def csv_to_dict(csv_string):
    """ Converts a string formatted as a csv into a dictionary with the format
        {Column Name: [list of sequential points] }.
        Data are in their original order, empty entries are dropped. """
    # grab a list of every line in the file, strips off trailing whitespace.
    lines = [ line for line in csv_string.splitlines() ]
    header_list = lines[0].split(',')
    list_of_entries = []
    for line in lines[1:]:
        data = line.split(',')
        #creates a dict of {column name: config point, ...}, strips empty strings
        list_of_entries.append( { header_list[i]: entry for i, entry in enumerate(data) if entry != ''} )
    return list_of_entries