Faculty

Chair

Anupam Joshi

Tenure-Track Faculty

Tulay Adali
B.S., Middle East Technical University (Turkey), 1987; M.S., North Carolina State University, Raleigh, 1988; Ph.D., 1992

Nilanjan Banerjee
B. Tech, Indian Institute of Technology, 2004; M.S., University of Massachusetts, 2007; Ph.D., 2009

Adam Bargteil
B.S., B.S., University of Maryland, College Park, 2000; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2006

Gary M. Carter
B.S., University of Washington, 1967; M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1969; Ph.D., 1975

Chein-I Chang
B.S., Soochow University (Taiwan), 1973; M.S., National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan), 1975; M.A., State University of New York, 1977; M.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1980; M.S., 1982; Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park, 1986

Richard Chang
B.S., Clarkson University, 1986; M.S., Cornell University, 1989; Ph.D., 1991

Fow-Sen Choa
B.S., National Taiwan University, 1980; M.S., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1985; Ph.D., 1988

Sanorita Dey
Ph.D., University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2020

Don Engel
B.S., Brown University, 2000; M.S., 2001; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 2006

Frank Ferraro
B.S., B.S., University of Rochester, 2011; M.S.E, Johns Hopkins University, 2013; Ph.D., 2017

Tim Finin
B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1971; M.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1977; Ph.D., 1980

Riadul Islam
Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz, 2017

Anthony Johnson
B.S., Polytechnic Institute of New York, 1975; Ph.D., City College of New York, 1981

Anupam Joshi
B. Tech, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 1989; M.S., Purdue University, 1991; Ph.D., 1993

Kostantinos Kalpakis
B.S., University of Patras (Greece), 1989; M.S., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1992; Ph.D., 1994

Naghmeh Karimi
B.Sc., University of Tehran, 1997; M.Sc., 2002; Ph.D., 2010

Seung-Jun Kim
B.S., Seoul National University (South Korea), 1996; M.S., 1998; Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara, 2005

Chenchen Liu
Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 2017

Samuel Lomonaco
B.S., St. Louis University, 1961; Ph.D., Princeton University, 1964

Cynthia Matuszek
B.S., The University of Texas at Austin, 2000; M.S, University of Washington, 2010; Ph.D., 2014

Curtis R. Menyuk
B.S., M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1976; Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, 1981

Tinoosh Mohsenin
B.S., Sharif University of Technology (Iran), 1999; M.S., Rice University, 2003; Ph.D., University of California, Davis, 2010

Charles Nicholas
B.S., University of Michigan-Flint, 1979; M.S., Ohio State University, 1982; Ph.D., 1988

Tim Oates
B.S., B.S., North Carolina State University, 1989; M.S., University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 1997; Ph.D., 2000

Marc Olano
B.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1990; Ph.D., University of North Carolina, 1998

Chintan Patel
B.S., University of South Gujarat, 1999; M.S., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2001; Ph.D., 2004

Dmitri Perkins
Ph.D., Michigan State University, 2002

Dhananjay Phatak
B. Tech, Indian Institute of Technology, 1985; M.S., University of Massachusetts Amherst, 1990; Ph.D., 1994

Ryan Robucci
B.S., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2002; M.S., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004; Ph.D., 2009

Alan T. Sherman
B.Sc., Brown University, 1978; S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1981; Ph.D., 1987

Deepinder Sidhu
B.S., University of Kansas, 1966; M.S., State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1973; Ph.D., 1979

Ramana Vinjamuri
Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 2008

Li Yan
B.S., University of Science and Technology, 1982; M.S., University of Maryland, College Park, 1986; Ph.D.,1989

Yaacov Yesha
B.S., Tel-Aviv University (Israel), 1973; M.S., Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel), 1974; Ph.D., 1979

Mohamed Younis
B.S., Alexandria University (Egypt), 1987; M.S., 1992; Ph.D., New Jersey Institute of Technology, 1997

Roberto Yus
Ph.D., University of Zaragoza, 2016

Ting Zhu
B.S., Zhejiang University, 2001; M.S., 2004; M.S., University of Minnesota, 2009; Ph.D., 2010

Lecturer

Jeremy Dixon
B.A., Catawba College, 1997; M.S., Shippensburg University, 1999; M.B.A., M.S., Johns Hopkins University, 2009; D.Sc. Towson University, 2016

Mohammad ‘Khash’ Donyaee 
B.Sc., Kerman University, 1988; M.Sc., Concordia University, Montreal, 2001; Ph.D., 2008

Richard Forno
A.A., Valley Forge Military College, 1992; B.A., American University, 1994; M.A., Salve Regina University, 2002; Ph.D., Curtin University of Technology (Australia), 2010

