Computer Science - A Brief History
The Computer Science program was started at ISU in 1990, as a joint venture between the College of Business, the Department of Mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Engineering. Primary responsibility for administration was with the College of Business. Introductory CS courses (first two years), and a handful of upper level mathematically oriented courses were handled by the Mathematics Department.
When the program was established, it made heavy use of courses already available in the Computer Information Systems (CIS) Department of the College of Business. The original CS degree resembled a mix consisting of 60% of a CIS BS degree, 20% of a Mathematics degree, and 20% of a true CS degree. Although enrollment was consistently near the 100 mark, the program made do with little financial support and few faculty - in the last few years of its split organization, this was shouldered primarily by Dr. Vitit Kantabutra (full time CS) and Dr. Ken Bosworth (half time CS), both with appointments in the Department of Mathematics.
In 1998, a task force was formed to review the program and its support. After lengthy discussion, the task force recommended that administrative responsibility be given to the College of Engineering. The move was accomplished in the fall semester of 1999, with Dr. Kantabutra transferring immediately, and Dr. Bosworth a year later. Dr. Gene Stuffle, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Professor of Electrical Engineering, was appointed Interim Coordinator.
Unfortunately, other than the two existing faculty salaries, no budget support followed the program. Little was available in the way of classroom or laboratory space. In spite of this, the entire CS degree program was reviewed, and technical requirements of the program were completely revised. The 100 and 200 level sequences were revised and properly sequenced. Limits on the number of CIS courses counting toward a degree were imposed, and a host of new upper level CS courses (11 of them, both elective and required) were developed, gradually test run (one or two per semester), and added to the CS program. Two of the upper level required courses were actually preexisting EE courses, which were subsequently cross-listed under the CS program. However, due to staffing inadequacies, many of the elective courses could only be offered every 3+ years.
The program also added a 2 semester capstone design requirement, in the final year of studies.
In 2001, laboratory space was created by renovating a graduate/staff office area, and through an agreement with the ISU Linux Users' Group (ISLUG), a Linux-based teaching laboratory was established in the Lillibridge Engineering Building. Virtually all of the equipment installed in the lab was provided by ISLUG, in accordance with an agreement allowing group members access to the lab when it was not being used for teaching purposes. James Sellman, an ISLUG stalwart, was hired as System Administrator for the Linux lab, and served in this capacity until Dec. 2006.
In succeeding years, more equipment has been donated and the lab has been expanded. A Beowulf cluster was donated in 2001 by AMI, and several IBM AIX-based machines were donated in 2002. In 2003, 28 machines comprising a retired Beowulf cluster from the INEEL were donated, but have yet to be reassembled into a working cluster, largely due to lack of space. Upgrades on the Linux server and host machines have been performed on a regular basis, although much of the material has been "scrounged" from other sources.
In 2002, a Unix-based VLSI Design Laboratory was established in Colonial Hall, and administration was also placed in the hands of Mr. Sellman. AMIS donated Sun hardware and Cadence design software for use in the laboratory, and it is now used by both the CS program and the EE program.
Two new faculty members were hired in the spring of 2005, and they joined us in the fall of 2005. They are Steve Chiu and Dan Tappan. Dr. Chiu's specialties and research interests are grid computing, distributed processing, and parallel processing, and Dr. Tappan's are artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and compilers. These mesh nicely with Dr. Kantabutra's interest in digital design and neural networks, and Dr. Bosworth's interests in scientific computations and mathematical modeling.
With the increase in faculty, it became possible to put into place a new schedule for all CS courses, which will allow any student in the program access to all required courses on an annual basis, and all upper division CS electives, on a two year rotation. In so doing, the undergraduate student will be able to make a plan of study in which he/she can take any desired electives sometime within his/her junior or senior years.
Dr. Bosworth was appointed Chair of the Computer Science Program in the spring of 2005. Also in the spring of 2005, the CS program felt confident it could proceed with CSAB-ABET accreditation. After a fall 2005 visit by an ABET accreditation team, the program was notified in the summer of 2006 that it was granted accreditation, effective Fall 2005.
In Fall 2006, the program officially became a Department within the College of Engineering. Negotiations were also initiated with the University of Idaho which should result in the ISU CS program taking over full responsibility for all undergraduate CS education at the Center for Higher Education, in Idaho Falls, effective Fall 2007. A full-time system administrator, Rich Lundeen, was hired in January of 2007, and a fifth CS faculty position may also be forthcoming in Fall 2008. Discussions are ongoing on instituting a MS in CS degree program, possibly as soon as the 2008-2009 academic year.