tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16561963423436932532024-03-08T17:15:31.360-08:00Fantastic Lectures in Computer ScienceAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-86589615139582152252012-03-09T12:43:00.002-08:002012-03-09T12:46:14.839-08:00Mar 19, 2012: Anany Levitin at VU<a href="http://www.csc.villanova.edu/~levitin/levitin.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 148px; height: 180px;" src="http://www.csc.villanova.edu/~levitin/levitin.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); text-align: center; "><span style="font-size: 24pt; ">Anany Levitin<br /></span><span style="font-size: 20pt; ">Professor of Computing Sciences<br />Villanova University<br /></span></p><h1 align="center" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); margin-top: 12pt; border-top-width: medium; border-right-width: medium; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; "><span style="font-size: 22pt; ">Algorithmic Puzzles</span></h1><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); margin-top: 5pt; margin-right: 0.6in; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify; "><b>Abstract:</b> While many think of algorithms as specific to Computer Science, at its core algorithmic thinking is the use of analytical logic to solve problems by a sequence of well-defined steps. This logic extends far beyond the realm of computer science and into the wide and entertaining world of puzzles. In this talk, Prof. Levitin will present some of the unique and clever puzzles from "Algorithmic Puzzles," a recently published book he co-authored with Maria Levitin. This engaging book evokes many classic brainteasers as well as newer examples from job interviews with major corporations to show readers how to apply analytical thinking to solve puzzles requiring well-defined procedures.</p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); margin-top: 5pt; margin-right: 0.6in; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify; "><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; ">About the speaker</span></b></p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); margin-top: 5pt; margin-right: 0.6in; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 10pt; "><big>Anany Levitin is a professor of Computing Sciences at Villanova University. He is the author of a popular textbook on design and analysis of algorithms, which has been translated into Chinese, Greek, Indonesian, Korean, and Russian. He has also published papers on mathematical optimization theory, software engineering, data management, algorithm design, and computer science education.</big><br /><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 1.25in; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); "><span style="font-size: 18pt; ">Date: Monday, March 19, 2012<br />Time: 4:30 p.m.<br />Location: Mendel Science Center 101</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 70.2pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.5in; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); text-align: center; "><span style="font-size: 18pt; "> </span>Refreshments and conversation will be shared immediately after the colloquium in MSC 159. See <a href="http://csc.villanova.edu/events/colloquia" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); ">http://csc.villanova.edu/<wbr>events/colloquia</a> for more information.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-89241029378492025102011-11-14T07:02:00.000-08:002011-11-14T07:08:16.849-08:00Nov 17: Matt Taylor at Bryn Mawr<a href="http://www.cs.lafayette.edu/~taylorm/taylorm_small.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 300px;" src="http://www.cs.lafayette.edu/~taylorm/taylorm_small.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Help an Agent Out: Learning From the Environment and Humans</span></b></div><div><a href="http://www.cs.lafayette.edu/~taylorm/">Matthew E. Taylor</a>, Lafayette College</div><div><br /></div><div>Thursday, November 17th, 2011 from 4:00-5:00pm</div><div>Park 243 (Physics Lecture Hall), Bryn Mawr College</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Abstract</div><div>---------------------------</div><div>Significant advances have been made in autonomous learning, from game playing to training a robot to walk to autonomous helicopter flight. However, we have little understanding about how to best teach such agents. This talk will first present background on reinforcement learning, a paradigm where virtual and robotic agents can autonomously learn to act in complex environments. We will then discuss a selection of recent work towards integrating autonomous learning with advice from other agents or even humans.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Speaker Biography</div><div>---------------------------</div><div>Matthew E. Taylor graduated magna cum laude with a double major in computer science and physics from Amherst College in 2001. After working for two years as a software developer, he began his Ph.D. with a MCD fellowship from the College of Natural Sciences. He received his doctorate from the Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin in the summer of 2008, supervised by Peter Stone. Matt recently completed a two year postdoctoral research position at the University of Southern California with Milind Tambe and is now an assistant professor at Lafayette College in the computer science department. His current research interests include intelligent agents, multi-agent systems, reinforcement learning, and transfer learning.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-88368960360516695082011-11-12T08:33:00.000-08:002011-11-15T10:06:58.164-08:00Nov 21, 2011: Steve Castellotti at Villanova<a href="http://m4.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrink_100_100/p/1/000/0a0/138/3a56477.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://m4.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrink_100_100/p/1/000/0a0/138/3a56477.