Building a Vision: Computer Science at UNB

1. A Vision of Computer Science at UNB Virendrakumar C. Bhavsar Professor and Director, Advanced Computational Research Laboratory Faculty of Computer Science, University of New Brunswick Fredericton, NB, Canada bhavsar@unb.ca February 5, 2003

2. Outline • - My Background • - Computer Science Discipline • - Computer Science at UNB • - Conclusion

3. Educational Background (Born – Sept. 1950) 1971- B. Eng. (Electronics and Telecommunications) • University of Poona, India • Project: 4-bit Adder/Subtractor/Multiplier 1973- M.Tech. (Electrical Eng. - specialization: Instrumentation, Control, and Computers) Indian Institute of Technology (I.I.T.), Bombay, India Dissertation – Special Purpose Parallel Computers • 1982- Ph. D. (Electrical Eng.) • I.I.T. , Bombay, India • Thesis –Design and Analysis of Parallel Algorithms

4. Teaching Experience • 1974 – 1983: Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay Research Associate, Lecturer Assistant Professor • 1983- to date: UNB Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor Developed many new courses • Short courses: industries and academia – 24 7 four-day courses offered at Washington DC, Ottawa and Boston • UNB Merit Awards (1992, 1999) for outstanding contributions to UNB

5. Research Experience • Areas Electronics, Microcomputer hardware and software, computer architecture, OS, algorithms, compilers, parallel processing, simulation, computer graphics, pattern recognition, artificial neural networks, learning machines, multimedia for telelearning, multi-agent systems, multi-lingual systems, software eng., and bioinformatics • Publications Refereed Journal Papers 22, Conference Papers 90, Edited Volumes 3, Technical Reports/Communications 26, Conference Posters 3, Conference Demonstrations 2, Conference Abstracts 11, Video Productions 2, Manuscripts submitted to Journals 2. • Graduate Theses Supervised 60 (56 MCS/MSc + 4 PhD) Post-Doctoral Fellows/Research Associates: 5

6. Research Experience -Collaborations • Academic Collaborations UNB – Statistics (Banerjee), ECE (Luke) , ME (Hussein) - CS: Aubanel, Evans, Fritz, Ghorbani, Goldfarb, Gujar, Horton, Pochec, Ware NRC, Ottawa – Marsh Univ. of Illinois, Urbana – Gallivan Univ. of Southern California – Madhukar Manitoba/Wright State U. – d’Auriol Univ. de Moncton - Almhana C-DAC, Pune - Anupam I.I.T. Bombay – Isaac, Sarda, Krishnamoorthy, … Univ. Of Pune – Ogale, Kanhere • Consulting to Industries: Many in India; Few in Canada • Established First Research Group in CS –1986 • Compiled First Annual Research Report of CS -1989

7. Administrative Experience 1980-1982: Associate Warden (Don), Hostel 8, I.I.T., Bombay. (Hostel (Residence) ~ 200 students) 1994- 1997: Director of Graduate Studies (now called Asst. Dean (Graduate Studies)) - compiled the first Graduate Handbook - Poster with Dr. Ware - revised and designed new forms and procedures - inter-campus relations 2000- to date: Director, Advanced Computational Research Laboratory (ACRL) - $330,000 CFI grant; NSERC MFA Grant - new NOI for $3,000,000 for ACRC - founding member of AC3 - resource usage: UNBF and UNBSJ, MTA, UdeM, STFX

8. Professional Experience • Executive Committee Member –HPCnet • Founding Member –C3.ca Association, Inc. Member, Board of Directors Executive Committee Member Many Committees • Founding member of AC3 and ACEnet • Chair, IEEE New Brunswick Section - rejuvenated 4-5 year defunct section - organized a meeting of IEEE Canada BoD at Fredericton • Member, Advisory Board, International Institute of Information Technology, Pune, India • Involved in - Meetings with the Province for NRC at Fredericton • Conference/Workshop organization: 21

9. Computer Science Discipline and Challenges • Dynamic and changing • Boundaries between Computing and Other disciplines blurred (e.g. biology and physics) • Human, security, privacy and legal issues • IT is now pervasive in society • Computing as a profession • Lifelong learning • Exciting and challenging field • … • One of the top 10 CS programs in Canada • Innovations in Undergraduate and Graduate Programs • Research Collaborations • Vibrant partnerships with Industries, NRC, Govt. • Faculty and staff development

10. Computer Science at UNB • Active and Capable Faculty • Dedicated and Capable Technical and Office Staff • Collegial Atmosphere • Undergraduate Program and Co-op -well established, however, continual tuning and innovations required • provide excellent learning environment • recruitment • Software Eng. Program • growth required • Graduate Program - attract exceptionally well qualified students • increase PhD students • Professionalism ACM, CIPS, IEEE, …

11. Computer Science at UNB (cont.) • Information Technology Center (ITC) -broadening scope and participation of faculty • Research • foster collaborations within CS and outside CS • Interdisciplinary • more funding required • CRC and Other Chairs • National and International Visibility • regional, national and international conferences • Programming Competitions

12. Conclusion • My Experience Balance of {Teaching, Research, Professional Work, Administrative Work, Service} Diverse experience, multi-disciplinary approach • Vision UNB CS – within top 10 in Canada Academic –Focused Programs, Chairs Research- Intra-university and Inter-University, Govt. Industry Collaborations Chairs Continual Faculty and Staff Development Funding – NSERC, CFI, Industries, Govt. - financial resources to turn potential into reality