In the fall of 1985, the Department of Computer Science was established. The department emerged with its Bachelor of Science Computer Information Systems Major program from the former Bachelor of Arts Computer Science and Data Processing Minors programs, which were housed in the Department of Mathematics.

Two years later, in fall of 1987, the Department of Computer Science revised the program to offer a Bachelor of Science Computer Science Major. This new major offered three options: Software Design and Applications, Scientific Computing, and Information Systems, as well as a Computer Science Minor.

Over the years, the Department of Computer Science has grown and developed to expose computer science majors to a broad theoretical base while emphasizing the laboratory experience. In winter 2012, the department added a Computational Science Master’s Degree program. Under the computer science major, the department offers specific focuses that may be developed in many areas of computer science; examples include: software engineering, intelligent systems, computational science, computer graphics, visualization and computer vision, human-computer interaction, big data analytics, and cybersecurity. The Department of Computer Science now also has two minors to choose from, Applied Computer Science and Computer Science.

Below is a list of all Computer Science Faculty, past and present, whom have made all of the above possible today.
 

Faculty Archive Past to Present

Bernard Martin, (1985-1993) B.A., M.Ed., Central Washington University; M.S., Ph.D., Oregon State University

• Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science - Retired
• Years at: CWU 1959-1993, CS Dept 1985-1993, CS Chairman: 1985-1987
• Specialization: Mathematics, Programming Languages

Calvin Gus Wilberg, (1985-1993) B.S., M.S., Ohio State University; Ph.D., University of Washington

• Emeritus Professor of Computer Science and Geography - Retired 
• Years at: CWU 1969 - 1993, CS Dept 1985 - 1993
• Specialization: Geography, Programing Languages, Information Systems

Thomas Thelen (1985 - 1991) B.S., St. Johns University; Ph.D., University of Minnesota

• Professor of Biology and Computer Science - Retired
• Years at: CWU 1970 - 1991, CS Dept 1985 - 1991
• Specialization: Computer Science

George Town (1985 - 1996) B.S., M.S., University of Wisconsin

• Emeritus Professor of Computer Science - Retired
• Years at: CWU 1972 - 1996, CS Dept 1985 - 1996, CS Chair 1991 - 1994
• Specialization: System Programming

Barry Donahue (1985 - 2001) BME.d., ME.d., Ed.D., Montana State University

• Professor of Computer Science - Retired
• Years at: CWU 1984 - 2017, CS Dept 1985 - 2001, CS Chair 1994 - 1998
• Specialization: Formal Language Theory, Compiler Design, Software, Programming Languages

Carl Steidley (1985 - 1993) B.A., M.S, California State University; Ph.D., University of Oregon at Northridge

• Professor of Computer Science - Retired
• Years at: CWU 1985 - 1993, CS Dept 1985 - 1993, CS Chair 1987 - 1991
• Specialization: Architecture, Organization, Computer Hardware

Lila Harper (2000 - 2018) Ph.D., English - University of Oregon

• Senior Lecture of Computer Science and English
• Years at: CWU 1988 - Present, CS Dept 2000 - 2018
• Specialization: Technical Writing

Michelle Kidwell (1994 - 2000) Ph.D., University of Texas at Arlington

• Assistant Professor of Computer Science - Left CWU
• Years at: CWU 1994 - 2000, CS Dept 1994 - 2000
• Specialization: Parallel and Distributed Computing, Genetic Algorithms, Parallel Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms, Distributed Computing

Edward Gellenback (1994 - 2012) BBA, University of Texas; M.S., California State University, Chico; Ph.D., Oregon State University

• Emeritus Professor of Computer Science - Retired
• Years at: CWU 1994 - 2012, CS Dept 1994 - 2012, CS Chair 1998 - 1999
• Specialization: User Interface Design, Web Development, Software Engineering, and Artificial Intelligence

Grant Eastman (1998 - 2008) Ph.D., University of Utah

• Associate Professor of Computer Science - Retired
• Years at: CWU 1996 - 2008, CS Dept 1998 - 2008
• Specialization: Systems Design and Analysis, Networking, Computer Architecture