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://csc.villanova.edu/colloquia/view/703">The Brain Computer Interface</a></span></b></div><div><b>Steve Castellotti, <a href="http://brainstorms.puzzlebox.info/index.php">Puzzlebox</a>, LLC</b></div><div><div>Monday, November 21, 2011 at 04:30 PM</div><div>Mendel Science Center 101</div></div><div>Villanova University</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Abstract</i>:</div><div>Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology has advanced rapidly in recent years, moving out of research labs and into the medical field and consumer space. Applications range from helping the injured and disabled communicate, navigate, and rehabilitate to law enforcement, controlling robots, toys, and playing video games. This presentation will cover basic principles behind the science involved through live demonstrations and examples of the current state of the art. Potential future uses, practical limitations, and various controversies will also be discussed. Following a question and answer session attendees will have an opportunity to try out a variety of BCI mechanisms for themselves first-hand.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-63370013948177828562011-04-04T08:39:00.001-07:002011-04-04T08:39:44.106-07:00Apr 8: Gary McGraw @ Swarthmore<a href="http://www.cigital.com/%7Egem/images/pers.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 200px;" src="http://www.cigital.com/%7Egem/images/pers.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Attack Trends or Why Software Security</span><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.cigital.com/%7Egem/">Gary McGraw</a>, Cigital<br />Friday, April 8, 4:30pm<br />Science Center, Room 199, Swarthmore College<br /><br />In some sense, software is the lifeblood of most modern complex systems. Software can fail, but worse yet, software can be intentionally made to fail by attackers. Instead of defending our<br />systems by isolating them from the network (an impossible task), we must build security in from the beginning. Both social networking and mobile device security provide important security lessons that can inform a reasoned approach. Modern malicious code, including the Zeus Trojan, Stuxnet, and other persistent web threats, is as sophisticated as it is insidious. And future trends in attacks are even more alarming, leveraging rootkits, multi-core attacks, and hard-to-diagnose timing issues. Our sole recourse is software security. The good news is that we actually know what to do to build security in.<br /><br />BIO<br /><br />Gary McGraw is the CTO of Cigital, Inc., a software security consulting firm with headquarters in the Washington, D.C. area. He is a recognized authority on software security and the author of eight best selling books on this topic. His titles include Java Security, Building Secure Software, Exploiting Software, Software Security, and Exploiting Online Games; and he is editor of the Addison-Wesley Software Security series. Dr. McGraw has also written over 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications, authors a monthly security column for informIT, and is frequently quoted in the press. Besides serving as a strategic counselor for top business and IT executives, Gary is on the Advisory Boards of Fortify Software (acquired by HP), Invincea, and Raven White. His dual PhD is in Cognitive Science and Computer Science from Indiana University where he serves on the Dean's Advisory Council for the School of Informatics. Gary served on the IEEE Computer Society Board of Governors and produces the monthly Silver Bullet Security Podcast for IEEE Security & Privacy magazine (syndicated by informIT).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-71334863411455010792011-03-21T12:21:00.000-07:002011-03-21T12:29:39.338-07:00Mar 23: Jennifer Neville at Bryn Mawr<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/neville/images/neville.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 281px;" src="http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/neville/images/neville.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">The Computer Science Department at Bryn Mawr College invites you to a special event:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Invited Talk on Machine Learning</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Modeling and Mining Social Networks</span></span><br />Jennifer Neville, Assistant Professor, Purdue University<br />Wednesday, March 23, 2011 from 4:00-5:00 pm<br />Park 243 (Physics Lecture Hall), Bryn Mawr College<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Abstract:</span><br />In the past decade, we have witnessed an explosive growth in the use of the Web and online communities. This has lead to increased interest in mining the resulting social network data, both to advance understanding of human behavior and to exploit the underlying social processes for decision-making. In complex network domains (e.g., communication, friendship, and organizational networks), the relationships are a critical source of information that identify potential statistical dependencies among individuals. These dependencies among linked entities present an opportunity to improve predictions about the properties of individuals, as birds of a feather do indeed flock together. For example, when deciding how to market a product to people in Facebook or LinkedIn, it may be helpful to consider whether a person's friends are likely to purchase/adopt the product.