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UW alum Howard Aiken develops an early computer model
Howard Aiken developed computers in a time where the word "computer" was not universally used. Originally graduating from UW-Madison with a degree in electrical engineering, Aiken developed a proposal for a large-scale calculating machine at Harvard University. IBM took up his proposal and developed the Mark I, one of the first computers ever constructed in the US. Later computers designed by Aiken were used by the US Navy and Air Force. -
UW builds Wisconsin's first digital computer
The WISC (Wisconsin Integrally Synchronized Computer) was built between 1951 and 1954. The WISC was the first digital computer in the state. Gene Amdahl, a computer science pioneer, made the original design for his doctorate at UW-Madison. Besides designing the WISC, Amdahl was a theoretical physics professor, entrepreneur and a major figure in the development of mainframe computers at IBM. -
UW-Madison formally creates the Department of Computer Sciences
The Department of Numerical Analysis was founded in 1960, and was the precursor to the modern Department of Computer Sciences that exists to this day. The school designated it as such in 1964. -
UW Professor Olvi Mangasarian publishes seminal paper
In 1967, Olvi Mangasarian developed methods of linear programming that have become foundational for the entire field of data science. He continued his work by exploring the field of optimization in the 1990s, and his computing discoveries were used to detect cancer in breast tissue. -
Eric Bach, a current CS professor at UW, creates Bach's algorithm
Eric Bach is a researcher who made contributions to computational number theory. Bach's algorithm is one of his many findings, and it generates random numbers along with their factorizations. Today, he teaches CS 577 at UW-Madison, a course dedicated to algorithms. -
UW CS alumni found EatStreet
In 2010, Eric Martell and Matt Howard started EatStreet, a food ordering service. Originally operating in Madison as "BadgerBites," the company has since expanded to medium-sized cities around the United States. Today, 15,000 restaurants are listed on EatStreet. -
UW-Madison receives federal funding for cloud computing
UW-Madison, along with Clemson University and the University of Utah, was selected to participate in the National Science Foundation's CloudLab project. UW-Madison received $2.3 million to begin researching novel cloud computing technologies. Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau, the current CS department chair at UW, was one of the primary researchers originally working on CloudLab. -
UW-Madison introduces the School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences
In response to growing demand for data and computer science education, UW-Madison formally created the School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences in 2018. Originally, courses in these fields were taken through other colleges, like the College of Letters & Sciences. This announcement revealed a new administrative commitment to the fields of data science and computer science. -
The Wisconsin Computing Idea
Chancellor Rebecca Blank authorized the creation of a 12-person working group on computing, a committee dedicated to advancing an agenda for computer science education at UW-Madison. One of the main exports of this group was the Wisconsin Computing Idea, which extends the goals of the Wisconsin Idea to the realm of computer science, data science and AI education. -
The Data Science Certificate
UW-Madison introduced the Data Science major in Fall 2020, and it quickly became the fastest growing major on campus. Data Science majors focus on programming in languages like Python and R, but there is also a special focus on statistics throughout the major. Students taking Data Science courses can learn about machine learning, stochastic calculus, econometrics and more. Because of the popularity of the major, the university introduced a complementary certificate in September 2021. -
UW launches construction of CDIS building
UW-Madison launched enough funding to build a new building for the School of Computer, Information and Data Sciences. The new building, set to be located on the corner of Orchard Street and University Ave, will be seven stories tall. Two billionaire UW alumni, John and Tashia Morgridge, donated a total of $125 million to support the construction effort. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation donated an additional $50 million.
