The relational model and the declarative SQL language associated with it are responsible for much of the success of database systems and their proliferation in all domains of life. In this talk, the basic concepts of SQL querying will be introduced and demonstrated. Presentation will start with simple concepts including selection from a single table, and specifying conditions for rows selection, and build to more complex joins and aggregate queries. The presentation will include a practical demonstration of querying a MySQL database. The talk will conclude with a short discussion of some of the recent advances in database research and work in scalable RDF triple stores for cloud environments.

Dr. Adina Crainiceanu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the US Naval Academy. She received her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Cornell University, under the supervision of Prof. Johannes Gehrke. She teaches undergraduate courses in the Computer Science field – from introductory courses such as Introduction to Computer Science to more advanced courses in Database Systems and Cyber Operations. She has conducted database and distributed systems related research since 2001, and has published papers in premiere database conferences and journals, including SIGMOD and Information Systems journal. Her work has been funded by Missile Defense Agency, Naval Academy Research Council, Office of Naval Research, and National Security Agency.