Craig Newmark Thank You Celebration

During the holidays, it is important to give thanks to those that help make USF Computer Science the wonderful place that it is. This year, we were able to send over 30 students to the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, engage in a wide-range of research projects, and provide mentorship for many students thanks to the generosity of Craig Newmark. Continue reading “Craig Newmark Thank You Celebration”

17th Annual Computer Science Night

Come join us for the 17th Annual Computer Science Night celebration on Thursday, December 6. Enjoy refreshments while you check out the CS senior and masters projects, and listen to a panel of CS Alumni as they discuss their experiences in the tech industry and current trends in the field. All alumni, students, and friends of USF Computer Science are invited, so please spread the word!

Schedule:
5:30 pm: CS Alumni Reception | Faculty and Staff Lounge (UC 222)
6:30 pm: Student Poster Session, Networking and Refreshments | LoSchiavo Center, Ground Floor
7:30 pm: CS Alumni Panel | McLaren 250

We look forward to seeing you December 6th!

Register now!

Fall 2018 State of the Department

The USF Computer Science department is thriving with four new tenure-track faculty members, two new research labs, a new graduate “Bridge” program that readies graduates from other majors for a Master’s in CS, and graduate enrollments that have doubled since 2016 and undergraduate enrollments that have tripled since 2013. The department is the largest and most diverse it has ever been in terms of both faculty, students, and expertise.

New Faculty

The new faculty members include Beste Yuksel who just started her third year and works in Human- and Brain-Computer Interfaces, Matthew Malensek (2nd year) who works in Big Data, David Guy Brizan (2nd year in CS) who works in Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning, and Vahab Pournaghshband (1st year) who works in Networks and Security. Hiring in CS is a huge challenge and we are thrilled to have added these terrific teachers and researchers to our department, and to have broadened our areas of expertise. Continue reading “Fall 2018 State of the Department”

USF Computer Science Sends First Cohort to Tapia

Each year, the Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing brings students, professionals, and academics together to acknowledge, promote and celebrate diversity in computing. Participating for the first time, USF Computer Science sent five students to Orlando, Florida to participate, network, and recruit upcoming diverse computing leaders.

This year’s conference, themed Roots of Innovation “reminds us to celebrate the historical role of diversity with respect to STEM innovation, and declare it as a standard essential set of roots for computing innovation in the future.” We asked the student participants to share their experience at this year’s conference: Continue reading “USF Computer Science Sends First Cohort to Tapia”

USF Computer Science Sends Largest Cohort to Grace Hopper

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing is the largest celebration of it’s kind in the world. It provides attendees with an unforgettable experience, filled with amazing opportunities and exceptional content focused around women in technology. Women from all across the world come to network, learn, and discuss their experiences and wisdom from the tech industry.

This year, the Department of Computer Science sent our largest cohort of 32 students, two faculty, and two staff to the conference in Houston, Texas. This was made possible through the generous support of the Craig Newmark Foundation. We asked the students to share their experience at this year’s conference. Continue reading “USF Computer Science Sends Largest Cohort to Grace Hopper”

AppInventor Voted one of the Best Websites for Teaching & Learning

AppInventor.org, founded by Computer Science Professor David Wolber was recently voted on of the Best Websites for Teaching and Learning. It’s used globally and  its website reaches approximately 60,000 unique users per month. The website provides teaching materials based on the App Inventor language created by Hal Abelson and others at MIT. Read more about Professor Wolber’s work here.

$100,000 Gift Supports Goal of Achieving Gender Parity in Tech

CS StudentsThe mission of the Computer Science Department’s Women in Tech (WiT) initiative is to increase the number of female undergraduate and graduate students in the Computer Science and Data Science programs. That mission just received a big boost in the form of a $100,000 gift from one of tech’s leading entrepreneurs — founder of craigslist, Craig Newmark. Read more…

USF CS Sends 21 Women to the Grace Hopper Celebration

In early October, nearly 18,000 women in tech converged on Orlando, Florida for the 2017 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing . With the generous support of alumni and friends, this year USF’s Department of Computer Science sent 21 students (our largest cohort ever) to participate, learn, and make connections. The Grace Hopper experience is unlike any other event in the tech world, and the experience left a lasting impression on our amazing students. In their own words, here was 2017’s Grace Hopper Celebration:

Continue reading “USF CS Sends 21 Women to the Grace Hopper Celebration”

WiT & ACM Host Empowerment Hackathon

 

Students at Empowerment Hackathon
Students at Empowerment Hackathon

Introduction by Professor Beste Yuksel

We are very proud to announce that we held a hackathon on the theme of ‘Empowerment’ at the University of San Francisco in the department of Computer Science this year. This hackathon was sponsored by the very generous donations of Craig Newmark Philanthropies. It was organized by the Women in Tech (WiT) and ACM Student Chapter organizations. We had 53 students take part, 43% of which were female or non-binary! This is a huge coup for Computer Science where women generally make up 20-25% of classrooms and traditionally do not attend hackathons as much as men.

Continue reading “WiT & ACM Host Empowerment Hackathon”