The Facts about Tulane Computer Science — an Interview with Dean Nicholas Altiero

We all know the talent pipeline is critical to the success of the tech community in New Orleans. After the storm Tulane was forced to cut their Computer Science program. They are now working to bring it back online. I reached out to Nicolas Altiero, Dean of the School of Science and Engineering to get a progress report.

1. After the storm, Tulane was forced to cut its engineering program, but has since brought it back online and is bringing degree programs back. Can you share a little about the progress and priorities for engineering?

Two engineering departments, Biomedical Engineering and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, were never cut. These two departments have continued to offer excellent programs with high enrollment at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and both have very strong faculties that attract a high level of research funding.

There are task forces in place looking into several potential programs, including Computer Science, Geological Engineering, and Human Factors Engineering. Of these, the plan for Computer Science is the most developed at this point.

After Katrina, a new School of Science and Engineering was created and the two surviving engineering departments were merged into that School along with seven science departments: Cell and Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology. The new school has continued to grow since Katrina and is now comprised of 160 faculty members, nearly 1700 undergraduate students, and over 400 graduate students. External research funding exceeds $20M per year.

The Department of Physics, which has a strong emphasis in the area of advanced materials, has changed its name to the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics and now offers an undergraduate degree program in Engineering Physics. We are in the process of creating an associated Institute for Materials Science and Engineering that will focus on research and graduate education.

2. What is the current status of the Computer Science program? Are Computer Science classes coming back online in the fall of 2011?

There will be at least two new computer science courses offered beginning in the fall of 2011, two more in the spring of 2012, and additional new courses will be added the following year. At the outset, a program in Computer Science will be established and it is anticipated that an undergraduate “coordinate major” will be available within the next two years.

3. When are you targeting for the first undergraduate CS class? Are there plans for a graduate program?

The longer term plan is for a full undergraduate major within five years. We are also looking at the feasibility of establishing a formal Department of Computer Science within that time frame that offers undergraduate and graduate programs and is highly research active.

4. With the focus at the state level on digital media / tech companies, there is a tremendous demand for engineering / computer science talent locally. How does this impact priorities with the CS program at Tulane?

There are many factors that are driving our efforts to establish a strong computer science department at Tulane and the impact on the regional economy is certainly one of them.

5. What can the startup & tech community in New Orleans do to support your efforts in bringing the engineering school back to capacity and bringing the CS program back to Tulane?

The biggest factor in developing a Department of Computer Science will be resources. It will be very expensive to do it right. Tuition and research funding will be major sources of revenue but programs at private schools such as Tulane are highly dependent on fundraising and endowments. We plan to spend a great deal of time in the coming years seeking support for this program from alumni, friends, and industry and any help that we can get in promoting this effort and in contributing to it will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you to Dean Altiero for doing this interview. I plan to continue this interview series with the other major regional engineering programs. If you have questions I should ask or feedback, please let me know in the comments.