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April 26, 2006: Supercomputing Challenge win adds to freshmen's futures. By Sue Vorenberg. The Albuquerque Tribune & www.abqtrib.com. "On Tuesday, skills in math gave the two 15-year-old Manzano High School freshmen another sweet surprise - their first win in the New Mexico Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge. The competition challenges teams from schools across the state to create the most intriguing project on a supercomputer. This year, 53 teams finished their projects and made it to the final rounds and awards ceremony in Los Alamos. ... Here are the other winners in the Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge: ... Honorable mentions ... St. Pius X High School, 'Dynamic Software Evolution: An Evolutionary Approach to Artificial Intelligence.'" April 26, 2006: Student's Prize Is a Trip Into Immigration Limbo. By Nina Bernstein. The New York Times & nytimes.com. "A small, troubled high school in East Harlem seemed an unlikely place to find students for a nationwide robot-building contest, but when a neighborhood after-school program started a team last winter, 19 students signed up. One was Amadou Ly, a senior who had been fending for himself since he was 14. The project had only one computer and no real work space. Engineering advice came from an elevator mechanic and a machinist's son without a college degree. But in an upset that astonished its sponsors, the rookie team from East Harlem won the regional competition last month, beating rivals from elite schools like Stuyvesant in Manhattan and the Bronx High School of Science for a chance to compete in the national robotics finals in Atlanta that begins tomorrow. ... Left here long ago by his mother, he has no way to attend the college that has accepted him, and only a slim chance to win his two-year court battle against deportation. ... Most team members learned of his problem only yesterday at a meeting with Kristian Breton, 27, the staff member at the East Harlem Tutorial program who started the team, inspired by his own experience in the competition when he was a high school student in rural Mountain Home, Ark."
>>> Resources for Educators, Competitions (@ Resources for Students), Robots April 24, 2006: UF [University of Florida] students create artificially intelligent computer games. By Tommy Graham. The Gainesville Sun. "The interactive game is just one of a handful being showcased by UF's first-ever Artificial Intelligence in Computer Games course. More than 20 students that took part in the new course and had a chance to learn about various techniques that make computer games more natural and real through the use of artificial intelligence, according to Douglas Dankel, course instructor and assistant professor in computer science. ... Many students in UF's first artificial intelligence class consider game design to be a glamorous field to enter into - something akin to Hollywood movies. 'The gaming industry, right now, is bigger than the entire movie industry,' Dankel said. 'It's amazing how much they've taken off since Pong.'" April 24, 2006: First A.I. essay contest to publish student work - Campus publications hope to encourage undergraduate writing on artificial intelligence. By Lense Gebre-Mariam. The Dartmouth. "The first John McCarthy Artificial Intelligence Prize for scientific and philosophical articles discussing artificial intelligence will be awarded to an undergraduate this year in a contest sponsored by the Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science and Aporia Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy, two student-run publications. Philosophy professor Carey Heckman, who helped organize the contest, thought it would be a good way to get students to write who might not otherwise be interested in artificial intelligence. The contest explores the creation and development of artificial intelligence over the past 50 years. Monetary prizes will be awarded to the top three submissions in scientific and philosophical areas. A combined total of $1,800 will be awarded.... [Julia] Bernstein and other DUJS staff members sought to connect the contest to the yearly artificial intelligence conference held at Dartmouth, which take place July 13 to 15." April 20, 2006: Games degrees 'not a soft option.' By Aled Blake. Western Mail & icWales. "Computer games students at a Welsh university are hoping the launch of the latest adventure of Lara Croft ... will propel their future careers to more prominence. The Games Development and Artificial Intelligence degree at the University of Wales, Newport, is all about creating new characters and smarter computer opponents. Dr Mike Reddy, a senior lecturer on the course, is hoping to support and develop local involvement in this expanding market. He said, 'The release of the latest Tomb Raider game has focused attention on a multi-million-dollar industry, which is crying out for people with the skills and imagination to create the next generation of computer games. 