From the Department Chair...

Dear Alumni and Friends of the CS Dept at Boston University: 

As we close the pages on the 2001/02 academic year--the twentieth in our department's history--it is befitting to reflect on our achievements so far and look forward to what we hope will be an even brighter future for our department as it assumes a well-deserved place among the top CS departments nationwide.

The 2001/02 Academic Year was a banner year for Computer Science at Boston University on all fronts, with achievements that represent a handsome payoff on the growth of our faculty over the last few years. The following are some excerpts from our 2001/02 annual report summary, with more specific details given throughout this newsletter.

The scholarly work of our faculty continues to be of the highest caliber and impact, as evidenced by publications at the most distinguished venues, by significant citations, and by prestigious national and international recognition. According to the CS Research Index Database (CiteSeer), ten faculty members from our department, representing 60% of our faculty, are ranked in the top 2% of the most cited CS authors.

The level of sponsored research has risen to unprecedented levels—over $6.5M of new grants in the last 12 months—with many faculty members securing multiple large grants, and with highly-prestigious grants awarded to our faculty, including two NSF CAREER awards, two NSF ITR awards, and a significant NSF Research Infrastructure Award.

Our course offerings feature a broad set of courses that reflect the diversity of computer science and ensure that BU students have access to one of the best computer science curricula in the nation. And, for the first time in over ten years, our curriculum is covered by full-time faculty members, making our reliance on part-time instructors and graduate students a thing of the past.

Despite the downturn in the economy, our Industrial Affiliates Program (IAP) secured participation from some of the top names in industry, including Microsoft, IBM, Sprint, Network Appliance, Motorola, and Sun Microsystems.

While our campaign to reconnect with our alumni body through BUCAN has been a great success so far, there are still many BU/CS graduates that we are not able to reach. I am thus asking for your help. If you know of a friend or classmate, I ask you to please point them in our direction by referring them to BUCAN's web site at http://www.cs.bu.edu/CAN. Also, please remember to keep your coordinates up-to-date using the "Stay In Touch" on-line form at the BUCAN web site.

As I indicated in the Spring 2002 newsletter, I hope that this newsletter will become a venue for communication between all of you--alumni and friends of CS at BU. Please don't hesitate to send us news and/or announcements that you feel are appropriate to share with the BUCAN community, either in future newsletters or on the BUCAN web site. You can do so via email to: bucan-admin@cs.bu.edu.

Sincerely,

Azer Bestavros

Associate Professor and Chairman
CS Department, Boston University 

The 2002 graduating class, the largest in the Department’s 20-year history, was treated to a convocation speech by Robert Popp, one of the department’s alumni and a member of BU Class of 1992. Robert Popp is the Deputy Director of the newly established Information Awareness Office, working with the likes of John Poindexter, the former National Security Advisor under Ronald Reagan on aspects of Homeland Security. In light of the events of September 11th, Robert Popp’s return to our department ten years after he graduated to talk to our 2002 graduates about the importance of IT in preserving our freedoms and our way of life was both befitting and inspiring. In his introduction of Robert (Bob) Popp to the Class of 2002, Chairman Azer Bestavros noted:

Some number of years ago, I recall sitting where you are sitting today, listening to all sorts of speeches and sermons about how “momentous” a graduation event is and how it underscores the manner in which a graduating class will “change the world”, how it will “leave its mark” on society and technology, and how it will serve its alma mater for years to come. Back then (as I am sure it is the case for many of you today), it all sounded hyped up, or somehow hollow. I did not mind it, but I really had my doubts as to whether a few students could really “change the world” or “leave their mark”, etc. The impact of “technocrats” like us may seem even more doubtful today in this unsettled world of post September 11^th. Today, I am both proud and honored to present to you “proof” that all the talk about expectations and impact is neither hype nor hollow. It is true—and especially true in today’s world. Ten years ago, a fellow by the name of Robert Popp sat where you are sitting today—one of many graduating Computer Scientists from the class of 1992. Today, he comes back to his alma mater as an accomplished leader, shaping our nation’s intelligence efforts in using technology to infiltrate terrorist networks.

