There's a new face to Penn CIS -- and I'm not just talking about our latest faculty hire in distributed systems, Andreas Haeberlen, the cool new SIG Center for Computer Graphics, or the revamped Distributed Systems Lab and computing classroom complex. Two new undergraduate programs are soon to be unveiled -- Computer Engineering (coming September 2010) and the Singh program in Market and Social Systems Engineering (coming September 2011) -- and a new specialized masters programs in Embedded Systems was premiered in September 2009  as a component of the new Penn Research in Embedded Computing and Integrated Systems (PRECISE) Center.  These programs build on new and exciting Penn CIS research strengths, complementing our existing undergraduate programs (BSE/BAS in Computer Science, BSE in Digital Media Design, BAS in Computational Biology, BAS in Computer and Cognitive Science) and graduate programs (MSE in Computer & Information Science, MSE in Computer Graphics & Game Technology, MSE in Robotics, Master of Computer and Information Technology, Ph.D. program).

Take Computer Engineering, for example.  Following Penn's great tradition of technology invention, starting when Mauchly and Eckert designed the ENIAC (and women like Kathleen Antonelli and Jean Bartik understood how to program it), this project-based degree program has been created to educate the next generation of designers and engineers of the computer systems that entertain us (MP3 players, video games, digital video recorders), keep us in touch with each other (advanced cell phones, wired and wireless networks), reduce our work (robots), increase our safety (anti-lock brakes, traction control) and save lives (medical equipment and devices).  Computer Engineering builds on the creativity and strength of faculty like Amir Roth and Milo Martin in CIS, and Andre DeHon in Electrical and Systems Engineering (ESE).

Similarly, the new Singh program in Market and Social Systems Engineering will prepare students to become business and technology leaders in the increasingly networked global economy. The program's scope goes far beyond electronic commerce or keyword auctions, financial networks or networked power grids and offers an immersion in relevant technical programming skills and academic concepts. Directed by Professors Michael Kearns in CIS and Ali Jadbabaie in ESE, with educational design and oversight by Zack Ives in CIS, the MKSE program will build on our department's strengths in systems, algorithms and theory, as well as our connections to economics and sociology.

It's an exciting time to be in Penn CIS!   Read our Spring 2010 newsletter to learn more about our truly exceptional faculty, programs, alumns, students, and outreach activities... and check back for a new edition every Fall and Spring.

Sincerely,

Susan B. Davidson
Weiss Professor
Department Chair, CIS