Rate My Professor Lucas Cordova

Professor Lucas P. Cordova is an Associate Professor of Computer Science in the School of Computing and Information Sciences at Willamette University, promoted with tenure by the Board of Trustees in February 2026. He earned his Ph.D. in Software Engineering from North Dakota State University in 2020, M.S. in Software Development and Management from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2010, and B.S. in Computer Science from the University of New Mexico in 2004. Prior to Willamette, where he joined as Assistant Professor in 2023, Cordova held assistant professorships at Western Oregon University from 2019 to 2023 and Oregon Institute of Technology from 2016 to 2019. His extensive industry career spans over a decade as a full-stack software developer, program manager, and software engineer at Hewlett-Packard Company (2005-2010 and 2010-2013), Elemental Technologies (2013-2014), Marion County, Oregon (2014-2015), and SAIF Corporation (2015-2016), specializing in mobile, web, distributed, and cloud computing applications with agile methodologies.

Cordova's research specializations include computer science education, artificial intelligence, software engineering, data management, machine learning, and human-centered design for ethical technology outcomes. He leads interdisciplinary projects such as Pedalogical, an AI platform generating personalized educational materials to boost student engagement; Testing Tutor, a web-based tool providing inquiry-based feedback for software testing; and the Oregon Turtle Project, merging computing with ecology for monitoring native freshwater turtles. Through faculty-student collaborations, including Murdock-funded research, he investigates AI tools that support critical thinking without compromising educational quality, as demonstrated in recent studies and conference presentations. Key publications include 'Enhancing Software Testing Education: Understanding Where Students Struggle' (2025, with S. Andleeb, T. Mendoza, G. Walia, and J. Carver). Cordova contributes to the field via editorial and committee roles, such as Treasurer and Papers Chair for CCSC-NW and Hybrid Co-Chair for SIGCSE TS 2026. In teaching, he covers introductory programming to advanced topics like databases, web and mobile development, and software engineering, emphasizing inclusive pedagogy and real-world applications to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.