Informatics (academic field)

Informatics, or more broadly referred to as computer science, is the science of information and computer information systems. As an academic field it involves the practice of information processing, and the engineering of information systems. The field considers the interaction between humans and information alongside the construction of interfaces, organisations, technologies and systems. It also develops its own conceptual and theoretical foundations and utilizes foundations developed in other fields. As such, the field of informatics has great breadth and encompasses many individual specializations, including disciplines of computer science, information systems, information technology and statistics. Since the advent of computers, individuals and organizations increasingly process information digitally. This has led to the study of informatics with computational, mathematical, biological, cognitive and social aspects, including study of the social impact of information technologies.

In 1956 the German computer scientist Karl Steinbuch coined the word Informatik by publishing a paper called Informatik: Automatische Informationsverarbeitung ("Informatics: Automatic Information Processing"). The English term Informatics is sometimes understood as meaning the same as computer science. The German word Informatik is usually translated to English as computer science.

The French term informatique was coined in 1962 by Philippe Dreyfus together with various translations—informatics (English), also proposed independently and simultaneously by Walter F. Bauer and associates who co-founded Informatics Inc., and informatica (Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Portuguese, Dutch), referring to the application of computers to store and process information.

...
Wikipedia