Who says computer science isn't sexy enough to grab TV viewers? Well, that was certainly not true in May for at least one program produced by the CSE department in collaboration with UCSD-TV. In the first month following the April premiere of "Decoding the Microbiome", the latest program in CSE's Computing Primetime series, the program chalked up more than 142,000 views on the TV network's website alone. That does not include viewers who watched the program on TV via cable, the DISH satellite network, or the old-fashioned way -- over-the-air. For a sense of what that number means, the network says that the microbiome program featuring a conversation between CSE professors Larry Smarr and Rob Knight (whose has appointments in both CSE and Pediatrics) was the #2 most-watched program on UCSD-TV's web portal in May.
CSE and UCSD-TV are now building a dedicated web presence, The Computer Science Channel, to showcase videos produced by the department as well as from other University of California campuses. The tentative date for the launch of The Computer Science Channel is September 1.