decided it was also time to make a move from
Northrop to a different company where he could contribute to other areas
of software development. Cox signed on with Unisys, a global e-business
corporation.
"In just a matter of months, I went from being a student and working
at Northrop, to teaching and supervising my own team at Unisys,"
said Cox, who teaches Software Engineering I and II at APU's regional
center in Orange County.
"Although they can often be intense, I love both of my jobs."
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John Cox, M.S. '95
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Throughout the past five years, Cox has received several achievement
awards for excellence at Unisys. Last year the company bestowed upon
him an Outstanding Achievement Award for leading a team of developers
to integrate Unisys' product with the Microsoft Cluster Server, a high-end
server product which allows multiple Windows systems to operate as one
entity.
"I feel that John did an outstanding job of bringing this technology
to our product which is now expected to bring in tens of millions of
dollars in revenue for Unisys," said Steve Forbes, a development
manager for Unisys, who has supervised Cox since he joined the company
in 1995. "The thing that I admire most about John is his understated
technical excellence and strength of character. He has a security of
ego which allows him to work well with anyone."
In October 2000, Cox was once again acknowledged for his intellect and
contribution to his field when APU inducted him into the university's
Academic Hall of Fame. "I was shocked, amazed, and felt completely
unworthy," said Cox, who was honored alongside 24 others.
His colleagues, however, argue otherwise. "There were quite a few
good people to select from, but John came out on top quickly,"
said Sam
Sambasivam, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Computer Science.
"He was one of the best students here, and is one of our best adjunct
faculty members."
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email Today at APU.
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