Susanne E. Hambrusch

Susanne E. Hambrusch is a Professor of Computer Science at Purdue University. She holds a Diplom Ingenieur from the Technical University of Vienna (1977) and a Ph.D. from Penn State (1982). Her academic career at Purdue includes serving as Department Head (2002-07) and Interim Head (2018-20). She held visiting appointments at the Technical University of Graz, Austria, and the International Computer Science Institute at UC Berkeley. From 2010-2013, she directed the Computing and Communication Foundations Division at NSF.

• Education
  • Diplom Ingenieur, Technical University of Vienna (1977)
  • Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University (1982)

Research Interests span database systems, algorithms, computational thinking, and computer science education. She has led projects like Science Education in Computational Thinking (SECANT), Computer Science for Education (CS4EDU), and Professional Development for CS Teachers. Her work focuses on query processing, uncertain data management, and expanding computing education access.

Leadership Roles include co-chairing the 2018 National Academies report on CS enrollment growth and founding the Computing Research Association’s Education Committee (CRA-E). She served on CRA’s Board of Directors (2008-10, 2014-20), as Vice Chair (2015-19), and co-edits CACM’s Viewpoint columns. She also helped establish CRA-E’s Faculty Mentoring Program and Research Highlight Series.

Scientific Awards include ACM Fellowship, Purdue’s Book of Great Teachers, Pennsylvania State University’s Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award, TechPoint Mira Education Award, Purdue’s College of Science Team Award, and the Violet Haas Award for advancing women in academia.

Advising and Grants are reflected in her leadership of educational initiatives like PD4CS and CSEdGrad, alongside NSF funding through her directorship role. She has contributed to redesigning CACM’s Viewpoint columns to highlight emerging trends in computing research.