New CS Building Featured in LIBN

 

By: Claude Solnik (LIBN) September 12, 2014

Amid a growing number of applications and top national rankings for its computer studies program,Stony Brook University is gearing up to open a 70,000-square-foot, $40.8-million computer science building.

Yacov Shamash, Stony Brook’s vice president for economic development and dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, said on Friday that the building should be ready in two months. At that point, the school plans to begin moving the department into the new silver LEED-certified facility, which will include 18 computer science research labs, five specialized labs for things such as digital media and wireless technology, and two teaching labs.

The building also will include 63 faculty and post-doctoral candidate offices, 18 staff offices and spaces designed for collaborative and interdisciplinary work.

“I think it’s going to be the most beautiful building on campus,” Shamash said in front of a rendering of the structure complete with a glass atrium.

Stony Brook’s computer sciences program, which includes roughly 1,300 students, is comprised of 530 Ph.D and master’s degree candidates and 775 undergraduates. It offers two undergraduate degrees in computer sciences and information systems with courses taught by 53 faculty members.

“The university has invested tremendous resources in it,” Shamash added of the computer science program, “and we will continue to invest resources in it.”. The number of applications to the department tripled over the past four years to 3,000, although only 300 are currently admitted annually. “A lot of that is because of the rankings, the quality faculty and the new facilities,” Shamash said. “It’s very highly ranked.”.

The National Research Council ranked the department 16th nationwide based on research productivity, student support and outcomes. The National Academy of Sciences ranked the Ph.D program 17th and PhDs.org ranked the department 11th nationwide.

“We are hopeful that we can be in the top 10 computer science departments in the country,” Shamash said.