<br /><br />In this talk, to give an overview of the types of statistical learning and inference challenges in network domains, I will present work from three different, yet related, areas of social network mining. First, I will discuss the issue of how to sample a representative subgraph from a large complex network in order to efficiently study domain characteristics and support development of network systems. Next, I will describe a machine learning method to automatically infer relationship strength (e.g., strong vs. weak) from social activity patterns in online social networks, where the goal is to identify influential relationships and prune away spurious links. Finally, I will discuss how to differentiate the behavioral effects of social influence and homophily in networks changing over time and outline a novel statistical test to determine which effects are significant.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Bio:</span><br />Jennifer Neville is an assistant professor at Purdue University with a joint appointment in the Departments of Computer Science and Statistics. She received her PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2006. She received a DARPA IPTO Young Investigator Award in 2003 and was selected as a member of the DARPA Computer Science Study Group in 2007. In 2008, she was chosen by IEEE as one of "AI's 10 to watch." Her research focuses on developing data mining and machine learning techniques for relational domains, including citation analysis, fraud detection, and social network analysis.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-74452044176954730192011-01-14T17:12:00.000-08:002011-01-14T17:16:27.684-08:00Hal Berghel at Bryn Mawr<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://informatics.unlv.edu/images/contacts/sm/Berghel_sm.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 70px; height: 90px;" src="http://informatics.unlv.edu/images/contacts/sm/Berghel_sm.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Talk: Secure Credentialing<br />Speaker: Hal Berghel, UNLV<br />Date: Friday, January 21, 2011, 3:00pm<br />Location: Park Science Building, Bryn Mawr College<br /><br />We discuss several new methods for the creation of secure credentials, including some of those for which the speaker holds patents. These methods include those that work with conventional identification media (mag stripe cards, smart cards, RFID cards, etc.) as well as newer applications that use digital displays (e.g., on iPhones and PDAs). These methods will be presented in the context of a variety of business, government, law enforcement and military applications. Our methods integrate biometrics (fingerprint, iris scan, bone scan, capillary/palm scan, photographic images, etc.) to provide at least four points of authentication. Industry standard encryption (e.g., AES and Blowfish) is added in a variety of ways to provide security. The result is a self-validating credential that operates on a mobile platform with equipment that may be found in most office equipment retail stores. One of our systems, CardSleuth, will be demonstrated. Although CardSleuth takes advantage with elecrical power and network access, it requires neither for full functionality. The software runs on any Windows computer, PDA, phone, etc. for both the generation and recognition, as well as authentication and validation of IDs. The robustness of these methods are compared with recent government efforts such as RealID and the WHTI Pass Card.<br /><br />Hal Berghel is currently Professor and Director of the School of Informatics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he has previously served as Director of the School of Computer Science and Associate Dean of the College of Engineering. He is also the founding Director of both the Center for CyberSecurity Research, and the Identity Theft and Financial Fraud Research and Operations Center. His research interests are both catholic and eclectic, ranging from logic programming and expert systems, relational database design, algorithms for non-resolution based inferencing, approximate string matching, digital watermarking and steganography, and digital security (including both computer and network forensics), For the past decade he has applied his work in digital security to law enforcement, particularly with respect to digital crime, cyberterrorism, and information warfare. His research has been supported by both industry and government for over thirty years. His current in secure credentialling technology is funded by the Department of Justice. In addition to his academic positions, Berghel is also a popular columnist, author, frequent, talk show guest, inventor, and keynote speaker. For nearly fifteen years he wrote the popular Digital Village column for the Communications of the ACM.<br /><br />Berghel is a Fellow of both the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Association for Computing Machinery, and serves both societies as a Distinguished Lecturer. He has received the ACM Outstanding Lecturer of the Year Award four times and was recognized for Lifetime Achievement in 2004. He has also received both the ACM Outstanding Contribution and Distinguished Service awards. He is also the founder and owner of Berghel.Net, a consultancy serving business and industry, and co-owner of BC Innovations Management, a startup company in IP and DRM.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-19885845591743253782010-04-23T13:44:00.000-07:002010-04-23T13:47:35.548-07:00Extra Apr 29: Shafi Goldwasser @ Drexel<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/programs/scientific/06-07/crypto/coxeter/goldwasser.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/programs/scientific/06-07/crypto/coxeter/goldwasser.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Drexel University will be hosting a symposium in honor of Shafi Goldwasser who is this year's recipient of the Franklin Institute Award in Computer and Cognitive Science (<a href="http://www.fi.edu/franklinawards" target="_blank">www.fi.edu/franklinawards</a>). The theme of the symposium will be theoretical CS with applications to cryptography (Shafi is the co-inventor of zero knowledge proofs and the complexity class IP along with many other significant results in crypto and complexity theory). The symposium will be held on Thur. April 29 from 10-2 and will feature, in addition to Shafi talks by Silvio Micali and Avi Wigderson, two of her collaborators and major contributors to the field themselves.