Brian D. Noble
Chair,
Computer Science and Engineering
The Computer Science and Engineering program at the University of Michigan, founded by computing pioneer Arthur Burks and Gordon Peterson in 1957, is among the richest in history and most progressive in vision. John H. Holland received the first PhD in computer science at Michigan in 1959. In 1966, the Michigan Terminal System (MTS) was developed as one of the world's first time-sharing computer operating systems. Seminal work in the development of computer databases by Edgar (Ted) Codd took place at Michigan in the late 1960s. Today, dozens of our former graduate students serve as faculty at other research universities. Four Michigan alumni – Frances Allen, Edgar Codd, Stephen Cook, and Michael Stonebraker – are Turing Award recipients. Another, Larry Page, co-founded Google, one of the largest and most influential technology companies.
The CSE division continues to lead as a vibrant and innovative force, with world-class faculty and students exploring and expanding new directions of inquiry in mobile and cloud computing, ultra-low power and green computing, big data, machine learning, bio and health informatics, security and privacy, virtual environments, autonomous transportation, and many other areas. The pervasiveness and relevance of computing today is reflected by our interdisciplinary research in areas such as medicine, education, economics, engineering, and the sciences.
CSE at Michigan has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years. The ranks of our faculty have grown by almost 50% over the past five years, and our undergraduate enrollment is 3X what it was in 2012. We moved into the Bob and Betty Beyster Building in early 2006, which was purpose-built to support the activities of CSE.
Our undergraduate and graduate programs are among the top in the nation and embrace both deep inquiry and cross-disciplinary breadth. In addition to nearly 100 traditional lecture and lab courses taught each year, undergraduate students experience real-world applications through industry-sponsored design projects and internships. They also have the opportunity to participate in undergraduate research projects and on competitive and interdisciplinary student-led project teams. As of Fall 2018, 345 graduate students were enrolled in out Master's and PhD programs, and 2141 undergraduate students were declared as majors in our computer engineering, computer science, and data science programs. 784 undergraduate degrees and 99 MS and PhD degrees were conferred in acadenic year 2017-18.
Forward-looking, interdisciplinary research projects form the foundation of CSE's active and productive connections to industry and government. In FY 2018, support for our research programs exceeded $25 million, leveraging long-standing and productive research relationships with a notable range of federal agencies, industry-leading companies, and industry/government consortia. Our vibrant research program results in graduates who are highly sought and actively recruited around the globe.
We strive to be a force for positive change in a world with many challenges. Through education, research, entrepreneurship, and collaboration, our ultimate goal is to produce and nurture the bright minds who will thoughtfully guide us to tomorrow, addressing societal imperatives and transforming our world through the power of computational approaches.
Please browse through the information we have provided on our website, and to feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.