James Schwing (1998 - 2014, 2015 - 2016) B.S., Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Ph.D., University of Utah

• Emeritus Professor of Computer Science - Retired
• Years at: CWU 1998 - 2014 2015 - 2016, CS Dept 1998 - 2014, 2015 - 2016, CS Chair 1999 - 2014
• Specialization: Parallel Algorithms, User Interface Design, Computer Graphics, Computer Aided Design

Boris Kovalerchuk (1996 - Present) M.S., Novosibirsk University, USSR; Ph.D., USSR Academy of Science

• Professor of Computer Science
• Years at: CWU 1996 - Present, CS Dept 1996 - Present
• Specialization: Artificial Intelligence, Simulation and Optimization, Computer Architecture

Isabelle Bichindaritz (2001 - 2003) Ph.D., University of Paris, France

• Assistant Professor of Computer Science - Left CWU
• Years at: CWU 2000 - 2003, CS Dept 2001 - 2003
• Specialization: Artificial Intelligence, Knowledge Engineering, Case Based Reasoning, Medical Informatics

Diana Springer-Lund (2003 - 2010) B.S. C.S, Central Washington University; M.A., California School of Professional Psychology

• Senior Lecturer of Computer Science - Retired
• Years at: CWU 2000 - 2010, CS Dept 2003 - 2010:

Robert Ota (2000 - 2013) MBA Marketing & Finance - University of Puget Sound

• Senior Lecturer of Computer Science - Retired
• Years at: CWU 2000 - 2013, CS Dept 2000 - 2013

Ritva Kinzel (2003 - 2004) MBA - Washington State University

• Lecturer of Computer Science - Left CWU
• Years at: CWU 2003 - 2004, CS Dept 2003 - 2004

Razvan Andonie (2003 - Present) B.S., M.S., University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Ph.D., University of Bucharest, Romania

• Professor of Computer Science
• Years at: CWU 2003 - Present, CS Dept 2003 - Present, CS Interim Chair 2014 - 2015
• Specialization: Neural Networks, Parallel and Distributed Computing, Computational Intelligence, Data Mining

Sarah Abdul-Wahid (2007 - 2011, 2014 - Present) B.S. C.S., Central Washington University; M.S., Idaho State University

• Lecturer of Computer Science
• Years at: CWU 2007 - 2011, 2014 - Present, CS Dept 2007 - 2011, 2014 - Present
• Specialization: Computational Chemistry, Bio-Inspired Parallel/Distributed Computing, Bioinformatics

Andreas Stefik (2008 - 2009) B.A., Central Washington University; M.A., Ph.D., Washington State University

• Lecturer of Computer Science - Left CWU
• Years at: CWU 2008 - 2009, CS Dept 2008 - 2009
• Specialization: Database, Compiler Theory

Anthony Aaby (2010 - 2011) B.A., Mathematics Loma Linda University; M.A., Mathematics Pennsylvania State University; Ph.D., Computer Science The Pennsylvania State University

• Lecturer of Computer Science - Left CWU
• Years at: CWU 2010 - 2011, CS Dept 2010 - 2011
• Specialization: Parallel and Distributed Computing, Programming Languages, Natural Language Processing, Theory of Programming, Automated Reasoning

Francois Modave (2010 - 2011) Ph.D., Institut National Polytechnique, France 

• Associate Professor of Computer Science - Left CWU
• Years at: CWU 2010 - 2011, CS Dept 2010 - 2011
• Specialization: Intelligent Systems, Data Analysis

John Anvik (2011 - 2015) Ph.D., University of British Columbia, Canada

• Assistant Professor of Computer Science - Left CWU
• Years at: CWU 2011 - 2015, CS Dept 2011 - 2015, CS Co-Interim Chair 2014 - 2015
• Specialization: Software Engineering, Machine Learning, Computer Suppored Collaborative Work

Filip Jagodzinski (2013 - 2015) Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Assistant Professor of Computer Science - Left CWU
• Years at: CWU 2013 - 2015, CS Dept 2013 - 2015
• Specialization: Computational Structural Biology, Web/Server Software Engineering and Application Developer

