You are in the official 1998-99 General Catalog
for California State University, Fresno.
Department of Computer Science
The School of Engineering and Computer Science
BRENT J. AUERNHEIMER, Chair
McKee Fisk Building, Room 207
(559) 278-4373
Fax (559) 278-4197
http://www.engr.csufresno.edu/
Faculty
Brent J. Auernheimer, Chair
Tarek Alameldin, Lan Jin, Walter Read, Shigeko Seki, Grace C. N. Wei, J. Todd Wilson, Henderson C. Yeung
The Department
Computer science is applied reasoning using both art and science: It requires the ability to communicate ideas through a combination of language and powerful technology. It is concerned with the interaction of humans and computers, as well as the application of computers to a myriad of specialized problems.
The goal of the Department of Computer Science is to offer programs to a diverse audience: (1) students interested primarily in computing, (2) students interested primarily in applying computing to some other field of study, and (3) students who wish to include computing as part of their general education.
Faculty and Facilities
The faculty comes from a variety of areas including computer systems and architecture, theoretical computer science, programming languages, software engineering, computer graphics, distributed systems and parallel processing, and neural networks. They have in common a desire to provide a program that will give the student a broad range of experience in computer science as well as the depth of education that will be needed in the student's later career, whether professional or academic.
The department has access to a networked environment of UNIX-based machines consisting of Sun Microsystems (Ultra 2 Server; a Sparc 20, Sparc 5, and Sparc 2 stations, IPXs, LXs). A microcomputer laboratory houses Macintosh workstations and PC labs. The INMOS Corporation Transputer system (a reconfigurable parallel processing machine) is for upper-division courses and research projects. These systems are connected with campus and international networks, allowing access to other machines and communication with people on campus and around the world.
Career Opportunities
Computer use pervades our society, and the industry supporting that use has been growing rapidly. Graduates from this program find job opportunities in such diverse fields as computer design, software development, systems analysis, database design, computer graphics, and technical programming. Because of the strong theoretical foundation of the program, graduates are attractive to companies involved in computer manufacturing and to those industries using computers in high technology applications.
Our proximity to two of the largest computer use areas in the nation, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles, provides our graduates with a broad-based collection of potential employers. Graduates have also obtained exciting and challenging positions at Air Force and Naval bases in California. A high proportion of our graduates have pursued graduate studies. Students who obtain the master of science degree will be in an excellent position to pursue a Ph.D. degree.
Organizations
Student chapters of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the IEEE Computer Society are very active in the department. They organize field trips to major computer manufacturers and users in California. The ACM chapter sponsors the fall Programming Contest.
Computer science majors who have a distinguished academic record in computer science are invited to join Upsilon Pi Epsilon, the Honor Society for the Computing Sciences.
Co-op Program
Through the Cooperative Education program, the department encourages full-time employment for students for one semester in computer-related positions. This is an excellent opportunity for a student to obtain experience, a reasonable salary, and college credit in this field.
