Dear colleagues, alumni and friends,

As the spring semester ends, I wanted to take some time to connect and share some of the incredible news that has come out of the University of Florida Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering recently.

This spring, the department celebrated two faculty being named IEEE Fellows and another receiving a $1.7 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security to secure mobile networks. Researchers in our department are making strides in AI, from expanding K-12 AI education to making our roads safer for pedestrians to improving the fairness of AI. We also said goodbye to longtime faculty member Richard “Nemo” Newman, Ph.D., after he spent more than 34 years in the department. Seven international students from the department were named recipients of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the UF International Center, further highlighting the caliber of our students.

Two of our amazing alumni shared stories about what led them on their path to careers in computer science. Chris Crawford, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Alabama Department of Computer Science, was given a computer at a young age and was able to explore the online gaming community where he learned about fixing bugs and patching software. Rhonda Holt, the senior vice president of information technology at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), had a summer job at UF digitizing data, which was her first significant exposure to a computer and pushed her to explore computer science further.

We’re proud to say that our rankings have improved. The graduate computer engineering program jumped four spots to No. 12 among public universities nationwide and is No. 1 in the State of Florida, according to the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools. The UF Online program ranking also increased to No. 3 in the country for best online bachelor’s programs.

This has been an exciting semester, and we’re looking forward to seeing what the rest of this year brings.

Juan E. Gilbert, Ph.D.
The Banks Family Preeminence Endowed Professor
Chair, Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering