Southeast computer science program celebrates milestone

In 1966, Southeast Missouri State College began a computer science program, offering an associate degree.

That year, according to www.computerhistory.org, a man named Ralph Baer began experimenting with how to use computer programing with televisions, devising the first iteration of �Pong,� a table-tennis video game. Engineers also began designing a large parallel processing computer that eventually would be housed at NASA�s Ames Research Center in California. It would eventually achieve a computational speed of 200 million instructions per second.

In 1966, three years before the moon landing, it was clear major advancements were being made in the world of computers. University leaders had the foresight to create a computer science program, and students at the university have been learning how to use computers and data systems ever since.

Today, according to a recent report by Marybeth Niederkorn, the department offers three bachelor�s degrees: computer science, computer information systems and cybersecurity; and one graduate program, a master�s degree in applied computer science. The university has a special lab for students to experiment with programming builds.

�We always strive to pursue to offer not just the best quality education to our students, but also the most front-line curriculum, which is aligned with the dawn of the forthcoming industrial revolution,� said Ziping Liu, a professor in the department.

Liu said Southeast graduates are working both locally and abroad, developing software and providing cybersecurity services locally, but also working for companies such as Garmin, Google, JP Morgan and even NASA.

Congratulations to Southeast for more than 50 years of computing, and sending students to successful careers.