What is Computer Science?

Computer scientists specialize in the software side of computing, focusing on writing new programs that allow computer applications to run faster and more efficiently. You might work for a security company, creating technology that reduces the risks of viruses and hackers, or develop flight simulation exercises that allow airline pilots to practice managing flight problems.

What is Computer Engineering?

Computer engineers deal with both software and hardware. As a computer engineer, you could design entire computer systems and networks, making sure that the hardware, or physical equipment, is capable of running the appropriate software. You might build devices such as retinal scanners that identify people by checking their eyes, or you could design computers that are incorporated into prosthetic devices to aide people with disabilities.

Those who continue onward to obtain a graduate degree in either computer science or computer engineering learn to advance the frontiers of science. With an MS or PhD, you will invent the new technologies that enable the next generation of software and computing devices.

To learn more about Computer Science check out the links below from ComputerScience.org:

Women in Computer Science

Computer Science Programs in Arkansas

Scholarships & Financial Aid

Student News

Computer Science Doctoral Student Wins Best Paper at Cybersecurity Conference

From left to right: Brajendra Panda, professor of Computer Science and Computer Engineering, and doctoral student Mohammed Alshehri.

A computer science doctoral student earned a "Best Paper" award at an international cybersecurity conference earlier this year.

Mohammed Alshehri Sr. took home the top honors from the 12th International Conference on Security, Privacy and Anonymity in Computation, Communication and Storage in Atlanta.

His advisor is Brajendra Panda, profesor of computer science and computer engineering.

Alshehri was honored for his research into fog node protection.  Fog computing is the name for multiple cloud systems linked together to reduce the response time for users to retrieve data from the cloud. 

"What I like about fog computing is it will make the communication between end users and the cloud faster," Alshehri said.  "It's in the middle between the cloud and the end users."

The danger with linking multiple cloud storage devices together is if one is infected by malicious software, it could spread to others, potentially compromising huge amounts of data.  Alshehri's research explores a solution to isolate a rogue fog node when it is identified.

The idea is to group the different nodes into smaller groups, which Alshehri calls "fog federations."  Pieces of data with similar attributes would be grouped into the same federation, for example, it could group data based on the city it comes from and the type of institution that created it.

Those federations would still increase the speed for end users, because the computer wouldn't have to search through as many places to retrieve data, but it minimizes the threat of a virus infiltrating an entire network.

The implications of Alshehri's work are far-reaching.

"This research is general," he said.  "you can apply it to hospitals, universities, to a corporation - any organization with sensitive information to protect."

Earning the "Best Paper" award was a gratifying moment for Alshehri.

"Sometimes in Ph.D. life, it can be a lot of ups and downs," he said.  "After working for two years on my research, I'm proving I'm on the right track."

Top Stories

Data Science Professor Receives $1.25 Million from Department of Defense

Oct. 08, 2020

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A $1.25 million grant from the Department of Defense will enable data science researcher Justin Zhan to develop novel algorithms to enhance the speed and efficiency of computational software that uses large amounts of streaming data. 

By harnessing big data analytics faster and more efficiently, the algorithms will significantly enhance computational performance of many applications and programs that require massive amounts of streaming data.  This so-called machine-learning approach to big data analytics will improve operational robustness, in addition computational speed and efficiency.  Read More

Researchers Receive NSF Funding to Build a Smarter Insect Trap

Aug. 05, 2020

     

Professors Koah Luu and Ashley Dowling

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door,” goes the adage.

Ashley Dowling, a professor in the entomology and plant pathology department, and Khoa Luu, an assistant professor in the computer science and computer engineering department, aren’t trying to build a better mouse trap, but they are trying to build a better insect trap. For their efforts, they were recently awarded almost $75,000 as part of a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research program.

Read More

Researchers Receive DARPA Funding to Improve Chip Security

July 28, 2020

     

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A U of A researcher has received a $600,000 grant to pursue technology that makes digital chips more resilient to security attacks.

Cybersecurity is often associated with protecting data, but hackers are increasingly targeting physical devices, said Jia Di, professor of computer science and computer engineering. Di, who holds the 21st Century Research Leadership Chair, is the principal investigator on the project.

 Read More 

Arkansas Researchers Developing Prediction Models for Coronavirus

From left to right: Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Chancellor Joseph Steinmitz, Professor Justin Zhan, and Jerry Adams, president and CEO of the Arkansas Research Alliance, at the Capitol Building in Little Rock.

Fayetteville, Ark.  - Data Science professor Justin Zhan is collaborating with University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences professors David Ussery and Xuming Zhang to develop accurate predictions of genomic variation trends of coronavirus.

Their work will help public officials monitor the outbreak and adapt to changes.  It could also provide valuable information for the design of vaccines.

"To control and prevent COVID-19, public officials need highly robust models for predicting how and where the virus will spreak," Zhan said. "This project will assist that effort and lead to better detection and prevention strategies.  We think it could have colossal social and economic impacts."

Zhan's research focuses on big data, blockchain technologies, information assurance and biomedical informatics.  For this project, he will use a novel, blockchain-based artificial intelligence system, which integrates information on the relationships of biological systems, to predict trends and changes as the coronavirus spreads.  The system will be evaluated and tested through various coronavirus benchmark datasets.

Ussery and Zhang will provide expertise in the areas of bioinformatics, microbiology and immunology.

A blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked using cryptography.  Each block contains a cryptographic has of the previous block, and timestamp, and transaction data generally represented as a Merkle tree.  By design, a blockchain is resistant to modification of the data.  It is "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way."  As the fundamental component and functional element of blockchains, Merkle trees allow for efficient and secure verification of large data structures and potentially boundless data sets.

With a large grant from the Army Research Office, Zhan is building a graphics processing unit at the U of A.  The unit is a computer cluster of big data research and education.

Justin Zhan and David Ussery are Arkansas Research Alliance scholars.