Welcome
Welcome from Weisong Shi, Department Chair for Computer & Information Sciences.
Welcome to the Department of Computer and Information Sciences!
Dear CIS Students,
Welcome back to the University of Delaware and to a new academic year in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences! Whether you are returning to campus or joining us for the first time, I am delighted to welcome you to our community. I would especially like to extend a warm welcome to our incoming students and the inaugural cohort of the Computer Science and Business (CSB) Honors Program. We are excited that you have chosen to begin your journey with us.
This is an extraordinary time to study computing. Artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, autonomous systems, data science, and robotics are transforming every industry and every aspect of society. At CIS, our mission is not only to prepare you for these exciting careers, but also to empower you to become innovators, leaders, and responsible stewards of technology.
Our department continues to grow in both excellence and impact. This year, we are pleased to welcome four outstanding new faculty members: Dr. Mingyuan Wang, tenure-track Assistant Professor working on cryptography; Dr. Cecelia Arighi, continuous-track Assistant Professor; and Mr. Nazim Karaca and Mr. Lochlan Belford, who join us as instructors. Their expertise will strengthen our educational programs and create new opportunities for student learning and research.
We are also celebrating remarkable research achievements. Led by Professor Cathy Wu, the University of Delaware will lead the five-year, $21.5 million NSF National AI Institute on Human-AI Cooperation (HAIC), advancing groundbreaking research on how humans and AI systems can work together safely, effectively, and responsibly. In addition, our faculty have recently secured five new research awards from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission Initiative, further demonstrating the strength and growing impact of our research community.
This fall also marks the launch of our new Physical Intelligence Studio (PI Studio) in Smith Hall. The PI Studio is a hands-on innovation space where students can transform ideas into intelligent physical systems. By working with drones, autonomous robots, IoT devices, humanoid platforms, and embedded AI, students will gain the experience needed to build technologies that sense, reason, and act in the real world. As AI increasingly moves beyond software into physical environments, the PI Studio will provide opportunities to explore the next frontier of intelligent systems.
One of the greatest strengths of our department is the opportunity for students to engage directly with faculty through research, innovation, and creative projects. Whether your interests lie in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, autonomous systems, robotics, data science, or interdisciplinary applications of computing, I encourage you to reach out to faculty members early. Getting involved in research can deepen your education, expand your professional network, and open doors to internships, graduate school, entrepreneurship, and exciting careers.
Finally, I encourage you to make the most of your time here. Challenge yourself in the classroom, collaborate with your classmates, participate in student organizations, attend seminars, hackathons, and research events, and take advantage of every opportunity to learn something new. The relationships you build and the experiences you gain will shape your future just as much as the courses you take.
I wish you a successful, rewarding, and inspiring academic year. I look forward to seeing all that you will accomplish, and I hope you will stop by my office to say hello.
Welcome back, and let’s make this another outstanding year for the Department of Computer and Information Sciences.
Go Blue Hens!
Weisong Shi
Alumni Distinguished Professor and Chair
Department of Computer and Information Sciences
University of Delaware
Why a Career in CIS?
From its inception just a half century ago, computing has become the defining technology of our age. Computers are integral to modern culture and are the primary engine behind much of the world’s economic growth. Moreover, the field continues to evolve at an astonishing pace, making computer science increasingly important with each passing day.
With a background in computer and information science, you can help the world. For example you can help to:
- Improve human health
- Advance computer technology
- Coordinate disaster responses
- Impact national security
- Advance weather forecasting
- Improve communications
Our Department Mission
Mission Statement
The mission is to provide a culturally diverse and intellectually stimulating environment for
- Educating future leaders in academia, industry, government, and entrepreneurial pursuits through rigorous programs covering the theory and application of computer science. Developing in our students the ability to solve problems and to contribute through teamwork.
- Creating new knowledge and innovative technologies through research in the core areas of computer science and in collaborations with other disciplines.
- Exploiting the opportunities and solving the problems created by computing and networking technology.
- Serving the communities to which we belong, locally, nationally, and internationally, with a deep commitment to ethics in the practice of our profession.
Staff Mission
We have committed ourselves to be highly productive and provide superior operating results to all Faculty and Students we serve as customers. We commit ourselves to working together as a team by being clear about tasks, structure, and accountability.
We value mutual respect and diversity, promote a welcoming atmosphere, instill ethical behavior and engage in activities that improve the performance of everyone we serve.
- We will sensitively and effectively assist students who have different life experiences, class and cultural backgrounds, identities, orientations, abilities and values and make appropriate referrals to specialized campus resources to ensure optimal integration into university culture.
- We will work together as a team and with campus-wide academic and administrative units with the aim of facilitating student success and reasonable individual accommodation within campus standards.
- A top priority is to meet the increasing demands of a rapidly changing environment and provide services in a proactive, responsive, cost effective and service-oriented manner that parallels with and supports the University’s strategic plan.
- We will continually strive to improve customer satisfaction, all while establishing a high level of accountability by delivering quality services that satisfy customer requirements.
We will foster a learning environment where employees are encouraged to develop their skills to meet the demand of the future, while still promoting teamwork, learning, high performance and mutual respect for differences.