<br /><br />More information about this event is available at <a href="http://www.cs.drexel.edu/node/15292" target="_blank">www.cs.drexel.edu/node/15292</a><br /><br />I hope you will be able to attend, but in the case that you are unable to attend, we will be recording the lectures. Please invite your colleagues who might be interested in the symposium.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-60032592447768009462010-03-25T10:17:00.000-07:002010-03-26T13:49:33.727-07:00April 19, 2010: Susan Rodger of Duke University<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cs.duke.edu/%7Erodger/photos/rodger-3880-2.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 120px; height: 175px;" src="http://www.cs.duke.edu/%7Erodger/photos/rodger-3880-2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Computer Science Concepts Come Alive</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.cs.duke.edu/%7Erodger/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Susan Rodger</span></a><br /><a href="http://cs.duke.edu/">Department of Computer Science</a><br /><a href="http://www.duke.edu/">Duke University</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Monday, April 19, 2010</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4:30 pm (Tea at 4 pm in KINSC H208)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Koshland INSC H109</span><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.haverford.edu/visiting/campusmap.php">Directions and Map</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Abstract</span><br /><br />We describe how to make computer science concepts come alive through visualization and interaction in several computer science courses from introductory computer science to theoretical computer science. We discuss three software tools. JAWAA, a scripting language, aids in creating animations of algorithms and data structures. JFLAP, a tool for automata and grammars, allows for experimentation with theoretical concepts. Alice, a virtual worlds programming environment, visualizes programming concepts in 3D that are accessible for students as young as middle school. We provide examples of how such tools aid students in understanding concepts.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Biography</span><br /><br />Susan Rodger is a Professor of the Practice in the Computer Science Department at Duke University. She received her PhD in computer science from Purdue University. Rodger's research interests include interactive and visual software and computer science education. She developed JFLAP, a tool for experimenting with automata theory. JFLAP is used around the world in automata theory courses, compiler courses, and discrete math courses. Rodger developed JAWAA, a scripting language for algorithm animation over the web. She has taught Alice to students from college level to middle school level, and has run Alice workshops for K-12 teachers. She was a finalist in the 2007 NEEDS Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware (for JFLAP) and received an ACM Distinguished Educator award in 2006.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-53792138307767052162010-03-03T08:03:00.000-08:002010-03-03T12:08:05.782-08:00Mar 18: David Clark at Swarthmore<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://eecsfacweb.mit.edu/images/faculty/clark.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://eecsfacweb.mit.edu/images/faculty/clark.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Computer Science as Social Science: The future of the Internet</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://eecsfacweb.mit.edu/facpages/clark.html">David Clark</a>, <a href="http://www.eecs.mit.edu/">EECS</a>, <a href="http://web.mit.edu/">MIT</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday, March 18</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4:15pm in SCI 101</span><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.cs.swarthmore.edu/">Swarthmore College</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> | </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.swarthmore.edu/visitordash/dash_visitors.php">Map and Directions</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Abstract<br /></span>A lesson I have learned in my 35 years of working on the Internet is that the technologists are not in charge, and have not been in charge for at least the last 15 or 20 of those years. The forces that will shape the future of the Internet primarily derive from the deep social, economic and cultural embedding of the Internet. Technology will be successful if it is responsive to these pressures. This fact is both exciting and perhaps alarming--it is exciting to be working on a system that has had so much impact on the world, but Computer Scientists are not normally trained to think about these issues, and to derive from these issues what technical problems we should address. I will give some examples, both past and future, that suggest methods and models we can use to link what we as technologists do to the forces in the larger world that will interact with that technology.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_D._Clark"><span style="font-style: italic;">Bio</span></a><br />David Clark is a Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, where he has worked since receiving his Ph.D. there in 1973. Since the mid 70s, Dr. Clark has been leading the development of the Internet; from 1981-1989 he acted as Chief Protocol Architect in this development, and chaired the Internet Activities Board. His current research looks at re-definition of the architectural underpinnings of the Internet, and the relation of technology and architecture to economic, societal and policy considerations. He is helping the U.S. National Science foundation organize their Future Internet Design program. Dr. Clark is past chairman of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Academies, and has contributed to a number of studies on the societal and policy impact of computer communications. He is co-director of the MIT Communications Futures Program, a project for industry collaboration and coordination along the communications value chain.