'Computer games degrees can be a passport to big salaries and great career prospects. ... A degree in computer games is not the soft option that many might think, and certainly not a blind alley as far as career prospects are concerned. Dedicated, hardworking graduates can expect a starting salary of over £30,000 and the chance to be whisked away to the USA for even higher salaries." April 20, 2006: Applauding the androids. By Rob Amen. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review & PittsburghLive.com. "Carnegie Mellon on Wednesday revealed that Gort and four other robots, both real and fictitious, will be inducted into the hall in June. The announcement came on the first day of the university's 50th anniversary celebration of computer science education and research. ... The Robot Hall of Fame, a small section inside the Carnegie Science Center, recognizes real robots that have improved everyday life...."
>>> Robots, Science Fiction, Manufacturing, AI; the movie, Robotic Pets, History, Exhibits (@ Resources for Students) April 13, 2006: Group offers free computer science lessons By Brian Bergstein. Associated Press / available from Star-Telegram.com. "With all the recent talk about improving math and basic science education to keep the United States competitive, Chris Stephenson worries that a third piece of the educational picture is being forgotten: computer science. Now Stephenson, executive director of the Computer Science Teachers Association, is hoping to overcome that somewhat by giving away free teaching resources for use in kindergarten through 12th-grade computer classes. In conjunction with IBM Corp.,...." April 12, 2006: NUI Galway’s postgrad courses in Irish expand. Western People. "A range of postgrad courses will be offered this autumn by Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, NUI [National University of Ireland] Galway’s Irish language college, as part of its continuing development of third-level education through Irish both on the main university campus and in its centres in the Connemara Gaeltacht. The courses include a new M.Sc. research scholarship programme in information technology.... This new research initiative is supported by Údarás na Gaeltachta and aims to develop a new R+D culture in IT in the Gaeltacht, in areas such as information retrieval and filtering, artificial intelligence and machine learning, multimedia, information technology and society, networks and wireless technologies, E-learning, E-commerce, and computational linguistics." April 10, 2006: Research Revolution - A handful of hotshots at Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft are changing how tech innovation is incubated--and delivered. By Aaron Ricadela, with Thomas Claburn. InformationWeek. "Going back just a few years, the corporate relationship between research scientists and the engineers and execs who built and sold products was entrenched, methodical, and often contentious. Top tech minds at companies like AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Xerox toiled in their labs for the next breakthrough, which, after sufficient gestation and a lot of luck, made its way through advanced engineering, product development, and marketing. Out of this process, which could easily take years, came landmark products such as the mainframe, the PC, laser printing, touch-tone dialing, and Unix. Now, in trying to gain an edge in the fast-paced Internet software market, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo are taking a wholly new approach to research. They're building labs focused on the problems and opportunities that have emerged with sleeker Web sites, the explosion of online video and photos, widespread broadband connections, and the soaring numbers of hours people spend online. ... Yahoo, too, is trying to rewrite the research formula. It's supplementing labs in Silicon Valley with groups in New York, Spain, and Chile, and it recently hired Ron Brachman, an artificial intelligence expert from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, to expand its labs. ... The Web's many advantages have set off a talent war. Google last summer hired speech-recognition and artificial intelligence expert Kai-Fu Lee away from Microsoft to head a new R&D center in Beijing... Sun also is turning to Web research to improve its products. The company is funding Berkeley's Reliable, Adaptive, and Distributed Systems lab to apply a branch of AI called machine learning...." April 6, 2006: U.S. News releases its annual grad school rankings. Inside Illinois (Volume 25, Number 18). "In its latest rankings of America’s best graduate schools, U.S.News & World Report ranked a number of UI units best in the nation.... The issue hit newstands April 3. The magazine does not evaluate all