The World Changes

April 20, 2023Computer Science and

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Why Study Computing?

Computer ScienceComputer Engineering

Computer Information Systems

Department of Computer Science and EngineeringThe University of South Carolina


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Compared to my university’s computer when I was a graduate student, my laptop is

15,000 times cheaper

10,000 times physically smaller

with 500 times more memory

and 1000 times more hard disk

and is 1500 times faster

Storing Microsoft Vista on a disk takes about 1.4 million times more space than was present on the lunar landing module on 20 July 1969.

The World Changes


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Questions You Should Ask(If You Haven’t Already)

What is computing all about?

Will there be jobs?

How much will I get paid?

Will I enjoy what I do?

(Why should I study computing at USC?)


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Jobs


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Will There Be Jobs? YES!!

Six of the ten fastest growing job areas are in computing

25,000 BS degrees per year, 1.4 million jobs between 2004 and 2014

Four times more new jobs in computing (2004-2014) than in all of engineering


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Perception, Reality, and the Media

2001: “The predicted number of open jobs in IT has dropped 44% compared to last year.”

True, but not the whole truth.

A) Predicted vacancies go from 1.4 million to about 950,000 (about a 44% drop, yes).

B) Predicted new hires in IT go from about 250,000 to about 400,000.

Is (A) or (B) the more important point?


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Money


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How Much Will I Get Paid?

Computer science has traditionally been in the top tier of all occupations (chemical engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering) for starting salary

National average starting salary (BS) is about $52,000

The fastest growing jobs in computing are also among the highest paying jobs

“Computer and mathematical” is third highest paying of all occupational groups (averages, not starting)


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Satisfaction


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Will I Enjoy What I Do?

“Software engineer” was rated the most satisfying job of all

“Computer/IT analyst” comes in number seven

There is satisfaction in doing well a difficult job that is constantly changing

Computing changes from one year to the next

Computing is not one job – it’s many

Look for your personal niche


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A Long-Term IT Labor Shortage ExistsFraction of professionals with degrees in that discipline:

Source: NSF/Division of Science Resources Statistics, SESTAT, 1999, presented by Caroline Wardle at Snowbird 2002

Life Sciences Chemical and Physical Sciences

Mathematics Engineering Computing andInformation Science

Fraction of disciplinary graduates employed in that profession:

Life Sciences Chemical and Physical Sciences

Mathematics Engineering Computing andInformation Science


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What Do Computing People Actually Do?


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Some Jobs in Computing

“Computer systems analyst”

Web applications interfacing with databases

Scientific computing

Sensors, embedded systems, and wireless

Networking

Computer security and information assurance

Games, multimedia, animation


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Computer systems analyst“I know you think you understand what you

thought I said, but I don’t think you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

Web apps and databasesEveryone wants applications to be browser

enabled, with desktop clients, uniform interface, complete security, etc.


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Scientific computingSmall in terms of number of jobs, but very high in

salary and job satisfaction (and lots more jobs than people available)

Dept of Energy (Los Alamos, Livermore, Oak Ridge, …), NASA, NSA, NOAA, …

Seismic processing in the oil industryAirplane and auto industriesPharmaceuticals

A roughly equal mix of computing, applied mathematics, and discipline science


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Parallel Computing

The “Dead Computer Society”ILLIAC-4CDC STAR-100Denelcor HEPTera Computer Corp. MPAAlliantSequentStardentKendall Square Research (KSR)Intel HypercubeNCubeBBN ButterflyNASA MPPThinking Machines CM-2, CM-5MasParSuccessful Parallel MachinesCray T3D, T3E, XMP, YMP, XSGI Challenge, Origin, AltixSun EnterpriseHP-ConvexDEC 84xxPittsburgh TerascaleDoE ASCI machinesBeowulf clustersIBM SP-1, SP-2


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Sensors, embedded systems, wireless, and networking

GPS, RFID, iPhone, Blackberry, smart homes, freeway traffic monitoring, biometric identification, smart credit cards, …

Issues of power, device failure, communications distance, mobility, real-time operations

