Computer Science
Welcome to the Department of Computer Science
In the Department of Computer Science at Tulane we emphasize both core computer science and its applications to related areas in the sciences and engineering, the health and social sciences, and the humanities. Our goal is for our faculty and students to be recognized nationally and internationally for their interdisciplinary research, and we want to train the next generation of computer scientists who work at the interface of computer science and other disciplines.
Students who have completed our undergraduate coordinate major have found jobs in computer science and related areas, and several are pursuing PhD degrees at leading departments. Our students and alumni have won awards including best paper awards and Tulane's Peery Medal, as well as fellowships including Facebook and Google PhD Fellowships and a postdoctoral CI Fellowship from the Computing Research Association.
Our faculty conduct cutting edge research in a variety of disciplines including algorithms, artificial intelligence, computational biology, computer science education, computational geometry and topology, computer vision, data science and large data processing, domain theory and semantics of programming languages, game theory, image processing, machine learning, natural language processing, networking, cloud computing optimization, privacy and security, and scientific visualization. Our research is nationally and internationally recognized, and is funded from agencies such as NSF, NIH, DARPA, and DoD.
Our department continues to grow and we anticipate hiring several faculty members over the coming years. Please check our open positions page frequently for updates.
We welcome inquiries - please email me at lpeng3@tulane.edu with your questions and comments.
Lu Peng, Interim Chair
From the Diamond to Discovery
Marc Théberge originally came to Tulane University to play baseball. A shoulder injury in his first year changed that. What followed was a path that took him from the School of Science and Engineering to the National Institutes of Health, and eventually to a doctoral program that spans two continents.
From New Orleans to the Arctic: How Tulane Alum Kobi Jones is Powering the Future of Cold-Weather Technology
Kobi Jones graduated from Tulane University's School of Science and Engineering in 2020 with a degree in chemical engineering. Four years later, he is a manufacturing engineer at South 8 Technologies, a San Diego-based startup developing battery electrolyte technology designed for extreme cold-weather applications. His customers include the United States Army, defense contractors, and research partners working on the next generation of soldier power and unmanned aerial systems.
At the Speed of Light: Tulane Team Advances Optical AI
In a field dominated by ever-larger GPUs and rising energy demands, a team of researchers is looking in a different direction. Instead of electrons, they are using light.
In a new study published in Machine Learning: Science and Technology, researchers Manon P. Bart, a recent Tulane PhD graduate, along with Nick Sparks and Ryan T. Glasser, introduce a method that dramatically improves how optical neural networks are trained, bringing this emerging technology closer to real-world use.
The Art of Translation: Jill Love’s Journey From the Lab to the Stage
High in the rugged peaks of Sierra Nevada rests the Mimulus laciniatus—the cutleaf monkeyflower. To a casual hiker, these flowers are merely a part of the scenery; to Jill Love, Ph.D. in Tulane University’s Ferris Lab, they are a living puzzle. Her research sits at the intersection of evolutionary ecology and climate change, exploring a fundamental question: how do plants survive in a world where the rules are constantly shifting?
Ten from Tulane SSE Earn NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Recognition
Ten students and alumni connected to the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering have been recognized through the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, one of the nation’s most competitive honors for emerging researchers in science and engineering.
From Family Legacy to Physician-Scientist: Ben VanDerHeyden's Path at Tulane SSE
Ben VanDerHeyden has a photograph of himself walking around Tulane's campus at 10 years old. Both of his parents are School of Science and Engineering alumni, and they were married at Rogers Memorial Chapel. The university was always part of his story. What he could not have known back then was the specific shape that story would take: four years of undergraduate research, a honors thesis on DNA replication and cancer, and now a place in Tulane's MD/PhD program, where he will train to become a physician-scientist.
From New Hampshire to the Mississippi Delta, Water Professionals Graduate from Tulane’s River-Coastal Masters Program
Across the United States, engineers and scientists are working every day to understand and manage the rivers that shape communities, economies, and ecosystems.
A harbor dredging expert in New Hampshire. An infrastructure engineer in Arkansas. A hydrologist studying the Mississippi River in New Orleans. A river stabilization leader designing bank protection along one of the largest river systems in the world.
Each of them works in a different place, tackling different water challenges. Yet they all share one classroom at Tulane University.
Tulane Engineers Mark Transition Into the Profession at Annual Ring Ceremony
Tulane’s School of Science and Engineering celebrated the next generation of engineers during the 2026 Order of the Engineer ceremony, held May 13 in Paul Hall. The event brought together students, faculty, family members, alumni, and engineering leaders to recognize graduating students as they formally entered the profession.
"We Can Do Hard Things": How Tulane Helped Shape Mari Domingo's Mission to Advance Women's Health
When Mari Domingo enrolled at Tulane University's School of Science and Engineering in 2020, she already knew exactly what she was there to do. Fresh from an undergraduate research experience at Oregon State University that had opened her eyes to how little medicine understood about female reproductive health, she made herself a promise before even submitting her applications.
"I'm not going to grad school if I'm not going to study women's health," she said.