disciplines every year. ... The UI’s computer science program was ranked fifth nationally and subspecialties were ranked as follows: artificial intelligence, 8; programming language, 8; systems, 5." April 5, 2006: Like to Tinker? NASA's Looking for You. By Noah Shactman. The New York Times & nytimes.com. "[W]ith budgets tightening and the obstacles to human space exploration looking more daunting, NASA is enlisting the expertise of outsiders. For example, the agency is offering 13 contests, which it calls Centennial Challenges, that anyone can enter. The prizes range from $200,000 to more than $5 million, for building gear as diverse as solar sails, lunar excavators and the tiny elevators. But more important than the cash prizes, contestants and administrators say, is the opportunity to sidestep the traditional ways NASA has done business and bring some fresh faces to its ranks. ... Many of NASA's contests also center on robotics. The Telerobotic Construction Challenge, scheduled for August 2007, requires a team of machines to assemble items with minimal human supervision. ... In the Regolith Excavation Challenge, set for May 2007, an autonomous machine will have to dig through 24 square meters of simulated moon rock. ... Some contests will be held annually; others will be one-time events. NASA funds robotics research through conventional contracts too, and it uses Small Business Innovation Research grants to back companies outside the industry's mainstream. But the paperwork involved in the innovation research grants, called S.B.I.R.'s, can be intimidating. ... The competitions offer economic benefits to NASA as well. The contestants, not the space agency, pay for the development." April 5, 2006: Computer Science@40 - Faculty, alumni celebrate life-changing advances. From its origins in the Math Department, Computer Science reflects on its revolutionary research, entrepreneurial spirit. By David Orenstein. Stanford Report. "Through ground-breaking research, teaching and often entrepreneurship, Stanford computer science faculty, students and staff have had an impact on technology that is broad, deep and unique. The department's optimistic and ambitious nature was readily apparent among the more than 400 faculty and alumni who gathered to celebrate its 40th anniversary at the Arrillaga Alumni Center on March 21. 'Our department culture was to hire people we thought would change the world,' said Ed Feigenbaum, the Kumagai Professor in the School of Engineering, Emeritus, paraphrasing an explanation university President John Hennessy offered last year for why the department has been so successful. Both men are former chairs of the department. 'For over 40 years our faculty and our graduates changed the world of computer science and continue to do so today.' ... In medicine, Stanford computer scientists also have made advances. In 1967, for example, Feigenbaum, then research associate Bruce Buchanan, chemistry Professor Carl Djerassi and genetics Professor Joshua Lederberg (a Nobel laureate) demonstrated the DENDRAL project, a so-called 'expert system' that helped compute molecular structures from mass spectrogram data. In recent years, Professors Jean-Claude Latombe, the Kumagai Professor in the School of Engineering, and Professor J. Kenneth Salisbury each have made substantial advances in computer-assisted medicine. ... In 1985, [Nils] Nilsson, who at SRI led the development of the first mobile robot, 'Shakey,' joined the department as chair. That year he led the department's migration from the School of Humanities and Sciences to the School of Engineering.... Artificial intelligence expert Daphne Koller, an associate professor of computer science and 2004 MacArthur 'genius grant' recipient, focused on a particular data-intensive set of applications in her remarks." April 4, 2006: R O B O SCIENCE Student robots will sweep for mines. Middle-schoolers build robots for military. By Kathleen Lewis. The Free Lance-Star & Fredericksburg.com. "Students at John J. Wright Middle School were on Lego detail. ... This is the essence of N-Star, 'Naval Research--Science and Technologies for America's Readiness,' at the middle-school level. The program was launched last year in Stafford schools by the Department of the Navy. Science and engineering staffers for the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, serve as mentors. ... The Navy's goal is to generate enthusiasm for math and science that will lead students to pursue careers in science and engineering. ... In addition to working with the robots, the students are learning about the issue of land-mine removal around the world. Each group researched a country that has land mines. They had to discover the country's topography, the location of the mines and their construction." March 24, 2006: Robots take the field in name of science - High school competitors build their own mechanical players. By Robert Weisman. The Boston Globe & boston.com. "The geek olympics have come to town. ... [H]undreds of tech-crazed high school students gathered in Boston University's Agganis Arena yesterday to ready their robots for the FIRST Robotics Competition opening today. ... 'Businesses recognize that we really need a change in American culture,' said Brookline technology entrepreneur Marc A. Hodosh, chairman of the Boston FIRST event. 'This country celebrates athletes and entertainers. The average high school kid around Boston could probably name the entire Red Sox team, but they couldn't name a single living inventor. A career in science and technology is much more accessible and realistic than a career in sports.'"
