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About

CMS is an academic department of the Engineering and Applied Science division, located in the spectacular Annenberg Center for Information Science and Technology on the campus of the California Institute of Technology—a world-renowned private university widely acknowledged to be among the best universities in the world despite its notably smaller size compared to peer institutions.

Consistently ranked among the top programs in the US, our department is active in many areas of Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Communication & Networks, and Control & Systems, and is engaged in a broad range of interdisciplinary initiatives: our research projects frequently involve connections with other disciplines such as Applied Physics, Bioengineering, Biology, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geology and Planetary Sciences, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, and Physics.

The mission of Computing + Mathematical Sciences (CMS) at Caltech is to address the most challenging and fundamental problems in the science and technology of computation and information, while providing a first-rate education for future scientists and engineers.

To this end, we work to:

  • understand information and computation as intrinsic components of a broad array of natural and engineered systems
  • tackle challenging and fundamental problems with the potential for long-term and real-world impact
  • develop underlying theory
  • nurture collaboration between traditionally separate disciplines
  • educate a generation of scientists capable of making deep contributions in diverse fields.

Forward Thinking

CMS was founded on the premise that current challenges in computing and mathematical modeling require moving beyond the limits imposed by scientific specialization. The department provides a singularly stimulating and interdisciplinary research and teaching environment, especially attractive to faculty and students interested in exploring the mathematical and algorithmic foundations of information and computation in today's and tomorrow's world. CMS cuts across the traditional discipline boundaries, covering computer science, applied mathematics, communication and networks, control and dynamical systems, and computational science-to name a few. We benefit from close ties with the Electrical Engineering (EE) department under the Information Science & Technology umbrella, and from the profoundly interdisciplinary culture of Caltech as a whole.