Mathematics and Computer Science

Computer Science is a field that promises intellectual growth both at the University and for an individual’s entire career. The field of CS is exciting and changes very rapidly. It is fun to learn new ideas and apply them throughout one’s career. It is also a people-oriented area since individuals in IT (information technology) are often working on developing a product or refining a product to satisfy the needs of a particular business. They learn about the particular business areas and how the company does its business. They work on teams with people from the business and interact a lot with those team members as well as users of the product. Presentation skills and interpersonal communication are important credentials for a computer scientist.

It takes people a lot time to forget something bad such as the dot com bust. However, that is in the past. Also the cry that many CS jobs are being outsourced seems to be made by lots of people. Actually, even though outsourcing is occurring, there are many existing jobs as well as new jobs being created locally in Maine as well elsewhere in the United States. The Department of Labor states the following:

The University of Maine at Farmington Computer Science major provides a very interesting program in that we not only have the traditional required courses but also a rotating series of topics courses that cover areas such as network security, web programing, and machine learning. We have our own Computer Science lab which is used as a classroom as well as providing a place where students can get help and interact with other Computer Science majors. In addition, we have a new project lab that a Computer Science faculty member along with 3 students built in a nearby space. Mentoring and close contact between our faculty and students is something we enjoy. As faculty, we are here at the University because we really want to work closely with students. We love giving students the needed theory as well as applications of the type that will help them in the work place. We encourage discussion and help the students to learn independently.

At Farmington, the students are able to work both on campus in the Computer Science lab or elsewhere applying their growing computing knowledge. In addition, students work as interns. For example, we have had a student intern at DeLorme, a major GIS (Geographical Information Systems) firm. We have had students intern in the database area for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

Students learn both theoretical and applied areas. Our students obtain very good jobs upon graduation. For example, a Computer Science major who graduated in Spring 2007 obtained a job right away at a software company that develops an Electronic Health Record system for use in hospitals. This software allows doctors and their support staff to record information about patients, such as their vitals, problems, current and past medical history, medications and visit information. He does database work where the information is stored and aids in report writing based upon the information. He has started to do a little traveling; he flew to San Diego to meet with a hospital’s IT staff to discuss the product and how to write reports using it. In addition he maintains some of the company’s servers as well as evaluating future technologies. He took one of our topics courses that dealt with Windows server 2003 and clients. The company uses Microsoft operating systems; thus, he was able to jump right into working with server 2003.

We know that students generally do not have a lot of knowledge about the many areas that one can work in using their computer science knowledge. So we’d like to list and briefly describe some now (we emphasize the ones that are really important today and for the foreseeable future):

1. Machine learning. As companies work to build software such as spam-filtering, collaborative-filtering and fraud-detection (which are applications that seek patterns in jumbo-size data sets), there is more need for people with machine-learning expertise, or the ability to design and develop algorithms and techniques to improve a computer’s performance. This includes data mining, statistical modeling and data structure skills
2. Human-computer interface. This entails designing user interfaces for Web and desktop applications. Consumers are increasingly seeing well-designed products and are now demanding this in every piece of software they use.
3. General networking. No matter where you work in IT, you can’t escape the network. Thus, all IT professionals need a basic understanding of networking concepts such as TCP/IP, Ethernet and fiber optics, and should have a working knowledge of distributed and networked computing.
4. Open-source programming. There’s been an increase in employers interested in hiring open-source talent. Open source is coming back in a big way, both at the operating system level and in application development. People with experience in Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP, collectively referred to as LAMP, are in demand.

Since UMF is located in Maine, we’d like to discuss Maine IT job possibilities. Of course, there are many possibilities throughout the country. Maine has hundreds of small software vendors developing applications related to particular markets described below. Some of these niches, such as GIS, CAD, and virtual reality, relate to the ocean’s key role in the Maine economy. Other examples of software vendors include the following:

1. Finance & Insurance: UnumProvident is the largest supplier of long-term disability insurance in the United States. Unum’s internal software programmers have spun off many small software firms. Maine is an attractive state for financial institutions. Visa and Citigroup Global Transaction Services continue to increase their technology workforce in Maine.
2. CAD (Computer Assisted Design): Maine’s shipbuilding industry has spurred a small, related CAD niche. The local firm Aerohydro’s software helped design the hulls of a handful of boats that have won the America’s Cup sailing race.
3. Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Maine has dozens of software firms with GIS expertise, and is recognized as a GIS hub. The cluster is supported by the University of Maine’s Spatial Engineering program, one of three universities in the United States to offer advanced degrees in this field. We have Maine companies DeLorme, the James W. Sewall Company and Blue Marble Geographics. Recent GIS software has been produced to help ships navigate the foggy coast of Maine.
4. Bioinformatics: Jackson Laboratory, the largest producer of laboratory mice in the world and a research leader genomics, is located in Bar Harbor. They have quite a few computer programmers who develop the lab’s specialized bioinformatics database. IDEXX Laboratories (in Westbrook) develops innovative products and offers services for food and water applications. Some of IDEXX’s programmers implement new software, analyze and enhance existing software, write reports, and train internal customers on the use of reports and processes.

Farmington provides students with the ability to work in many of the above areas upon graduation. It also provides a unique small university atmosphere known for the dedication of its faculty.