The emergence of Computer Science as a discipline is perhaps one of the most significant intellectual developments of the twentieth century. Computer science, broadly defined, is the theory and practice of representation, processing, and use of information. The field is still in its infancy, yet encompasses a large and rapidly growing body of knowledge concerning algorithms, information processing, communication, languages, and information systems. It employs both theoretical as well as experimental approaches to advance the state of knowledge in these areas. It offers a powerful paradigm for modeling complex phenomena such as cognition and life, and representing, processing, acquiring, and communicating knowledge that is new in the history of humanity. The power of this paradigm is evident everywhere in our technological society. It has begun to dramatically change our conception of reality.

Almost every aspect of everyday life has been transformed by information technologies enabled by Computer Science. There is a growing realization that information technology is essential for solving critical problems in areas such as fundamental science, engineering, education, environment, health care, economics, commerce, and government. The recent explosive growth in computer power and connectivity is reshaping relationships among people and organizations, and transforming the processes of discovery, learning, representing, understanding and communication. As a result of these technological advances, we have unprecedented opportunities for providing rapid and efficient access to enormous amounts of knowledge and information; for studying vastly more complex systems than was hitherto possible; and for advancing in fundamental ways our understanding of information processes in society, nature, and artificial systems. Computer Science plays a central role in facilitating major advances in human capability to generate, model, and represent more complex and cross-disciplinary scientific data from new sources and at enormously varying scales; to transform this information into knowledge by combining and analyzing it in new ways; to deepen our understanding of learning and intelligence in natural and artificial systems; and to collaborate by sharing knowledge and working together.

Computer science is transforming several of the basic and applied sciences including biological, physical, and cognitive sciences. The language of algorithms provides to the study of life and mind what calculus provided for the study of physics. Without the language of calculus (which provided the tools for characterizing and quantifying rates of change), it is hard to conceive of classical physics, mechanics, and most branches of engineering. Computer programs embody new theories and dynamic models of cognitive phenomena such as memory and learning, perception, language understanding, and problem solving; physical phenomena such as planetary motion; biological processes such as brain function, gene regulation, reproduction, adaptation, and evolution; and social phenomena such as cooperation, competition, and economic behavior. Due to its central role in entirely new scientific disciplines that are emerging, Computer Science is fundamentally transforming the way we understand ourselves and the world around us.

• A new breed of scientists, armed with the knowledge of computer science and training in biological sciences are making fundamental advances in biological sciences and contributing to the formation of new disciplines such as bioinformatics, and computational biology.
• A new breed of scientists, with training in computer science and physical sciences are making fundamental contributions in emerging disciplines such as computational physics, and computational chemistry.
• A new breed of technologists trained in computer science as well as the appropriate scientific and engineering disciplines are developing sophisticated new technologies for computer aided design and manufacturing, simulation of complex manufacturing processes, and virtual reality.
• A new breed of scientists and technologists trained in computer science and cognitive sciences are making fundamental advances in understanding brains and minds and designing intelligent agents that perceive, reason, learn, choose, communicate, and interact with people as well as complex environments in interesting and useful ways.
• Computer Science and information technologies enabled by Computer Science are leading to improved health care through advances in medical informatics, computer-assisted surgery, and computational drug design.
• The tools of information technology that were enabled by Computer Science are transforming agriculture and food production through advances in areas such as bioinformatics and precision farming.
• The tools of information technology that were enabled by advances in Computer Science are transforming business practices through the emergence of electronic marketplaces, electronic investing, electronic banking, sophisticated software tools for scheduling and workflow and inventory management.
• Information technology has become critical to major functions of the government in areas such as national defense, disaster management, and law enforcement.
• Information technology is leading to novel approaches to education and training using virtual (simulated) environments for flight training, surgical training, and disaster management.
• In the social sciences, entirely new disciplines are emerging as a result of marriage between computer science and social science (e.g., computational organization theory, computational economics).
• In the humanities and the arts, new media and new avenues for creative expression through computer generated or computer assisted music, drawings, paintings, characters (e.g., in movies) and multi-media art have resulted from advances in computer science.
• Our society is on the threshold of an era of intelligent artifacts which is being ushered in, to a large extent, by advances in Computer Science and information technology. Some of the developments around the corner include smart buildings, smart highways, smart appliances, smart artificial organs and prosthetic devices, smart vehicles, intelligent communication networks, and intelligent personal information assistants.

As a result, human endeavor is no longer constrained only by what is physically possible, but by what is computationally realizable. Being an informed citizen in this information age requires the ability to apply computational ways of thinking to design, analysis, experimentation, organization, communication, and society. As a recent article in New York Times put it rather pointedly albeit provocatively, "All Science is Computer Science!" The significance and range of impact of Computer Science and the information technologies enabled by it make it central to the mission of a modern public university.

References

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