Three computer science alumni of the University of Missouri-Rolla were inducted as members into the UMR Academy of Computer Science during the group’s banquet and induction ceremony in Rolla on April 19.

The academy honors outstanding computer scientists for their contributions to the profession and their involvement with UMR students and faculty. The academy also serves as an advisory group to the computer science department.

New members are:

Marcus L. Smith, director of information technology at Pabst Brewing Company, earned a bachelor of science degree in computer science and a master of science degree in engineering management from UMR. He is responsible for all IT operating areas for the fourth largest brewer in the United States. Smith directs strategic planning, technology development and procurement, and vendor management activities and ensures business and technology plan alignment.

Prior to joining Pabst in 2004, Smith served in senior IT management positions for OmniAlert and Mallinckrodt and has more than 10 years of executive-level consulting experience. He has published seven books and was recently cited in the Jan. 1, 2007, edition of CIO Magazine as an example of the “Turnaround CIO.”

Smith and his wife, Barbara, reside in San Antonio, Texas, and have two children, Christopher and Jonathan. He is involved in several volunteer organizations, including the Alamo Area Council, Boy Scouts of America.

Dr. Herb Krasner, a senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin and president of Krasner Consulting, earned bachelor of science, master of science and Ph.D., degrees in computer science from UMR. He is founder, chair and former director of the University of Texas Software Quality Institute. Krasner teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in software engineering, data structures, database engineering, agile methods and software process improvement. His research interests include the science of design, the economics of software engineering, and software quality and process improvement. He has published more than 55 papers, articles and book sections in peer-reviewed literature and has spoken at many professional conferences and meetings.

Krasner serves on the UMR Computer Science Department Advisory Board. He is a book series editor for the IEEE Computer Society Press and a member of its publications board. He is active in both the ACM and IEEE Computer Society, and his professional awards include the ACM Distinguished Service Award and ASQ Golden Quill Award.

From 1974 to 1979 Krasner was a research/teaching assistant and then lecturer in computer science at UMR. After leaving UMR, he held various positions at Clemson University, Harris Corp., MCC, Lockheed and SAIC.

Krasner and his wife, Judy, live on Lake Travis in Spicewood, Texas. They have two adult children and one granddaughter.

Dr. Donald L. Gaitros, chair of computer science at Baylor University, received a master of science degree in computer science in 1966 and a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1972, both from UMR. He also holds a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Western Illinois State University. Gaitros has led Baylor’s computer science department since its inception and has taught at the university since 1973. In 1986, Gaitros worked to achieve accreditation for the computer science department at Baylor, one of only 50 accredited programs in the nation at the time.

Gaitros coached and sponsored the Baylor programming team that placed fifth and first in the International Programming Contest in 1980 and 1982, respectively. He was recognized for outstanding teaching by the Baylor Mortar Board in 1979 and 1999 and he received the Outstanding Faculty Award from Baylor in 2000.

Prior to his university employment, Gaitros was a scientific programmer/analyst for TRW Systems where he was responsible for developing environmental control systems simulation models for NASA’s Apollo spacecraft. He and his wife live in Waco, Texas, and have nine children and 15 grandchildren.