Type | Public college |
---|---|
Established | 1964/1988 [1] |
Parent institution | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Dean | Vivek Sarkar [2] |
Academic staff | 120 [3] |
Undergraduates | 3,659 [4] |
Postgraduates | 13,329 [4] |
Location | , , United States 33°46′39″N84°23′51″W / 33.77747°N 84.39738°W |
Website | www |
The College of Computing is a college of the Georgia Institute of Technology, a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. It is divided into four schools: the School of Computer Science, the School of Interactive Computing, the School of Computational Science & Engineering, and the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy. The College of Computing's programs are consistently ranked among the top 10 computing programs in the nation. [5] In 2022, U.S. News & World Report ranked the Computer Science graduate program #6 in the U.S. [6] In 2016, Times Higher Education and the Wall Street Journal ranked the College #5 in the world. [7]
The College of Computing has its roots in the creation of an interdisciplinary Master of Science in Information Science at Georgia Tech in 1964. [1] The college still emphasizes an interdisciplinary focus in the structure of its degree programs, among which is a Bachelor of Science in Computational Media that is offered jointly with Georgia Tech's School of Literature, Media, and Communication in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.
Georgia Tech's College of Computing traces its roots to the establishment of an Information Science degree program established in 1964. In 1963, a group of faculty members led by Dr. Vladimir Slamecka and that included Dr. Vernon Crawford, Dr. Nordiar Waldemar Ziegler, and Dr. William Atchison, noticed an interdisciplinary connection among library science, mathematics, and computer technology. The group drafted an outline for a masters-level program that would combine elements from each of these disciplines. The Georgia Tech administration accepted the plan to establish a Master of Science in Information Science which was first offered in 1964 under the School of Information Science. Dr. Slamecka, who had spearheaded the effort, was named the school's first chair. [1]
In 1970, the school began offering a minor degree program for all Georgia Tech students, and was renamed to the School of Information and Computer Science (ICS). Two years later in 1972, ICS expanded to offer an undergraduate degree for students. It also partnered with Emory University to create a joint graduate program in Biomedical Information and Computer Science, the first partnership of its kind. [1]
In 1979, ICS's first director and primary founder, Dr. Slamecka, retired from the position after 15 years. Dr. Ray Miller, IBM's Assistant Director of Mathematical Sciences, was hired in his place. Under Miller, the School of Information and Computer Science began a trend which began to move away from information science and towards computer science. [1]
In John Patrick Crecine's 1988 reorganization of the Institute, the School was broadened as the College of Computing, one of the school's five (and as of 1998, six) colleges. The move toward elevating the school to the status of an academic unit was partly in response to Carnegie Mellon University's creation of their School of Computer Science, and as a result, Georgia Tech was the first university in the United States to have a College of Computing. [1] The school hired its first dean, Peter A. Freeman, in 1990, [8] and further expanded in 2005 with more divisions. [1]
In 2000, successful internet entrepreneur and Tech alum Chris Klaus donated $15 million towards the construction of a new building for the college. [9] [10] [11] At the time of Klaus' contribution, it was the fifth-largest contribution by an individual in Georgia Tech's history. [9] The building was officially opened on October 26, 2006. [12] [13]
In February 2007, the divisions were formalized into two schools: the School of Computer Science (SCS) and the School of Interactive Computing (SIC). [14]
In June 2008, College of Computing Dean Richard DeMillo announced plans for his resignation, citing conflicts with Georgia Tech provost and interim president Gary Schuster. DeMillo was temporarily replaced by James D. Foley, a professor in the School of Interactive Computing, until a permanent replacement could be found. [15] On April 9, 2010, Zvi Galil was named the college's new dean. [16]
In March 2010, the division of Computational Science & Engineering (CSE) was also formalized into a school. [17]
The school is involved in DARPA's ADAMS project via the Proactive Discovery of Insider Threats Using Graph Analysis and Learning system. [18] [19]
In May 2013, the school announced that it will offer the first professional Online Master of Science degree in computer science (OMSCS) that can be earned completely through the massive online (MOOC) format in partnership with Udacity. [20] In August 2013, US President Barack Obama praised the school as “a national leader in computer science” that is offering a master's degree in computer science “at a fraction of the cost". [21]
In July 2019, Charles Lee Isbell Jr. took over as dean, replacing Zvi Galil.
In 2020, the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy was founded with Richard DeMillo as its founding chair.
In July 2024, Vivek Sarkar [22] became Dean, replacing Isbell.
The College of Computing offers the B.S., including a degree in Computational Media offered as a joint degree with the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. It also offers the M.S. and Ph.D. in multiple disciplines, including several offered as joint degrees with other colleges in the university. Graduate certificates are also available.
The Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) is a degree program which has the same teaching material as MOOCs, leading to a fully accredited Masters qualification, presented in conjunction with Udacity. A contribution of $2 Million from AT&T has funded the initial development of the program as well as continuing integration of technology. [27]
The program is designed and maintained to present a level of academic challenge entirely equivalent to a traditional MSCS course, with equivalent academic rigor as a founding principle. [28] The estimate of the cost of studying the course is however very different; being in the region of $7,000 for a student completing the Masters course in 2 years: composed of the minimum 10 for graduation 3-credit-hour courses at $510 per course plus $301 enrollment fee per semester for say 6 semesters. [29]
The first semester of study, in Spring 2014, some 400 students were enrolled in the program. In January 2015 some 2,000 students were enrolled in the program. [28] As of Spring 2020, enrollment had risen to over 9,500 students, and the program has produced about 3,500 graduates to date.
Enrollment is accessible without restriction on the basis of citizenship, residence, or visa status, to students from all around the world. However, the vast majority of enrolled students are US citizens. The program does, however, mirror the gender imbalance found in many CS courses, with female students considerably outnumbered. [30]
The College of Computing is the third-highest of Georgia Tech's six colleges (behind the larger and older College of Engineering and College of Sciences) in research awards, with 139 proposals worth $93,737,529 resulting in 119 awards worth $14,579,392 in 2006. [31]
There are several organizations tied to or within the College of Computing that are primarily dedicated to research. These include several research groups and labs. [32] Other research-related organizations include:
The College of Computing has numerous student organizations which help build a community within the college. These organizations include:
Name | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
---|---|---|---|
James Allchin | 1984 | Former high-level executive at Microsoft | [51] |
Eric Allender | 1985 | Professor of computer science at Rutgers University. | [52] |
Krishna Bharat | 1996 | Research scientist at Google that created Google News. | [53] |
Tom Cross | 1999 | American entrepreneur, computer security expert, and hacker | [54] [55] |
Richard DeMillo | 1972 | Former high-level executive at Hewlett-Packard and dean of the College of Computing. | [56] |
D. Richard Hipp | 1984 | Architect and primary author of SQLite | [57] |
Billy Hoffman | 2005 | American hacker; along with Virgil Griffith, discovered a security flaw in Georgia Tech's magnetic ID card system ("BuzzCard") and was sued by BuzzCard maker Blackboard Inc. | [58] |
Paul Q. Judge | 2002 | Entrepreneur and technical expert | [59] |
Craig Mundie | 1972 | Chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft | [60] |
James F. O'Brien | 2000 | Professor of Computer Science at University of California, Berkeley | [61] |
Rosalind Picard | 1984 | Founder and director of the Affective Computing Research Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology | [62] [63] |
Mike Pinkerton | 1997 | American software developer working on the Mozilla browsers. He lectures on Development of Open Source Software at George Washington University | [64] |
Gene Spafford | 1981 | Professor of computer science at Purdue University and a leading computer security expert | [65] |
Jeff Trinkle | 1979 | Professor and Chair of Computer Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York | [66] |
Shwetak Patel | 2003 (BS), 2008 (PhD) | WRF Endowed Professor of Computer Science & Engineering and Electrical Engineering at University of Washington in Seattle, WA | [67] |
John Patrick "Pat" Crecine was an American educator and economist who served as President of Georgia Tech, Dean at Carnegie Mellon University, business executive, and professor. After receiving his early education at public schools in Lansing, Michigan, he earned a bachelor's degree in industrial management, and master's and doctoral degrees in industrial administration from the Graduate School of Industrial Administration at Carnegie Mellon University. He also spent a year at the Stanford University School of Business.
Technology Square, commonly called Tech Square, is a multi-block neighborhood located in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Tech Square is bounded by 8th Street on the north, 3rd Street on the south, West Peachtree Street to the east, and Williams Street to the west. Tech Square includes several academic buildings affiliated with Georgia Tech and provides access to the campus via the Fifth Street Pedestrian Plaza Bridge, reconstructed in 2007. It also contains restaurants, retail shops, condominiums, office buildings, and a hotel.
The GVU Center at Georgia Tech is an interdisciplinary research center located near Technology Square in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and affiliated with the Georgia Institute of Technology. It was founded by James D. Foley, the Center's first director, on October 15, 1992. According to U.S. News & World Report, it is one of the best such facilities in the world. The GVU Center's current director is W. Keith Edwards, Georgia Tech alum and Professor in the School of Interactive Computing.
The Scheller College of Business is the business school at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was established in 1912 and is consistently ranked in the top 30 business programs in the nation.
The Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts is a college of the Georgia Institute of Technology, a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. It is one of the six academic units at the university and named for former two-term Atlanta mayor Ivan Allen Jr., a Georgia Tech alumnus and advocate for the advancement of civil rights in America.
Zvi Galil is an Israeli-American computer scientist and mathematician. He has served as the dean of the Columbia University School of Engineering and as president of Tel Aviv University from 2007 through 2009. From 2010 to 2019, he was the dean of the Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing.
James David Foley is an American computer scientist and computer graphics researcher. He is a Professor Emeritus and held the Stephen Fleming Chair in Telecommunications in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. He was Interim Dean of Georgia Tech's College of Computing from 2008–2010. He is perhaps best known as the co-author of several widely used textbooks in the field of computer graphics, of which over 400,000 copies are in print and translated in ten languages. Foley most recently conducted research in instructional technologies and distance education.
The Christopher W. Klaus Advanced Computing Building is a three-story academic building at the Georgia Institute of Technology that houses a portion of its College of Computing, College of Engineering, and related programs.
Richard Allan DeMillo is an American computer scientist, educator and executive. He is Professor and holds the Charlotte B. and Roger C. Warren Chair in Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Amy Susan Bruckman is a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology affiliated with the School of Interactive Computing and the GVU Center. She is best known for her pioneering research in the fields of online communities and the learning sciences. In 1999, she was selected as one of MIT Technology Review's TR100 awardees, honoring 100 remarkable innovators under the age of 35.
Mark Joseph Guzdial is a Professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. He was formerly a professor in the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology affiliated with the College of Computing and the GVU Center. He has conducted research in the fields of computer science education and the learning sciences and internationally in the field of Information Technology. From 2001–2003, he was selected to be an ACM Distinguished Lecturer, and in 2007 he was appointed Vice-Chair of the ACM Education Board Council. He was the original developer of the CoWeb, one of the earliest wiki engines, which was implemented in Squeak and has been in use at institutions of higher education since 1998. He is the inventor of the Media Computation approach to learning introductory computing, which uses contextualized computing education to attract and retain students.
Gregory Dominic Abowd is a computer scientist best known for his work in ubiquitous computing, software engineering, and technologies for autism. He currently serves as the Dean of the College of Engineering and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Northeastern University. Previously he was the J.Z. Liang Professor in the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he joined the faculty in 1994.
The School of Interactive Computing is an academic unit located within the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. It conducts both research and teaching activities related to interactive computing at the undergraduate and graduate levels. These activities focus on computing's interaction with users and the environment, as well as how computers impact the quality of people's lives.
The School of Computer Science is an academic unit located within the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. It conducts both research and teaching activities related to computer science at the undergraduate and graduate levels. These activities focus on the roots of the computing discipline, including mathematical foundations and system building principles and practices.
Rebecca Elizabeth "Beki" Grinter is a professor in the School of Interactive Computing in the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is affiliated with the RIM@GT, the GVU Center and the Scheller College of Business. Grinter's research lies generally in the fields of human-computer interaction (HCI) and computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW). She has chaired and published papers in top-tier academic conferences in these fields. Her research and expert opinion on technology have also been reported in major news media sources.
Aaron F Bobick is dean of the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Bobick’s research is in the field of artificial intelligence and computer vision. He has chaired and published papers in top-tier academic conferences in these areas. His research and expert opinions on technology have also been reported in major news sources.
Elizabeth D. "Beth" Mynatt is the Dean of the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University. She is former executive director of the Institute for People and Technology, director of the GVU Center at Georgia Tech, and Regents' and Distinguished Professor in the School of Interactive Computing, all at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In 2024, she was elected into the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it is part of the University System of Georgia and has satellite campuses in Savannah, Georgia; Metz, France; Shenzhen, China; and Singapore.
Georgia Tech Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) is a Master of Science degree offered by the College of Computing at Georgia Tech. The program was launched in 2014 in partnership with Udacity and AT&T and delivered through the massive open online course (MOOC) format. Georgia Tech has received attention for offering an online master's degree program for under $7,000 that gives students from all over the world the opportunity to enroll in a top 10-ranked computer science program. The program has been recognized by the University Professional and Continuing Education Association, Fast Company, and the Reimagine Education Awards for excellence and innovation.
The School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP) is an academic unit located within the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This interdisciplinary unit draws its faculty from the College of Computing as well as the College of Engineering, the School of Public Policy, the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, the Scheller College of Business, and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). Faculty are engaged in both research and teaching activities related to computer security and privacy at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The school's unifying vision is to keep "cyberspace safer and more secure."