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Exciting educational innovations in the
CoES
The College of Engineering and Science has formed two new academic
units, a School of Computing and a Department of Engineering and
Science Education. These entities will allow the college to offer
innovative educational programs and to enhance our cutting edge
research in these two important areas.
The School of Computing
The School of Computing will have as its foundation, the existing
Department of Computer Science. The new school will enable Clemson
to respond more effectively to emerging areas within the broad field
of computing, and to develop academic programs to better prepare
students for a society in which computing has become truly ubiquitous.
Students who seek careers in computing continue to need core knowledge
of the fundamentals of hardware and software system design, but
they must also understand the application domain and its culture
to solve problems. They often find that what they learned in computer
science must be complemented by knowledge of other domains (finance,
architecture, insurance, civil engineering, construction). A School
of Computing will expand the conceptual framework for teaching and
research to encompass these complementary domains.
The school will be organized by focus areas, based on existing strengths
of the Department of Computer Science and other computer-related
units. The specific focus areas are expected to develop and evolve
under the leadership of the new director.
Currently identified focus areas for computing within the College
include::
• Computational Arts – computer graphics, visualization,
digital animation, film, image processing, virtual reality,
human-computer interaction, game development, multimedia systems,
computational aesthetics
• Computer Science – networks, embedded systems,
sensor systems, operating systems, languages, theory of computation,
computer architecture, software engineering
• Informatics – database development and management,
data mining, systems analysis, infrastructure design and management,
e-commerce, operations research
• Computer Engineering – digital systems, IC technology,
signal processing, system integration, embedded systems, wireless
communication networks
• Computational Sciences and Engineering – bioinformatics,
mathematical modeling, simulation and optimization of systems
and materials in all engineering and science fields, quantum
computing, computational chemistry, physics and astronomy
• Computing in Education – pedagogical use of
computing across all disciplines and for K-12, cyber infrastructure
for learning, and distance learning |
Computer Science, Computational Arts, and Informatics
will be divisions within the new School. Computer Engineering, Computational
Sciences and Engineering, and Computing in Education are focus areas
primarily centered in other academic units (e.g., Electrical and
Computer Engineering), and faculty in those units can hold a joint
appointment in the School of Computing. In all areas, a goal of
the School is to foster collaboration in the broad field of Computing
across academic units.
“The mission of our new School of Computing will be to provide
leadership in the discovery, creation, and dissemination of the
knowledge and techniques of computing,” offered College of
Engineering and Science Dean, Esin Gulari. “Our goal is to
provide national leadership in the application of computing, and
to supply a computing knowledge base for research, teaching, and
outreach activities across Clemson’s campus.”
Department of Engineering and Science Education
The College of Engineering and Science is also breaking new ground
with the establishment of the Department of Engineering and Science
Education.
Associate dean for undergraduate studies, Steve Melsheimer indicates
that this new unit gives Clemson a leadership role in this field.
“In the United States, there are only two similar academic
units, and both focus exclusively on engineering pedagogy,”
he explains. “The first was created at Purdue and the second
at Virginia Tech,” he says. “But our unique college
structure incorporating math, science and engineering, gives us
a real competitive advantage.” The new department will focus
on improving educational methods and curriculum at the university
level, and also assist in improving K-12 education in math, science,
and engineering. These K-12 outreach activities will enhance recruitment
of students into engineering and science at Clemson and elsewhere.
The E&SE department will also provide graduate level coursework
for Clemson engineering and science graduate students seeking to
prepare for academic careers, and it is envisioned that the E&SE
department will ultimately grant M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in engineering
and science education. While the E&SE faculty will be expected
to be leaders in engineering and science education and scholarship,
collaboration with faculty from all departments in the college (and
from other colleges, especially those in the Life Sciences and in
the School of Education) will be strongly encouraged and supported.
The foundation for the new department is Clemson’s outstanding
general engineering program, which will continue as a component
of the new department and remain the name of the first-year engineering
major. General engineering at Clemson already has a strong track
record, including the second highest level of external funding for
engineering education research, and the highest rate of publication
in the leading journal in the field for such programs.
General engineering director, Ben Sill (above left)
believes the new Department of Engineering and Science Education
will enhance Clemson’s reputation as a national leader in
teaching engineering fundamentals.
Clemson’s general engineering program has
embraced the use of SCALE-UP (Student-Centered Activities for Large
Enrollment Undergraduate Programs) classrooms. This collaborative
learning approach provides a hands-on, computer-rich, interactive
learning environment.
Digital production arts, an energetic component
of the current computer science department, will continue to be
a vital focus in the new School of Computing.
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