Murat Guner
Ph.D., University of Rochester, New York, 2019

Eric Hamilton
B.S., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2007; M.S., University of Maryland, College Park, 2009

Prasanna Joeg
B. Tech, Indian Institute of Technology, 1982; M.S., 1984; Ph.D., Indiana University, 1989

Ben Johnson
B.S., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2006; M.S., 2010; Ph.D., 2013

Jeannette Kartchner
B.S., B.S., Brigham Young University, 1984; M.S., University of Southern California, 1993

Ivan Sekyonda
B.S., Binghamton University, 2011; M.S., 2014

Ben Shariati
Ph.D., George Washington University, 2016

Gerald S. Tompkins
M.S., The Johns Hopkins University, 1994

Fereydoon Vafei
B.S., Iran University of Science and Technology, 2011; M.S., North Dakota State University, 2013

Affiliate Faculty

Matthias K. Gobbert - Professor, Mathematics
B.Sc., Technical University of Darmstadt (Germany), 1990; M.N.S, Arizona State University, 1993; Ph.D., 1996

Robinson Kuis - Research Assistant Professor
B.S., New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2001; Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2010

Janet Rutledge - Dean and Vice Provost for Graduate Education. Associate Professor, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
B.S., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1983; M.S., Georgia Institute of Technology, 1989; Ph.D., 1990

Arno Wacker - Visiting Research Professor
Diplom, University of Stuttgart, 2001; Dr. rer. nat., 2007

Zois Boukouvalas, Visiting Assistant Professor
Justin Brooks, Visiting Research Assistant
Craig Formby, Research Professor
Susan Hoban, Affiliate Associate Professor
Keith Mayes, Visiting Research Professor
Edward Raff, Visiting Assistant Professor
Yihong Yang, Visiting Research Professor

Professor of the Practice

Abhijit Dutt
B.Sc., St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, 1980; M.Sc., University of Calcutta, 1983; M.S., University of Tulsa, 1992; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2013

E.F. Charles LaBerge
B.E.S, Johns Hopkins University, 1974; M.S.E., 1975; Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2003

Maya Larson
Ph.D., George Washington University, 2013

Christopher Marron
B.S., Mary Washington College, 1987; M.S., University of Virginia, 1990; Ph.D., 1994

Ergun Simsek - Graduate Program Director for Data Science at UMBC
B.S., Bilkent University (Turkey), 2001; M.S., University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 2003; Ph.D., Duke University, 2006

Professor Emeritus

Ray Chen
B.S., National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan), 1969; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1976

Joel Morris - Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering
B.S., Howard University, 1966; M.S., Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, 1970; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1975

Yun Peng
B.S., Harbin Engineering Institute (China), 1970; M.S., Wayne State University, 1981; Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park, 1985

John Pinkston
B.S.E. Princeton University, 1964; M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1966; Ph.D.,1967

Senior Lecturer Emeritus

Susan Mitchell
B.A., University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1979; M.S., 2009; Ph.D., 2012; M.S., Johns Hopkins University, 1983

Courses in this program are listed under CMSC and CMPE.

The Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering offers two programs of undergraduate study: one leading to a Computer Science, B.S. , and the other leading to a Computer Engineering, B.S.  Both programs provide a balanced, practical, and theoretical approach to the study of software and hardware that includes the latest advances in these two areas.

These programs emphasize the development of problem-solving skills applied to the analysis and design of real-world problems. Students in these programs also are given a broad background in the fundamentals of mathematics and the physical sciences. Because of the similarities of the two programs, students cannot double major in computer science and computer engineering, nor can they major in computer engineering and minor in computer science.

The two programs differ in emphasis. Computer engineering focuses upon problems that arise from hardware and hardware development, whereas computer science concentrates on issues in computer applications and software development. Students are encouraged to develop hybrid programs of study that combine computer science/computer engineering with other disciplines, such as biology, chemistry, economics, geography, management science, mathematics, physics, or visual arts.

Graduates of the computer science program are well prepared for advanced studies and for problem-solving across the breadth of the discipline—the theory, design, development, and applications of computers and computer systems. Major areas within the computer science program include programming languages, algorithms, operating systems, computer architecture, database systems, artificial intelligence, graphics, and the theory of computation. The program is designed to provide students with a firm grounding in the basics in each of these areas and deeper understanding in several of them.

Computer science is a rich and diverse discipline. Areas of interest to computer scientists range from theoretical studies to software engineering (performance analysis, human factors, software development tools) to the very practical development of software for business and industry.

