CIS Research
One of the hallmarks of a great university is excellence in research. In 1965, when Cornell established one of the first computer science programs in the nation, it began developing world-class research programs in areas such as algorithms, complexity theory, distributed systems, languages, and numerical analysis.
These areas are flourishing today at Cornell, and this early lead resulted in the creation of the Faculty of Computing and Information Science at Cornell (CIS), a college-level unit that brings together experts in computing with researchers and scholars in a variety of disciplines. In a short time, this new structure has fostered a university-wide explosion in interdisciplinary research and is poised to revolutionize all academic fields in the 21st century.
Research in Information Science draws from computer science, operations research, human computer interaction and the social sciences of computing. Research in Computational Biology spans a wide spectrum, including topics as diverse as the genetics of disease susceptibility, the secrets of evolution, an ecosystem’s response to climate changes, and recovery plans for endangered species. Research conducted in the Department of Statistical Science impacts areas across campus, including, for example, genomics and computational biology, manipulating data collected by the Lab of Ornithology, empirical legal questions, and computational finance. The Cornell Program of Computer Graphics is currently conducting research in realistic materials; scalable high-quality rendering; animation; physical simulation for graphics, haptics, and sound rendering; and vision and perception. The Cornell University Center for Advanced Computing provides high-performance computing resources to support research across the University.
Beyond the academic units, CIS houses three institutes that lead research and development in their respective areas. The Information Assurance Institute is focused on developing a scientific and technological base to enhance the trustworthiness of networked systems. The Intelligent Information Systems Institute leverages computer science, operations research, mathematics, economics, statistics, and physics to develop intelligent decision making systems. And, finally, the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) is the nation's free online library for education and research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. CIS’ Information Science program is collaborating with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and Columbia University to unite more than 100 projects funded by the NSDL program, together with other digital library collections and services of value to scientific education, into a coherent whole.