About SCS / Mission and History

Mission

Since its inception as a department in 1965, and its evolution into a School in 1988, Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon has followed a path devoted to excellence in both research and education. At the heart of our efforts is a dedication to producing highly-qualified research scientists. Our great strength has been our ability to push experimental computer science ideas from theory to practical demonstration. We have enjoyed productive working relationships with industry, enrichening our environment with practical applications and technology transfer.

In the past 15 years, SCS researchers have pioneered developments in the areas of distributed systems, networking, software technology, robotics, and parallel processing. We are at the forefront of the computer science field, furthering the accomplishments of our founders.

Our History

In the 1950's, the "electronic computer" emerged capturing the minds of researchers across all disciplines. At Carnegie Mellon this group included faculty such as Allen Newell, Herbert Simon, and Alan J. Perlis, as well as faculty in the Graduate School of Industrial Administration, staff from the newly formed Computation Center, and key administrators. These visionaries conceived of computer science as more than the theory and design of computers; it is, as Newell said, "the study of all the phenomena arising from them."

The Department of Computer Science, one of the first such departments in the nation, was officially formed in July 1965. The intent was simple: to cultivate a course of study leading to the Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, a program that would exploit the new technology and assist in firmly establishing a discipline of computer science. The educational program, formally accepted in October 1965, drew its first graduate students from several existing academic disciplines: mathematics, electrical engineering, psychology, and the interdisciplinary Systems and Communications Sciences program in the Graduate School of Industrial Administration. The Department housed itself within the Mellon College of Science, as part of the natural sciences.

By 1985, new areas within computer science were commanding attention with enough vigor that the Department of Computer Science began a carefully thought out process to become a school. Buttressed with the strong commitment of Allen Newell, Herbert Simon, Nico Habermann, Provost Angel Jordan and President Richard Cyert, the Department of Computer Science began a two-year status as a "floating" department in the early months of 1986. No longer embedded within the traditional confines of the Mellon College of Science, the Department began to stretch its scientific and fiscal wings, to see how it would evolve in a larger, more "open" organization. In 1988 the Department was officially elevated to the status of a School of Computer Science, among the first such schools in the country.