Message from the Chair

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Department of Computer Science of Lakehead University. The Department of Computer Science within the Faculty of Science and Environmental Studies provides the foundations of computer sciences courses to prepare students in the two options in the Department: Science and Business for the students at the Thunder Bay campus. Moreover, we are offering a transfer program (Diploma to HBSc) in our Orillia campus for the science option based on our partnership with the Georgian college. With a complement of twelve full time faculty (Eight residing on the Thunder Bay Campus and Four at our Orillia Campus), we offer a wide variety of computer science material, both practical and theoretical: software development; artificial intelligence; programming languages; data structures; operating systems; networks; theory of computation; architecture; graphics; software engineering; object-orientation; mobile computing; game programming; cloud computing; health informatics, clinical decision making; big data and algorithm analysis. Our HBSc programs further retains a strong mathematical component with a solid foundation in linear algebra, probability and statistics. Moreover, our HBSc science option at the Thunder Bay campus offers two specializations one on Game Programming and the other is on Health informatics.

Additionally, we offer the graduate program at the MSc level with pure course option, project option and thesis options. Our thesis option has a specialization in artificial intelligence which has been recognized by the Vector Institute since 2019. Our graduate program is further supported by an internal adjunct and external adjuncts. We have good computing facilities and labs which provide opportunities for faculty research, graduate courses, and student projects and theses. Our faculties have a range of interests including artificial intelligence (Dr. Mohammed-TB Campus), Collaborative Learning and Machine Learning (Dr. Fiaidhi-TB Campus), Cryptography and Network Security (Dr. Wei-OR Campus), Communications, Networking, and Signal Scattering (Dr. El Ocla-TB Campus), Multi-OMICS Health Informatics and Deep Learning (Dr. Al-Khateeb-TB Campus), Robotics, Haptics and Tactile Perception (Dr. Oliveira-OR Campus), Brain-Computer/Machine Interface and Cybersecurity (Dr. Bajwa-TB Campus), Complexity Analysis and Algorithm Design for AI and OR problems (Dr. Tan-OR Campus), Internet of Things (Dr. Nazari-TB Campus), Image Analysis and Pattern Recognition (Dr. Ahmed-TB Campus) and Clinical Observational Studies with Gamification (Dr. Brogly-OR Campus).

Computer Science at Lakehead University grew out of the Department of Mathematical Sciences. Its roots go back to the early 70's when there were just a couple of computer scientists in the department. In the early 80's a gradual expansion began which was motivated by the observation that most of the interest and majors in the department were in the computer science option. In the late 80's we started our co-op program. In 1995 we formed the School of Mathematical Sciences composed of the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. One reason for this change was to give computer science a higher profile so potential students could more easily find it. In 2000, the two departments became separate entities, with a HBSc major in computer science that have two focuses (Science and Business) with a shared MSc graduate program, however, in 2008 Computer Science got its own M.Sc. Computer Science program. In 2011 and in 2015 we introduced our two specializations in game programming and Health Informatics to make our computer science undergraduate major equipped with modern academic streams to educate students. Our efforts to modernizing our curriculum brought more students attention especially when we reduced our Math required courses from 10 to 4 and introduce six modern computer science courses like mobile programming, big data and cloud computing. The partnership between our university and the Georgian college that began in 2017 allow our computer science program to introduce a new transfer program (Orillia-GC HBSc/Diploma Program) that started to recruit students in Fall 2018 and the first batch of graduates of this partnership program were in Spring 2022 (HBSc from Lakehead-Orillia) and earlier in Fall 2020 (Computer Programming Diploma from GC-Berry). Based on this LU-GC partnership the program is serving students in the Simcoe region close to Greater Toronto. Furthermore in 2018 our department builds a new graduate specialization in Artificial Intelligence and gain the recognition of this specialization by the Vector Institute in 2019. Based on all these efforts as well as the recruitment of new faculties, our student’s recruitments grow sharply in the undergraduate level (on both campuses (Orillia and Thunder Bay)) and the graduate master's level. We need to state that we work closely with the Faculty of Business for the Business Focus with opportunity for our students to get recognition from the faculty of Business through their CERTIFICATE IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP. We also maintain a close relationship with the faculty of engineering related to offering service courses as well as coordinating with the department of Software Engineering. It is also important to note that all our programs graduate and undergraduates (except the MSc Thesis with Specialization in AI) have a Co-op option that is very important to provide students with industrial experience before graduating. These efforts placed our department at the top 20 best computer science programs in Canada according to the Maclean's rankings for the best computer science programs in Canadian universities in 2021.

