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| Advanced aeronautics research
and training is now done using sophisticated
renderings and accurate operational profiles of
modern flight simulators. |
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| Network
administration provides great career
opportunities for today's computer scientist. |
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| Computer scientists are now
exploring new technologies for scanning and
recognizing three dimensional objects. |
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com•put•er
sci•en•tist n.
1. A person
having expert knowledge involving the programming,
operation, and networking of electronic machines that
perform high-speed mathematical or logical operations.
Computer Scientists are the people who focus primarily
on the science of programming, operating, and controlling
computers to store, communicate, and retrieve
information. In the early days of computers, they wore
funny white suits and rubber shoes and worked in
"clean rooms" where large computing machines
were located. By the way, there weren't any small
computers, just big imposing machines with lots of neat
flashing lights; and the computer scientists who
programmed and operated these machines could only be seen
through windows.
That's all changed. Computers are everywhere. In fact,
there's virtually no aspect of our society that isn't
reliant on computers to one extent or another. Virtually
every desk of every office has a computer sitting on it.
Virtually every home has several computers, from the PC
in the family room to embedded processors in the VCR or
air conditioning thermostat. In fact, we now use
computers to do everything from sequencing traffic lights
to programming microwave ovens. Computers control the
power grids that bring electricity into our homes and
businesses, the phone lines that interconnect us, the
toys we play with, and the stores we shop in. Computers
also store and protect the money in the bank and provide
us remote access through ATM machines and the Internet.
Speaking of the Internet, computers also provide the
very foundation of this rapidly expanding, global on-line
community–a phenomenon that is revolutionizing our
world, our country, our community, and our homes. We now
routinely use computers to shop, communicate, explore,
and grow without boundaries or constraints. We also rely
on them for diagnosing diseases and developing cures. We
rely on them for policing our streets and defending our
country. Computers truly are everywhere and touch the
lives of everyone.
Computer scientists are the ones in the forefront of
this digital revolution. They're the ones who understand
computers–how they work, what they do, and the means
of controlling them effectively. Computer scientists are
the ones who get involved with algorithms and data
structures, and programming languages and computer
hardware. They're the ones who develop operating systems,
who engineer the software methods and tools, who design
databases, and create the means of searching and
retrieving the information they contain.
Computer scientists are also the ones who develop the
interfaces that bridge the gap between human and machine.
They not only let machines understand the strokes of a
keyboard or the click of a mouse, but also our spoken
language and even our brain waves. Computer scientists
are also the ones developing new and exciting forms of
artificial intelligence, designing sophisticated controls
for powerful robots, or building networks that can move
all the information of a large library anywhere in the
world over a single fiber in the blink of an eye.
The bottom-line: computer scientists are now
responsible for harnessing and using perhaps the most
powerful technology humanity has ever seen. The demand
for their skills is overwhelming and the potential for
lucrative and rewarding careers in Computer Science has
never been greater.
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