Ph. D. in Computer and Information Science (in progress), Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Research area: Building collaborative environments using Web technologies. GPA 3.979/4.0

M.S. in Computer Science, Dec. 97, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

B.S. in Computer Science equivalent, Jun. 96, Computer Science, The Franco-Polish School of New Information and Communication Technologies, Poznan, Poland

Computer Science, Oct. 92 - Jun. 94, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland

Web & Collaboration Technologies Researcher:

Participated in preparation of the proposal for "An Advanced Interactive Discovery Environment for Engineering Education" - research project sponsored by NASA. The project is carried out in cooperation with Syracuse University and Cornell University.

Investigated security issues in Web-based real-time collaborative environments: authentication and encryption. Designed and developed security framework for distance learning and virtual meeting systems.

Responsible for design and development of virtual meeting service for commercial portals. Manages team of programmers assigned to the task.

Research Scientist (Jan. 99 - present):

Conducts research on applications of XML and customizable components in building virtual places on the Web. Created SPDL (Shared Place Definition Language) that enables comprehensive description of interactive Internet-based areas. Developed prototype of the framework that generates shared virtual environments from SPDL documents.

Prepared and taught graduate-level course (title: Internet Data Architectures) at Syracuse University. The course introduced concepts and technologies used in design and implementation of e-commerce applications. Java 2 Enterprise Edition was used as implementation platform. Also, delivered number of lectures and seminars on topics: Synchronous and Asynchronous Collaborative Frameworks, Multithreaded Programming in Java, Component Architectures for Collaborative Environments, Applications of XML in Internet Environment.

Coordinated research project on methods of uniform access to data stored in various formats: XML, relational databases, and WWW resources with focus on applications in collaborative environments: storage of user profiles, collaborative session recording, and persistent objects.

Graduate Research Assistant (Jan. 97 - Dec. 98):

Participated in building TANGO Interactive - one of the first Web-based distance learning and group collaboration systems. The system is being used by several universities (including Syracuse University) and DoD research centers for on-line course delivery. Author of the key concepts and co-author of the patent (no. 6,078,948) on the collaboration architecture applied in the system. Invented and developed programming interfaces used for building system extensions in Java, JavaScript, and C languages including component based version (JavaBeans technology). Presented results at "International Workshops on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises", Stanford University, Jun. 1999.

Research Scholar (Jun. 96 - Dec. 96):

Participated in "Collaboration and Interactive Visualization" project sponsored by DoD research center - Rome Laboratories. Topic: Development of Distributed Command & Control and Emergency Management Centers Using WWW Technology. Designed and implemented crucial parts of the system: collaboration server and communication layer of the client. Technologies used: Java, JavaScript, Netscape plug-ins, and Netscape browser platform.

Languages: Java (participated in Java ONE conference, San Francisco, April 1998), C, C++, Pascal, Perl, SQL, Lisp.

Internet and Web Technologies: Java 2 Enterprise Edition, JavaScript, HTML, XML, Internet protocols, network programming, collaborative environments, integration of distributed systems with browser platforms: Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer and Mozilla (participated in CodeStock'99 - Netscape seminar on Internet technologies implemented in Mozilla, Mountain View, Sept. 1999).

Software Design: Object-oriented analysis and design, UML, design patterns, component technologies.

Sun Certified Architect for Java Technology

Phi Kappa Phi, Honor Society - member

Phi Beta Delta, Honor Society for International Scholars - member

Graduate School Scholarship awarded by Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York

Association for Computing Machinery - student member

Holder of H-1 visa sponsored by Syracuse University

Beca, L., "Building Collaborative Problem-Solving Environments as Shared Places", Accepted for Collaborative Problem Solving Environment (CPSE) Minitrack at Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, January 2001.

Beca, L., "Shared Place: A New Paradigm for Web-based Collaboration", Doctoral Colloquium at Computer Supported Cooperative Work 2000, ACM, December 2000.

Beca, L., "Applications of XML and Customizable Components in Building Virtual Places on the Web", IEEE 9^th International Workshops on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises - WET ICE'2000, IEEE, June 2000, pp. 242-247.

Beca, L., Fox, G., Podgorny, M., "Shared Places on the Web: XML for Web-based Collaboration and Distance Education", Presentation at XML Developers Conference, Montreal, August 1999.

Beca, L., Fox, G., Podgorny, M., "Component Architecture for Building Web-based Synchronous Collaboration Systems", IEEE 8^th International Workshops on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises - WET ICE'99, IEEE, June 1999, pp. 108-113.

Beca, L., "Message Routing and State Management in Collaborative Environments" - Master's Thesis, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, December 1997.

Beca, L., Cheng, G., Fox, G. C., Jurga, T., Olszewski, K., Podgorny, M., Sokolowski, P., and Walczak, K., "Java Enabling Collaborative Education, Health Care, and Computing", Concurrency: Practice and Experience, Vol. 9(6), June 1997, pp. 521-533.

Beca, L., Cheng, G., Fox, G. C., Jurga, T., Olszewski, K., Podgorny, M., and Walczak, K., "Web Technologies for Collaborative Visualization and Simulation", Proceedings of the Eighth SIAM Conference on Parallel Processing for Scientific Computing, March 1997.

Beca, L., Cheng, G., Fox, G. C., Jurga, T., Olszewski, K., Podgorny, M., Sokolowski, P., Stachowiak, T., and Walczak, K., "Tango - a collaborative environment for the World-Wide Web", Technical report, Northeast Parallel Architectures Center, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, February 1997.