Computer Science (CMSC) - University of Maryland, Baltimore County (2024)

ANUPAM JOSHI, Chair
CHARLES NICHOLAS, Graduate Program Director

Degrees Offered

M.S., Ph.D. (Degree Types)

Faculty

Professors

FININ, TIMOTHY, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Artificial intelligence, knowledge representation and reasoning, knowledge and database systems, natural language processing, intelligent agents
JOSHI, ANUPAM, Ph.D., Purdue University; Networked/distributed and mobile computing, data/Web mining, multi-media databases, computational intelligence and multi-agent systems, scientific computing
LOMONACO, SAMUEL, Ph.D., Princeton University; Quantum computation, algebraic coding theory, cryptography, numerical and symbolic computation, analysis of algorithms, applications of topology to physics, knot theory and 3-manifolds, algebraic and differential topology, differential geometry
NICHOLAS, CHARLES, Ph.D., Ohio State University; Electronic document processing, software engineering, intelligent information systems
OATES, TIM, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts; Artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, natural language processing
PENG, YUN, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Artificial intelligence, neural networks, medical applications, artificial life (Emeritus)
PINKSTON, JOHN T., Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Coding theory, information security, quantam computing (Emeritus)
SHERMAN, ALAN T., Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cryptology, discrete algorithms, and voting system security
SIDHU, DEEPINDER, Ph.D., State University of New York, Stony Brook; Computer networks, distributed systems, distributed and heterogeneous databases, parallel and distributed algorithms, computer and communication security, distributed artificial intelligence, high-performance computing
YESHA, YAACOV, Ph.D., Weizmann Institute, Israel; Parallel computing, computational complexity, algorithms, source coding, speech and image compression
YESHA, YELENA, Ph.D., The Ohio State University; Distributed systems, database systems, digital libraries, e-commerce, performance modeling, design tools for optimizing availability in replicated database systems, efficient and highly fault-tolerant mutual-exclusion algorithms, analytical performance models for distributed and parallel systems
YOUNIS, MOHAMED, Ph.D., New Jersey Institute of Technology; Distributed real-time systems; fault tolerant computing; wireless networks; embedded computer systems; compiler-based analysis; operating systems.

Associate Professors

BANERJEE, NILANJAN, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts; Embedded and distributed systems for mobile, pervasive and sustainability based computing: renewable energy driven mobile and sensor systems and health diagnostic systems; mobile system usability; mobile networking; experimental mobile testbed design.
CHANG, RICHARD, Ph.D., Cornell University; Computational complexity theory, structural complexity, analysis of algorithms
KALPAKIS, KOSTAS, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Digital libraries, e-commerce, databases, multi-media, parallel and distributed computing, combinatorial optimization
OLANO, MARC, Ph.D. University of North Carolina; Interactive procedural shading
PHATAK, DHANANJAY, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Mobile and high-performance computer networks; computer arithmetic algorithms and their VLSI implementations; signal processing; neural networks and their applications and efficient implementations; digital and analog VLSI design and CAD
RUTLEDGE, JANET, PH.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, Modeling and compensating for the effects of sensorineural hearing loss and other communication disorders
TING ZHU, Ph.D., University of Minnesota. Big Data, Embedded Systems, Cyber-Physical Systems, Mobile Systems, Distributed Systems, Operating Systems, Renewable and Sustainable Energies, Internet of Things, Wireless and Sensor Networks, Network Protocols, Social Networks, and Security.

Assistant Professor

ADAM BARGTEIL, Ph.D., Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley. Computer graphics; animation; scientific computing; computational physics and computational geometry.
DAVID CHAPMAN, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Computer vision and machine learning applications to medical imagery, weather forecasting and robotics.
FRANK FERRARO, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University. Natural language processing; machine learning; artificial intelligence
CYNTHIA MATUSZEK, Ph.D., University of Washington. Robotics, natural language processing, human-robot interaction, and artificial intelligence
HAMED PIRSIAVASH, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 2012. Computer Vision; Machine Learning and Multimedia.
HAIBIN ZHANG, Ph.D., Department of Computer Science, UC Davis, 2014. Security, Cryptography, and Privacy; Systems and Distributed Systems; Cloud Computing and Cloud Security; Blockchains

Research Professor
HALEM, MILTON, Ph.D., New York University; high performance computing and communication, large-scale simulations, climate and environmental modeling

A list of the tenure track faculty is also found at the department’s web site,https://www.csee.umbc.edu/people/faculty/

Program Description

The department offers a graduate program leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science. This program provides advanced instruction and training and research opportunities to prepare students for careers in business, industry, academia and government agencies. The program reflects state-of-the-art knowledge in major theoretical and applied aspects of computation. Fields of specialization in computer science (CS) include:

• Algorithms, theory and scientific computation (analysis of algorithms, algebraic coding theory, combinatorial optimization, computational complexity, cryptology, parallel computing, quantum computing, electronic voting)
• Computer networks and systems (computer and communication security, distributed systems, networks, parallel and distributed processing, wireless and mobile networks, optical networks, sensor networks)
• Databases, information and knowledge management (artificial intelligence, database systems, data mining, digital library, e-commerce, information retrieval, intelligent information systems, knowledge representation and reasoning, machine learning, natural language processing, neural networks, robotics, reasoning under uncertainty)
• Graphics, animation and visualization (animation, interactive 3D graphics, physically based modeling, procedural modeling, volumetric visualization and rendering)

A brochure is available that describes the department, its graduate programs, degree requirements and the research interests of the faculty. A copy can be obtained from the graduate program specialist or can be viewed fromwww.cs.umbc.edu.