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-28729200154224413052010-01-20T13:24:00.000-08:002010-01-20T13:27:31.274-08:00Feb 25, 2010: Judith Bishop of Microsoft<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/people/jbishop/judithbishopblue.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 164px; height: 190px;" src="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/people/jbishop/judithbishopblue.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Hot under the Cool - Patterns, Programming and Performance</span></span><br /><br />A Colloquium by<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Judith Bishop</span><br />Director of Computer Science in External Research, Microsoft Research<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday, February 25, 4:00-5:00pm (Tea at 3:30pm) in Room 243 Park Science Building, Bryn Mawr College</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Abstract:</span><br /><br />So much of what computer science produces is labeled as cool, that it is easy for the public to miss the real hard science that goes into getting the graphics, the communications or the devices out there into the consumer space. Yet it is the hot topics under the cool that attract the best students and the biggest grants and should be as visible to the public and to policy makers. This talk looks at research underneath user interfaces and in the quest for performance in the past decade as seen through my years as in academia, but more recently in Microsoft. Patterns and abstraction are not evident to the naked eye, but they drive reusable, safe and cost-effective software. I will examine the progress that has been made, the current research that is ongoing, and the steps that will need to be taken - technical and social - to meet the massive estimated needs of computer specialists in the future.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Bio:</span><br /><br />Judith Bishop is Director of Computer Science in External Research at Microsoft Research, based in Redmond, USA. Her goal is to foster strong links between Microsoft's research groups and top computer science departments globally, through encouraging projects, supporting courseware and conferences, and engaging directly in research. Professor Bishop has a distinguished background in academia, having been a professor most recently at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She has had visiting positions in the UK, Germany, Canada, Italy and the USA. Her expertise is in programming languages and distributed systems, with a strong practical bias and an interest in compilers and design patterns. She has over 90 publications including 15 books on programming languages that are available in six languages and read worldwide. Professor Bishop serves frequently on international editorial, program and award committees, and has received numerous awards and distinctions, in particular the IFIP Outstanding Service Award in 2009 for service to the worldwide computer science community.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-41446447692761507022009-04-07T18:47:00.000-07:002009-04-07T19:01:32.564-07:00Apr 22, 2009: James L. McClelland<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://www.stanford.edu/dept/psychology/system/files/images/McClelland.faculty+image+size.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 250px;" src="https://www.stanford.edu/dept/psychology/system/files/images/McClelland.faculty+image+size.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://csc.villanova.edu/colloquia/view/664"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Does Your Brain Use Symbols or Distributed Representations?</span></span></a><br /><div class="information"><div class="presentationHeader"> <p class="names"> <a href="http://psychology.stanford.edu/%7Ejlm/" target="_blank">Dr. James McClelland</a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.stanford.edu/" target="_blank">Center for Mind, Brain and Computation<br />Stanford University</a></p><p class="names"><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="time">Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 04:30 PM</span><span><br />Mendel Science Center 154<br /><a href="http://www.villanova.edu/">Villanova University</a><br /><a href="http://www.villanova.edu/enroll/admission/visit/maps/">Maps and Directions<br /></a></span></p> </div> <h4>Abstract</h4> <p>I will describe research on semantic cognition that relies on distributed representations instead of symbols. I will describe models that use distributed representations to explain a lot of phenomena in child development, adult cognition, and the disintegration of conceptual knowledge in a disorder called semantic dementia. Among the aspects of semantic cognition addressed are differentiation and reorganization of conceptual knowledge in development, domain and context specificity of inductive inference, semantic illusions, and conceptual grounding of knowledge from one domain in knowledge from another domain. The approach will be compared with the symbolic structured Bayesian approach taken by others.