Spring 2022

From the Department Head

Spring has sprung and we are soaking in the energy as we draw closer to commencement. There is no shortage of enthusiasm, as we look forward to celebrating the achievements of students, faculty, and staff at our annual awards banquet.

This venue also gives us a platform to honor our alumni. This year, Lisa Finneran will receive our Distinguished Alumni Award and Stacy Branham the Distinguished Early Career Alumni Award. We will be sharing profiles of these incredible alumni on our website and social media later this month, so please check them out.

Speaking of energy, in case you missed it, Virginia Tech had a record-breaking Giving Day in February, and I am very proud to say, so did the Department! In fact, we exceeded our goal of 200 donors and had the most donors on the College of Engineering leaderboard. This groundswell of support allows us to invest in important aspects of our student-focused, collegial, service-oriented community.

Thank you for helping us to do more for our students each and every day.

Cal Ribbens
Department Head

Seniors get a window into life as an entrepreneur

Senior seminar students had a special front-row seat to hear from seven computer science alumni who have been active in entrepreneurial ventures during the fall 2021 semester.

Master of Engineering student spotlight: Boeing Scholar Rachel Litscher

Rachel Litscher is a web developer who just dipped her toes into management this past summer. Her future in the tech world is bright. For that, she credits a decision made in the spring of 2019.

Paving the way

Meet 10 Hokie alumnae who are laying a foundation of support for the next generation of women in engineering. As emerging leaders in their disciplines and organizations, these women speak to the importance of mentorship, representation, and dreaming big. Computer science alumnae featured include: Jamika Burge ('07), Margaret Ellis ('02), and Jiayi Lee ('19).

Virginia Tech performs mission-critical computing research for National Science Foundation

For the past 14 years, Virginia Tech has served as one of only four university-based research sites for the National Science Foundation’s Center for Space, High-Performance, and Resilient Computing (SHREC).

More Faculty News

• Doug Bowman receives ISMAR Career Impact Award
• Virginia Tech places five faculty on Highly Cited Researchers 2021 list
• Are contact tracing apps tracking me? Not at all, say Virginia Tech researchers
• Faculty Inventor Spotlight: Daphne Yao
• Virginia Tech team selected as finalist in Alexa Prize SimBot Challenge to advance next-generation virtual assistants
• Scientists partner on multi-university grant to establish a field of ‘imageomics’
• Ismini Lourentzou awarded NSF grant to develop infrastructure for more effective AI in U.S. manufacturing industry
• Dimitrios Nikolopoulos inducted into the Inaugural Class of IEEE Computer Society Distinguished Contributors

Virtual Opportunities

• Join the CS alumni community through our Facebook group!
• Hokie Mentorship Connect: Join our group, Computer Science & Information Technology; a great place to interact with students in our field who are requesting advice and mentorship.
• Nominate Alumni: Alumni of the Department of Computer Science are eligible for department and college awards. You're invited to nominate yourself and/or fellow alumni by filling out this form.

Gifts Help Our Students Learn

• To make the most immediate and flexible impact on students, as well as the department's growth and excellence, make a gift to the Computer Science Department Annual Fund.
• The newly created Barbara Ryder Excellence Fund focuses specifically on supporting diversity and inclusion in the Department of Computer Science. Make a gift to the Barbara G. Ryder Fund for Excellence in Computer Science.
• Endowed scholarships help support outstanding undergraduate and graduate students in Computer Science:
  • Give to the CS Investment in Excellence fund to support undergraduates in computer science
  • Give to the Terry Arthur Scholarship fund to support undergraduates in computer science
  • Give to the Dennis G. Kafura Graduate Fellowship fund to support PhD students in CS
  • Give to the Richard E. Nance Graduate Fellowship fund to support PhD students in CS

Keep in Touch

We love to hear from our Computer Science alumni! Contact Hayley Roulston, alumni relations coordinator, for more ways to get involved with the department.

To better stay connected with the department, visit our website to find our social media handles, groups to join, and how to update your information.