>>> Robots, Competitions & Careers in AI (@ Resources for Students) March 23, 2006: In this soccer match, the players are robots. By Scott Patterson. The Wall Street Journal (subscription req'd) / available from post-gazette.com. "Blending artificial intelligence, robotics and soccer, RoboCup is an obscure competition known mostly to computer-science wonks at top universities around the world. ... RoboCup, which is shorthand for Robot Soccer World Cup, has an eye-popping long-term goal. By 2050, it wants to create a humanoid robotic soccer team that can defeat the winner of soccer's real World Cup. ... In June, more than 100 teams will square off in Bremen, Germany, for the 10th-annual RoboCup World Championship. ... The idea to use soccer as a way to experiment with robots appeared in a 1993 paper called 'On Seeing Robots,' by Alan Mackworth, professor of computer science at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. ... The Aibo teams have an even bigger challenge ahead of them. In January, Sony pulled the plug on the Aibo Entertainment Robot line." March 23, 2006: Schools fail to teach scientific computing skills - Poor education standards are to blame for lack of UK scientists. By Matt Chapman. vnunet.com. "Schools and colleges are failing the next generation of scientists by not providing the computer skills they need to do the job, according to the scientists behind Microsoft Research's 2020 report. 'Our findings show that computer science is set to become as fundamental to the natural sciences as mathematics has become to the physical sciences,' said Stephen Emmott, a director at Microsoft Research Cambridge. 'This means that tomorrow's scientists will need to be highly computationally literate as well as being highly scientifically literate. As a consequence we need to rethink how we educate today's children in order to ensure that we have the new kinds of scientists that we need for tomorrow's science.' ... 'A scientist not interested in computing is an oxymoron,' suggested Ehud Shapiro, a professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science. "
>>> Computer Science, Applications, Resources for Educators, Resources for the Scientific Community March 12, 2006: Carnegie Mellon to use 'Sims' in educational software. By Daniel Lovering. The Associated Press / available from USA Today.com. "Carnegie Mellon University plans to incorporate characters and animation from the popular video game The Sims in its free educational software that strives to make computer programming more appealing to students. The university will use the animation to enliven the next version of Alice, a teaching program developed over the past decade and used at more than 60 colleges and universities and about 100 high schools, said Randy Pausch, a computer science professor and director of the Alice Project. ... The effort to revamp Alice is intended to boost interest in computer programming among students, who have historically found the skill frustrating to learn. ... Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts Inc., which publishes The Sims, wants 'more women in computer science, they want more minorities in computer science ... any underrepresented group,' Pausch said. ... Steve Seabolt, vice president of Electronic Arts, said that 'by marrying the characters, animations and playful style of The Sims to Alice, we are helping make computer science fun for a new generation of creative leaders.'" March 10, 2006: Program Teaches Kids About Cyber Security. By William Kates. The Associated Press / available from the Chicago Tribue / also available from Wired News (Kids Learn About Cyber Security - A New York school program teaches high-school students about data protection, firewalls and forensics, as well as ethical and legal aspects of security. It's set to go statewide next year.). "A group of students at Rome Catholic School are learning how to become the future defenders of cyberspace through a pilot program that officials say is the first of its kind in the country. The program teaches students about data protection, computer network protocols and vulnerabilities, security, firewalls and forensics, data hiding, and infrastructure and wireless security. Most importantly, officials said, teachers discuss ethical and legal considerations in cyber security. ... 