Computer scientists find that their skills have wide applicability in academic and industrial settings.

Computer engineering is a field that combines training in classical electrical engineering disciplines with in-depth preparation in computer science topics. The result is a trained problem solver who understands both the hardware and software aspects of computers and who can design and implement solutions on both sides of the hardware/software interface. Computer engineers are employed across the wide range of growing industries associated with communications, control, and signal processing and microelectronic fabrication: from the “smart grid” to “software defined radios”; from intelligent vehicle systems to information security for national and commercial customers; from telecommunications to medical instrumentation; from consumer electronics to space-based systems; from microprocessors to supercomputers to MP3 players; from the design of integrated circuits to development of computer-vision capabilities. A significant portion of our graduates pursue advanced study, primarily in computer engineering, electrical engineering or computer science.

The department has close ties with nearby centers of research and development, such as NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Defense, the Center for Computing Sciences, Northrop Grumman and Verizon.

Career and Academic Paths

Graduates of the computer science and computer engineering programs at UMBC find employment in government, industry and business. They are well prepared for careers in software and hardware development. Graduates have been admitted to some of the top graduate programs in the nation. Others have found jobs with such employers as the Department of Defense, IBM, NASA, Northrop Grumman, Verizon, and many local industries, including numerous exciting startup companies. The department’s M.S. and Ph.D. programs in computer science, computer engineering, and electrical engineering provide advanced training in their respective areas. Each of these programs provides students with additional marketable skills for career opportunities in business, industry, government agencies, and academic environments. Outstanding undergraduate students are encouraged to enroll in graduate-level courses. The department also offers a combined B.S./M.S. program for talented students.

Academic Advising

Students majoring in computer science are advised by Undergraduate Student Services in the College of Engineering and Information Technology until they are eligible to register for CMSC 341 . Once a student registers for CMSC 341 , he or she will be assigned an individual faculty advisor. Students majoring in computer engineering are assigned individual faculty advisors after they pass the gateway.

Evening Option

Evening sections of many computer science courses are offered. Many of the requirements for the computer science major can be fulfilled by attending evening courses. However, some required courses for the computer engineering major are offered only in daytime sections.

Special Opportunities

Students may elect to participate in internship or co-op programs during their undergraduate studies. For several reasons, the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering recommends that every student seriously consider at least one tour of professional practice during his or her undergraduate program. The experience may clarify and help determine succeeding semester course choices. Those who co-op may earn enough money to pay tuition expenses for a subsequent semester. Additionally, a co-op experience can be used to earn up to three credits of upper-level academic elective credit. Finally, both internships and co-op tours arm the new college graduate with what most employers are looking for: experience. Co-op positions that extend beyond a single semester are normally full-time, paid experiences. Internships are part-time, professional, on-the-job positions that are completed within a semester. Eligibility is based upon the completion of 30 credits, 15 of which must be from a full-time semester on a University System of Maryland campus. The student must have at least a 2.5 GPA. Interested students should contact UMBC’s Shriver Center.

Student Organizations

Student Councils

Two student-led councils of majors provide students the opportunity to meet and work with fellow computer science and computer engineering students on various projects.

Programs

• Computer Engineering, B.S.
• Computer Science, B.S.

• Computer Science Minor
• Computing Minor

Courses

• CMPE 101 - Introduction to Computer Engineering (3)
• CMPE 212 - Principles of Digital Design (4)
• CMPE 306 - Introductory Circuit Theory (4)
• CMPE 306T - Introductory Circuit Theory Lab (1)
• CMPE 310 - Systems Design and Programming (4)
• CMPE 311 - C Programming and Embedded Systems (3)
• CMPE 312 - Principles of Digital Design (3)
• CMPE 312L - Fundamental Digital Design Laboratory (2)
• CMPE 314 - Principles of Electronic Circuits (4)
• CMPE 314T - Electronics Circuits Lab (1)
• CMPE 315 - Principles of VLSI Design (4)
• CMPE 316 - Programmable Logic Devices (3)
• CMPE 320 - Probability, Statistics, and Random Processes (3)
• CMPE 323 - Signal and Systems Theory (4)
• CMPE 330 - Electromagnetic Waves and Transmission (3)
• CMPE 349 - Introduction to Professional Practice (3)
• CMPE 413 - Principles of VLSI Design (4)
• CMPE 414 - Advanced VLSI Design (3)
• CMPE 416L - Capstone Computer Engineering Laboratory (3)
• CMPE 417 - VLSI Design Algorithms (3)
• CMPE 418 - VLSI Design Verification and Testing (3)
• CMPE 419 - Computer Arithmetic Algorithms and Implementations (3)
• CMPE 422 - Digital Signal Processing (3)
• CMPE 423 - Principles of Communication Engineering (3)
• CMPE 440 - Analog and Mixed Signal Circuits (3)
• CMPE 447 - Analog Integrated Circuit Design (3)
• CMPE 450 - Capstone I (3)
• CMPE 451 - Capstone II (3)
• CMPE 471 - Experimental Techniques for Electrical and Computer Engineering (3)
• CMPE 485 - Introduction to Communication Networks (3)
• CMPE 486 - Mobile Radio Communications (3)
• CMPE 491 - Special Topics in Computer Engineering (3)
• CMPE 499 - Independent Study in Computer Engineering (1-4)

