News
SCI Community Saddened by the Passing of Professor Emeritus Dr. James (Jim) G. Williams
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Dr. James (Jim) G. Williams, Professor Emeritus, this past summer.
Williams was born on June 18, 1939, on a farm between Ligonier and Johnstown, PA, and began his education in a one-room country schoolhouse. He majored in math and chemistry at Clarion College through a football scholarship, teaching at Chartiers Valley High School afterwards.
SCI Community Saddened by the Passing of Dr. Robert Perkoski
November 28, 2023
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Dr. Robert Perkoski, teaching assistant professor in the School of Computing and Information (SCI).
Games4SocialImpact 2023: It’s Not Only Fun and Games
November 9, 2023
SCI in Sierra Leone Update
November 7, 2023
Luke Charlesworth (CS '24) and Chris Kefalos (IS '24), two rising seniors at the School of Computing and Information (SCI), have successfully implemented a pilot remote learning system program in Sierra Leone to enhance education in off-grid communities. They were joined by Kaisamba Wisnieski (IS '23) in spring 2023.
Dozens of SCI Students Attend Renowned Grace Hopper Conference
October 30, 2023
Last month, 33 students (18 in person and 15 virtually) from the School of Computing and Information (SCI) attended the Grace Hopper Conference (GHC) in Orlando, FL.
SCI Faculty Member, Graduate Students Win Best Paper Award at ISMAR 2023
October 19, 2023
Dr. Jacob Biehl (associate professor, Department of Computer Science, Department of Information Culture and Data Stewardship), master’s student Thomas Downes and PhD student Talha Khan won the Best Paper Award at the IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR).
Data Science Major Finds Success and an Internship at SCI Career Fair
October 19, 2023
Areej Mohsin, a sophomore data science major, was a little unsure of how to navigate the SCI Career Fair the first time that she attended the event as a first-year student.
“I had absolutely no clue what I was doing,” Mohsin said. “I remember I just entered my name, entered my major, got my nametag, and walked in with a handful of copies of my resume, just like everyone else.”
Emerging Voices in Computational Social Science: Lingfei Wu and Morgan R. Frank
October 12, 2023
In the Department of Informatics and Networked Systems (DINS), a new cohort of researchers are quietly making novel contributions to the field of human-centered information systems, earning them recognition from both prestigious academic bodies and mainstream journalistic outlets.
Alumni Spotlight: Lou Helen Devine Sanders, PhD (SCI ‘89): An Education Journey that Made History at Pitt & Beyond
October 9, 2023
Lou Helen Devine Sanders (SCI ‘89) started her educational journey occasionally attending school with her older sister.
“I started out when kindergarten was not in place, but my mother obviously saw some gifts in me,” Sanders said. “She would dress me up and send me to school with my sister in off times periodically.”
Assistant Professor Angela Stewart Receives NSF Funding for Project that Incorporates Black Girls into AI Design and Creation
October 3, 2023
Dr. Angela Stewart (Assistant Professor, Department of Informatics and Networked Systems; Research Scientist, Learning Research and Development Center) received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for her project “Collaborative Research: Black Girls as Creators: an intersectional learning ecosystem toward gendered racial equity in Artificial Intelligence education.”
Equity and Inclusion in Teaching – A Community of Practice
October 3, 2023
Equity and inclusion are essential to creating a successful classroom environment for all students, but taking the steps to revise instruction can seem daunting and time-consuming. To bridge this gap, faculty and PhD students in all departments across SCI’s graduate and undergraduate programs collaborated in a community of practice during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Tim Huang Is Helping Residents of the Hill District Revisit Their Past with “The Time-Traveling Project”
October 2, 2023
Tim Huang, an assistant professor in the Department of Information Culture and Data Stewardship, has been working on an exciting new project that will help senior residents in the Hill District revisit their shared past. The project uses photos taken by Teenie Harris, a famed photographer known for his vibrant portraits of life in Pittsburgh’s African American communities during the 1950s and 1960s.
Innovative “Black Voices in Computing” Exhibit Showcases Overlooked Contributors to Computing History
October 2, 2023
On Monday, August 28, an exhibit titled “Black Voices in Computing” debuted in the lobby of the Information Sciences Building. Recognizing that conventional histories of computing have typically neglected the efforts of Black scholars; the exhibit aims to center the contributions of Black technologists and researchers in the field of computing and information.