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ON CAMPUS
New CSD head had role
in program’s design
by byron spice
Frank Pfenning (S ’81, ’87), a professor of computer
science who played a key role in the recent update of
Carnegie Mellon University’s introductory computer
science curriculum, is the new head of the Computer
Science Department.
He succeeds Jeannette Wing, who stepped down to
become head of Microsoft Research International. SCS
Dean Randy Bryant said Pfenning has been heavily
involved in the school’s educational activities and has
shown great care for the welfare of students.
As head of the Computer Science Department, Pfenning
will lead a distinguished faculty of more than 70
members. Established in 1965, CSD was one of the
world’s first computer science departments.
“At the undergraduate level, Frank has taught an
amazing array of courses, from the very theoretical,
such as mathematical logic, to the very applied, such
as computer systems and computer graphics,” Bryant
said. “At the graduate level, he served as director of the
computer science Ph.D. program, keeping track of the
progress of around 150 Ph.D. students. He also served
on the committee that designed our recently introduced
computer science master’s program.”
Pfenning’s research focuses on applications of
mathematical logic in computer science. This includes
the design of programming languages, systems for
reasoning about computer programs and logics for
ensuring computer security.
Pfenning developed a new course, Principles of
Imperative Computation, that is part of CSD’s updated
introductory computer science curriculum. This and
other new courses, which have been implemented over
the past several years, reflect a more rigorous approach
to developing reliable software. They place greater
emphasis on parallel computation and incorporate
concepts of computational thinking—the idea that
computer scientists have developed unique ways of
formulating and solving problems.
Born in
Rüsselsheim,
Germany,
Pfenning studied
mathematics and
computer science
at the Technical
University
Darmstadt. With
the support
of a Fulbright
Scholarship, he
attended Carnegie
Mellon, where
frank pfenning
he earned a
master’s degree
in mathematics in 1981 and a Ph.D. in mathematics in
1987. He subsequently joined CSD as a research scientist,
receiving an appointment as associate professor in 1999
and full professor in 2002. He served as CSD director of
graduate programs from 2004 to 2008 and as associate dean
of graduate education for the School of Computer Science
from 2009 to 2010. He also holds an adjunct appointment
in the Department of Philosophy.
Pfenning has been a visiting scientist at the Max-
Planck-Institute for Computer Science in Saarbrücken,
an Alexander-von-Humboldt Fellow at the Technical
University Darmstadt, and a visiting professor at École
Polytechnique and INRIA-Futurs. He won the Herbert
A. Simon Award for Teaching Excellence in the School
of Computer Science in 2002.
He has served on numerous boards of international
professional organizations, research journals and academic
conferences.
—Byron Spice is director of media relations for the School
of Computer Science.
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