'A high school student with this kind of background would be an asset anywhere they went,' [Eric Spina, dean of Syracuse University's engineering and computer science programs, which also helped with the pilot's development] said. ... The curriculum will be offered statewide beginning next year." March 9, 2006: Summer fun - Vacation offers a time to learn. Camps, events to draw children in. By Niesha Lofing. The Sacramento Bee (El Dorado section; page G1) & sacbee.com. "School may let out for summer, but that doesn't mean lessons and learning should be shoved to the wayside as soon as it's hot enough for your child to belly-flop into the pool. ... From building robots in Rocklin to doing art projects in the mud in Sacramento, many programs are making active learning a key element of their camps, something experts agree is beneficial for children both during the summer and when they return to school. ... At Sierra College in Rocklin, three educational summer camps are being offered. Children participating in Gizmo's Robot Factory will build robots that can move and even dance." March 6, 2006: Dorms take on themes. By Amit Arora. The Standford Daily Online. "Added to the list of residential programs will be two new initiatives, as Wilbur Hall’s Arroyo will feature a symbolic systems focus for its upper-class students and Manzanita Park’s Lantana House will host a one-unit residential humanities program. Devised by the resident fellows of these dorms, the initiatives aim to attract upper-class students with similar academic interests. ... Termed the 'Mind and Intelligence Focus,' Arroyo’s symbolic systems program looks to draw in a range of students attracted to the interdisciplinary field. As described in a University press release, the dorm will offer residential seminars, guest speakers and coordinated discussions. 'The Mind and Intelligence Focus is intended to be of interest to anyone who wonders how the mind works, how people behave and communicate and what the future holds for computers and artificial intelligence,' the release noted." March 6, 2006: My robot - Hackers reprogramming Roombas to do more than just clean floors. By Hiawatha Bray. The Boston Globe & boston.com. "Some people are tinkering with their Roomba robotic vacuums, but not much of it has to do with cleaning floors. ... And iRobot is happy to help them experiment. In October, it introduced a $30 kit that lets people reprogram the software in older Roombas so they can modify how it works. The newest models feature a digital data port, similar to those found on PCs, that allows the robot's sensors and motors to be controlled by a computer. And iRobot is even giving university robotics labs free Roombas to use as teaching aids. ... Phillip Torrone, associate editor of Make, a magazine for do-it-yourselfers, has turned his Roomba into a roving camera that relays pictures from his house to the Internet site Flickr." March 1, 2006: Evolution inspires Artificial Intelligence at Kent. Innovations Report. "The University of Kent is launching a unique cross-disciplinary degree course that explores artificial intelligence (AI) from the combined perspectives of computer science, philosophy, psychology, biology and electronics. Championed by technology experts and visionaries ranging from Bill Gates to film-maker George Lucas, AI is about making computers behave intelligently -- for instance, by performing tasks requiring the ability to learn, to reason and to cope with unpredicted situations. Lucas told delegates at a recent computing conference in Los Angeles that advancements in AI will vastly change technology 'to a point where you can talk to a computer game and the game will talk back'. Other important applications include robotics, data mining and computer vision." February 28, 2006: Contest seeks designs for virtual life. By Will Robinson. The Daily Beacon Online. "Symantec Corporation, the creators of Norton AntiVirus and other computer security tools, is sponsoring a contest that challenged students to design an efficient and survivable virtual creature. Student teams are eligible to win $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second and $3,000 for third. ... Carey Nachenburg, a Symantec fellow and creator of the contest, said the idea is to get people interested in programming and computer engineering. Nachenburg is also a part-time computer science lecturer at UCLA and says he sees first-hand computer science enrollment dropping. 'The U.S. is not building up the next generation of programmers and engineers,' Nachenburg said. 