Before Chancellor Perlman’s State of the University Address last week, nine freshmen were honored for their perfect scores on the ACT or SAT. Three of those students were computer science majors and one was a computer engineering major.
The students are:
-Alex Eitzman, computer engineering major from Lake Elmo, MN
-Henry Harrison, computer science major from Omaha, NE
-Lambros Karkazis, computer science major from Western Springs, IL
-Cooper Knaak, computer science major from Plainview, NE
The chancellor also spoke about the impact engineering students have in the world and announced our new software engineering major.
“Our focus also has to be on the College of Engineering. That college has made real progress during the last three years and implementation of the strategic plan approved by the board of regents is critical not only for the university but for all of Nebraska. For the university, the college should contribute to our enrollment growth and should play an increasingly central role in sustaining our research momentum.
For Nebraska, the production of more engineering graduates is critical for its economic advancement and here we are in competition with every other state — all of whom face a critical shortage of STEM graduates.
Computer science, particularly in software applications, is another field where demand for graduates exceeds supply — and where we are in a unique position to keep Nebraska competitive. We are increasingly well positioned to do so.
Our computer science and engineering department is developing a new software engineering program to respond to industry demand. And we were fortunate to have attracted Steve Cooper from Stanford to build on the extraordinary success of the Raikes School. With active computer education programs both in Lincoln, and at UNO, and the unique capabilities of the Raikes School, we must find ways to respond to the workforce needs of Nebraska companies — needs I should add that are experienced by companies around the world."
The new software engineering degree should be available fall 2016 pending approval by the Board of Regents this winter. Software engineering is the study and application of the rigorous engineering practices required to specify, architect, develop, analyze, test, and maintain today’s complex software systems. There are only approximately 40 schools offering software engineering programs in North America, but the degree is very in demand by industry. Suzette Person is the Director of Software Engineering and can be reached at suzette.person@unl.edu. Questions may also be directed to Jenna Huttenmaier at jenna.huttenmaier@unl.edu.