</p> </div> <h4><hr />Speaker Bio</h4> <p class="names"> <a href="http://psychology.stanford.edu/%7Ejlm/" target="_blank">Dr. James McClelland</a> <a href="http://www.stanford.edu/" target="_blank">, Stanford University</a> <a href="http://www.stanford.edu/group/mbc" target="_blank"> - Center for Mind, Brain and Computation</a> </p> <p>Jay McClelland received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1975. He served on the faculty of the University of California, San Diego, before moving to Carnegie Mellon in 1984, where he became a University Professor and held the Walter Van Dyke Bingham Chair in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience. He was a founding Co-Director of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, a joint project of Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh. He served as Co-Director until 2006. In that year he moved to Stanford University, where he is now Professor of Psychology and founding Director of the Center for Mind, Brain and Computation.</p> <p>Over his career, McClelland has contributed to both the experimental and theoretical literatures in a number of areas, most notably in the application of connectionist/parallel distributed processing models to problems in perception, cognitive development, language learning, and the neurobiology of memory. He was a co-founder with David E. Rumelhart of the Parallel Distributed Processing research group, and together with Rumelhart he led the effort leading to the publication in 1986 of the two-volume book, Parallel Distributed Processing, in which the parallel distributed processing framework was laid out and applied to a wide range of topics in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. </p> <p>McClelland and Rumelhart jointly received the 1993 Howard Crosby Warren Medal from the Society of Experimental Psychologists, the 1996 Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award (see citation) from the American Psychological Association, the 2001 Grawemeyer Prize in Psychology, and the 2002 IEEE Neural Networks Pioneer Award for this work. McClelland has served as Senior Editor of Cognitive Science, as President of the Cognitive Science Society, and as a member of the National Advisory Mental Health Council, and he is currently president-elect of the Federation of the Behavioral, Psychological, and Cognitive Sciences. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and he has received the APS William James Fellow Award for lifetime contributions to the basic science of psychology.</p> <p>McClelland currently teaches cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience and conducts research on learning, memory, conceptual development, spoken language, decision making, and semantic cognition.</p> <span class="note">Refreshments will be served in MSC 159 after the talk.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-51571800465556672012009-03-22T12:39:00.000-07:002009-03-22T12:46:05.447-07:00FLICS extra<span style="font-style: italic;">As a service to </span><span style="font-style: italic;">our friends in the Greater Delaware Valley area who appreciate a FLICS, here is a talk in Philadelphia this week -- JD</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />++<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://resource-aware.org/twiki/pub/RAP/TalkStallman/stallman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 174px; height: 128px;" src="http://resource-aware.org/twiki/pub/RAP/TalkStallman/stallman.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Copyright vs. Community</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> in the Age of Computer Networks</span><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Richard M. Stallman</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.fsf.org/">Free Software Foundation</a><br />March 25, 2009, 2-3:30pm<br />Kiva Auditorium at <a href="http://www.cs.temple.edu/">Temple University</a><br /><a href="http://www.temple.edu/cfs/dir1.html">Directions</a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Abstract</span> (<a href="http://www.cis.temple.edu/%7Eyates/colloquium_series/richard-m-stallman_abstract.pdf">PDF</a>)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-44365179567304569482009-02-16T06:49:00.000-08:002009-02-16T07:01:15.446-08:00Mar 18: Jennifer Golbeck @ Haverford<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cs.umd.edu/%7Egolbeck/images/me.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 256px;" src="http://www.cs.umd.edu/%7Egolbeck/images/me.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Computing with Social Trust: Web Algorithms, Social Networks, and</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"> Recommendations</span></span><br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.cs.umd.edu/%7Egolbeck/">Jennifer Golbeck</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></b><span><span>University of Maryland, College Park</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday March 18</span><br />4:30 pm (tea at 4:00 pm)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.haverford.edu/KINSC/">Koshland INSC</a>, Hilles 109<br /><a href="http://www.haverford.edu/">Haverford College</a><br /><a href="http://www.haverford.edu/visiting/gettinghere.php">Directions to Campus</a><br /><a href="http://www.haverford.edu/visiting/campusmap.php">Campus Map</a> (park in 45 or 53; talk in 5b)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Abstract</span><br />Web-based social networks provide a wealth of publicly accessible information about people and their relationships. The trust between people in these is particularly interesting because it can be used to improve the way users access and interact with information especially user-generated content on the web. In this talk, I will present research on the two most important problems in this space. First, I will discuss methods for computing trust between people online, relying on graph algorithms and statistical analysis of user behavior and interaction. Then, I will show how these results can be used in applications where users interact with web-based information. In particular, we will look at recommender systems and see when and how trust can improve the quality of the results.