COMPUTER SCIENCE:
MISCONCEPTIONS, CAREER PATHS AND RESEARCH CHALLENGES
School of Computing and Information Sciences Florida International University
Slides Prepared by:
Vagelis Hristidis (CS Assistant Professor) Fernando Farfán (CS PhD Student)
Stephen Bromfield (CS Undergraduate Student)
Juan Duarte (CS Undergraduate Student)
Computer Science Misconceptions
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Some preconceived ideas &
stereotypes about Computer Science (CS) are quite common.
These Misconceptions present a negative image of the CS field.
Discourages students, especially
females, from pursuing a course
of study or career in CS
Computer Science Misconceptions
Intro to Computer Science - Florida International University
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Overcoming the Stereotypes
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Important that we rebut negative preconceived notions of CS.
We aim to promote more progressive notions about CS, putting it in a more positive light.
One of our goals is to clear such
misconceptions and instill interest in CS field.
Do not be deterred by some of these
common misconceptions, they are
Computer Science is the bee’s knees!
Intro to Computer Science - Florida International University
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CS field is in very high demand.
CS encompasses much more than just programming.
Abundance of challenges to investigate in CS, allowing for a large number of various research areas.
With the ongoing rise of technology’s
popularity, CS works closely with a
growing amount of disciplines.
Computer Science is Facilitator of other Disciplines
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Areas of research/development in Physics, Chemistry,
Mathematics, Bio-medical Engineering, Medicine, Robotics, Tele- communications, Entertainment, Security, and Finance are using CS to advance their research and manage their data.
• The world has been changing to capitalize on the success of
computer technology and
Computer Science is leading the
change!
Computer Science Career Paths
Computer Science vs.
Information Technology Degrees
Computer Science (CS) is the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures.
Information Technology (IT) is the study,
design, development, implementation,
support or management of computer-
based information systems, particularly
software applications and computer
hardware.
What do we study?
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Computer science:
Theory of computation, data structures,
algorithms, programming languages, artificial
intelligence, computer graphics, and more.
Information technology:
data management,
networking, databases,
software design, the
administration of entire
systems, and more.
What can I do with my CS degree?
Intro to Computer Science - Florida International University
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Software engineer
Computer teacher
Computer graphics animator
Embedded system programmer (cell phones and
robots)
What can I do with my IT degree?
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Network engineer
Database administrator
Customer support technician
Computer security
Intro to Computer Science - Florida International University
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Software engineer $60,000 a year
Database administer $50,000 a year
Computer graphics specialist $40,000 a year
Network engineer $40,000 a year
After a PhD Degree in Computer Science, starting
salary is usually over $100,000 a year, at university or research lab.
But how much can I make out of college?
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Computer Science at Florida International University
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Degree Programs
ABET Accredited Computer Science Bachelors program
Research intensive Computer Science Masters and Ph.D. programs
Industry Focused Information Technology Bachelors (single and double major)
Over 1,200 students
30+ Faculty members
25+ dedicated research and instructional labs
500+ servers, workstations & PCs on high speed networking
Research Centers and Laboratories
Intro to Computer Science - Florida International University
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NSF CREST Center for Advanced Information Processing and High Confidence Systems
(crest.fiu.edu)
Latin American Grid and the IBM Center for Grid and Autonomic Computing
(lagrid.fiu.edu)
High Performance Database Research Center (hpdrc.cis.fiu.edu)
Center for Advanced Distributed System Engineering (cadse.cis.fiu.edu)
Distributed Multimedia & Information System Laboratory (dmis.cis.fiu.edu)
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Laboratory (cis.fiu.edu)
Degrees from FIU School of Computing and Information Sciences
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BS in Computer Science
BS in Information Technology
MS in Computer Science
PhD in Computer Science
D. Computer Science Research:
Areas of Study
Intro to Computer Science - Florida International University
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Artificial Intelligence
Bioinformatics, Medical informatics
Computer Security
Databases, Data management, Data mining
Robotics, Automatization
Search Engines Technology
Many, many more…
Computer Science Research:
Search Engines Technology
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What is a search engine?
A software tool used to search information on the WWW.
Who needs a search engine?
Almost every human being!
Business, arts, sports, games,
etc.
Searching the Web Throughout the Ages
Intro to Computer Science - Florida International University
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Early 90’s:
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Few hundred Websites.
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Archie: Only titles of files were stored in one central server.
Why is so difficult to make a good search engine?
cave
family guy
family guy
2009
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More than 10 billion Web pages.
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Search over Text, Video,
Images, Blogs, social networks…
How to Find What I Want on the Web?
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Web crawlers (spiders): Little programs built by search
engines to visit all the pages in the WWW.
Make an INDEX: what words appear on what web page.
Don’t forget: 10 BILLION WEB
PAGES!!!!!
How do we Search the Web, Anyway?
Intro to Computer Science - Florida International University
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A query? Yes! A keyword query.
Simple User interface
Use the INDEX, Luke!
What pages contain the query keywords
But???
How do we order the results?
Ranking Search Results
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Term Frequency
How many times does the terms appear in every page?
Document Frequency
How common is the term in the entire document collection?
Document Length
How long is the document? A shorter document is more
Ranking Search Results (Cont.)
Intro to Computer Science - Florida International University
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Hyperlink structure
PageRank by Google: Important pages link to
important pages!
Nowadays, Many Types of Search Engines
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Search engines for specific purposes
Use “domain” knowledge
to make a better search.
Computer Science Research:
Search Engines Technology
Intro to Computer Science - Florida International University
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Open Research Issues in Web Search:
Incorporate knowledge from social networks like Facebook:
Trust propagation among friends
Handle Page Hyperlinks vs. Friendship connections
Personalization: Learn users preferences.
Answer natural language questions:
“who invented penicillin?”
E. Project Description
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Part A: Show evidence that the four above ranking factors are used by Google
Part B: Propose and investigate your own ranking
factors (e.g., pages with black font are better than
ones with color fonts?)
Our Website and Contact Information
Intro to Computer Science - Florida International University
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Our Website
http://dbir.cis.fiu.edu/hs-outreach/
Project supported by National Science Foundation
Grant IIS-0811922.
References
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