Research Specialties

Ongoing research in the department provides a source of project, thesis and dissertation topics for students. The previous list illustrates some of the current research areas. In addition, the department encourages interdisciplinary research and invites students to take advantage of resources in related departments, including education, geography, information systems, mathematics and statistics, physics, visual arts and other departments within the College of Engineering and Information Technology or at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Medical School. In addition, opportunities exist for joint research projects with local research laboratories, companies and government agencies, including the Library of Congress, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Security Agency and the Naval Research Laboratory.

Program Admission Requirements

CMSC 203: Discrete Structures
CMSC 313: Computer Organization and Assembly Language Programming
CMSC 331: Principles of Programming Languages
CMSC 341: Data Structures
CMSC 411: Computer Architecture
CMSC 421: Principles of Operating Systems
CMSC 441: Algorithm Design and Analysis

At least one course from the following list:
CMSC 435: Computer Graphics
CMSC 451: Automata Theory and Formal Languages
CMSC 455: Numerical Computation
CMSC 461: Database Management Systems
CMSC 471: Artificial Intelligence
CMSC 481: Computer Networks

Students may apply for admission to the Fall or Spring semesters. However, course selection and opportunities for financial aid are much better for Fall applicants. Students may apply for admission to either the M.S. or the Ph.D. program. However, admission to the Ph.D. program is highly selective, and only students with an exceptional background will be accepted. Students who plan to pursue the Ph.D. degree but who do not already have a master’s in computer science are advised to apply for admission to the M.S. program. New students will be assigned an academic advisor who can provide advice on choosing of courses, degree requirements and other important matters during the first year. By the end of the first year, students are expected to have identified a faculty member to serve as the research advisor for master’s or doctoral research. Consideration for continued financial assistance is dependent on identifying a research advisor. Admission to the M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs are separate.

Facilities and Special Resources

The department’s computing facilities include a variety of workstations, servers and high performance clusters. The UMBC Office of Information Technology has more than 400 workstations for general student use and several high-end machines. The university’s Imaging Research Center also provides high-end graphics support, including production quality input/output devices and production software

Financial Assistance

Financial aid is available on a competitive basis to a limited number of qualified graduate students in the form of graduate teaching assistantships (TAs), graduate research assistantships (RAs), work-study positions and hourly employment as graders. Graduate RAs are often available to students actively engaged in a master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation research and are awarded and renewed subject to availability of funds and satisfactory research progress. Students are encouraged to apply directly to nationally awarded fellowship programs.

Programs

• Computer Science, M.S.
• Computer Science, Ph.D.

Courses

• CMSC 601 - Research Skills for Computer Scientists
• CMSC 603 - Advanced Discrete Structures
• CMSC 608 - Graduate Seminar
• CMSC 611 - Advanced Computer Architecture
• CMSC 615 - Introduction to Systems Engineering and Systems Architecting
• CMSC 618 - System Implementation, Integration and Test
• CMSC 621 - Advanced Operating Systems
• CMSC 625 - Modeling and Simulation of Computer Systems
• CMSC 626 - Principles of Computer Security
• CMSC 627 - Wearable Computing
• CMSC 628 - Introduction to Mobile Computing
• CMSC 631 - Principles of Programming Languages
• CMSC 634 - Computer Graphics
• CMSC 635 - Advanced Computer Graphics
• CMSC 636 - Data Visualization
• CMSC 641 - Design and Analysis of Algorithms
• CMSC 643 - Quantum Computation
• CMSC 644 - Information Assurance
• CMSC 645 - Advanced Software Engineering
• CMSC 651 - Automata Theory and Formal Languages
• CMSC 652 - Cryptography and Data Security
• CMSC 653 - Coding Theory and Applications
• CMSC 655 - Numerical Computations
• CMSC 656 - Symbolic and Algebraic Processing
• CMSC 657 - Networks and Combinatorial Optimization
• CMSC 661 - Principles of Database Systems
• CMSC 665 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce
• CMSC 666 - Electronic Commerce Technology
• CMSC 668 - Service Oriented Computing
• CMSC 671 - Principles of Artificial Intelligence
• CMSC 673 - Introduction to Natural Language Processing
• CMSC 675 - Introduction to Neural Networks
• CMSC 676 - Information Retrieval
• CMSC 677 - Agent Architecture and Multi-Agent Systems
• CMSC 678 - Introduction to Machine Learning
• CMSC 679 - Introduction to Robotics
• CMSC 681 - Advanced Computer Networks
• CMSC 682 - Networking Technologies
• CMSC 683 - Computer Network Architecture
• CMSC 684 - Wireless Sensor Networks
• CMSC 685 - Optical Network Architectures and Protocols
• CMSC 687 - Introduction to Network Security
• CMSC 691 - Special Topics in Computer Science
• CMSC 696 - Independent Study for Interns and Co-Op Students
• CMSC 698 - Project in Computer Science
• CMSC 699 - Independent Study in Computer Science
• CMSC 721 - Theory of Processes
• CMSC 731 - Semantics of Programming Languages
• CMSC 741 - Theory of NP-Completeness
• CMSC 742 - Parallel Algorithms and Complexity
• CMSC 743 - Quantum Information Science
• CMSC 751 - Theory of Computation
• CMSC 761 - Theory of Relational Databases
• CMSC 771 - Knowledge Representation and Reasoning
• CMSC 781 - Distributed Computing
• CMSC 791 - Advanced Graduate Seminar
• CMSC 799 - Master’s Thesis Research
• CMSC 891 - Advanced Special Topics
• CMSC 898 - Pre-Candidacy Doctoral Research
• CMSC 899 - Doctoral Dissertation Research