• CMSC 100H - Introduction to Computer Science (3)
• CMSC 104 - Problem Solving and Computer Programming (3)
• CMSC 104Y - Problem Solving and Computer Programming (4)
• CMSC 121 - Introduction to UNIX (1)
• CMSC 201 - Computer Science I (4)
• CMSC 201H - Computer Science I (Honors) (4)
• CMSC 202 - Computer Science II (4)
• CMSC 202H - Computer Science II (Honors) (MS) (4)
• CMSC 203 - Discrete Structures (3)
• CMSC 203H - Discrete Structures (3)
• CMSC 210 - Advanced Computing (3)
• CMSC 291 - Special Topics in Computer Science (1-4)
• CMSC 299 - Independent Study in Computer Science (1-4)
• CMSC 304 - Social and Ethical Issues in Information Technology (3)
• CMSC 310 - Data Analysis and Structures (3)
• CMSC 313 - Computer Organization and Assembly Language Programming (3)
• CMSC 331 - Principles of Programming Language (3)
• CMSC 340 - Advanced C++ (3)
• CMSC 341 - Data Structures (3)
• CMSC 341H - Data Structures (3)
• CMSC 352 - Women, Gender, and Information Technology (3)
• CMSC 352H - Women, Gender, and Information Technology (3)
• CMSC 391 - Special Topics in Computer Science (1-4)
• CMSC 396 - Undergraduate Teaching Fellowship (1-3)
• CMSC 404 - The History of Computers and Computing (3)
• CMSC 411 - Computer Architecture (3)
• CMSC 421 - Principles of Operating Systems (3)
• CMSC 426 - Principles of Computer Security (3)
• CMSC 427 - Wearable Computing (3)
• CMSC 431 - Compiler Design Principles (3)
• CMSC 433 - Scripting Languages (3)
• CMSC 435 - Computer Graphics (3)
• CMSC 436 - Data Visualization (3)
• CMSC 436H - Data Visualization Honors (3)
• CMSC 437 - Graphical User Interface Programming (3)
• CMSC 441 - Design and Analysis of Algorithms. (3)
• CMSC 442 - Information and Coding Theory (3)
• CMSC 443 - Cryptology (3)
• CMSC 444 - Information Assurance (3)
• CMSC 446 - Introduction to Design Patterns (3)
• CMSC 447 - Software Engineering I (3)
• CMSC 448 - Software Engineering II (3)
• CMSC 449 - Malware Analysis (3)
• CMSC 451 - Automata Theory and Formal Languages (3)
• CMSC 451H - Automata Theory and Formal Languages (3)
• CMSC 452 - Logic for Computer Science (3)
• CMSC 453 - Applied Combinatorics and Graph Theory (3)
• CMSC 455 - Numerical Computations (3)
• CMSC 456 - Symbolic Computation (3)
• CMSC 457 - Quantum Computation (3)
• CMSC 461 - Database Management Systems (3)
• CMSC 462 - Introduction to Data Science (3)
• CMSC 471 - Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (3)
• CMSC 473 - Introduction to Natural Language Processing (3)
• CMSC 475 - Introduction to Neural Networks (3)
• CMSC 476 - Information Retrieval (3)
• CMSC 477 - Agent Architectures and Multi-Agent Systems (3)
• CMSC 478 - Introduction to Machine Learning (3)
• CMSC 478H - Introduction to Machine Learning (3)
• CMSC 479 - Introduction to Robotics (3)
• CMSC 481 - Computer Networks (3)
• CMSC 483 - Parallel and Distributed Processing (3)
• CMSC 486 - Mobile Radio Communications (3)
• CMSC 487 - Introduction To Network Security (3)
• CMSC 491 - Special Topics in Computer Science (3)
• CMSC 493 - Capstone Games Group Project (3)
• CMSC 495 - Honors Thesis (3)
• CMSC 498 - Independent Study in Computer Science for CMSC Interns and Coop Students (3)