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For the 2022-23 academic year, the Department of Computer Science at ��������’s Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science welcomed a record number of students: 702 undergraduates and 555 graduate students.

New MSIS program

The department launched its Master of Science in Information Systems program in fall 2022. It is intended for students who have an interest in computer systems strictly from the user/application perspective and whose career paths are focused on computer hardware and software systems operations and maintenance.

Associate Professor Patrick Madden is the director of the MSIS program, and the initial cohort is 42 students, with more to be added in fall 2023 and beyond.

New tracks for MSCS

Two tracks were added to the Master of Science in Computer Science program in fall 2022: artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. The additions reflect the importance of both topics in future years.

Faculty news

Seven new faculty members (five tenure-track and two lecturers) joined the department in fall 2022. As part of an ambitious SUNY-wide initiative that awarded $6.5 million to ��������, eight additional faculty (six tenure-track and two lecturers) are being recruited for fall 2023.

Professor Yu “David” Liu spent the fall semester doing research and teaching at the University of Maribor in Slovenia as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar. Each year, the U.S. State Department program offers hundreds of awards in more than 135 countries for U.S. citizens to teach, conduct research and carry out professional projects around the world.

The GenCyber program will offer a free, eight-day cybersecurity camp for 25 middle school and high school teachers this summer, as well as pre- and post-camp outreach activities in K-12 schools. Funding the camp is a $136,000 grant from the National Security Agency.

Research news

More than 30 �������� researchers have been honored for their work by a Stanford University study that looks at the impact of scientists worldwide. Included are Professors Zhongfei “Mark” Zhang and Lijun Yin as well as Assistant Professor Jeremy Blackburn.

An article in 2022’s Watson Review magazine looked at faculty members who are researching various aspects of autonomous systems. Included were Assistant Professor Shiqi Zhang’s work with artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and neural networks and Professor Yu “David” Liu’s programming tools for autopilot programs that can be developed in a “safe-by-design” manner.

Zhang also presented at the Conference on Robot Learning in Auckland, New Zealand, on what is most useful for humans to know when using augmented reality.

Student news

Junior Gabby Banaag was named one of Major League Hacking’s Top 50 for 2022. The annual MLH list recognizes the organization’s most inspiring community members for their contributions to the tech ecosystem and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

Through a Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Carnegie Mellon University, Jennifer Seibert ’23 contributed to an investigation into cache attacks, which target the data stored in a computer or mobile device to increase internet speed.

Alumni news

Berkay Atatop ’18, Ali San Kaya ’18 and Kerem Tuncer ’18 met as students at Istanbul Technical University, and they all attended two years of undergraduate education at Watson College as part of the two schools’ dual-degree program in information systems engineering. A hackathon project they did while at �������� became Maestra, which offers voice-to-text and subtitle services that can translate around 70 languages.

Beth Flippo ’99 runs a company called Drone Express, which utilizes last-mile drones that can pick up an online order from your local store and drop it off at your location in a matter of minutes. With commercial partnerships like Papa Johns, Kroger and Winsupply, she sees her company’s service as the future of convenience.