Since Loyola’s computer science program became a free-standing department 25 years ago, the world of computers has undergone a drastic transformation.

At that time, students took turns using terminals to access two computers known as VAXes (Virtual Address eXtension), operated line printers with rolls of large, green bar paper, and wrote their own program to send instant messages from computer to computer.

The academic discipline has evolved with the changes in technology.

“The hardware and software environments of computer science have certainly changed dramatically, and there’s so much more bang for your buck in what students are able to do now,” said Roberta Sabin, Ph.D., professor of computer science, who arrived at Loyola in 1986.

Unlike many institutions, where the computer science department began as part of the mathematics department, Loyola’s program was developed by engineering and physics faculty.

Over the years, the department has attracted numerous grants as faculty members have excelled in scholarship and published extensively. Along the way, the department has forged great technological advances for the university as a whole.

“We were the first to have a local area network and the first to get an Internet domain for the campus. We had the first Web page, and we were the first to have high-tech classrooms,” said Roger Eastman, Ph.D., chair and associate professor of computer science. “We’re proud of the innovations we’ve brought to campus.”

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