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Abdou Youssef Ph.D. Professor and Chair Welcome to CS StudentsDear CS Students:As the new Chairman of the Department of Computer Science, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all of you, new and returning students. On behalf of the faculty and staff of our Department, I wish you a great academic year in 2008-09 as you embark or continue on your exciting journey of learning and study for a rewarding career in the computer field. We accompany you on this journey to prepare you for participating and leading in the digital revolution. It is an exciting time to be a computer scientist. The whole field continues to drive technological advancement and fuel economic growth. Computing continues to permeate and revolutionize nearly every human enterprise, from science and engineering to business, from graphic art to movies and video games, from law enforcement to national defense, from medical imaging to drug discovery and computer-guided surgery, from fossil fuel exploration to space exploration, and the list goes on. In the job market, few specialties can compete with our field in opportunities. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2007/11/art5full.pdf), the number of computer jobs in the US in 2006 was 3.2 million and is projected to grow steadily to over 4 million in the year 2016. Furthermore, after factoring in the net replacements of retirees, the total number of computer job openings will be more than 1.5 million in 2016, in the US alone. This demand, then as now, far exceeds the number of computer graduates from US higher education institutions. These facts and the superb education and experience you will have at GW will make each of you highly sought after upon graduation. We are very proud that many of our students and alumni are very successful and have been receiving awards and recognitions. Undergraduate students Mark Aoyama and Martin Smith were Microsoft's U.S. Imagine Cup Finals' first place winners this year. Stefan Popoveniuc, a doctoral student and member of a multi-university E-voting project called Punchscan, made a presentation on Capital Hill and has been interviewed in the media. Doctoral students Mira Yun, Liran Ma and Amin Y. Teymorian received, along with their advisors, two best paper awards in prestigious conferences. Zohra Imani, a CS alumna, received a Women of Color in Technology Rising Star award and was interviewed by the Equal Opportunity magazine. Rizwan Sattar, an alumnus, developed at AOL the AIM client for the iPhone. A crowning achievement is the winning of an Oscar for Visual Effects by the CS alumnus, Bill Westenhofer, for the movie The Golden Compass. You will find more details and a complete list of awards in the Fall 08 Department Newsletter. Congratulation to all of our students and alumni for their accomplishments and awards! You will be happy to know that our CS faculty is dedicated, energetic, and highly active in leading-edge research. Just in the last four months, Professors Cheng, Choi, Narahari, Simha, and Vora received six major research grants. Also, several other faculty members have continuing grants that got renewed. Late last Spring, the US Government added to its designation of our School as Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education the designation of Center of Academic Excellence in Research (CAE-R). These are but a few testimonies of the quality of education and research in our department. The Department is always abuzz with activities. CS Department seminars, ACM Chapter presentations and panels, many research group seminars, graduate student presentations, Senior Design Projects Day, and Festival of Animation, are just a few examples. Also, we have many fun and fiesta events throughout the year. I invite you to attend as many of these as you can, expand your mind, meet interesting people, and enjoy yourselves. Have fun and stay in touch. Visit our website http://www.cs.gwu.edu/ regularly, where you find the latest Department news and happenings. More importantly, stop by in person. The Department's gate and the Chairman and faculty's doors are always open. Come in whenever you have a question to ask, news to share, concerns to voice, or feedback to give us. Have a great year, and thank you for giving us the privilege of taking a part in your education! Abdou Youssef, Ph.D. Professor and Chair |
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