Over the past year, the School of Science and Engineering has announced two new majors and a new minor: a civil engineering major, a standalone major in computer science and a minor in artificial intelligence.
After Hurricane Katrina, the engineering department at Tulane saw sweeping cuts across several engineering disciplines. As a result, civil and environmental, electrical and mechanical engineering majors were terminated. The new civil engineering major, which focuses on water and environmental applications, restores the discipline of civil engineering to Tulane University.
Ehab Meselhe, chair of the Department of River-Coastal Science and Engineering, said the new civil engineering curriculum will equip students with wide-ranging skills to address complex civil engineering applications.
“[Civil Engineering] students get exposure and study water-related subjects so that they learn how to study rivers and drainage systems, coastal applications and riverine applications. But they also … study structural engineering, so they know how to design bridges and buildings,” Meselhe said.
The focus on the water and environmental applications of civil engineering makes sense with Tulane’s location in the Gulf South.
“[W]e carved out that sub discipline from civil. It’s very suitable for Tulane, given our geographic location, given that we are on the Gulf region,” Meselhe said. “[T]here is so much water related rivers and coastal areas and wetland areas that really needs a generation of engineers and scientists that have a deeper knowledge and a deeper understanding of how rivers work, how coastal areas work.”
The restoration of civil engineering represents the continued growth and determination of the School of Science and Engineering.
“We are very excited about launching that undergraduate degree to bring back aspects of civil engineering to the School of Science and Engineering and Tulane in general, and to be part of the growth of engineering,” Meselhe said.
The Bachelor of Science in computer science was also eliminated following Tulane’s post-Hurricane Katrina restructuring. Following Katrina, computer science became a coordinate major designed to complement a primary major. As a coordinate major, the computer science discipline emphasized an interdisciplinary education, with a focus on the broad scientific applications of computing technology.
The new standalone Bachelor of Science in computer science will provide a more concentrated and rigorous curriculum that encompasses computing technology, software engineering and artificial intelligence.
Hridesh Rajan, dean of the School of Science and Engineering, addressed how the revamped computer science major will provide students with a more focused computing education.
“Establishing Computer Science as a standalone Bachelor of Science is a major milestone for the Department of Computer Science, the School of Science and Engineering, and Tulane University,” Rajan said. “Building on the strength of our existing coordinate major, this new program reflects our ongoing commitment to a rigorous computing education that prepares students for a world increasingly shaped by data and AI.”
Noelle Fox, a senior studying computer science and mathematics, said she is excited about the new opportunities.
“Making Computer Science a standalone major finally gives the department the visibility and support it deserves, while also opening the door for more students to pursue it seriously and allowing Tulane to keep up with the growing importance of technology. This feels like a huge step for the department and I’m happy we’re getting the recognition we’ve earned,” Fox said.
While both computer science and civil engineering were once part of Tulane’s academic offerings, the artificial intelligence minor is a newly minted edition to the School of Science and Engineering.
This new minor follows the establishment of numerous artificial intelligence initiatives at Tulane to equip students with the skills to leverage AI as it continues to rapidly shape the academic landscape.
Aaron Maus, senior professor of practice in computer science, said the new AI minor will offer many new electives.
“So we are continuing to grow. We’re expanding our offerings… [with] our AI minor and our AI electives,” Maus said. “We can study artificial intelligence at many levels, and we can study it at the most fundamental level of how…we actually design the algorithms that are artificial intelligence.”
Nicholas Mattei, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and co-director of the Tulane Center for Community Engaged AI, recently returned to academia from the private sector. Bolstering AI education was the primary reason for his return.
“[One of] the big reasons that I came back to academia after being in industrial positions for quite some time was to build classes around AI, data science, machine learning, help students learn those technologies and then really focus my research on taking those research ideas and translating them to things that have impact for the community, and bringing students along in that process,” Mattei said.
The new majors and minors will create a new generation of scientists and engineers to excel in these burgeoning fields.