Skip to main content
Intellect

Parris K. Egbert named chair of BYU Computer Science Department

Parris K. Egbert has been appointed chair of the Brigham Young University Computer Science Department effective June 1, 2008. Egbert replaces Tony R. Martinez who has served as chair of the department the past nine years.

In addition, Christophe Giraud-Carrier has been appointed as the associate chair of the department. Giraud-Carrier is an associate professor and coordinator of the Data Mining Laboratory in the Department of Computer Science at BYU.

Egbert received bachelor degrees in computer science and mathematics from Utah State University in 1986. He then attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he completed his master’s and doctoral degrees (1991 and 1992) in computer science. Upon completion of his doctorate, he joined the BYU computer science faculty.

He is the director of the 3D Computer Graphics Lab in the Computer Science Department at, which is currently conducting research in several areas related to interactive 3D graphics and virtual environments. This work has been published in SIGGRAPH, CVPR, Transactions on Graphics, Computational Intelligence, and other journals and conferences. He is also a member of the executive committee for the Center for Animation at BYU.

Prior to joining BYU, Giraud-Carrier was senior manager at ELCA, a Swiss IT services company, where his responsibilities included the capitalization of data mining expertise, responses to tenders and the management of various projects for companies, local governments and NGOs.

Prior to this, he was a senior lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Bristol, where he founded and led the Machine Learning Research Group. Giraud-Carrier received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in computer science at BYU in 1991, 1993 and 1994, respectively.

For more information, contact Lynn D. Patton at (801) 422-4022.

Writer: Lynn D. Patten

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Want to thrive in your 30s? BYU study says education and service in your 20s are key

July 16, 2025
New BYU research shows that hitting the books and helping others in your 20s leads to a happier, more regret-free life in your 30s.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Wildflowers not wildfires: How BYU and Provo City are helping to restore Rock Canyon Trailhead

July 10, 2025
At Rock Canyon Trailhead in Provo, Utah, BYU researchers are fighting fires with flowers. By replacing a problematic weed called cheatgrass with wildflowers, students and faculty are working to protect and restore one of Provo’s most popular hiking spots.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Wildfires in residential areas are on the rise; why hydrants and the water system behind them were never meant to stop those fires

July 01, 2025
BYU professor Rob Sowby teaches and studies environmental engineering, urban water infrastructure and sustainability. He has particular expertise in the planning, design, construction and operation of public water systems. That expertise has been increasingly important (and regularly sought out) in the wake of apocalyptic wildfires that have taxed those public water systems.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=