Computer Science Department Blog

Many people I speak with don’t have a sufficiently broad view of what goes on in a computer science department, and what can be done with a computer science degree. A PhD defense that took place in our department recently is a great example of the kind of work people might not expect to find in CS. The title of the dissertation is “Patterns of Domestic Video Mediated Communication.” The student explored the design and use of technology that allows families to communicate and remain connected across distance. I think most people would agree that this is fascinating and timely work. But who does this kind of work? What kinds of skills and insights and abilities does someone need in order to approach this topic? Well … certainly there are concepts from psychology and communications theory which feed into this work. But suppose some of the critical issues have to do with the design and use of the (computing) technology that makes this kind of communication possible. That’s where the CS background comes in — especially the area of CS known as human-computer interaction. In the real world, large problems and opportunities require contributions from many people, with all kinds of expertise. Increasingly, a pivotal member of these teams is someone with CS training, because they understand the technology that drives and enables so many of today’s most interesting systems and societal trends.

Here’s a great video about some future possibilities, produced by a well-known glass company: “A Day Made of Glass… Made possible by Corning” (link). (No endorsement implied!) As a computer scientist, when I watch something like this, I think about all the cool and challenging software that someone is going to have to write to make all this work. Of course, it’s going to take lots of specialties — materials science, electrical & computer engineering, mechanical engineering to name just a few. But a huge percentage of what will make all this work is software, and computer science is the major that best prepares you to build these kinds of rich, multi-modal, human-interaction rich software systems.

I finally saw the movie “The Social Network” last month. We all know and expect that movies stretch the truth for entertainment purposes. But there were a couple of ideas in the film that I actually thought communicated some useful truth about computer science. One was the idea that a group of young people can build something that no one saw coming and that makes a big impact on the world. There have been many famous examples of this kind of thing over the last few decades. It happens. Of course, it has happened in the recent history of the world in many technological domains. But I think computing has produced these kinds of moments more often, and more quickly than any other enabling technology.

The second cool idea for me was the example of how you can get an idea, run to your room, implement and test it, and deploy it … all in one evening. That actually happens. And it’s a huge rush!

Kevin Carey has a nice article in a recent issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, on “Decoding the Value of Computer Science.” He does a good job of describing some of the broad benefits a CS education provides, including things like clarity of thought and expression, an attention to detail, and an ability to study complex systems. If you are a young person considering studying CS, please don’t listen to those messages that your peers or the media may give you — you know what I mean: “being a slacker is cool”, “don’t get a job where you have to think hard”, “style is more important than substance.” In fact, thinking hard and figuring out how stuff works and creating things that improve people’s lives is great fun! And you can get paid to do it!