Celebrating 50 Years of Computer Science
From Punch Cards to Innovation Campus
Five decades. Half a century. More than 7,000 graduates.
We have much to celebrate collectively, and cannot wait to share what tomorrow's landscape looks like in an amazing decade of growth. The department would not be here without the vision and dedication of so many, and find it important to honor those solid foundations.
Although we would like to celebrate this milestone in person, it is not in the best interest of safety to do so at this time. As we plan for a safe future celebration held on campus, alumni and friends can reminisce with the below virtual programming that will be made public each month:
Learn more about where the department has been and where it is headed in this special message from Dean Ross and Department Head Cal Ribbens!
Watch the recording below to hear how the department and computer science has changed over the years from a panel of faculty, moderated by Cal Ribbens!
Panelists included: Dwight Barnette, Ed Fox, and Barbara Ryder.
How in the world did VT come to utilize Apple Lisa’s running Unix System 5 at that time?
Answered live at minute 21
Resource from Ed Fox on this decision: E. Fox and S. Birch. UNIX Micros for Students Majoring in Computer Science and Personal Information Retrieval. Microcomputers for Information Management, 1986, 3(1): 15-29.
How long did the Apple computer requirement last? In 1993 we had to buy Unix DecStations.
Requirement was from Apple for about 5 years, I think.
Over your tenure with the VT CS program, what changes surprised you the most about the program? And what changes surprised you the most in the industry?
Answered live at minute 24
The growth in our major population (due to the web explosion in the 1990s) and the decrease due to the dot com bubble and now growth again due to ML/AI/Security.
So is coding part of the core curriculum for all students?
Answered live at minute 26
Yes, programming is still at the core of the curriculum. I don't see that changing anytime soon. But we are stressing to the students how they can take their degree and do a lot more than just program. I've even written a couple of law school recommendations over the years. I'm sure those people are now in IP law making lots of money.
A lot of majors do require their students to take some programming. Some of the departments teach their own form of programming specific to their field. We also serve about 2K non-majors each year.
What’s being done by the department to encourage young women to study CS?
Answered live at minute 30
One thing we are doing to support women is to get them more forward facing time in the department. To that end, since I manage the UTA program I go out of my way to recruit and hire our female majors.
How has the identity of CS@VT changed over the past three decades? What’s on the horizon?
Answered at minute 38
The horizon is here. We have growing the undergrad population due to the Amazon East Coast HQ here in VA the past couple of years, and we will be continuing to grow for the next several years to produce enough grads for Amazon. With undergrad growth also comes faculty & staff growth.
How much have we infused ethics into the curriculum, such as the ethical and responsible application of AI? I remember only having one course that covered the topic (professionalism course) which also included resume writing, communication, etc. When we think about diversity and eliminating bias, there’s an important confluence with the humanities.
Answered at minute 46
The new core curriculum includes ethics across several courses (including in major), but honestly, we need to do a lot more. As you know, fairness in AI and related topics is a big deal and is a research area itself.
We have tried to expand ethics throughout the program. The ABET reviews we go through about every 5 years says we are doing ok with it, but I think we need to address it even more.
Any advice for (re)entering academia after a time in industry, whether continuing to PhD and/or teaching?
We have positions for Prof. of Practice for people transitioning from industry to academia.
My advice is to just take a course or two and see if you like it and get fired up about a new topic.
When do you expect that CS will have its own building and move back to campus?
A building is now under construction! We move back to campus from the CRC in summer 2022.
As computer science encompasses ever more sub-specialties, does anybody foresee a time when it grows too big for a single department?
I don't think so. Look at some other older fields that have grown over the centuries and yet all universities still have Math, Physics, etc. departments.
Anne Gorsline was known as the founding mom of the Computer Science Department. Read the story of George and Anne Gorsline, the dynamic duo, who opened their hearts and homes to countless students and friends at Virginia Tech.
Take a walk down memory lane with photos collected over the years and alumni memory submissions!
Alumni from each decade share their perspective of what it was like to be a student within the department at the time. Hear their answers in the videos below.
Panelists include:
Steve Choquette ('79)
Chris Bryan ('87)
Jeff Bogdan ('91)
Jaishankar Sundararaman ('08)
Participants stepped away from their screens and participated in our virtual 5K with alumni from around the world on March 20-21! The swag bag for the event included a t-shirt and decal designed by computer science students, Jonah Bishop and Alyssa Farrell.
Check out posts from the race in the Facebook group!
Registrants were able to explore over 20 projects that they had been working on throughout semester.
Projects included:
- Real-time Computed-Tomography based Medical Diagnosis using Deep Neural Network
- Fantastic Voyage 2021
Using Interactive VR Storytelling to Explain Targeted COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery to Antigen-presenting Cells - CSGenome: Advanced Research Group
Compiles, organizes, and analyzes data related to the evolution of system architectures and their performance - Group X
An ongoing project that helps students create a four year plan of study - Real-Time Anomaly Detection
Identifies financial anomalies or frauds at real-time - Real-Time Intrusion Detection
Detects malicious activity in networks by leveraging time-analysis and graph-analysis - High-Productivity Computing in Heterogeneous Systems
- Mind Music Machine Lab
Explores the effects of the language of in-vehicle agents on angry drivers' situation awareness, driving performance, and subjective perception - Post-CT Image Boosting and Analysis for Improved COVID-19 Detection
- CS Education: Teaching Formal Languages through Programmed Instruction
- Vis-AR
A web based augmented reality platform which allows people to upload 3D models and view them in AR - Fast Community Detection via Sampling
- Hokienauts: NASA SUITS 2021 Challenge
- CSGenome
Conducts the first scientific effort to catalog the lineage of computer system performance over time - Software Vulnerability Screening
- System Security Assurance Through Security Metrics and Methodologies
- Envirovision
A 2D dynamic webpage where sonifications and visualizations based on live data are reflected in the objects present on the screen that users can engage with - Virtual Museum
Redefining the digital paradigm for virtual museums towards interactive and engaging experiences in the post-pandemic era - Interactive 360 Virtual Tour of the Peddrew-Yates Hall
A History of Inclusion of African-American Community at Virginia Tech - VR Haptic Glove
Investigates and analyzes the user experiences with our proposed VR Haptic glove in virtual reality game and activity - Engaging Growth Through Evolution
Simulates bacterial growth as an machine learning (ML) model to bring lab time to high school and grade school students - Rust Path Tracer
Physically based path tracer that supports materials such as plastic, metal, and glass using microfacet model
This program kicks off with Master of Engineering (MEng) in Computer Science student, Grace Knudsen, sharing her experience. Lance Collins, vice president and executive director of Virginia Tech's Innovation Campus, then shares the connection between the Department of Computer Science and the new campus in Alexandria, VA.
The department is celebrating 50 alumni for our 50th anniversary! Check back periodically for more spotlights here.
For additional information, please reach out to Hayley Roulston, alumni relations coordinator.