Our department is housed in the Advanced Technology Academic Centre (ATAC) building where we have close access to high quality laboratories and modern multimedia classrooms. Utilizing all of the power and resources that ATAC provides, Lakehead's Computer Science department has its own laboratories, as well as takes advantage of the general-purpose computing laboratories in ATAC including those containing GPUs (e.g. AT4019, AT3009 and AT3010). For the really big computing tasks, we have access to shared network resources (SHARCNET, Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network). One of the key components in our programs is Co-operative Education. The Co-op work terms provide excellent opportunities to gain rewarding experiences, earn income and acquire practical skills. Over 700 Computer Science Co-op placements have been made since the summer of 1990. Among our Industry Partners are: Canada CRA, IBM, RBC, CIBC, Cargill, Bowater, Syncrude Oil, Imperial Oil, Canadian Grain Commission, Industry Canada, Environment Canada, TBRHSC, TBRRI, Atomic Energy of Canada, HydroOne and others. We work closely with the co-op officers in the Student Success Centre and Cooperate Education who manage the work-term placement process. Our Co-op option is an ideal way for students to gain experience and help finance their education.

In anticipation of the questions concerning what a Computer Scientist does and what career paths are available for a Computer Scientist, I refer you to: http://computingcareers.acm.org/ which is maintained by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), one of the largest international associations for computer scientists, and provides an excellent description of activities and opportunities for Computer Scientists. Our programs adhere to colloquium contents as designed by ACM/IEEE [1] joint academic committee in 2023. We are also preparing our programs to be accredited by the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS)[2].

Computer Science is a dynamic area that has and will continue to drive innovation. Therefore, a key part of our education is about the knowledge and skills needed in order to capture the new technologies of the future. The following are some of our educational aims:

Practical experience and theoretical understanding of design methods for the specification, programming and analysis of a wide range of computing systems.
The ability to plan and accomplish a substantial project.
Experience in co-operative working through team projects, with their demands on the management of partners and time.
Skills in written and oral communication.
The ability and confidence to learn, unaided, new subjects and to locate and critically evaluate information.
High quality training at the graduate level for both industrial and further advanced study paths
An appreciation of the environmental impact of computer and network technologies and the skills to limit this impact with innovative approaches.

Our department is small enough to give undergraduate students direct access to the professors along with ample access to high-end computing equipment. We cover a broad range of computer science material including artificial intelligence, machine learning, object-oriented software development technologies, web technologies, game programming, mobile programming, cloud computing, computer security, collaborative learning, networking and related hardware technology, computer graphics, and a range of theoretical computing topics. We also provide the core computer science content for the bioinformatics program. We have new plans to expend in Orillia offering a full HBSc program and MSc programs as well as updating our Business Focus.

I would like to thank our students, faculty and staff who make us one of the top-ranked Computer Science Department in Canada and among the best in the world. I invite you to learn more about us and discover the positive impact that our community is making in the world today. We welcome you to join us, as an undergraduate or graduate student, a postdoctoral fellow, a faculty member, or as a collaborator. We continue to recruit outstanding faculty candidates, so please consider becoming a part of our growing community.

Sabah Mohammed

Professor, Department Chair and Professional Software Engineer