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-86868530965125769632009-01-27T12:59:00.000-08:002009-01-27T13:08:23.515-08:00Feb 6: Bernard Chazelle at Bryn Mawr<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Bernard_Chazelle.jpg/96px-Bernard_Chazelle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 96px; height: 120px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Bernard_Chazelle.jpg/96px-Bernard_Chazelle.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">What an iPod, a Flock of Birds, and Your DNA have in Common</span><br /><br />A Colloquium by <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.cs.princeton.edu/%7Echazelle/">Bernard Chazelle</a>, Princeton University<br /><br />Friday, Feb 6th, 4:00-5:00p (Tea at 3:30p) in Room 338, Park Science Building<br /><br />This is part of the Fantastic Lectures in Computer Science (FLICS) lecture series jointly sponsored by Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Swarthmore and Villanova.<br /><br />For more information on FLICS, please check out:<br /><a href="http://fantasticlecturesincomputerscience.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://<wbr>fantasticlecturesincomputersci<wbr>ence.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Abstract:</span><br />Moore's Law holds that, every 18 months, computing power doubles. Most of the wonders of the computer age can be attributed directly to Moore's Law. Alas, its days are numbered. What then? In this talk, I will argue that the years ahead will usher in the era of the "Algorithm," a notion that might prove just as disruptive as the revolution in the physical sciences was in the last century. I will discuss why algorithms are even more powerful than customarily believed but why they will not unleash their true potential until they become full-fledged scientific tools and not just problem-solvers.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Biography</span> <div id=":1bu" class="ArwC7c ckChnd"><br />Bernard Chazelle is Eugene Higgins Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University, where he has been on the faculty since 1986. He has held research and faculty positions at Carnegie-Mellon University, Brown University, Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole Normale Superieure, University of Paris, INRIA, Xerox Parc, DEC SRC, and NEC Research, where he was a Fellow for many years. He received his Ph.D in computer science from Yale University in 1980. He is the author of the book "The Discrepancy Method."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Honors</span><br />Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences<br />Member, European Academy of Sciences<br />Fellow, World Innovation Foundation<br />ACM Fellow<br />Guggenheim Fellow (1994)</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-87606654989941812492008-10-20T10:16:00.000-07:002008-10-20T10:31:47.164-07:00Eric Roberts Nov 6 at Swarthmore<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Programming and the Computer Science Curriculum: The More Things Change . . .</span></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/%7Eeroberts/"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eric Roberts</span></span></a><br />Professor of Computer Science at <a href="http://cs.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Abstract</span><br /> As colleges and universities respond to declining enrollments in computer science, a number of institutions have sought to reduce the focus on programming in the undergraduate curriculum. I believe that such an approach is misguided, not only as a strategy for attracting more students to the field, but also in terms of meeting the workforce needs of the software industry. The demand for highly productive employees with advanced software- development expertise is huge, and universities are producing far too few graduates with the necessary skills and talent. The discipline of programming, however, has changed dramatically over the last 25 years, and university curricula and pedagogical approaches have not always kept pace. In this talk, I will offer some general reflections on the nature of programming in the 21st century and propose several initiatives designed to ensure that the educational system can produce the technologically sophisticated workforce on which our economy depends.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> Thursday, November 6, 2008, 7:30 pm<br />Science Center Room 101<br /><a href="http://cs.swarthmore.edu/">Swarthmore College</a>, Swarthmore, PA USA</span><br /></div><br /><hr /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/march14/gifs/robertsaaaassr.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/march14/gifs/robertsaaaassr.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>DR. ERIC S. ROBERTS<br />Biographical Information<br /><br /><br />After receiving his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University in 1980, Eric Roberts taught at Wellesley College from 1980-85, where he chaired the Computer Science Department. From 1985-90, he was a member of the research staff at Digital Equipment Corporation's Systems Research Center in Palo Alto, California, where he conducted computer science research, focusing on programming tools for multiprocessor architectures. In September 1990, Roberts joined the Stanford faculty, where he is now Professor of Computer Science and the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.<br /><br />From 1990 to 2002 and again in 2005-06, Professor Roberts was Associate Chair and Director of Undergraduate Studies for Computer Science. In that capacity, he was the principal architect of Stanford's introductory programming sequence, which for many years held the distinction of being the largest course at Stanford. He has also written four computer science textbooks that are used at many colleges and universities throughout the world. His research focuses on computer science education, particularly for underserved communities. From 1998 to 2005, Roberts was Principal Investigator for the Bermuda Project, which developed the computer science curriculum for Bermuda's public secondary schools.