What CS&E Should Not Be

Many efforts exist on campus today concerning the more effective incorporation of computational tools into teaching and research. Some of these efforts have translated into the development of courses that teach the use of specific computational tools and specific software packages. Examples for this include the use of GIS in geography and the social sciences, GEANT for Monte Carlo methods applied to experimental design (in particle physics), CAD/CAM in landscape architecture, CAD in automotive and aircraft design, BLAST in molecular biology for sequence searching, MAPMAKER for QTL linkage analysis in genetics and evolution, and IBM Data Explorer in hydrologic science--just to name a few. It is desirable that departments and programs throughout the campus employ and teach the usage of these computational tools. The use of specific software packages can have enormous impact on certain scientific fields, but the teaching of such tools is not the major thrust for the CS&E Initiative. The CS&E Initiative's hiring focus should not be the hiring of faculty who would teach the use of or introduce software packages, or to provide instruction in basic computer usage. It is legitimate to expect that each individual current faculty member incorporate computational tools into teaching and research whenever appropriate, regardless of departmental affiliation. The teaching of specific software packages should be incorporated into current courses by adding specific laboratory sections introducing these packages. The need for the teaching of application-specific software tools can be explained partially by the fact that exposure to such tools will make a student more competitive for the job market. It should remain, or become, the responsibility of the respective departments to incorporate the teaching of software tools into their courses, which, in turn, should make these courses more attractive to students. This should be reflected by the hiring efforts of the individual departments, which should favor candidates with experience in area-specific software tools. But CS&E FTEs should not be used to hire this faculty type, a faculty lacking interest or in-depth expertise in developing and analyzing computational tools. In addition, there currently exists a general need for the preparation of large numbers of professionals with traditional computer science and computer engineering training. This fact is very much driven by current needs of the computer industry. It cannot and should not be the mission of CS&E at UC Davis to prepare this type of professional. This is, and should remain, the responsibility of the Computer Science and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Departments. The campus must provide sufficient support to ensure that high-quality training of a steadily increasing number of computer scientists/engineers will be possible. CS&E faculty hires should be able to contribute to teaching both traditional computer science/engineering and CS&E courses. However, student (and industry) demand for ``mainstream CS&E education'' will continue to grow at an extraordinary pace, and this should translate into continued and expanded support for Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering over the coming years.