Message from Vipin Kumar, Department Head

The University of Minnesota's Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) is a dynamic and fast growing department. As the field of computing plays an increasingly major role in practically all disciplines of inquiry, we are poised for exciting growth in our educational and research missions.

Over the past decade, the CSE department has grown to almost 40 faculty members who provide leadership and expertise in nearly all major areas of computer science and engineering. Annual research expenditures have steadily grown and are currently around $8 million.

Our faculty members are highly productive educators and researchers. They are international leaders in their respective fields, authors of widely used software and textbooks, winners of national and international awards, frequent keynote speakers, editors of scholarly journals, organizers of major international conferences, and entrepreneurs who have formed successful companies. Research conducted at the department frequently receives coverage in national and international popular media and is highlighted by funding agencies such as the Army, NSF, and NASA.

In 2007, CSE also ranked third in the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index in the Chronicles of Higher Education and ranked ninth for Citation Impact of Published Research Papers in Science Watch. CSE is one of only five computer science departments in the nation with multiple recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). In addition, 16 CSE faculty members received NSF's Faculty Career Development Award since the inception of the program in 1995. This is among the largest number of awards for computer science departments nationwide.

CSE faculty engage in interdisciplinary collaborations with various University departments and colleges, and University-wide research centers, such as the Digital Technology Center (DTC). In addition, our faculty have also played a leadership role in the formation of several industrial consortiums located at the DTC intended to strengthen industrial collaboration, including the Intelligent Storage Consortium (DISC), and the Data Mining Consortium (DDMC).

Each year, the department grants approximately 150 BS/BA, 100 MS/MCS/MSSE, and about 20 PhD degrees. Our graduates are highly sought after by the local, national, and international industry and academia. Many of them are business leaders and renowned researchers.

We continue to enjoy strong support from our alumni, as well as the members of local industry. Specifically, the Computer Science Associates (CSA) is a department advisory council consisting of the members of local industry. CSA assists the department in many ways such as identifying the needs of Minnesota businesses and promoting awareness of the department and its programs.

Please visit our website to learn more about the department.