<br /><br />While at Stanford, Professor Roberts has received several university- level teaching awards, including the Bing Fellowship, established "to recognize excellence in teaching and a committed interest to the teaching of undergraduates"; the Dinkelspiel Award, which recognizes "distinctive and exceptional contributions to undergraduate education"; and the Laurance and Naomi Carpenter Hoagland Prize, awarded for excellence in undergraduate teaching. In January 2002, Roberts was named one of the first eight University Fellows in Undergraduate Education, which are designed "to reward faculty who make truly outstanding contributions to Stanford's undergraduate experience."<br /><br />Professor Roberts has been active in professional organizations dedicated to computer science education. From 2005 to 2007, he served as co-chair of the Education Board of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) and was for many years on the board of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE). From 1998 to 2001, Roberts served as co-chair and principal editor for the ACM/IEEE- CS Joint Task Force on Computing Curricula 2001, which published a detailed set of curriculum guidelines in December 2001. He also chaired the ACM Java Task Force from 2004 to 2006. In 2003, Roberts received the SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education. Professor Roberts is a Fellow of the ACM and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).<br /><br />Professor Roberts has been active in several organizations seeking to promote socially responsible use of science and technology. He is past president of both Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, a public-interest organization of computer scientists and other professionals concerned about the impact of computer technology on society, and Student Pugwash USA, which encourages students to use their training in science and technology to create a better world. In 1999-2000, Roberts was the Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professor for Social Change at Swarthmore College.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656196342343693253.post-4577994860888705402008-06-03T10:46:00.000-07:002008-07-25T11:08:13.508-07:00Welcome to FLICSHello, and welcome to the online presence for FLICS, or the Fantastic Lectures in Computer Science, a series of lectures in computing and information technology for interested people in the Greater Philadelphia Area. We endeavor to bring distinguished professionals in academia and industry to the area to begin discussions about relevant topics in computing today and in the future.<br /><br />The initial year of this series (2007 - 2008) went under the title of "Delaware Valley Distinguished Lecture Series in Computer Science" (DVDLSCS), but that was too hard to pronounce or remember. However, the list of visitors was of the highest quality and covered a very diverse set of computing topics:<div style="text-align: center;"><table style="width: 682px; height: 197px;" align="center" border="0"><br /><tbody><tr><br /><td align="center" valign="middle"><br /><img src="http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/faculty/rapaport/rapaport.jpg" border="0" height="130" width="85" /><br /></td><br /><td align="center" valign="middle"><br /><img src="http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/images/object_images/535x535/10303307.jpg" border="0" height="130" width="166" /><br /></td><br /><td align="center" valign="middle"><br /><img src="http://www.maa.org/news/M.KlawePort_cropped.gif" border="0" height="130" width="98" /><br /></td><br /><td align="center" valign="middle"><br /><img src="http://www.cmu.edu/news/images/Jeannette%20Wing.jpg" border="0" height="130" width="172" /><br /></td><br /></tr><br /></tbody></table><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fantastic Lecturers 2007 - 2008</span><br /></div><br /><ul><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/faculty/rapaport/">William J. Rapaport</a>, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (<a href="http://www.cs.haverford.edu/talks/rapaport/">Sep 19, 2007</a> @ Bryn Mawr College)</li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.computerhistory.org/staff/Doron,Swade/">Doron Swade</a>, Director of the Babbage Project, Computer History Museum (<a href="http://www.cs.swarthmore.edu/activities/abstracts/DoronSwade.html">Oct 24, 2007</a> @ Swarthmore College)<br /></li><li><a href="http://www.hmc.edu/admin/presoffice/presbio.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Maria Klawe</span></a>, President and Professor of Computer Science, Harvey Mudd College (<a href="http://www.cs.haverford.edu/talks/klawe08/">Feb 20, 2008</a> @ Haverford College)<br /></li><li><a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/%7Ewing/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jeanette Wing</span></a>, Director at the National Science Foundation and President's Professor of Computer Science in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University (<a href="http://csc.villanova.edu/colloquia/view/645">Apr 7, 2008</a> @ Villanova University [<a href="http://www.cs.haverford.edu/talks/WingPoster-VU08.jpg">JPG poster</a>])</li></ul>We are in the process of arranging the schedule for 2008 - 2009, so please stay tuned (<span style="font-style: italic;">e.g.,</span> subscribe to this blog!).<br /><br />FLICS is sponsored through a partnerships among the Computer Science Departments of:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cs.brynmawr.edu/">Bryn Mawr College</a> | <a href="http://cs.haverford.edu/">Haverford College</a> | <a href="http://cs.swarthmore.edu/">Swarthmore College</a> | <a href="http://csc.villanova.edu/">Villanova University</a><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14065382014414610182noreply@blogger.com0