'We’d like to see the numbers go up.' Tom Potok, a research scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory working in the artificial intelligence field, said there are lots of opportunities available. '[Oak Ridge Laboratory] has some internships, co-op programs, and I’ve had students work in my group,' Potok said. He said he is always looking for more scientists and that there is a need for computer science and computer engineering students. He said the field has a 'bright future.' ... The contestants download a small 1 MB program from http://www.symantec.com/specprog/university ...." February 24, 2006: Curriculum - Fascinating, fun and, yes, that’s science. By Deedee Cuddihy. Teaching in Scotland, from TES, The Times Educational Supplement. "Forget about the facts; concentrate on asking questions. That’s the philosophy behind the new £1 million Connect science and technology gallery [www.nms.ac.uk/connect]. Opened just last week, with the help of National Museums of Scotland funds and a gaggle of sponsors, the gallery at the Royal Museum offers a wealth of interactive, visually-stunning and unique displays. ... The exhibition space has been divided into five main subject areas covering transport (Move It!), artificial intelligence (Robots), cloning (Me2), space travel (Blast Off!) and energy (Power Up). Each subject area is designed around a number of significant museum objects, complemented by a range of specially designed interactives." February 23, 2006: Engineers take center stage at SUNY. By Kathryn Gill. Daily Freeman. "The new faces of engineering at SUNY New Paltz range from a 13-year-old middle school girl to a 44-year-old recent graduate who works as a fire marshal in New York City. Both were among those attending the college's Engineering Day on Wednesday, which showcased the innovations of high tech companies in the Hudson Valley and the work of students and professors at SUNY New Paltz. Students at middle schools throughout the region were invited to the event. Michael Cancel, who has worked for the New York City Fire Department for 20 years, said he pursued his engineering degree on a part-time basis over the past 6 years, taking about three classes a semester. ... Cancel plans to break into the engineering field with the goal of doing something to 'benefit mankind.' He said he is considering pursuing a career in artificial intelligence or nanotechnology. ... [E]ighth grader [Erin Rose] said the stereotype that boys are better at engineering than girls is 'not at all true.' She said she plans to take advanced placement math and science at Beacon High School next year. ... Robert Foster, a 22-year-old senior at the college who also works part time in the Metrology Department of IBM in East Fishkill, showed off the Evolutionary Music Composer, a computer that can compose original music. Foster said the computer produces music autonomously by taking a population of notes and picking out those it thinks sound good. ... 'Music is attractive to undergraduate students to get them involved in research,' Khalifa said. Many people equate creative thinking with intelligence, he said, making the computer program a good way to explore ways of developing artificial intelligence." February 23, 2006: Study Plays Down Export of Computer Jobs. By Steve Lohr. The New York Times & nytimes.com (registration req'd). "The movement of computing work abroad represents an economic and scientific challenge, but the fears of job migration far outweigh the reality so far, according to a new study by the Association for Computing Machinery. The lengthy report, to be released today, is the result of a yearlong project by the professional organization to assess the impact and implications of the outsourcing of software development and research. ... 'The global competition has gotten tougher and we have to run faster,' said Moshe Y. Vardi, co-chair of the study group and a computer scientist at Rice University. 'But the notion that information technology jobs are disappearing is just nonsense. The data don't bear that out.' Yet the view that job opportunities in computing are dwindling fast is both common and potentially damaging to America's competitive prowess, according to David A. Patterson, president of the Association for Computing Machinery. He pointed to the declining interest in computer science as a major among American college students, based on a survey last year of the intentions of students entering college."
