Sang Suh, Ph.D.

Regents Professor

Dr. Sang Suh journeyed to the United States in 1984 to earn a master's degree in computer science at the University of Hawaii. After earning his doctorate in computer science from Southern Methodist University, Suh began teaching at East Texas State University (now A&M-Commerce) in 1993. He was honored by The Texas A&M University System in 2018 as a Regents Professor.

Suh is deeply committed to international leadership toward building a strong transdisciplinary science education community through his work with the Society for Design and Process Science (SDPS). His contributions in various capacities and as a role model identifying and educating world changers—have helped SDPS develop into a global organization over the past 25 years.

A Conversation with Dr. Suh

What would you tell a student who is thinking about attending A&M-Commerce?

A&M-Commerce is a unique place in a small rural college town. It is unique because it provides a family-like environment that enables very personal and close relationships between students and faculty. It is especially true in the department where I reside and serve. A&M-Commerce was the very first public university in Texas to offer a bachelor's degree in computer science.

What draws you to your discipline?

I like numbers. I like logic. I like science. I learned to use an abacus to play with numbers in my youth and became a school champion in an abacus competition. I have always thought of becoming a scientist who can contribute to society with the digital revolution and challenges. Computer science was the natural choice for my major based on my interests and wishes.

What has been your favorite course to teach?

Automata Theory has been my favorite course to teach. I have taught this course for the last 30 years at A&M-Commerce. It is a theory in theoretical computer science and the study of abstract machines and automata which comes from the Greek word “αὐτόματος,” which means “self-acting, self-willed, self-moving.” The automata theory enables the formalization of computational problems. Interestingly, all modern-day computer programming languages are designed and developed based on grammar formalized by the automata theory.

Tell us about a project you are currently working on or recently completed.

Since the invention of computers, one of the ambitious goals of computer scientists has been trying to create conversable chatbots using the Standard Turing Test (STT) to test them. With recent advances in AI and machine learning, a number of chatbot applications have been developed and made available to the public with the capability to handle audio input and output features, nonverbal features and personalities. I developed a chatbot called “Cheshire” in a somewhat different way than most other chatbots. The Cheshire emulates personalities, applies nonverbal communication by obtaining the emotional state of the user, and provides a means for the user to talk to the chatbot and for the chatbot to talk back. It is an effort to develop a more believable and truly humanlike chatbot. The effort to build sensible and humanlike chatbots continues on.

Educational Background

• Ph.D., Computer Science, Southern Methodist University, 1992
• M.S., Computer Science, University of Hawaii, 1986

Awards and Honors

• A&M-Commerce Nominee, Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Teaching Award, 2009, 2023
• Excellence in Teaching Award, National Society of Leadership and Success, 2019
• Regents Professor, Texas A&M University System, 2018
• Board Member, Society for Design and Process Science, 2016
• Distinguished Service as President Award, Society for Design and Process Science, 2015
• Outstanding Achievement Award, World Congress on Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Applied Computing, 2009

Research Interests

• Artificial intelligence and knowledge engineering
• Data analytics and mining
• Automata theory

Professional Organizations

• Society for Design and Process Science

Selected Publications

• Cliff Zintgraff, Sang C. Suh, Bruce Kellison and Paul E. Resta, STEM in the Technopolis: The Power of STEM Education in Regional Technology Policy, Springer International Publishing, New York, NY, USA, ISBN 978-3-030-39850-7 (e-book: 978-3-030-39851-4), 2020.
• Sang C. Suh and Thomas Anthony, Big Data and Data Analytics, Springer International Publishing, New York, NY, USA, ISBN 978-3-319-63915-4 (Print); ISBN 978-3-319-63917-8 (eBook); https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63917-8, 2018.
• Sang C. Suh, John Tanik, John Carbone, and A. Eroglu, Applied Cyber-Physical Systems, Springer Verlag, New York, NY, USA, ISBN 978-1-4614-7336-7, 2013.
• Sang C. Suh, Practical Applications of Data Mining – Methods and Practices, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Boston, MA, USA, ISBN-13: 9780763785871, 2011. (Single-author book).
• Sang C. Suh, M. Yang, Jack Yang, H. Arabnia “World Congress on Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Applied Computing Keynote Lecture: The impact of supercomputing in the next generation sequencing data mining”, World Congress on Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Applied Computing, July 13-17, 2009 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. In Proceedings of The 2009 International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Processing Techniques and Applications (PDPTA’09) , CSREA Press, 2009.
• Sang C. Suh, M. Yang, Jack Yang, H. Arabnia “Plenary Keynote Lecture Note: Next Generation Sequence Generation Sequencing Technologies Foster the New Initiatives of High-Performance Computing” In Proceedings of International Joint Conference on Bioinformatics, Systems Biology and Intelligent Computing”. Library of Congress Number 2009904091, ISBN 978-0-7695-3739-9, IEEE Computer Society Order Number P3739, BMS Part Number CFP0935H-PRT, IEEE Press 2009.
• Sang C. Suh, Jack Yang, M. Yang, H. Arabnia “Next Generation Sequence Analysis Using Genetic Algorithms on Multi-core” In Proceedings of International Joint Conference on Bioinformatics, Systems Biology and Intelligent Computing”, p.p. 190-194. Library of Congress Number 2009904091, ISBN 978-0-7695-3739-9, IEEE Computer Society Order Number P3739, BMS Part Number CFP0935H-PRT, IEEE Press 2009.
• Sang C. Suh and Nagendra Babu Pabbisetty, “A Conceptual Hierarchy-Based Approach For The Extraction of Medical Knowledge in Psychiatric Diseases”, Intelligent Engineering Systems Through Artificial Neural Networks Vol. 18, pp. 210-218 , ASME Press, New York, 2008, ISBN 0-7917-0268-5.