Computer science grows byte by byte
By Sandy Johnstone
Of thr Emerald
Log in:
About $300,000 given to the computer
science department by the Legislature.
The result?
A quality computer science department at
the University.
While it may not be quite that easy, the
money designated for high technology pro
grams throughout the state system will cer
tainly help.
The University received $497,000 for
1983-64 as its share of the $2.67 million allot
ted to the state system for the biennium for
high technology research. The money will
be split between the computer science
department and the cell biology program,
but no exact breakdown has been made
yet.
Most of the money given to computer
science will be used for new faculty. Two to
three new faculty members will be hired
during the next year and will come on
board by fall 1984, says Eugene Luks,
chairer of the computer science
department.
But finding quality faculty in computer
science is not easy — jobs in industry are
plentiful and lucrative.
"There is no one in this department who
could not increase his or her salary tomor
row by taking a job in business," says Luks.
"But they prefer academia, the interaction
with students. Teaching has rewards that
are not monetary.
"We will look for the best we can get. We
will not ignore the fact that there are
talented people in industry, but they are
very hard to get."
In order to attract the "best" people, the
department must obtain state-of-the-art
equipment. Part of the money will buy a
$70,000 Symbolics 3600 computer and two
more will be purchased with money from
research grants. These three computers are
the core of a strong research laboratory,
says Luks.
"We need good equipment as,an induce
ment to faculty," says Luks. "They must be
able to continue their research."
Expanding the number of faculty will
benefit the students most directly by reduc
ing the student/faculty ratio and allowing
professors more time for individual work
with advanced students. It will also increase
the number of courses the department can
offer.
"You build any department in the long
run for students," says Luks. "I think that is
what the state had in mind."
Currently, the department concentrates
on artifical intelligence, computer vision,
expert systems, software engineering and
theory of computation.
"Those areas of current strength we will
continue to build on," he says.
The department will also look for quality
faculty in some other areas, such as com
puter languages, to build up the number of
courses it can teach at an advanced le
vel.
In stipulating that the money must go
toward high technology programs, the
Legislature was trying to create a "climate
for high technology."
It is important to have a university in the
state that can train people for "desirable"
industry.
"It's particularly important for the state of
Oregon, to have faculty in high
technology," he says.
"The presence of top faculty here draws
attention to the University and helps attract
students," says Luks. "We want to put the
department on the computer science map.
"We are well on the road," he says. "Peo
ple know we exist."
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