Two Watson College departments elevated to schools

Two departments at Binghamton University’s Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science are being elevated to schools starting this fall.

Renaming to the School of Computing and the School of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering (SSIE) reflects exceptional growth in student enrollment, faculty and research funding over the past decade.

“Everyone at the new School of Computing and School of SSIE has done a remarkable job as their programs have expanded,” said Watson College Dean Atul Kelkar. “Congratulations to the faculty and staff whose dedication and hard work have driven this evolution. It is a testament to your excellence that the quality of education that we offer our students has remained the top priority.”

In fall 2023, the Department of Computer Science was the largest department at Binghamton University with 1,463 students, including 697 undergraduates and 766 graduate students (81 PhD students and 685 master’s students). That represents approximately 7% of Binghamton University’s student enrollment and 19% of graduate student enrollment.

School of Computing faculty members lead several transdisciplinary research centers at Binghamton, including the Center for Energy-Smart Electronic Systems (ES2), the Center for Information Assurance and Cybersecurity (CIAC) and the Center for Imaging, Acoustics and Perception Science (CIAPS).

In 2024, U.S. News & World Report ranked the computer science graduate program #96 in the nation (#52 among public schools), and Times Higher Education ranked the program between 201-250 in the world among computer science programs. The School of Computing faculty includes three SUNY distinguished professors.

“This name change is both a recognition of the rapid growth of computer science-related programs at Binghamton University in recent years and a strong indication that Binghamton University plans to further grow these programs,” said Distinguished Service Professor and School of Computing Chair Weiyi Meng. “Being named a school is a big milestone for the computer science program, and it will inspire us to do even better in the future.”

Systems Science and Industrial Engineering (SSIE) was the second-largest department at Binghamton University in fall 2023 with 552 students, including 169 undergraduates and 383 graduate students (216 PhD students and 167 master’s students). That is almost 3% of Binghamton University’s student enrollment and more than 9.5% of graduate student enrollment. SSIE has the largest PhD program on campus.

U.S. News & World Report ranked it the #36 ISE graduate program in the U.S. (#26 among public schools) in 2024, and it is the second-largest program in the nation by faculty size. The SSIE faculty includes five SUNY distinguished professors, three Empire Innovation Professors (EIP) and Watson College’s only named professorship.

SSIE research expenditures in 2023-24 were $10,971,622, representing 43.13% of the expenditures in Watson and 19.71% of the expenditures at Binghamton University.

Research centers and institutes led by SSIE faculty include the Watson Institute for Systems Excellence (WISE), the Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing (CAMM) and the Center for Collective Dynamics of Complex Systems (CoCo).

“I am deeply honored to be at the helm of such a word-class faculty and to be leading our group into this new era,” said SUNY Distinguished Professor and SSIE Chair Mohammad T. Khasawneh. “The gains we see today are the culmination of many decades of work in different areas of inquiry and industrial applications, building on the past progress of great leaders and prior department chairs like former Dean Krishnaswami ‘Hari’ Srihari, Dr. Nagen Nagarur and Dr. Bob Emerson, as well as academic greats such as the incomparable Dr. George J. Klir, Dr. Howard Pattee and others.”