Department welcomes 11 new faculty members for academic year

The Department of Computer Science extends a warm welcome to its new 2021-22 colleagues! With the addition of the 11 new faculty members for the 2021-22 academic year, the department now sits at 70 faculty members at campuses in Blacksburg and the greater Washington, D.C., metro area. 

Their research represents emerging strengths in a broad set of strategic areas, including computational biology and bioinformatics, data analytics, information retrieval, machine learning, natural language processing, digital education, human computer interaction, security, systems, and software engineering.

Ali R. Butt, associate department head for faculty development, said the department is dedicated to helping its new colleagues transition to the role of faculty. “Especially this year, we are focusing our mentoring program to help mitigate the many disruptions from the pandemic and give our new faculty a running start,” said Butt.

The Department hosted two welcoming picnics over the summer for faculty members and their families. This gave an opportunity for everyone to meet in a relaxed and casual setting, with current teaching and administrative faculty also on hand to share more about their roles and give a glimpse into the culture of the department.