Research Centers

There are several departments and programs in the University that offer courses that are relevant to the graduate program in computer science; these include, Mathematics, Statistics, Philosophy, and Electrical and Computer Engineering, as well as the Program in Cognitive Science. (See this for some of their courses.)

There are also departments whose academic programs and research are of considerable interest to the Division of Computer and Information Sciences. In some, the common interests concern advanced computer applications, and in some the common interests concern theoretical ideas. In alphabetical order, some of these are:

 

CAIP: The Center for Computer Aids for Industrial Productivity is one of the Advanced Technology Centers created under the joint sponsorship of the state, private industry, and Rutgers University, in response to the recommendations of the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology. These centers were established (CAIP in 1985), as an administrative vehicle for channelling substantial research support to institutions engaged in scientific research in areas critical to the economy of the State of New Jersey. The CAIP Center has two primary goals: 1. To build upon existing strengths at Rutgers in computer oriented disciplines, strengthening and expanding research activities in these areas. 2. To encourage increased interaction and research collaboration between the University and industries involved in these areas.

 

DIMACS: The Center for Discrete Mathematics and Computer Science is a national research center, funded by the National Science Foundation. It is a joint project, whose direct participants are the Rutgers University Division of Computer and Information Sciences and Mathematics Departments, RUTCOR, the Princeton University Computer Science Department, AT&T Bell Labs, and BellCore. The main offices of DIMACS are on the fourth floor of the CoRE building at Rutgers. DIMACS was founded in 1989 with an award from NSF to create a center for advancement of science and technology with a national scope. Each year DIMACS has a "Special Year" focusing attention and resources on some topic in discrete mathematics and theoretical computer science. DIMACS brings post-docs and visiting professors to the member institutions, supports graduate students at Rutgers and Princeton, and schedules many seminars and workshops that are open for all to attend. For more information about DIMACS, including a list of recent and planned activities, consult the WWW page http://dimacs.rutgers.edu.

DIMACS provides an exceptionally rich environment for those interested in theoretical computer science.

 

Electrical and Computer Engineering: The research in this department that may be of interest to computer science students includes communications and information processing, digital computer systems, image processing, pattern recognition, graphics, computer architecture, digital logic and microprocessor system design, solid state electronics for VLSI, distributed computing, wireless communication.

 

Mathematics: The Mathematics Department has an active group of researchers in various areas of potential interest to CS students. These areas include, among others, Algorithms, Combinatorics, Complexity, Discrete Mathematics and Optimization, Logic, Systems and Control Theory, Computational Algebra, and Numerical Analysis. In particular, there is considerable interaction between faculty from Computer Science and Mathematics who are interested in theoretical C.S.

 

Psychology: There is extensive research in perception and vision, and in particular, joint work with our division in models of cognitive processes.

 

RuCCS: The Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science was established in 1991 and is housed on the Busch campus, near the Division of Computer and Information Sciences. The primary goal of the Center is to foster research concerned with the nature of certain information-processing that underlies intelligent performance. The approach in cognitive science, in contrast with the approach taken by other investigators interested in similar issues, is essentially computational. The goal is to understand such aspects of intelligent performance as perception, language processing, planning, problem solving, reasoning, and learning, in terms of the computational processes that underwrite these skills, as well as the nature and development of computational mechanisms (be they silicon hardware, or neural tissue) that may instantiate them. The pursuit is essentially multidisciplinary and involves techniques and knowledge drawn from experimental psychology, computer science, neuroscience, philosophy, linguistics, mathematics, and engineering. The Center is concerned with coordinating research activities in cognitive science throughout the university. It is responsible for providing a mechanism for advising graduate students who wish to specialize in these kinds of studies. This mechanism is the Certificate Program In Cognitive Science. By meeting certain conditions in terms of coursework and independent research a student may become part of the "certificate program" and may obtain a "Certificate in Cognitive Science" along with the PHD in Computer Science. For more information on the certificate program write to the Center for Cognitive Science ().

 

RUTCOR: The Rutgers University Center for Operations Research, was established in 1982 to coordinate the operations research activities which had been going on in many parts of the university and to act as a focal point for the development of operations research in the State of New Jersey. In addition to running the doctoral program in O.R., RUTCOR sponsors interdisciplinary research projects, facilitates research contracts in O.R., sponsors an active Colloquium series, puts out four international scientific journals and a technical report series, and hosts distinguished long and short-term visiting scholars from around the world. RUTCOR has 42 faculty members representing the Division of Computer and Information Sciences, and the Departments of Economics, Industrial Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics and the School of Business. The faculty represented in RUTCOR work on a variety of research problems, from theoretical to applied.