Artificial intelligence set to emerge at TMU – by Adam Brewer

The Master’s University has seen many changes recently. Buildings have been upgraded, hangout spots have been created and more is still to come. There have been so many changes to the campus itself that some big events have slipped under the radar of many students.

Ever since professor David Crater became the head of the department of engineering and computer science (ECS), a lot has been happening. Many students are aware of the Theotech conference that the department is hosting, but that is only the beginning. Among the changes, there have been three new Ph.D  faculty hired in the past year, a new mechanical engineering building in the works and a new artificial intelligence emphasis for computer science majors.

According to Crater, “This is going to be a serious world class emphasis in artificial intelligence.” Students will be prepared for life after college, in whatever path they choose. Some may decide to continue into a master’s degree program in AI, others may choose from any number of top companies like Google or Amazon. Graduates may even find themselves working on AI programs for space exploration.

The growth of the program on campus is a direct response to the growth of the AI field itself, which is constantly creating new jobs for hungry graduates.

The emphasis is made up of four new classes on top of the core requirements and will be taught by Crater, Dr. John Eickemeyer and Dr. Monica Vroman,  a new faculty member. These courses will give students “exposure to the latest and the greatest developments in computer vision, computer language processing and machine learning,” Crater said.

Because the emphasis is made up of only four extra classes, computer science students who are as close as a semester away from graduation could likely transfer in to complete their degree.

Students who want to learn more about the field of AI, especially in how it relates to theology, can attend the upcoming Theotech conference on Oct. 30. Faculty from the ECS department, TMU interim president, Dr. Abner Chou and TMU chancellor, Dr. John MacArthur will speak.