People
People are what make Pitt’s Computer Science Department unique. Friendly staff, faculty committed to high-quality education and research, and successful students make this department an exciting place to be.
Our students enjoy a strong sense of community supported by a variety of student organizations (e.g., ACM and GSO) and activities (e.g., lunch-time talks).
Faculty Spotlight
2007 – Liz Marai
Dr. Liz Marai joined the Computer Science Department as an Assistant Professor in the fall of 2007. Dr. Marai received her BS in Computer Science and Engineering from the "Politehnica" University in Bucharest, Romania. In May of 2007, she received her PhD from Brown University.
2005 – Daniel Mossé
Dr. Daniel Mossé became a full Professor in the Computer Science Department in 2004. Here, he
discusses how he came to the department, his love for teaching, and his (so far) fruitless
campaign to squeeze more time into a 24-hour day.
2005 – Sangyeun Paul Cho
Sangyeun Cho joined the Department of Computer Science in the fall of 2004. He received his BS
in computer engineering from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea in 1994, and his PhD in
computer science from the University of Minnesota in 2002.
2004 – Panos Chrysanthis
Dr. Panos K. Chrysanthis became officially the ninth full Professor in our Department on
1.1.2004. He is the co-director of the the Advanced Data Management Technologies (ADMT)
lab which focuses on innovative theories, paradigms, and applications in network-centric
data management.
2003 – Rebecca Hwa
Dr. Rebecca Hwa joined the Department of Computer Science in the fall of 2003. She
received her BS in Computer Science and Engineering from UCLA in 1993, and her PhD in
Computer Science from Harvard University in 2001. Her research is in the areas of artificial
intelligence and natural language processing.
Alumni Spotlight
2005 – Ras Bodik
Ras Bodik got his PhD at Pitt in 2000 under the guidance of Rajiv Gupta and Mary Lou Soffa.
He then went on to work as an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin. After two
happy years in Madison, he moved to the University of California at Berkeley, where he is now
a tenure-track assistant professor.
2005 – Mary Lou Soffa
After being recruited by a number of other universities during her outstanding academic career,
Professor Mary Lou Soffa finally succumbed to an offer – a very attractive offer. She decided
to leave her faculty position in the Department of Computer Science at the University of
Pittsburgh, effective September of 2004, to assume the roles of Owen R. Cheatham Professor
and Chair of the Department of Computer Science of the University of Virginia.
2004 – Gerard A. Pompa
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Mr. Pompa received his BS in computer science and mathematics
and his MS in computer science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981 and 1987.
2003 – D. Raja
D. Raja is the co-founder of Computer Enterprises, Inc., better known as CEI.
Raja holds an undergraduate
degree in Electrical Engineering from Anna University, India. Raja moved to the United States
from India to obtain his M.S. in Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh.