Harvard has a world class faculty in Computer Science whose research interests cover practically all areas of computer science with a particular emphasis on research that spans the boundaries of conventional research areas. From ground-breaking work in provably secure cryptography to developments at the interface of economics and computer science to discoveries in VLSI, Harvard Computer Science has it all.

The last century was about technology -- developing it and pushing it on a tolerant public. While the need for continued developments in fundamental technology remains, a significant challenge for the next century is weaving the technology into the fabric of society in genuinely helpful ways. For instance, while the Internet has simplified and improved our lives in some ways, it has also introduced a mass of new problems including spam, viruses/worms, digital copyrights, identity theft, electronic fraud, electronic warfare, etc. These problems will not be solved by technology alone, though science and technology are certainly crucial components of any solution. Educators, policy makers, business people, and lawyers will all have important roles in tackling these problems. Crucial to this is a need for leaders who understand what technology can and can't do. Those leaders will come from institutions such as Harvard.