Computers have transformed our society in many ways, from applications that enable us to video conference across the globe, to the ability to access and share information via the Internet, to the way drugs are designed using computer applications for simulation and modelling. Computer Systems have provided the software foundations upon which these applications run. As we push the limits of what can be done, these foundations are also strained and pushed to their limits. This major focuses on the computer systems that provide this critical resource. The major explores topics such as operating systems, networks, concurrency, electronics, embedded systems, and high performance computing.

Depending on the chosen courses, students will learn about:

• concurrency and the design and implementation of concurrent programs
• synchronisation approaches
• operating system design
• memory management; process scheduling
• files systems
• network layers and protocols including datalink, network, and transport layer protocols and their performance
• modelling and simulation and the limitations and design of such systems
• numerical calculation
• developing algorithms and implementing code that yields good performance on high-performance architectures
• designing the electronic circuits that form the building block of modern computers
• designing complex digital systems such as Finite State Machines
• programming microprocessors and FPGAs..