Holly Johnson (2014 - 2015) Ph.D., University of Illinois

• Professor of Computer Science - Left CWU
• Years at: CWU 2012 - 2015, CS Dept 2014 - 2015
• Specialization: Social Informatics, HCI, Online Information Systems

Edward Lulofs (2013 - 2019) Ph.D., University of California Irvine

• Lecturer of Computer Science - Retired
• Years at: CWU 2013 - 2019, CS Dept 2013 - 2019

Tatiana Harrison (2013 - Present) M.S.E.E., St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University, USSR

• Lecturer of Computer Science
• Years at: CWU 2013 - Present, CS Dept 2013 - Present

Aaron Montgomery (2015 - 2016) B.A., Pomona College; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin

• Professor of Mathematics
• Years at: CWU 2000 - Present, CS Dept 2015 - 2016, CS Interim Chair 2015 - 2016
• Specialization: Mathematics, Database

Rosemary Salter (2015 - Present) Ph.D., Cornell University

• Lecturer of Computer Science
• Years at: CWU 2015 - Present, CS Dept  2015 - Present 

Donald Davendra (2015 - Present) Ph.D., Tomas Bata University, Czech Republic

• Professor of Computer Science, CS Chairman (2019 - 2021)
• Years at: CWU 2015 - Present, CS Dept  2015 - Present, CS Chair 2019 - 2021
• Specialization: Optimization, Evolutionary Algorithms, Manufacturing Systems, Chaos Control, Data Analytics

Fabio Guerinoni (2015 - 2017) Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

• Lecturer of Computer Science - Left CWU
• Years at: CWU 2015 - 2017, CS Dept  2015 - 2017
• Specialization: 

George Popescu (2015 - 2016) Ph.D., Rutgers University

• Lecturer of Computer Science - Left CWU
• Years at: CWU 2015 - 2016, CS Dept  2015 - 2016

Szilárd VAJDA (2015 - Present) Ph.D., Henri Poincaré University, France

• Assistant Professor of Computer Science
• Years at: CWU 2015 - Present, CS Dept  2015 - Present
• Specialization: Machine Learning, Medical Image Processing, Document Analysis, Data Analytics

Christos Graikos (2016 - 2018)

• Professor of Computer Science - Left CWU
• Years at: CWU 2016 - 2018, CS Dept  2016 - 2018, CS Chair 2016 - 2018
• Specialization: Image/Video Processing, Analysis, Compression and Transmission

Adriano Cavalcanti (2017 - Present) Ph.D., Monash University, Australia

• Assistant Professor of Computer Science
• Years at: CWU 2017 - Present, CS Dept 2017 - Present
• Specialization: Biomedical Computing, Mobile Technology, Robotics/Nanorobotics, Computer Graphics

Arne Leitert (2017 - Present) Ph.D., Kent State University, Ohio 

• Assistant Professor of Computer Science
• Years at: CWU 2017 - Present, CS Dept 2017 - Present
• Specialization: Algorithmic Graph Theory, Data Structures and Algorithms, Large Scale Network Analysis

Michael Harrod (2018 - 2019) M.A., B.A., California State University, San Marcos; Ph.D., University of California, Riverside 

• Associate Dean, College of the Sciences
• Years at: CWU 2008 - Present, CS Dept 2018 - 2019, CS Interim Chair 2018 - 2019

Dmytro Dovhalets (2018 - Present) B.S., Central Washington University; M.S., Central Washington University

• Lecturer of Computer Science
• Years at: CWU 2018 - Present, CS Dept 2018 - Present

Douglas McKinley (2019 - Present) M.S., Oregon State University

• Lecturer of Computer Science
• Years at: CWU 2019 - Present, CS Dept 2019 - Present

Martha Kurtz (1995 - Present) B.S., Northern Arizona University; M.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison; Ph.D., Arizona State University 

• Associate Dean, College of the Sciences
• Years at: CWU 1995 - Present, CS Dept 2020 - Present, CS Interim Chair 2020 - Present