Welcome to the Department of Computer Science at Saint Louis University. This is an exciting time to be working in the field of computer science, not only because of the continued advances in computing technologies, algorithms, and data analyses, but because those advances have such great impact throughout society. Expertise in computer science drives innovation that connects people to their neighborhood and to the other side of the world. Computer scientists drive scientific discovery leading to improved health care outcomes, to a better understanding of the environment and our weather, to development and use of autonomous vehicles, and the creation of smart homes and smart cities. Computer scientists build tools that improve people's lives and enable better decisions in contexts such as business, political science, medicine, transportation, and just about any area of life.
At the undergraduate level, our students gain technical skills that allow them to creatively develop computational solutions to complex problems, relying on both in-depth knowledge of computing systems and computer science theory. Our curriculum provides flexibility so that students choose advanced electives that shape their education to meet diverse career goals (e.g., computer security, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, software engineering). Furthermore, as students in the College of Arts & Sciences and Saint Louis University, our majors learn to function effectively as a member of a team, to communicate with both technologists and non-technologists, and to make informed judgments regarding the impact (positive and negative) of computing on society. Many undergraduate CS students go straight into rewarding careers, while others pursue advanced studies in computer science or in professional programs such as law school or medical school.
In addition to working with computer science majors, we invite students from all majors to expand their horizon with our computer science offerings. We have developed an innovative choice of introductory courses that showcase the various impacts of computer science. Motivated students have pursued double majors or major/minor combinations that connect computer science to fields as diverse as art, biology, communications, engineering, English, French, geology, mathematics, neuroscience, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, Russian, Spanish, theatre, theology and more.
At the graduate level, we offer Master's programs in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, and we contribute to an interdisciplinary Masters in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. Furthermore we have accelerated bachelors/masters curricula that allow a student to complete both an undergraduate computer science major or minor and one of our master's programs in a combined five years.
Student engagement is a priority at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. This begins in the classroom, where a typical class has 20-30 students and meets regularly in one of our computer labs. This format allows for plenty of student-faculty interaction, student teamwork, and project-based learning. The student engagement continues through innovative capstone projects and with students working directly with faculty members on research projects (in several cases with students presenting their results at conferences).
Our department faculty are renowned scholars and educators who lead these activities. They design and deliver the educational experiences, and are the principal investigators in cutting-edge research. Collectively the faculty serve in leadership positions at professional organizations, publish and present their work in the top national and international venues, have created and presented innovative educational techniques, and have authored textbooks used by hundreds of institutions worldwide.
Research in the department is funded by grants from both government and private organizations. Recently funded projects include exploration of:
- Plant root reconstruction from 3D imaging
- Serverless architectures for integration of geospatial data involving Missouri agriculture
- Resilient network-edge computing that can be deployed in man-made or natural disasters
- Large-scale metagenomic analysis using cloud computing
- Development of a virtual reality interface for command of UAVs
- Shape analysis and reconstruction from 3D point clouds
- Mobile computing for real-time data collection in a study of alcohol use among college students
- Computational linguistics to support endangered languages
- Innovative training in bioinformatics
- Core algorithmic research in computational geometry and toplogy
Please feel free to explore the rest of our department website, and to reach out to contact us if you wish to start further conversations.
With warmest regard,
Dr. Michael Goldwasser, Chairperson