I was pleased to spend the past couple of days at Duke University to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of its Department of Computer Science. It was a fun opportunity to visit my PhD alma mater, to visit with some of my former professors and classmates, and to hear from some of the impressive alumni of this venerable department.
I was a student of the department from 1986-91, when it was a much smaller and younger department – less than a third of its history had passed when I arrived as a new student. During five years there I deepened my knowledge of computer science, developed into a computing professional, and formed lasting friendships with students and faculty alike. I also met my wife while there; this weekend, we toured some of our old haunts and homes in Durham and Chapel Hill; only one of our homes is still standing, and it looks exactly the same today as it did when we lived there 33 years ago. Lovely to be back!
David Kotz 