COMPUTER SCIENCE 50

For his first Computer Science 50 lecture, Jeff A. Ferrell '97 was expecting a small class, likely rife with pocket protectors and dry discussions of algorithms.

Instead, the first-year student walked into a packed Science Center E, with computer hungry students--mostly non-computer science majors--lining the walls and stairs.

"I was a little amused," he says. But "at least I had a chair."

Ferrell was not the only one shocked by the overflowing lecture hall A. course that typically draws 150 students. "Computer Science 50: Introduction to Computer Science I" (CS50) claimed well over 400 bodies on its first shopping day. One factor in the growth was popular professor Margot I. Seltzer's teaching style.

But students and professors say the main reason behind the Computer Science 50 influx was the class' shift from an older, obsolete computer language, to the widely-used C. Also, the class includes instruction in the use of popular Internet technology.

Professors say the Computer Science Department, which is mostly theory-oriented and has only 21 faculty members, finds it difficult to meet the desires of its won concentrators, let alone the new hordes seeking applied knowledge.

Like many of the 276 students enrolled in this year's CS50 class, Ferrell does not plan to concentrate in computer science.

The first-year biochemistry concentrator decided to take CS50 because "I wanted to learn computer programming," he says. "It's a really valuable skill. Computers are a part of every field today.'

Ferrell says he would not have taken the course if it had been taught in Pascal. "I only would have taken it if it were in C or C++ because its what everybody uses, Pascal is outdated and useless."

CS50 also teaches students how to use the Internet system, which was a drawing point for Ferrell. The Internet "gives you access to an incredible amount of information: computer programs, demo programs, the menu for dinner, the weather report," says Ferrell.

"Before CS50 no class really ever taught Internet," says Joshua Z. Heller '94, a Computer Science concentrator. "It's really a new thing because of the mass involvement and availability of information has just developed over the past few years."

Ferrell's interest in both programming and the Internet reflects a growing demand for knowledge in the expanding field, says Dean of the Division of Applied Sciences Paul C. Martin.

"I think people are aware of computers and recognize their importance because they are being used world-wide," he says. "We are taking steps toward an informational super-highway."

Harvard itself, by installing the University's network system, which gives individual student rooms in the Yard dorms and the Quad access to the Internet has sparked student interest in computer science, Martin says.

Harvard students are now able to tap into national and international computer networks from their personal computers using the network system, enabling them to access millions of volumes of information from their desks.

But the overcrowded CS50 is the only Harvard course offered which addresses student interest in such applied computer skills as C and Internet use.

And Martin and McKay Professor of Computer Science Harry R. Lewis '68 say the department's primary goal is not to provide applied skills to non-concentrators, but to give computer science concentrators a theoretical grounding in computer science.

Faculty in the department say they want to teach students broader concepts of computer science and theory that will last longer than the latest machine on the market.

"The language choice [to be taught in CS50] was not driven by industrial training because by the time the freshmen graduate, it could be passe," says Lewis.

Harvard's Computer Science Department in general is viewed by members and students as one mostly theoretical in focus, catering primarily to its own concentrators and those majoring in the applied sciences.

"There's a lot of computer theory, the department is very academic," says Michael J. Geller '94, a computer science concentrator and CS50 teaching fellow.

"It's assumed among CS majors that you can learn a language at the drop of a hat," says James S. Gwertzman '95, a computer science concentrator. "So it really doesn't matter which particular language you know."

And computer science concentrators say they are happy with their department's present focus on theory.

Sharon Fenick '94, a computer science concentrator and CS50 teaching fellow, feels that the CS50 language change was not crucial. "It just always seemed like less of a pressing issue," she says. "Pascal is a good educational language so they concentrated on teaching other things."

In fact, professors say the switch was mostly due to the arrival of Seltzer, whose field of research made the change in language a natural one for the Computer Science Department to make.

But for those from other concentrations looking for introductory computer classes, abstract theory is less important than the many job possibilities open to the computer-savvy. Many student feel that C programming, and understanding of the Internet, are marketable skills even in areas such as business, law and medicine.

"It's comforting to know that what I'm learning in CS50 can be applied so that I can get a job," says Yuval Segal '97, hopes to put his skills to use over the summer. "I went into OCS to look for positions and they all wanted programmers who knew C and UNIX and I thought 'cool, that's what I know."

But even theoretically-oriented students say they are not getting the support they need from the department, which professors and concentrators say is woefully understaffed.

In terms of technical capacity, students and professors praise the University's commitment.

The upcoming Faculty capital campaign allots $63 million to Harvard's information technology resources.

And Hewlett Packard recently donated 7 new computers and 20 workstations, worth close to a million dollars.

But the department is lacking in the upper-level theoretical specialties it needs, professors say.

The capital campaign promises eight new professors in computer science, but their arrival will not be for years. According to Seltzer, there is currently a search going on for two more teaching faculty members.

Meanwhile, now that the shock of the CS50 influx has worn off, the department's bigwigs are trying to deal with the ramifications of the unexpected interest in their discipline.

The department scrambled to hire nine more teaching fellows and moved into the larger Science Center C, and administrators were thankful that Harvard's computing facilities managed to handle the demands of the unexpected students.

But, professors fear, if the influx translates into a huge crop of computer science concentrators, the department might not have the staff to teach them.

"We're relatively short in faculty compared to the other sciences," says Lewis. "We are probably going to be even shorter, because the number of students who want the applied sciences is growing and will continue to grow."

And if students from other concentrations wish for more specialized or more advanced classes in applied computer languages and uses, students and faculty fear the department's sparse faculty and theoretical focus might not be able to answer the demand.

Lewis says the department would offer CS50 every semester, but it simply doesn't have the faculty.

"I think CS50 woke a lot of people up," says Fenick. "We really need to upgrade."