Feb 25, 2010: Judith Bishop of Microsoft

The Hot under the Cool - Patterns, Programming and Performance

A Colloquium by

Judith Bishop
Director of Computer Science in External Research, Microsoft Research

Thursday, February 25, 4:00-5:00pm (Tea at 3:30pm) in Room 243 Park Science Building, Bryn Mawr College

Abstract:

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.

Bio:

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.

Apr 22, 2009: James L. McClelland

Does Your Brain Use Symbols or Distributed Representations?

Dr. James McClelland
Center for Mind, Brain and Computation
Stanford University

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 04:30 PM
Mendel Science Center 154
Villanova University
Maps and Directions

Abstract

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.

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Speaker Bio

Dr. James McClelland , Stanford University - Center for Mind, Brain and Computation

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.

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.

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.

McClelland currently teaches cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience and conducts research on learning, memory, conceptual development, spoken language, decision making, and semantic cognition.

Refreshments will be served in MSC 159 after the talk.

FLICS extra

As a service to our friends in the Greater Delaware Valley area who appreciate a FLICS, here is a talk in Philadelphia this week -- JD

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Copyright vs. Community in the Age of Computer Networks
Richard M. Stallman
Free Software Foundation
March 25, 2009, 2-3:30pm
Kiva Auditorium at Temple University
Directions
Abstract (PDF)

Mar 18: Jennifer Golbeck @ Haverford

Computing with Social Trust: Web Algorithms, Social Networks, and Recommendations

Jennifer Golbeck
University of Maryland, College Park

Wednesday March 18
4:30 pm (tea at 4:00 pm)

Koshland INSC, Hilles 109
Haverford College
Directions to Campus
Campus Map (park in 45 or 53; talk in 5b)

Abstract
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.

Feb 6: Bernard Chazelle at Bryn Mawr

What an iPod, a Flock of Birds, and Your DNA have in Common

A Colloquium by Bernard Chazelle, Princeton University

Friday, Feb 6th, 4:00-5:00p (Tea at 3:30p) in Room 338, Park Science Building

This is part of the Fantastic Lectures in Computer Science (FLICS) lecture series jointly sponsored by Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Swarthmore and Villanova.

For more information on FLICS, please check out:
http://fantasticlecturesincomputerscience.blogspot.com/

Abstract:
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.

Biography

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."

Honors
Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Member, European Academy of Sciences
Fellow, World Innovation Foundation
ACM Fellow
Guggenheim Fellow (1994)

Eric Roberts Nov 6 at Swarthmore

Programming and the Computer Science Curriculum: The More Things Change . . .

Eric Roberts
Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University

Abstract
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.

Thursday, November 6, 2008, 7:30 pm
Science Center Room 101
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA USA

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DR. ERIC S. ROBERTS
Biographical Information


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.

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.

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."

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).

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.

Welcome to FLICS

Hello, 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.

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:

Fantastic Lecturers 2007 - 2008

• William J. Rapaport, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (Sep 19, 2007 @ Bryn Mawr College)
• Doron Swade, Director of the Babbage Project, Computer History Museum (Oct 24, 2007 @ Swarthmore College)
  
• Maria Klawe, President and Professor of Computer Science, Harvey Mudd College (Feb 20, 2008 @ Haverford College)
  
• Jeanette Wing, Director at the National Science Foundation and President's Professor of Computer Science in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University (Apr 7, 2008 @ Villanova University [JPG poster])

We are in the process of arranging the schedule for 2008 - 2009, so please stay tuned (e.g., subscribe to this blog!).

FLICS is sponsored through a partnerships among the Computer Science Departments of:

Bryn Mawr College | Haverford College | Swarthmore College | Villanova University