Bits, bytes & boxes
Introducing the Division of Computer and Information Sciences
Archived article from Nov 2, 2001
By Joseph Blumberg
Steven Spielberg's movie "A.I.," about a future where computers not only think but feel, may seem farfetched. But for researchers at the Division of Computer and Information Sciences, the possibility of creating computer technology that can work intelligently alongside humans is no fantasy. On the Busch campus, teams of top-notch scientists are working to expand the role of digital devices in 21st-century life.
With some 40 research projects supported in part by more than $4 million in annual external funding, the division is clearly a significant player in a leading-edge area of contemporary technology. Based on the successful model of Rutgers' Division of Life Sciences, this new division was established last spring. Its creation reflects the emphasis on computing as an academic growth area within the university's strategic plan.
The new division will eventually encompass the computer science department and several new interdisciplinary research centers. A distinguished advisory board, drawn from academic and industry leaders, is helping to chart its course.
Directed by Professor Tomasz Imielinski, the division has received a $1.6 million grant from the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education to support its formation and development. Planned centers of excellence will attract major researchers to lead projects in areas such as bioinformatics, human-computer interfaces, software systems and engineering, and art and technology.
Dimitris Metaxas, a leading researcher in computer modeling and simulation, has joined Rutgers to head the first center in the division -- the Center for Vision, Medicine and Graphics. It will explore applications of graphics, visualization and simulation to medicine, engineering and science.
"Expanding our activities to the level of a division will help build bridges to other areas of science, engineering and art, fostering interdisciplinary research and creating new ways to attract outside funding," says Imielinski.
"The creation of the Division of Computer and Information Sciences reflects the need to integrate these disciplines in a setting that will provide a venue for new directions in research, a resource for educating our students and a platform for outreach to business and industry," adds Joseph J. Seneca, university vice president for academic affairs.
Below is a glimpse of just a few of the projects currently under way.
Inside the box
Professor Barbara Ryder likes to say she is working "inside the box" -- the computer box, that is. Her group performs program analysis to make life easier for people who develop and maintain software. "Any piece of software that runs on a computer is first written by humans in a language that they understand to describe what they want the computer to do," she says. "Then it is translated into instructions that can actually be executed on the computer."
This translation is done by special programs called compilers. Speed is at a premium when running large and complex programs, while size is crucial in applications for pocket computers such as Palm Pilots. To make the translated programs run as quickly as possible in as small a space as possible, program analysis aids the compiler programs in looking at the program code, understanding what the code says to do and then identifying the most efficient path for translation.
As software evolves over time, program analysts are also there to help smooth the transitions. "We build tools that are used to ensure that, as the software engineers write the upgrades, they don't break something that already was working," says Ryder.
The largest and most complex programs, such as the Web server programs behind eBay and Amazon, are now built of component parts that can be re-placed individually. Components for upgrades are written by different people who may not be seeing what others are creating.
"We are now forced to analyze different pieces of systems from different sources and still ensure they will continue to work together efficiently," Ryder explains. "Our program analysis group is researching this new challenge that has only surfaced in the last two years. What we come up with will have a decided impact down the road as Internet and large-scale computing use continues to grow."
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