<p>S and I visited Olin and were very impressed. Very impressed. But what is the opportunity for a student who is extremely interested in computer science and/or artificial intelligence?</p>
<p>Well, he could major in general engineering with a concentration in CS, or he could major in electrical and computer engineering. He would, of course have to take the engineering requirements that Olin has, which he might not want to do if he's interested in pure CS. </p>
<p>If you're asking if he can major in CS, the answer is no. If you're asking if his engineering degree can incorporate CS, the answer is yes. He might want to email admissions with some specific questions if the latter is the case.</p>
<p>My daughter suggests Andrea Stein as a faculty member who might be of interest to a CS student. Copied from her bio on olin's webiste. . . </p>
<p>Dr. Stein has pioneered the development of a new and innovative approach to the teaching of computer science. Computer scientists have typically viewed computation as the step-by-step process of producing a result. Modern computational systems (such as the World Wide Web) require an alternative conceptualization of computation in terms of interactive architectures. Interactive architectures can be used to better model not only the Web, but also other complex systems such as those in robotics, information management, and software design. Dr. Stein has developed innovative robotics laboratories for students to learn and demonstrate the power of her new approach.</p>
<p>In robotics, her research has focused on designing, building, and understanding the architectures that underlie cognition in biological and artificial systems. The robotic systems her research group has built involve bridging the gap between the low-level behavior traditionally associated with robotics and higher levels of cognition that more closely approximate thinking.</p>
<p>Thank you both! We knew that there was no CS degree per se at Olin: that's not a problem as engineering is also a desirable focus. S wants to have some deep emphasis on CS, especially as it relates to AI, and is also interested the related parts of electrical engineering...so Olin looks really good, if he gets in.</p>
<p>Chrisd, thanks for the information on Doctor Stein. I did not know about her work, but the idea of looking at biological systems for insights into AI systems is something my son has ben telling me about for two years. The fit just seems to get better and better every time I look at Olin.</p>