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Derek Schuurman's personal story includes working in industry for several years before returning to academia. His interest in technology began in his early teens with ham radio and his first computer, a ZX-81. He is also interested in the bigger picture (metaphorically, not in the number-of-pixels sense) of ethics, faith, and technology. He is author of the book Shaping a Digital World and co-author of A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers, both published by IVP Academic.

Prof. Schuurman is a fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation, an associate fellow of the Kirby Liang Centre, and was made a senior member of the IEEE. He is a member of the ACM, CES, ACMS, a book review editor for Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, a regular contributor to the Christian Scholars Review blog, and a columnist for Christian Courier.

Research interests include robotics and computer vision, embedded systems and IoT, CS pedagogy, philosophy of technology, and faith and technology issues.

Education

• B.A.Sc. (Electrical Engineering), University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario
• M.A.Sc. (Electrical Engineering), University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario
  Thesis topic: Dynamic modelling of an EV traction application using different DC motors
• Ph.D., McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
  Thesis topic: Direct visual servoing using network-synchronized cameras

Talks and Interviews

Here is a selection of links to talks and interviews which have been posted online.

Selected Publications

Some publications are listed below, but a more extensive list of publications is also available.

Books

• Ethan J. Brue, Derek C. Schuurman, Steven H. VanderLeest, A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers, IVP Academic, 2022. (companion website)
• Derek C. Schuurman, Shaping a Digital World: Faith, Culture and Computer Technology, IVP Academic, 2013. (companion website)
• R.S. Ramshaw and D.C. Schuurman, PSpice Simulation of Power-Electronics Circuits, Springer, 1997. (companion website)
• Derek C. Schuurman, Exploring Computer Science with the Raspberry Pi, self-published, 2023-2024.

Chapters in Books

• Derek C. Schuurman, “Seeking Wisdom in Engineering and Computer Science” in Where Wisdom May be Found: The Eternal Purpose of Christian Higher Education, edited by Edward P. Meadors, Pickwick Publications, 2019, 214-226.
• Derek C. Schuurman, “Responsible Automation: Faith and Work in an Age of Intelligent Machines” in The Wonder and Fear of Technology: Commissioned Essays on Faith and Technology, edited by David H. Kim, Center for Faith & Work, 2016, 42-56.

Selected Articles

• Derek C. Schuurman, “Lament for a Wife”, Christian Courier, February 5, 2024 (available in PDF format; republished in The Big Picture magazine).
• Derek C. Schuurman, “A Tribute to the Z80”, IEEE Computer Magazine, Volume 57, Issue 9, September, 2024.
• Derek C. Schuurman, “Virtue and Artificial Intelligence”, Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Volume 75, Number 3, December 2023, 155-161.
• Derek C. Schuurman, “ChatGPT and the Rise of AI”, Christian Scholar's Review blog, January 20, 2023.
• Derek C. Schuurman, “Technology and the Biblical Story”, Pro Rege, Vol. 46, No. 1, September, 2017, 4-11 (available also in Portuguese as Tecnologia e a história bíblica).
• Derek C. Schuurman, “Approaches to Christian Education: From Elusive Towards a Larger and Deeper Approach”, Pro Rege, Vol. 44, No. 3, March, 2016, 14-20.
• Derek C. Schuurman, “Kuyper and Technology, or How a Voice From the Past Can Speak to our Digital Age”, Christian Scholar's Review, Volume XLIX, Number 2, Winter 2020, 161-174.
• Derek C. Schuurman, “Artificial Intelligence: Discerning a Christian Response”, Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Volume 71, Number 2, June 2019, 75-82.
• Derek C. Schuurman, “Introducing Open Source and the Raspberry Pi to Schools in Developing Nations”, Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Volume 67, Number 1, March 2015, 50-53.
• Derek C. Schuurman, “Step-by-step design and simulation of a simple CPU architecture”, SIGCSE '13 Proceeding of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education, 2013.
• Derek C. Schuurman, “A Letter to a Young Professor”, Christian Scholar's Review blog, November 20, 2020.
• Bryan W. House, David W. Capson, Derek C. Schuurman, “Towards Real-Time Sorting of Recyclable Goods Using Support Vector Machines”, Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST), May 2011.
• D.C. Schuurman and D.W. Capson, “Robust Direct Visual Servoing Using Network-Synchronized Cameras”, IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation, April 2004, Volume 20, Issue 2, 319- 334.

Patents

• US 5874818: Method and Apparatus For Sensing Load Current in a Motor Controller
• US 6215681: Bus Bar Heat Sink. See also: CA 2325148 (Canada), EP 1100294 (Europe), JP 2001267479 (Japan)

Open source software projects

• ARCHIE Pi: an offline web server that runs on the Raspberry Pi to deliver educational content in remote locations where no internet access is available.
• JTmap: a program to display a map for digital ham radio contacts
• pi-home: provides home lighting automation and sensor monitoring using a Raspberry Pi.
• index-o-matic: helps to create an index for a PDF manuscript.

Collections of Articles and Blogs

• A list of all my columns published in Christian Courier over the years
• Monthly blogs published by Christian Scholars Review
• Tutorials and manuals related to computer science
• Articles published in Dordt’s “In All Things”

Interests

• I am an enthusiastic user of the Raspberry Pi
• I am a licensed Ham Radio operator
• Biking
• Some of my digital photography of the great outdoors
• Crossing Signs my family and I have collected on our travels