Why Computer Science?
Ed Lazowska
Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in
Computer Science & Engineering
University of Washington
March 2012
Forty years ago …
Credit: Peter Lee, Microsoft Research
With forty years hindsight, which had the
greatest impact?
Unless you’re big into Tang and Velcro (or sex and
drugs), the answer is clear …
And so is the reason …
EXPONENTIALS
US
The past thirty years …
The past thirty years …
The past thirty years …
The past thirty years …
The most recent ten years …
Search
Scalability
Digital media
Mobility
eCommerce
The Cloud
Social networking and
crowd-sourcing
In the next ten years,
we’ll put the “smarts” in …
Smart homes
Smart cars
Smart bodies
Smart robots
Smart science (confronting
the data tsunami)
Smart crowds and humancomputer systems
Smart interaction (virtual
and augmented reality)
Computer science is unique in its
impact and importance
Computer science has a rich intellectual agenda
Advances in CS accelerate the pace of discovery in
nearly all other fields
Advances in CS drive economic growth
Not just through the growth of the IT industry, but
through productivity growth across the entire economy
Advances in CS touch everyone’s lives – they change
the way we live, work, learn, and communicate
Advances in CS are inextricably linked to our ability
to address our major national challenges
A CS education is a terrific foundation for any
career!
http://www.cs.washington.edu/WhyCSE/
Power to Change the World
People enter computer science for
all sorts of aspirational reasons
Pathways in Computer Science
A computer science education is
the gateway to all sorts of
careers in addition to the
software industry
A day in the life
The software industry is pretty
cool
Message #1
Want to change the world?
Then Computer Science is the right field for you.
And there are jobs out the wazoo
Annualized Job Openings vs. Annual Degrees Granted
300,000
250,000
200,000
Annualized job openings, 20082018 (BLS data)
150,000
Degrees granted, 2006 (NSF
data)
100,000
50,000
Social
sciences
Physical
sciences
Life sciences
Engineering
Computer
science
0
Message #2
There are tons of jobs
However, a Bachelors-level education is not about vocational
training – it’s about discovering something you’re passionate
about, preparation for life-long learning, and preparation for
citizenship
UW Computer Science & Engineering
Ranked among the top 10 programs in the
nation
MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Illinois,
Washington, Cornell, Princeton, Georgia Tech,
Princeton, Caltech, Wisconsin …
Two undergraduate programs
Computer Science (College of Arts & Sciences)
Computer Engineering (College of Engineering)
160 Bachelors students per year
We also grant ~85 Masters and ~20 Ph.D. degrees
annually
Extraordinary students
A deep commitment to providing a top-tier
undergraduate education
Winner of 5 UW Distinguished Teaching Awards
Winner of the inaugural UW Brotman Award for
Instructional Excellence
Why a research-intensive university?
What we can uniquely do:
Get students into the lab
Make them our partners in discovery
Prepare them for life-long learning at the
forefront of knowledge and society
Admission
“Regular Admission” for UW students who have
fulfilled a set of prerequisites (math, physical
sciences, computer science, etc.)
Offered twice each year – for autumn and spring quarters
“Accelerated Admission” for students who do
extremely well in our introductory courses
Offered every quarter
“Direct Admission” for top high school students
Offered in the spring, for autumn quarter, coordinated
with the UW Admissions Office and the UW Honors
Program
Message #3
There are various reasons to go out of state for
college
Getting the best computer science or computer
engineering education in the nation is not one of
them
Education for the 21st century
Once upon a time, the “content” of the goods
we produced was largely physical
Then we transitioned to goods whose
“content” was a balance of physical and
intellectual
In the “innovation economy,” the content of
goods is almost entirely intellectual rather
than physical
What kind of education is needed to produce
goods whose content is almost entirely
intellectual rather than physical?
By any measure, Washington
is a leader in America’s
innovation economy
2010 Kauffman Foundation
New Economy Index:*
1. Massachusetts
2. Washington
3. Maryland
4. New Jersey
5. Connecticut
7. California
8. Virginia
9. Colorado
10. New York
12. Utah
* Index #6 Delaware and #11 New Hampshire
intentionally omitted.
Washington’s workforce
2
2
1
5
Washington’s National Rankings
Human Capital
Sources: National Science Foundation: Science &
Engineering Indicators, 2010; Milken Institute: State
Technology and Science Index: Enduring Lessons
for the Intangible Economy, 2011
Intensity of
S&E
workforce
Intensity of
Engineers
Intensity of
Computer
specialists
% of payroll
in high tech
NAICS codes
A mismatch between
economic opportunity and
our educational opportunity
2
2
1
5
31
35
46
Intensity of
S&E
workforce
Intensity of
Engineers
Intensity of
Computer
specialists
% of payroll
in high tech
NAICS codes
Sources: ITIF/Kauffman Foundation: The 2010 State New Economy Index; National Science
Foundation: Science & Engineering Indicators 2010; NCHEMS/Postsecondary Opportunity
NS&E
bachelor’s
production
Total
bachelor’s
production
S&E graduate
program
participation
(all indexed to age-range population)
Washington is the 2nd largest importer
of degrees among tech states (and 1st,
by far, as a proportion of population)
Net Migration: 22-39 Year Olds, Bachelor’s Degree or Higher (2007)
57,386
WA
24,543
Source: National Center for Higher Education Management Systems/U.S. Census Bureau
Message #4
Our economy is
creating great jobs,
and they are going
to other people’s
kids
Washington State
is all geared up to
fight the last war!
To avoid ending on a downer …
Then and now …
20 years ago, microprocessors had 4 million
transistors
Today, they have 4 billion
20 years ago, the Internet had 1 million users
Today, it has 1 billion
20 years ago, only 15% of households had a
computer
Today, nearly everyone owns a mobile phone, and in the
most recent quarter, nearly 60 percent of those who
purchased a mobile phone chose a smart phone, putting
the Internet – the world – in their pocket
Waking Up
NITRD 20
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Jeannette M. Wing
Turning on the Lights
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Heating and Cooling Your Home
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Cleaning the House
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Making Phone Calls
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Walking
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40
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Navigating
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41
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Searching for Information
“Look it up.”
NITRD 20
“Google it.”
42
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Falling in Love
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Reading Books
NITRD 20
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Jeannette M. Wing
Listening to Music
NITRD 20
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Watching Movies
NITRD 20
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Shopping
NITRD 20
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Visiting Grandma and Grandpa
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Falling Asleep
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Message #5
Is this a great time,
or what?