Meet the future: These 21 UW computer science grads are ready to change the world

uwthumbssmall

It’s a good time to have a degree in computer science. And it’s not just because Amazon.com, Google and Microsoft are paying big bucks to hire the best-and-brightest software developers and engineers. Computer science is transforming the world, radically changing industries as diverse as health, transportation, media and communications. With that in mind (and with the… Read More…

Dear Stanford: Now that your NYC campus isn’t happening, how about Seattle?

stanford-maincampus1

Dear Stanford, First, we want to express our deepest sympathies about the loss in the Fiesta Bowl last night. It was a heartbreaking overtime defeat, and we’d like you to know that we were pulling for our Pac-12 friends. (If you’re familiar with NBA history, you can imagine we’re not big fans of Oklahoma in… Read More…

Video: Watch Bill Gates explain how technology is reshaping our world, again

Bill Gates at the UW this week.

This is Bill Gates, coming full circle. During a rare appearance last month on the University of Washington campus — where he snuck into buildings with his boyhood friend Paul Allen to learn how to program — the Microsoft co-founder talked about the evolution of computer science and explained how the latest advances in technology… Read More…

Why Northeastern University chose Seattle, and what the UW’s Ed Lazowska thinks about it

seal1

In the words of Steve Ballmer, it’s all about “developers. developers. developers.” Seattle needs more of them, and the University of Washington and other state-run institutions just aren’t producing enough. Enter Northeastern University, a private university which announced this week plans to set up a branch campus in Seattle to grant graduate degrees in key… Read More…

Boston’s Northeastern targets Seattle for new campus, says market underserved for IT

seal1

Northeastern University of Boston may soon find a home in the Northwest. The private 113-year-old University is planning to establish a new branch campus in Seattle. A spokeswoman for the university had few details on where the campus would be located or when it might open, but Northeastern’s Sean Gallagher tells The Seattle Times that… Read More…

UW computer scientist tries to crack the ancient Indus script

rao

Save this one for when you have time to sit back and really absorb it. Rajesh Rao, a professor in the University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering department, is leading a charge to use computer modeling to figure out what he calls the “mother of all crossword puzzles” — the undeciphered script of the… Read More…

What the budget crunch is doing to computer science, and what to do about it

UW-Total

Guest Commentary: For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011, the University of Washington has again taken a massive hit to its state budget.  This will largely (but by no means entirely) be offset by tuition increases.  The chart below shows state support and tuition revenues over the past 5 years: You see that state… Read More…

State university computer science faculty fear deeper cuts as pressure builds on WWU

Paul Schimpf

Western Washington University’s computer science department isn’t the only one encountering the harsh realities of the state budget crisis. Eastern Washington University is currently evaluating its graduate program in computer science, though chair of the department, Paul Schimpf, said he’s confident it will survive based on a committee’s recent recommendation to the president and provost…. Read More…

Western Washington University computer science department faces the ax despite tech worker shortage

western1

Western Washington University is considering eliminating or drastically reducing its computer science department, a proposal that comes amid a growing need for software developers and engineers in the state. “It was a big surprise to me. I didn’t dream that anybody would consider reducing the computer science department in the 21st century,” said WWU computer… Read More…

GeekWire Podcast: 60 Minutes, Zynga, and what’s hot in computer science now

geekwirepodcastnew

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we talk about the time we spent with a “60 Minutes” crew, the opening of Zynga’s new office in Pioneer Square, and the city’s plan to bring better Internet connectivity to the Seattle neighborhood, to the potential benefit of the many startups headquartered there. Our guest in the studio… Read More…