Jan. 20, 2010

California State University, Monterey Bay, in collaboration with other schools in the region, is doing its best to create the next generation of computer science and information technology professionals.

As many as 100 high school students from Monterey and Santa Cruz counties will get a taste of the subject on Feb. 12 when they visit the university for the first Monterey Bay Information Technology Summit (MBITS).

"We're calling it the 'Monterey Bay' summit," said Professor Sathya Narayanan, director of the undergraduate computer science program at the university, "because it's a regional event."

The School of School of Computing and Design and the Monterey Bay Regional Academy for Computing Education (mbrace), a grant-funded project based at the university, are sponsoring the event.

The day is designed to expose students to careers in computing, and to raise awareness of the new undergraduate computer science degree at CSU Monterey Bay and the existing computing-related degree programs at Hartnell, Monterey Peninsula and Cabrillo colleges. It will also serve to educate teachers and counselors about the growing opportunities in the field.

The region's abundance of higher education and research institutions, government agencies and military installations means there are jobs for computer scientists in the local area. "We want to help prepare students for those jobs," said Joe Welch, computer science instructor at Hartnell College.

And the national picture is just as rosy. Government projections show that more than 1.5 million high-end computing jobs will be created in the economy by 2016, making it one of the fastest growing occupational fields. For example, computer software engineering jobs are expected to grow 45 percent over the next five years.

"A lot of students have no idea of what is means to be a computer scientist," said Dr. Kate Lockwood, assistant professor in ITCD. "And it's a valuable opportunity for teachers and counselors to see what the field is about, and what the university offers, so they can advise students."

The day will start at 9:30 with students working in several computer labs. They will get hands-on experience using animation software, seafloor mapping software, computer network emulation software and several other activities led by computer professionals from Yahoo, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and Scalable Networks. The idea is to get the students excited about the field and inspire them to think about it for a career.

At 11 a.m., Dr. Peter Norvig, director of research at Google, will present the keynote address. Dr. Norvig (pictured at left) is the author of more than 50 publications in various areas of computer science. Before moving to Google, he worked at NASA Ames Research Center, where he oversaw a staff of 200 scientists. The presentation will be held in the University Center on Sixth Avenue and is open to the public.

At 12:30 p.m., the high school students will have lunch and question a panel of college students - from CSUMB, the local community colleges and the Naval Postgraduate School - about college life and pursuing a degree in computer science.

The summit is just one of the ways CSUMB is trying to interest students in computer science. In December, the university hosted an event to commemorate National Computer Science Education Week. And it recently secured a grant to provide generous scholarships to students pursuing a degree in the field.

Another example is mbrace. Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, mbrace aims to attract a diverse group of students into computing to meet the growing demand for computing talent in our society.

"The goal is to strengthen the pathway from high school to community college to CSUMB to the workplace," said Leslie Kern, mbrace program coordinator.

Mbrace is a collaborative effort among the university and Monterey Peninsula, Hartnell and Cabrillo colleges. It will provide mentoring as well as paid internships starting in the summer of 2010 in computer-related fields. Students at all four schools are eligible to apply.

"We're trying to grow a community around computer science," Kern said.

For more information on MBITS 2010 or the services provided by mbrace, e-mail mbrace@csumb.edu.