About the department

Welcome to Computer Science at Cornell University

With Greetings from the Chair, Lorenzo Alvisi

Cornell's Computer Science department is one of the first of its kind, founded in 1965. Today, more than a half-century later, CS is part of Computing and Information Science (CIS), which was established as an academic unit in 1999 and celebrated its twentieth anniversary in October 2019. The following year, with a transformative gift from Ann S. Bowers '59, CIS became the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.

The two-campus department—in Ithaca and New York City—has a full-time faculty of 62 members: of these, 49 are in residence at the Ithaca campus while 13 sit at the Cornell Tech campus in New York City. There are about 1,000 undergraduate CS majors (of which over 400 are women), approximately 200 resident Ph.D. students and 140 masters students. Over 300 undergraduate students graduate each year. 39.29% of majors are female; 12.78% are URM. In the incoming Ph.D. class, 45% are female and 5% are URM.

Cornell University is located in Ithaca, a city of about 30,000 people in the heart of the Finger Lakes region of Central New York. Both Cornell and Ithaca offer a wide range of cultural activities, sports events, and outdoor activities with the pleasures of both city and country close at hand. What they say is true: Ithaca is gorges. Click this link for information about visiting Cornell.

When I'm not teaching, hosting Cornell CS events, or traveling to academic conferences, you can usually find me in my office in Gates Hall. Please do come by for a visit. —Lorenzo

FAQ:

What is Cornell Bowers CIS?

Computing and Information Science (CIS) comprises three distinct but interconnected departments: Computer Science (CS), Information Science (IS), and Statistics and Data Science (SDS).

Where is Cornell Bowers CIS?

CIS operates out of several buildings on Cornell's Ithaca campus: it is centered in Bill and Melinda Gates Hall, but also found in Comstock, Rhodes, Upson, and other buildings.

What is Cornell Tech and Where is it?

Cornell Tech is a graduate school conceived and implemented expressly to integrate the study of technology with business, law, and design. There are now over a half-dozen masters programs on offer as well as doctoral studies.

Cornell University began creating a new and prominent campus in New York City, with its first, newly constructed buildings opening in September 2017. Located on Roosevelt Island (between the east side of Manhattan and Long Island City, Queens; under the Queensboro/Ed Koch Bridge), the new campus is called Cornell Tech.

How are Cornell CS and CS at Cornell Tech related?

Cornell Computer Science is one department operating on two campuses. Each CS faculty member is based either in Ithaca or in New York City. Likewise, a prospective graduate student will typically work in the location of his or her principal advisor. Currently we have 49 faculty in residence at the Ithaca campus while 13 sit at the Cornell Tech campus.

Who are the Leaders?

Despite having two campuses, the CS faculty in Ithaca and in New York City report to the same Chair, L orenzo Alvisi, who resides in Ithaca.

Meanwhile, CIS and Cornell Tech each have their own Deans:

The Dean of CIS, in Ithaca, is CS Professor Kavita Bala, who began her term of service in August 2020 after serving as Chair of the department. The Dean of Cornell Tech, in New York City, is CS Professor Greg Morrisett, who began his term in Fall 2019, having served immediately prior as Dean of CIS in Ithaca.

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