COP 3223H meeting -*- Outline -*-

* Welcome to Computing!

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       WELCOME TO COMPUTING!

Computer Science (CS)
and Information Technology (IT)
are great fields with:

   - intellectual interest
   - practical interest
   - great job prospects

We hope you stay (or consider joining)
and are successful!
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** What is Computer Science?

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        WHAT IS COMPUTER SCIENCE?

Computer Scientists study computation:

 - software (algorithms, data structures),
 - hardware (design of computers), and
 - applications of computation, including:
    - computer vision
    - image and video processing
    - virtual reality
    - systems
    - mobile computing
    - security and privacy
    - bioinformatics and systems biology

Fundamental areas of Computer Science include:
 - algorithms,
 - machine learning (including "big data")
 - artificial intelligence,
 - human-computer interaction,
 - graphics,
 - software engineering,
 - parallel computation,
 - networking
 - computer architecture

Research in CS emphasizes
  new and innovative uses of computation.
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     Q: Is a smartphone mainly designed by Computer Scientists?
        Yes, most of the value in it is in the software,
             which is the domain of computer science,
             although there is some interesting hardware.

** What is Information Technology
------------------------------------------
     WHAT IS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY?

Information Technologists study
computer technology to:

  - provide better service and value
  - drive efficiency and productivity
  - improve business procedures
  - discover innovative ways
    to use information resources (data)

Research in IT emphasizes:
  - human-computer interaction
  - economics
  - productivity
  - information access and use
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     The CIO of a company usually is someone with an IT background

     Author Yuval Noah Harari (in "21 Lessons for the 21st
     Century") says that the most important challenges facing
     humanity are the growing powers of "infotech and biotech".
     Q: What do Computer Science and IT have to do with infotech and biotech?
        The technical content of both is deeply embedded in CS.
        Both involve big data, using lots of data and machine learning
        algorithms to predict and understand. So if you want to
        change/save the world, CS is the place to do it.

** Intellectual Interest in Computing

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           MOTIVATIONS FOR COMPUTING

Calculation is tedious, error-prone

   - scribes and accountants (~2400 BCE)
     added numbers using an abacus

   - US Census Bureau uses UNIVAC I (1951)

   - Check clearing (1960s)

Describe calculational procedures for math

 - Euclid's algorithm for GCD (~300 BCE)

 - Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (~820 CE)
   systematic solutions of linear
    and quadratic equations

 - Boole, Frege, Peano (~1850)
    arithmetic as symbol manipulation

Adding flexibility and smarts to devices

 - Apollo spacecraft (1960s)
    (precise navagation, reduce weight)

 - Digital Calculators (1970s)
    (some programmable)

 - Digital wristwatches (1980s)
    (including translation of words!)

 - Fly-by-wire digital aircraft (1980s)

 - personal digital assistants (1990s)

 - smartphones (2000s)
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    Q: How would you summarize the motivations for computing?
       avoid tedium, mathematical precision (math modeling),
       flexibility for products/devices

    The first and third of these motivations are key for practical
    applications and drivers of job growth

    Q: What are some areas of computing that you have heard about?

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     AREAS OF STUDY IN COMPUTING


















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    ... Human-computer interaction
          (Ease of use?  Better designs?)
          
        Artificial intelligence/Machine Learning
          (How to simulate/model intelligence?)

        Software Engineering
          (How to better develop software?)

        Graphics
          (How to visualize models?)

        Theory
          (How to compute faster?)

        Security and Privacy
          (How to avoid breaches?)

        Data Analytics
          (How to make sense of big data?)

** summary
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            SUMMARY

Computing offers:

  - great intellectual interest

  - great practical interest

  - excellent job prospects
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        We hope you'll stick around!