TRIESTE – (Trusted Radio Infrastructures for Enforcing SpecTrum Etiquettes)

Cognitive Radio – future wireless platform

Expose the lower-layers (PHY) of the protocol stack to the “public” scan the available spectrum select from a wide range of operating frequencies adjust modulation waveforms perform adaptive resource allocation

An ideal platform for abuse, for example, for building jammers

Goal: to regulate the future radio environment, ensure trustworthy radio operation

How — two complementary mechanisms

On-board enforcement – restricting any violation attempt from accessing the radio: running its own suite of spectrum etiquette protocols behaves according to acceptable communal policies

An external monitor infrastructure: Distributed Spectrum Authority (DSA) — police agent observes the radio environment DSA will punish CRs if violations are detected.


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Computer security/information assurancePreventing attacks on the networksAuthenticating accessVerifying the integrity of dataProsecuting criminalsPublic policy(And some headaches dealing with people who

just don’t understand!)


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Web Data Security

Organizational Data

Confidential

Ontology Secure Data Integration and

Inferences

Public User

Web Data

Public

Access ControlModels

OffenseDefense


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Games, multimedia, animation

USC Summer camp in games


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USC Summer Game Camp


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Okay. I’m sold.

I want to do computing.

How do I get there?


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The Basic Game Plan

1. A solid technical background – because you won’t be able to fake it.

2. The ability to read, write, and present technical information – because the CEO is likely to be a nontechnical person.

3. The ability to work with people – because nearly all projects are bigger than just one person can do.


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What’s Your Second Favorite Thing?

Most people don’t just work on the computer—they use the computer to do something else.

Computer engineers deal with computing hardware, real-time, and the outside world.

Business applications people do business.

Computer scientists can do music, science, animation/graphics/art, biology, law, …


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Not just to be trained and get Microsoft/Oracle/Cisco certifications

But to be educated in computing

Not to learn to be a lifelong programmer

But to know programming so you can manage programmers ten years from now

Not to be trained on today’s Package A

But to learn how to re-educate yourself with Package B in 2008, Package C in 2009, Package D in 2010, …

Your Goals


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Why Study Computing at USC?

Three different majorsB.S. in Computer Engineering

Supporting courses in electrical engineering

B. S. in Computer Information SystemsMinor in Business Information Management

B. S. in Computer ScienceSupporting courses in an application area


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Some Student Success StoriesWe have had some of the very best students on campus

– Jared Ligatti, finishing Ph.D. at Princeton 2006– NSF Fellow Heather Wake, #2 woman in computing in the US

in 2004 (now at Duke)– NSF Fellow Stacey Ivol, started at Carnegie Mellon fall 2006– NSF Fellow Matt Elder, started at Wisconsin fall 2006

Our students do research and travel to present their papers (Japan, Milan, Seattle, San Francisco, …)

Most of our students have computing jobs while they are students – too many to list here


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Heather Wake, Computer Engr. 2004

NSF Graduate FellowshipComputing Research Association

Outstanding Female Undergraduate Runner-up (i.e., #2 among 2004 women graduates in computing in North America)

Tau Beta Pi FellowshipJames B. Duke FellowshipDuke Endowment FellowshipFord Foundation Fellowship

(declined)

GEM FellowshipPhi Beta KappaDuke University, fall 2004


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Matt Elder, Computer Science 2006

NSF Graduate Fellowship

NSF Res Exp for Undergrads

National Defense Science andEngineering Grant

Phi Beta Kappa

U of Wisconsin, fall 2006(algorithms and theory)


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Stacey Ivol, Computer Engr. 2006

NSF Graduate Fellowship

NSF Res Exp for Undergrads

Phi Beta Kappa

Carnegie Mellon University, fall 2006 (robotics)


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Some Current Students

Liz Timko, with the protein she folded

John Flowers, recent UPE scholarship winner


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www.cse.sc.edu

[email protected]

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

University of South CarolinaColumbia, South Carolina 29208

803.777.2880

http://www.cse.sc.edu/

mailto:[email protected]


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The End

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The World Changes