April 11, 2023
Throughout 2022-2023, the School of Computing and Information (SCI) has been celebrating its Fifth Anniversary. In the last five years, the continued success and growth of the Department of Computer Science exemplifies the areas of impact at the core of SCI's celebration.
Daniel Mossé, interim chair of the Department of Computer Science (CS), attests to the department's significance within the school: "There's a desire to reach every undergraduate at Pitt because we believe that computing and information are cornerstones the same way that math or foreign language or English composition is part of everybody's curriculum."
55 Years of Progress
In addition to its recent success within SCI, CS has been serving students and the community for over 55 years. At its initial creation in 1966, "it was an offshoot of mathematics," said Mossé. "Evolution, markedly since the 2000s, created a recognition that computer science should be an integral part of many different systems. From medical to chemical to any other type of application that you can think of, nowadays computing is there."
In 2017, CS joined with the Department of Informatics and Networked Systems and the Department of Information Culture and Data Stewardship (formerly known as the School of Information Sciences), and the Intelligent Systems Program (formerly part of the School of Arts and Sciences) to form SCI.
The Momentous Formation of SCI
The creation of SCI has allowed for significant developments within CS. Central to the program is the excellence of education offered to students, which has continued to increase since 2017.
"When we were in the School of Arts and Sciences, students that wanted to do computer science would be a little bit delayed in starting to take CS classes. We wouldn't have advising specifically for CS, and we were in a very large school," Mossé said. "That and other factors fueled a desire to create this smaller, more intimate environment, like the School of Computing and Information."
As a hub for collaboration among programs and schools, SCI also became a freshman-admitting school, allowing students to pursue their desired course of study in CS without delays.
"Being in SCI allows us to attract students who are more focused while still allowing for students who are curious and interested but don't have the background...to reach the levels of expertise that will open up all possibilities for them," said Mossé.
Looking Forward
CS continues to innovate and strive towards progress. For the upcoming years, Mossé has identified goals that the department hopes to achieve.
"Creating better structures for more undergraduate research is one of the goals we have," said Mossé. Additionally, he hopes that in the next few years, the department will be able to "grow the faculty so that we can offer better service and more classes. That goes with increasing the number of graduate students so we can fulfill the need that society has in terms of offering master's degrees for computer science."
Consistent with SCI's standards of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Mossé stated that "one of the things that we want to do is create the structures for a more varied and more diverse workforce."
As SCI continues to push boundaries and pursue its target areas of interest identified for its Fifth Anniversary, CS upholds SCI's priorities of research, equity, educational excellence, and accessibility.
--Emma Bender, SCI writing intern
Pictured left to right: Professor Panos Chrysanthis, Professor Daniel Mossé