FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Minh Vu, a senior in computer science and computer engineering, received an honorable mention in the competition to receive the 2005 Outstanding Undergraduate Award, sponsored by the Computing Research Association. Other winners included students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Carnegie Mellon University, Purdue University and Georgia Tech.

Vu's nomination included a number of accomplishments, most with broad applications for middleware, which is the software that's between end-user applications and computer operating systems. Middleware is a collection of reusable chunks of software, that when combined, can build higher level applications such as agent-based applications. One of Vu's most recent accomplishments was developing the E2 middleware framework for dynamically snapping together plug-in software components into a flexible system architecture.

"This was a very important and widely used development in our research," said Craig Thompson, professor and Acxiom Database Chair in Engineering. "We use E2 for adding capabilities to agents in our specific system, but it also has general applicability to middleware."

Vu is interested in artificial intelligence research, such as machine-learning natural language, smart-user interface and intelligent Internet systems. "Computer science represents the free expression of the mind," said Vu. "And almost all other fields rely on computer technology for their advancement."

College of Engineering Dean Ashok Saxena said: "Minh Vu's success while competing against the nation's best demonstrates the caliber of our faculty and their ability to prepare our students for the challenges of rigorous research."