|
|
|
The computerization of IIT, like the computer revolution itself, has burgeoned over the last five years, and
the use of computers has been integrated into virtually every curriculum.The growing educational emphasis on computer use was a natural progression in the engineering and science programs. Yet the computer has become central to education in other disciplines at IIT as well. Architecture and design students are working at graphics workstations as well as drawing boards; law Students are previewing the wonders of the automated law office; and business students are learning to manage robots as well as people. 
In recent years, the university has developed an array of new specializations, such as information systems, computer engineering, and technical communications, that prepare students for the emerging professions of the Information Age. Today's undergraduate Bulletin lists such courses as Computer-Aided Design in Architecture; Computers in Chemical Instrumentation; and Introduction to CAD/CAM and Robotics- none of which was offered in 1981.
|
The computer has become as much a part of every-day student life as the textbook. Homework assignments can
be called up on the computer. Self-paced computer programs are available in the Educational Technology Center to help students develop writing skills or succeed in Physics 103. Students even can turn to the computer to find out what's happening on campus. In the laboratory, the computer has become an indispensable research tool for faculty and students. Computer engineering and computer science faculty, in particular, are pushing back the frontiers of computer technology, exploring new ways to make this remarkable machine serve humankind even better. The computerization of IIT is, of course, far from complete. The foundations for computer education and computer-based research have been laid deliberately broad, however, to allow for future development, and in certain critical areas there is considerable depth of resources as well. The following provides a sampling of the outstanding strengths of each of IIT's colleges. Computer science breadth: an expert in A major areasAmong other areas of research activities, one of the most active is artificial intelligence. Recent advances in artificial intelligence techniques that permit complex reasoning have spurred the development of expert systems sophisticated software that enables a computer to serve as an expert consultant.In research paralleling Japan's "Fifth Generation" effort to solve problems using automated logic or theorem provers, Dr. Anthony Wojcik and Dr. Martha Evens are using Argonne National Laboratory's Logic Machine Architecture (LMA) routines as building blocks. Dr. Evens is collaborating with Dr. Peter Johnson of the Chemistry Department to apply LMA and expert system concepts to develope a computer generated chemical synthesis design program. |