>>> Computer Science, Careers in AI (@ Resources for Students), Industry Statistics February 22, 2006: National Engineers Week to feature research. By Melea Burke. The Lariat Online. "If you've ever wondered about the inner workings of computers or gas turbine engines, you can attend an event sponsored by Baylor's chapter of the Society of Women Engineers at 5 p.m. today in 109 Rogers Engineering and Computer Science Building. The 'Evening of Fun and Research' will include presentations by Dr. Greg Hamerly, assistant professor of computer science, and Dr. Kenneth Van Treuren, associate professor of mechanical engineering. Hamerly will highlight his research in machine learning and Van Treuren will speak about his study of turbine blades. Society of Women Engineers is holding the event as a part of National Engineers Week, said Dr. Cindy Fry, adviser for the Society of Women Engineers and full-time lecturer in computer science. This week, co-chaired by Society of Women Engineers and the Northrop Grumman Corporation, is dedicated to raising awareness of engineers' positive contributions to the quality of life, according to the National Engineers Week Web site. ... Hamerly's concentration is on data clustering and machine learning, both in the artificial intelligence field. He focuses specifically on applying machine learning techniques to simulations for computer chips." February 22, 2006: Computer science class will delve into science-fiction - The new class will teach students fact from fiction in science-fiction novels. By Laura Simurda. Daily Trojan. "From Star Trek's Lt. Cmdr. Data to the Little Lost Robot from Isaac Asimov's stories, a computer science class arriving soon at USC [University of Southern California] will utilize science fiction to teach students about robotics and artificial intelligence. Course creators Milind Tambe, an associate professor of computer science, and Emma Bowring, a third-year Ph.D. candidate, are currently working to adapt what would usually be a graduate-level coursework to an undergraduate intensity by focusing on the fundamentals. 'In a sense there are sort of two big steps - one is teaching not a graduate level class, two is teaching via science fiction,' Tambe said. The class, Computer Science 499: Intelligent Agents and Science Fiction, will be offered next semester as an interactive and 'fun' introduction to robotics and artificial intelligence, Tambe, said." February 21, 2006: African-American achievers in modern science - Meet scientists who work with invisible lights, nanomachines, and robots that sing songs. By Keely Parrack. The Christian Science Monitor & csmonitor.com. "February is Black History Month. In celebration of the contributions that African-Americans have made to science, we talked to three black scientists who are making history today with their groundbreaking work. ... James McLurkin, computer scientist - Meet James McLurkin and his 112 robots. Right now they are running loose. 'They are running on my software [computer program],' Mr. McLurkin says, 'but there is no good way to see why that one springs around and that group's smashing its heads into the wall.' But he's going to figure it out. McLurkin and his team of undergraduates at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge are building a swarm viewer. ... His computer program allows the robots to work together and communicate with one another to solve problems. ... To kids interested in science, his advice is: 'Have fun; do the things you like. ...' ... Martin Culpepper, mechanical engineer - ... Now Dr. Culpepper is figuring out how to make machines that build tiny things made up of moving parts as small as atoms and molecules. He calls these 'super-precise machines,' as they need to be able to pick up something as small as a molecule and position it precisely into place. This is called 'nanotechnology,' the science of developing materials at the atomic and molecular level. Imagine a very powerful computer so tiny you can't see it without a microscope. ... Culpepper's main advice for potential young scientists: 'Know how to work with your hands; play around with stuff.' He also advises them to learn the language of mathematics, saying, 'It is the language of logical thought.'" February 16, 2006: USC Research Institute Sees Growth in Corporate Projects. By Michael Hiltzik. Los Angeles Times (registration req'd). "[Herb] Schorr, 70, ... became director of USC's Information Sciences Institute in 1988. Since then, it has grown into a nearly $70-million enterprise funded mostly by federal grants. But more growth opportunities in research and development are on the corporate side, where ISI hopes to fill the gap between the basic research customarily performed in academia and the product development usually handled by industry. By positioning ISI as a provider of private research in its core fields of computer science, artificial intelligence and information technology, Schorr aims to build corporate funding to as much as a third of ISI's revenue, up from less than 20% today. He believes that strategy will enable ISI to grow at a real rate of 4% a year. ... 'Industry research fits really well with academia,' says David Patterson, a UC Berkeley professor of computer science and president of the Assn. for Computing Machinery. 'But development causes problems with universities as it becomes more secret and proprietary. And there's more money for development than for research.' Schorr notes that ISI already works with some corporations under non-disclosure agreements, and argues that the institute has learned how to manage such relationships. Nikias is similarly sanguine. 