激情伊人麻豆久久综合

FCS profs Drs. Hanieh Shakeri and Joseph Malloch helped Woody the Talking Christmas Tree make his winter wake鈥憉p call.

By Ryan McNutt - December 12, 2025

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Computer scientists aren鈥檛 usually asked to save Christmas.听

A red-nosed reindeer who saves Christmas? Makes complete sense. An oversized elf? Perfect for the role. The occasional Grinch? Sure (even if he may have caused his Christmas calamity in the first place).

But鈥� computer scientists? They have their own kind of magic, to be sure, but not the kind you expect to see called into action for a helping of holiday heroism.听

But there it was, in mid-October: an email from Andrew Rau-Chaplin, dean of 激情伊人麻豆久久综合鈥檚 Faculty of Computer Science, sent out to faculty members with the subject line,听鈥淐++ programming needed urgently to help save Christmas.鈥澨�

The crisis in question did not involve Santa Claus, or his domain over the far reaches of the North Pole. No, in peril was a decidedly more local symbol of the season, a towering figure of tinsel'd tidings that has delighted (and, at times, bewildered) mallgoers on the other side of Halifax Harbour for decades.

Woody the Talking Christmas Tree needed 激情伊人麻豆久久综合鈥檚 help.

Would Woody wake-up?

Mic Mac Mall owner Joe Ramia had reached out to the university looking for assistance in making sure Woody would make their scheduled seasonal wake-up on November 15 鈥� at this point, less than a month away. Some of the mechanical magic that brings Woody to life each year, allowing the tree to converse with children young and old, was malfunctioning. Without a bit of programming prowess, Woody鈥檚 slumber risked extending deep into the Christmas shopping season.听

Answering the call were full-time faculty members and part-time elves Drs. Hanieh Shakeri and Joe Malloch. And they couldn鈥檛 have been better suited for the task.

鈥淚 think in most computer science faculties, you might not find people with our particular expertise,鈥� explains Dr. Malloch. 鈥淲e鈥檙e used to using computing 鈥� specifically embedded computing 鈥� for making interactive art. So it鈥檚 kind of the ideal combination of interests and experiences for something like this.鈥�

鈥淲e both work in human-computer interaction,鈥� adds Dr. Shakeri. 鈥淥ur research space looks at how humans interact with different kinds of computer systems. There鈥檚 a lot about Woody鈥檚 wake-up routine that we would typically encounter on a day-to-day basis in our own research, but it was a fun, different way of using it.鈥�

A 鈥渧ery unique鈥� tree

If you鈥檙e at all confused as to why Woody鈥檚 annual winter arrival is such a big deal, you鈥檙e not alone. When the tree returned to Mic Mac Mall in 2021, after more than a decade in the wilderness, the news generated international headlines and even late-night talk show jokes 鈥� much of it bewildered as to how and why a three-storey talking tree had become a thing in the first place.

But if you grew up in the Halifax-Dartmouth area in the 1980s or 1990s, or if you have kids today who make Mic Mac Mall a destination visit in November and December, Woody鈥檚 strangeness is all part of the appeal.

There鈥檚 no other tree quite like it, transported each year from the deep woods to the centre of the mall for five weeks just so it can talk to children about all the big feelings of the holiday season. Woody has even become something of a Dartmouth icon through the years, with local artisans frequently paying tribute and with a wide range of merchandise available for purchase at the mall.听听

Dr. Malloch is originally from Dartmouth and was quite familiar with Woody from his own childhood, but the talking tree was a decidedly new thing for Dr. Shakeri.

鈥淚 only moved to Halifax back in January,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚 had heard of Woody but had never seen them before. I thought it was amazing. I don鈥檛 know how else to describe it 鈥� just very unique.鈥�

Wide awake and ready for Christmas

Drs. Malloch and Shakeri made multiple visits to the mall over two weeks, getting Woody ready for the big wake-up day. Once the tree was moved to the centre of the mall, this meant working off-hours as to not disturb mallgoers. On Dr. Malloch鈥檚 last night on the project, with two days to go, he was there until after midnight 鈥� with Woody鈥檚 snores echoing through the entire mall as he worked.

The two are careful in speaking about exactly what was involved in helping Woody meet their wake-up call. (We did say computer scientists have some magic in them, didn鈥檛 we?). But suffice to say, on Saturday, November 15, Woody鈥檚 wake-up went off without a hitch. In fact, in some ways the tree is talking better than ever 鈥� visitors may notice Woody鈥檚 eyes are moving a bit more smoothly than they used to, and the overall expressiveness continues to improve as well. (It鈥檚 as if Woody has a new dose of eyedrops!)

Mall owner Raima was grateful for the care Woody received from the Dal faculty and has even started to talk with them about ways they might be able to continue to support Woody next holiday season.

鈥淲e were incredibly impressed by the support 激情伊人麻豆久久综合 was able to provide in helping us get Woody ready for Christmas,鈥� says mall owner Joe Ramia of Rank Inc. 鈥淎fter we had exhausted our options to solve the problem, we reached out to Dal and couldn鈥檛 have been more pleased by how quickly they were able to react. Our thanks to the team from Computer Science for their help in bringing the spirit of the season to life this year.鈥�

Those sentiments are echoed by Ben Goldberg, managing director of DalPartners, who helped connect Ramia to the Faculty of Computer Science.

鈥淲e鈥檙e so appreciative of them doing this,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here are so many different ways faculty members help in the community, and this is a particularly fun one for everyone. I鈥檓 very grateful to both of them for stepping up at such a busy time and making this happen.鈥�

A 鈥渃ool experience鈥�

For the faculty members, it was all about a cool project that also meant something to the community at the same time.听听

鈥淔or me, it has a bit of extra fun attached to it because I experienced Woody as a child 鈥� it鈥檚 that idiosyncratic nostalgia thing,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd I was glad to do it with Hanieh, because it was much more fun to do this as a team. I鈥檓 very happy I said yes.鈥�

Adds Dr. Shakeri: 鈥淚t was a really cool experience.鈥