The Center for Algorithms and Interactive Scientific Software or CAISS for short, is one of the research centers of the City College of New York. It grew out of work on a graphically driven, easy to use, software package called MAGNUS, designed to answer questions about and to carry out experiments with finitely presented groups. This work has led to the development of a general platform which can house a host of zero learning curve software packages. The first of these packages, one for statistics called caiss-stat, is now nearing completion. This is only one of the many projects being undertaken by CAISS which include continued work on MAGNUS, new cryptographic protocols to ensure electronic security, work on a universal password, all of which make use of the complexity of finitely presented groups. In addition CAISS is developing new games or puzzles, based on group theory. The facilities of CAISS include a 132 node Beowulf cluster which is being used for work in computational biology and group theory.

CAISS hosts two conferences on topics of interest to researchers in a range of disciplines, tailored to as wide an audience as possible. CAISS now manages the New York Group Theory Cooperative which organizes New York Group Theory Seminar, held at the Graduate Center of CUNY and is host to and participates in a number of research projects world wide. The New York Group Theory Seminar is probably the longest continuously running research seminar in New York. It has been held for more than 50 years. There are usually 20 seminars every academic year.

CAISS supports or has supported, a number of additional open source projects besides MAGNUS, in particular the computational algebra package AXIOM. In addition CAISS is involved in fostering research for gifted high school students, mentoring undergraduates, masters and doctoral students in mathematics and computer science.

Support for CAISS has been provided by the National Science Foundation, the deans of Science and Engineering and the Provost of the City College of New York and the Chancellor of the City University of New York.