Computer Science Departmental Brochure

No one can be unaware of the dramatic growth in the use of computers around the world. In our own country, new applications and new ideas arise every day, changing the way we accomplish tasks and changing the way we think in business, government, education, and even the way we shop and pay our bills. As a Computer Science major, you will learn the foundations of computer science and be well-prepared to deal with this rapidly evolving technology. Upon graduation, you will be able to seek positions that apply computer technology to business or scientific problems, or find a job developing hardware or software. As important, your grounding in computer science will prepare you to deal with new programming languages and hardware as they evolve. In addition, having acquired the foundation in the liberal arts context that characterizes a Fairfield education, you will have a familiarity and even an expertise in many other fields, all of which are touched by the revolutionary wave of computer technology.

Real-World Education

In a field where new technologies rapidly supersede one another, obsolescence is a danger to be avoided, as computer investors have discovered. This danger will not affect you, as a student, if you are well prepared in the mathematical and theoretical foundations of computer science and are not exclusively focused on current or even obsolete technologies. The goal at Fairfield is to present a program for Computer Science majors that "emphasizes the underlying scientific and problem-solving skills which will transcend current technology while illuminating it." This fits our students not only for immediate employment but for long-term careers and for advanced study, if they so desire.

Course Of Study

The major in computer science has the following goals:

• To give the broad-based scientific and theoretical training needed as a foundation for a rewarding and successful career in computer science. This includes fundamental conceptual material that transcends current technology and exposure to the best of current practice.
• To foster discipline and orderly thinking that is used by computer scientists to reach insightful and logical understandings.
• To develop the knowledge and skills needed to exchange ideas with colleagues, specialists in other fields, and the general public.
• To acquaint students with the social and ethical implications of computer technology.

Requirements of the major

All majors take two required introductory courses, five required fundamentals courses, three required mathematics courses, and two electives.

Each major also chooses one of three possible tracks. These tracks allow majors to emphasize an area of interest. Each track has three required courses associated with it. The systems track emphasizes the hardware and software that embody computer systems. The cognitive track emphasizes the relationship between computation and intelligence, as embodied in humans, animals, and machines. The mathematics track emphasizes the relationship between computer science and mathematics.

Typical Timeline for Majors

First Year

• Introduction to Computer Science and Programming I and II
• Differential/Integral Calculus

Sophomore Year

• Discrete Mathematics
• Data Structures
• Computer Organization and Assembler
• Linear Algebra

Junior Year

• CS 342 Theory of Computation
• 2 track or elective courses

Senior Year

• CS 353 Principles of Compiler Design
• 3 track or elective courses

Systems track courses include Computer Architecture, Operating Systems, and Theory of Programming Languages. Cognitive track courses include Analysis of Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, and Cognitive Science Seminar. Mathematics track courses include Analysis of Algorithms, Applied Statistics, and Numerical Analysis. In addition to the track courses, electives include Microprocessors and Database Management System Design.

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science also offers a minor in Computer Science and a double major in Mathematics and Computer Science.

The Faculty

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science includes 13 full-time men and women who have excellent credentials and are active in many areas of research. They are:

Christopher Bernhardt
Ph.D., University of Warwick, U.K.
Dynamical systems

Vera Cherepinsky
B.S., M.S., Polytechnic University
M.S., Ph.D., New York University
Applied mathematics

Matthew Coleman
Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University
Structural dynamics, control theory

Joseph Dennin
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
Algebraic number theory

Benjamin Fine
Ph.D., New York University
Group theory, statistical analysis

Adam King
Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
Artificial intelligence, animal cognition and memory

Laura McSweeney
Ph.D., University of New Hampshire
Statistics, time series analysis

Irene Mulvey
Ph.D., Wesleyan University
Dynamical systems

Edward O'Neill
Ph.D., Yale University
Topology, computer science education

Stephen Sawin
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Quantum field theories

Peter Spoerri
Ph.D., Oregon State University
Digital simulators

Joan Weiss
D.A., Idaho State University
Numerical analysis, computer graphics

Research and Internships

Students with significant knowledge of computers are sought by the many corporations located in Fairfield county and the wider region. Internships in business and nonprofit settings are offered to our students who can earn credit as well as pay by doing supervised work on software and hardware applications, in numerical analysis, operations research and other areas. Interns earning credit spend at least 10 hours a week on-site and complete an academic component approved by a faculty adviser. National Science Foundation Research Experience fellowships are also available, on a competitive basis, during the summer. These provide 6-10-week experiences at research institutions around the country.

Life After Fairfield

Computer Science majors have knowledge and skills that are prized by business and industry, government and education. Graduates of the Computer Science program at Fairfield are employed as computer analysts, systems engineers, senior programmers, software coordinators, and in like capacities that reflect their special training at companies such as GE Capital, GE Research, and IBM. But because of their versatility, they have branched out into many areas and brought their skills to positions where quantitative skills were not previously valued. The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science has survey material showing the wide range of careers of recent graduates.

Computer Facilities

The Computer Science program has two modern computer labs reserved primarily for its use. One lab is for introductory students and it includes 21 Sunray terminals connected to a Sun 450 server running Solaris 9 (Unix). The advanced student lab includes advanced Sunray terminals, Macintosh and PC computers, and a number of peripherals. More than 500 additional computers, in 21 other labs on campus, are on a fiber-optic network and available to the campus community.

Profile

Margaret Curran
Computer Science major

"I came to Fairfield as a math major, but was so intrigued by my computer science courses that I decided to make computer science my second major. Creating something in computer science is like creating a functional work of art. In my cognitive science seminar, we learned how computer science links to philosophy, psychology, and biology. It's so different than anything I thought I'd take."

For further information, please contact:
Dr. Adam King, director
Bannow 109
Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT 06824-5195
Tel: (203) 254-4000, ext. 2737
E-mail: king@cs.fairfield.edu