COMPUTER
SCIENCE
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Department of Computer Science
In the modern world, computers are involved in almost every aspect of professional and personal life. Computer scientists continue to enhance communication, business, information accessibility, entertainment, scientific study and more.
The Department of Computer Science at Virginia Commonwealth University works to educate aspiring computer scientists by focusing on the design, development, and utilization of computers and software. Through applications of math and technology, our students are programmed to change the world.
Capstone Senior Design
Our students culminate their educational experiences through the Senior Design Capstone course; a practical, out of the classroom program. Since 2008, students from the Department of Computer Science have designed working prototypes to solve real-world problems specified by industry leaders in the area. Companies such as CapTech, Royall, Northrop Grumman, MeadWestvaco, CapitalOne, Dell, AMC Technologies and OneMind have partnered with the School of Engineering to mentor computer science students on over two dozen projects since the program was founded.
about
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programs
Degrees and Certificates
We offer B.S. and M.S. programs in computer science, as well as a Ph.D. in engineering program with a computer science track. Undergraduate students are provided with the opportunity of an accelerated B.S./M.S. program which may be completed in five years.
We also offer an M.S. program in Computer and Information Systems Security, which is offered jointly with the School of Business and combines education in computer science and information systems.
Our Ph.D. program gives students an opportunity to conduct world-changing research. Students with an M.S. degree need to complete 12 hours of coursework and 18 hours of research to earn a Ph.D. Interested students have an opportunity of getting a double doctorate from VCU and from University of Cordoba, which requires six months of collaborative research in Spain.
Students in B.S. and M.S. programs in computer science may focus on cybersecurity, which has many advantages including excellent employment opportunities. B.S. students earn a cybersecurity certificate by enrolling in three specialized technical electives, and M.S. students by enrolling in five specialized graduate courses.
In addition, we offer a Post-Baccalaureate Undergraduate Certificate in Computer Science, which is open to people with an earned bachelor’s degree in a non-computer science discipline; they may earn it by taking ten computer science courses.
Disease dynamics simulations
Knowing your enemy is half the battle. Researchers are simulating the growth of amyloid-ß peptide — the protein responsible for forming the plaque strongly believed to cause Alzheimer’s disease. By predicting plaque formation in the brain, doctors have a new way to treat the degenerative disease.
Bio-inspired wireless sensor networking
Nature has evolved for billions of years — and as survival of the fittest determines what genes are passed to the next generation, biological networks have developed incredibly resilient systems. Now, researchers are using nature’s tricks to design robust Wireless Sensor Networks by implementing the adaptability of biological networks. Ghosh’s research is funded by the National Science Foundation and the US Army.
Preetham Ghosh, Ph.D.
Biological Networks Lab
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faculty research
Smart grid resilience
Protecting computer systems requires advanced methods as networks become decentralized and datasets grow. To guard against breaches in system security, researchers are developing Known Secure Sensor measurements and fuzzy-neural data fusion engines. These measurements allow a system to use encrypted messages for internal communication and give the ability to identify unseen system behavior — preventing many forms of intrusion. Manic’s research is funded by the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.Milos Manic, Ph.D.
Modern Heuristics Research Group
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Wei Cheng, Ph.D.
Ubiquitous Computing and Security Lab
Radio frequency identification system on roads
The number of cars on the road grows daily, but no system exists to increase travel efficiency and safety. Researchers are developing a radio frequency identification system for roads, using tags embedded in pavement. This gives drivers information such as lane position, traffic updates, vehicle distance estimation, and road patrol.
Cognitive underwater acoustic networks
Our blue planet is 70% ocean, but the environment that connects life across the earth is often ignored. Researchers are monitoring the effects of man-made sound on marine life and how to mitigate noise pollution underwater.
Fast localization for vehicular networks
Many vehicles use the Global Positioning System to determine their exact location, but this information is only useful for a limited amount of time. Researchers are developing new ways to pin-point coordinates before a vehicle has moved on, ensuring accurate information for drivers.
Cheng’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation.
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Improving cloud security
and privacy
Researchers are studying new ways for consumers to reduce their computation footprint on the cloud — giving customers more privacy and reducing the amount of trust that must be placed with a provider.
Yu’s research is funded by the National Science Foundation.
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Meng Yu, Ph.D.
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list of all faculty
Modeling the brain’s information processing and
solving complex problems
The human brain, only three pounds of neural connections, is capable of the complex, multi-sensory processing that allows us to experience the world. Researchers are studying the brain’s multi-processing power using realistic neuron models and plasticity networks to simulate how the brain learns to recognize the surrounding environment. This research will translate to the creation of “deep machine learning systems,” achieving image recognition capabilities approximate to those of humans.
Systems biology studies of cognition in Down syndrome (DS)
The most common chromosomal abnormality, Down syndrome, is caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21, and it occurs in one out of 1000 infants born every year. Researchers have mapped gene expression pathways to test protein-protein interactions and how selective drugs can treat abnormal gene expression. Machine learning methods are then implemented to predict protein profile behavior to identify the most significant protein abnormalities due to Down syndrome.Cios’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Krzysztof Cios, Ph.D.
Data Mining and Biomedical Informatics Lab
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Tomasz Arodz, Ph.D.
Wei Cheng, Ph.D.
Krzysztof “Krys” Cios, Ph.D.
Thang Dinh, Ph.D.
Carol Fung, Ph.D.
Sevag Gharibian, Ph.D.
Preetam Ghosh, Ph.D.
Vojislav Kecman, Ph.D.
Milos Manic, Ph.D.
Bridget McInnes, Ph.D.
Meng Yu, Ph.D.
Wanyu Zang, Ph.D.
Hong-Sheng Zhou, Ph.D.
Sevag Gharibian, Ph.D.
Gharibian received his doctorate in quantum computing from the University of Waterloo. He held a number of fellowships in computing prior to his employment at VCU. Gharibian’s research focuses on quantum complexity theory, quantum algorithms, and quantum correlations.
Milos Manic, Ph.D.
Manic received his doctorate in computer science from the University of Idaho. He has over 20 years of academic and industry experience, and served as principal inestigator for a number of research grants. Manic’s research includes data mining, computational intelligence applications in process control, network security and infrastructure protection.
new faculty 2014 - 2015
Bridget McInnes, Ph.D.
McInnes received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Previously, she worked as a research scientist and a postdoctoral associate. Her research interests are in natural language processing and computational linguistics, with a focus on determining the meaning of words in text. She is currently developing open source software packages for measuring the semantic similarity and relatedness of biomedical terms.
About the university
Virginia Commonwealth University is an urban institution of higher education located in the heart of Richmond, Virginia. It is comprised of two campuses. The Medical College of Virginia Campus is located east of the financial, governmental and shopping areas of downtown Richmond. The Academic Campus is two miles west in a residential area that dates from the nineteenth century. The University is committed to providing an environment in which students of diverse ethnic, racial, and social backgrounds can thrive.
computer-science.egr.vcu.edu
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