Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge facts for kids
The Computer Laboratory has been housed in the William Gates Building in West Cambridge since August 2001.
|
|
|
Former names
|
Computer Laboratory Mathematical Laboratory |
|---|---|
| Established | 14 May 1937 |
| Head of Department | Professor Ann Copestake |
|
Academic staff
|
35 |
|
Administrative staff
|
25 |
| Postgraduates | 155 |
| Location |
William Gates Building, Cambridge
,
United Kingdom
52°12′40″N 0°05′31″E / 52.211°N 0.092°E |
The Department of Computer Science and Technology is the computer science department at the University of Cambridge in the UK. It used to be called the Computer Laboratory. This department is where people learn about and create new things in the world of computers.
As of 2023, the department has many people working there. This includes 56 teachers (called faculty members), 45 support staff, and 105 research staff. There are also about 205 students who are doing advanced research. The current leader of the department is Professor Ann Copestake.
Contents
History of the Department
How It Started
The department began on May 14, 1937. It was first known as the Mathematical Laboratory. John Lennard-Jones was its first leader. However, it really got going after World War II. The first home for the lab was in the old Anatomy School building.
The goal of the new lab was to offer computer services. It also aimed to be a place for developing new computer methods at the University. In 1953, they started the Cambridge Diploma in Computer Science. This was the world's first advanced course in computing.
Early Computers
In October 1946, work began on a very important computer. Maurice Wilkes led the team. They were building EDSAC, which stands for Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator. On May 6, 1949, EDSAC ran its first program. It became the world's first fully working computer that could store programs. EDSAC later inspired the first business computer, called LEO.
In 1958, EDSAC was replaced by EDSAC 2. This new computer was even more advanced.
New Programming and Systems
In 1961, David Hartley created Autocode. This was one of the first high-level programming languages for computers. It made writing programs easier.
Also in 1961, plans were made for a computer called Titan. It was based on the Ferranti Atlas machine. Titan started working fully in 1964. EDSAC 2 was then retired the next year. By 1967, Titan offered a service where up to 64 users could use the computer at the same time, all day and night.
Name Change and New Home
In 1970, the Mathematical Laboratory changed its name. It became the Computer Laboratory. It had separate parts for teaching, research, and providing computer services. These parts fully separated in 2001. The Computer Laboratory moved to a new building called the William Gates Building. This building is in West Cambridge. The computer services part stayed behind and became the University of Cambridge Computing Service.
In 2002, the Computer Laboratory started a group for its graduates. It's called the Cambridge Computer Lab Ring. It's named after an old computer network called the Cambridge Ring.
What's Happening Now
New Name, Broader Focus
On October 1, 2017, the Computer Laboratory changed its name again. It became the Department of Computer Science and Technology. This new name shows that the department now covers a wider range of computer-related topics and activities.
Courses and Research
The department offers different courses for students. There's a 3-year course for undergraduates. There's also a 1-year master's course with many specialized subjects.
Recent research at the department focuses on exciting areas like:
- Virtualisation: Making one computer act like many.
- Security: Keeping computers and data safe.
- Usability: Making computers easy to use.
- Robotics: Building and programming robots.
- Mobile computing: How phones and tablets work.
- Wireless networking: How devices connect without wires.
- Biometric identification: Using fingerprints or faces to identify people.
- Positioning systems: Like GPS, but sometimes for inside buildings.
- Sustainability: Using computing to help the planet.
Many successful UK IT companies were started by people from this department. Some examples include Acorn, ARM, and XenSource.
Important People
Professors
As of 2016, the lab had 19 professors. Some well-known ones include:
- Ross J. Anderson, who teaches about computer security.
- Ann Copestake, who works on how computers understand language.
- Jon Crowcroft, who studies communication systems.
- John Daugman, who works on computer vision and pattern recognition.
- Andy Hopper, who is a Professor of Computer Technology.
- Neil Lawrence, who is a professor of machine learning.
- Cecilia Mascolo, who studies mobile systems.
- Lawrence Paulson, who works on computational logic.
Other notable staff include Sue Sentance and Robert Watson.
Former Staff
Some important people who used to work here include:
Leaders of the Computer Laboratory
The department has had several leaders over the years:
- 1949 Maurice Wilkes
- 1980 Roger Needham
- 1996 Robin Milner
- 1999 Ian Leslie
- 2004 Andy Hopper
- 2018 Ann Copestake
Amazing Achievements and Inventions
People from this department have made a big impact on computers. They've worked on everything from early computers to security and programming languages. Here are some of their key achievements:
- EDSAC (1949–1958) – The world's first practical electronic computer that could store programs.
- Subroutine (1951) – A way to reuse parts of computer code.
- OXO (1952) – Considered the world's first video game.
- EDSAC 2 (1958–1965) – An improved version of EDSAC.
- Autocode (1961) – One of the first easy-to-use programming languages.
- Titan (1964–1973) – An early computer that many users could share at once.
- BCPL – A programming language that led to the creation of the popular C language.
- Cambridge Ring – An early type of local area network for connecting computers.
- Trojan Room coffee pot (1993) – The world's first webcam, used to check if the coffee pot was full!
- Iris recognition – A way to identify people using their eye patterns, which is very accurate.
- Xen (2003–present) – Software that lets one computer run many different operating systems at the same time.
- Isabelle and HOL – Tools that help prove that computer programs are correct.
Impact on Companies
Many successful companies have been started by students and staff from this department. These companies often have founders who learned a lot from the university's training and research. Some well-known examples include ARM, Autonomy, and Aveva. The Cambridge Computer Lab Ring, a group for graduates, has been praised for its hard work in connecting people and ideas.
Famous Alumni
Many people who studied here have gone on to do amazing things in the computer industry. Here are a few of them:
- Demis Hassabis
- Eben Upton
- Bjarne Stroustrup
- Ian Pratt
- Simon Crosby
- Michael Burrows
- Andy Hopper
