Ed Harcourt not only builds computers; he gives them languages. At St. Lawrence for seven years, the associate professor of computer science specializes in programming languages and computer architecture.

“I develop special-purpose programming languages used to simulate digital devices such as a microprocessor,” Harcourt says. “Electrical and computer engineers use these programming languages (EDA software) when they design digital circuits.”

His article “Policies of System Level Pipeline Modeling” was published last year in Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science; his work was also published at the Workshop on Generative Technologies in Budapest, Hungary, in April 2008. “The ‘Policies’ paper deals with modeling a specific class of circuits known as pipelined circuits (think of an assembly line) in a language called SystemC,” he explains.

The most rewarding experience for Harcourt is the time he spends with students sharing in the opportunity to give them hands-on experience. “Last semester my colleague Rich Sharp and I taught a course in which we built three computer labs in renovated space in Bewkes Hall of Science,” says Harcourt. “Students built 55 computers from scratch, installed the operating system on each, networked them and then learned how to develop software for them.” Harcourt enjoys working closely with small groups of students on complex and difficult problems that the students then develop software solutions for.

Before coming to St. Lawrence, Harcourt was a software engineer at Cadence Design Systems in Chelmsford, Mass., where he worked on EDA tools. He has also remotely managed software teams in India, Paris and San Jose, Cal.; “I love to travel,” says Harcourt. But when he’s not building computers or developing a library software system, Harcourt enjoys family time on the Raquette River or skating at Appleton Arena during his lunch hour. He is also a New York State certified interior firefighter.                                                            
--Nora Wolinsky ’10