Dean's Letter
Significant Bits Winter 2024
Our communications team has been hard at work over the past several months redesigning this publication, your alumni magazine, and we are pleased to unveil the results. You’ll notice the larger format, feature-length stories, and a new, modern design that reflect our vibrant community and our stature as a top-tier college of computing.
Those of you who graduated in the late ‘90s or earlier may remember the very first issue of Significant Bits, published in the spring of 1999. The issue featured stories announcing an NSF CAREER Award for Lixin Gao ‘96PhD and a new listserv for women students, Systers-Students, managed by Amy McGovern ‘02PhD, as well as stories on the cutting-edge research of the day, such as “Multimedia Courseware Leverages Internet Client/Server Technology” and “ECommerce is Focus of Joint Research Project.”
Our inaugural issue also contained a letter from then-chair Jim Kurose, who worried about retaining talent in academia and celebrated the growth of our program, as well as an update on the construction of the Computer Science Building, which was nearing completion. As you’ll see in our current Winter 2024 issue, there are still threads that tie us back to 1999. Jim, who retired this past summer after 40 years at UMass Amherst, looks back on his career and offers his take on the future of computing in a feature article, and we provide an update on the construction of our newest building [NEEDS LINK].
While it’s striking to see similar themes, computing at UMass Amherst has changed dramatically in the last 25 years. Notably, in 1999, our alumni were composed primarily of doctoral graduates, working in academia and research. Today, the vast majority of our 6,000+ alumni are relatively recent graduates of our undergraduate programs, applying the skills they learned at UMass to a variety of roles across industries. See the profile of Josh Funk ‘02 for just one example.
Regardless of your degree program or career journey, I hope you will find stories and “bits” of information that resonate with you, surprise you, and offer connection. Your continued willingness to engage—whether by sending us your news, attending an event, or wearing the binary tree—strengthens the Manning CICS alumni network and provides career and social opportunities that benefit our entire community. I am grateful for your support and partnership.
With gratitude,
Laura Haas
Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Dean