In his speech, Bob underscored the role that information technology could play in our nation's efforts to thwart terrorist threats without sacrificing our hard-earned freedoms and civil liberties. Reminding the Class of 2002 of the challenges ahead—both technical and societal—he gave many examples of key IT technologies that will give our armed forces and our law enforcement agencies the upper hand in dealing with asymmetric threats.

The graduating class of 2002 comprised 119 students, setting a record for the department since its inception in 1981. Pictures from the CS convocation ceremonies are available on the Web at http://www.cs.bu.edu/misc/Graduation2002/.

IAP Research Day: A Great Success!

On February 22nd, our Department's Research Laboratories hosted the first IAP Research Day. Representatives from most of our IAP member companies (including, Microsoft, IBM, Sun Microsystems, NetApp, InfoLibria) and from portfolio companies of Boston University Community Technology Fund were treated to an overview of the Department and of its recent successes and future plans. A poster session of more than 30 projects followed, with graduate students and faculty members giving brief overviews of the research goals and results of each project. Feedback from member companies was very positive and plans are underway for a similar event in Fall of 2003.

For more information on our IAP program and/or to attend our next such event, please refer to the IAP Web pages at http://www.cs.bu.edu/IAP, or contact the coordinator of this program, Professor Ibrahim Matta (matta@cs.bu.edu).

In its FY'03 budget request to Congress, the National Science Foundation (NSF) cited the work of Shanghua Teng on Smoothed Analysis of Algorithms as one of the three most influential results for Computer Science and Engineering in the last year. Quoting from that report:

"[The work of Shanghua Teng and his collaborator Dan Spielman of MIT enabled computer scientists] to gain a deeper understanding of the Simplex Method, a widely used algorithm that has defied complete understanding for over 50 years."

One of the main objectives of research in algorithmic complexity is to obtain mathematically rigorous analyses of how algorithms perform. A great achievement of research in this area has been the proof that many algorithms have good worst-case performance. This is a very strong guarantee as it means that these algorithms will perform well on all inputs. However, many practical algorithms have not been amenable to worst-case analysis. The most often cited example is the simplex method, which has been effectively used since the 1950's to solve optimization problems in numerous industrial applications. As the simplex method has poor worst-case performance, scientists have long been challenged by the lack of a mathematically rigorous explanation of its good practical performance.

Teng and Spielman's introduction of smoothed analysis of algorithms enables us finally to understand and explain the good practical performance of the simplex method. Using smoothed analysis, one analyzes the performance of an algorithm assuming there is slight imprecision in its input. This assumption is reasonable in many real-world applications in which data is derived from experimental measurements. While an algorithm with a good worst-case analysis will perform well on all inputs, an algorithm with a good smoothed analysis will perform well on almost all inputs in every small neighborhood of inputs. One surprising corollary of this work is that experimental error in the data input to an algorithm can actually improve an algorithm's performance.

In recognition of his exceptional efforts in advising Computer Science students for many years, for his significant attention to improving the quality of our advising system, for mentoring junior faculty members on advising matters, and for his exemplary participation in various advising activities in the College, Wayne Snyder was a recipient of one of this year’s CAS Award for Excellence in Student Advising. The following is the citation he received.

Reunion for BU/CS alumni working at Microsoft planned for July 30th

On  July 30th, 2002, a reunion of BU/CS alumni currently working at Microsoft is planned. This event will feature a short briefing by Chairman Azer Bestavros on the recent successes and future plans of the department. This reunion will coincide with the 2002 Microsoft Faculty Summit, and thus a number of other faculty members from the department will also be present. Invitations for this event have been sent out.  Please tell friends and colleagues! For more details, please contact us at bucan-admin@cs.bu.edu

We hope that this will be the first of many such reunions to take place at major corporations or IT hubs nationwide. If you would like to help organize or facilitate such an event, please contact us at bucan-admin@cs.bu.edu