'Most companies understand that there are limits when they have a relationship with a university,' he says." February 15, 2006: Tech executive to run MIT media lab - Moss aims to focus on work with broad impact on society. By Robert Weisman. The Boston Globe & boston.com. "MIT has tapped entrepreneur and technology executive Frank Moss as the new director of its fabled Media Laboratory at a time when the lab, which helped popularize the 1990s digital revolution, is seeking to broaden its base of corporate sponsors and refocus its high-tech research on fields like aging, healthcare, and education. ... 'In many ways, it's a business,' Moss said, suggesting the media lab may conduct more research into projects of interest to its corporate sponsors. 'You have to strike a balance between having academic freedom and doing different types of research, and having the work sponsored by companies that want to see research commercialized. At the media lab, we may have to go a step further than we've done in the past and build prototypes with sponsors.' ... As for the type of research on which he'd like to focus, Moss cited examples from the lab's biomechatronics program ... its hyperscore graphical composing application ... its open studio project ... and its sociable robotics research to build machines that can interact with people on human terms. Moss said he'd also like to initiate collaborations with the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, known as CSAIL, across the street from the media lab."
>>> Academic Departments (@ Resources for Students), Robots, Applications February 12, 2006: I am the droid R2D-X ... take me to your leader. By Louis Whitehead. The Brookings Register Online. "Nine Hillcrest Elementary School students and one home-schooled student have learned that robots aren’t just the stuff of mass production and science fiction movies. How did they do that? Why, by taking part in an Ocean Odyssey, of course. No, they haven’t been using robots to hunt for sunken treasure in the South Pacific. But they did participate in the national FIRST (For Inspiriation and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League for the first time in the fall of 2005. The league’s 2005 theme, 'Ocean Odyssey,' pertained to finding ways to use robots to benefit and preserve the health of the world’s oceans. 'It’s a good program for kids ages 9-14 because it’s a relatively inexpensive way to expose kids to science and engineering, and they get to see what engineers and scientists do. You have to start kids at this age,' said Madeline Schaal, coach of the Hillcrest robotics team and coordinator of the school’s foreign language program. ... She also encourages other area elementary schools to get involved in robotics as well. 'It’s really simple to start. And if you want to coach, you don’t have to have a background in engineering,' she said, 'you just have to be willing to commit the time.'" February 9, 2006: U.S. could fall behind in global ‘brain race.' Initiatives aim to boost science, math education. By Dan Vergano. USA Today (page 1D) & USAToday.com. "A chorus of scientists, politicians and business leaders has long sounded this lament: The USA is about to be deposed as the world's leader in science and technology. And last week President Bush joined the choir, calling in his State of the Union address for a $136 billion boost in science education and research over the next 10 years. ... Such concerns are driving the biggest push to improve U.S. science competitiveness since 1957, when the Soviet Union started the space race with the launch of a basketball-size satellite called Sputnik. While the 20th century had the arms race, the competition in this century will be a brains race, says science policy analyst Michael Lubell of the American Physical Society. ... Altogether, it adds up to disheartening prospects for the nation, says [Norman] Augustine. His panel [for the National Academy of Sciences report, 'Rising Above the Gathering Storm'] made 20 recommendations, including research funding increases, math and science education measures and tax-credit changes. But many involved say the biggest change needed is a cultural one, making science and technology attractive to today's students. 'Frankly, we've lost our focus,' [Jeff] Bingaman said at an interview last week with USA TODAY, which included Alexander and Sens. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md. The four are key movers behind science-competitiveness legislation, the PACE Act, now garnering a great deal of support in the Senate. Backed by 60 senators one week after its unveiling, the act's three bills largely contain the NAS recommendations. 'My own view is that kids here, like kids everywhere, get excited by what they are exposed to,' Bingaman says. 'We have to expose them to exciting areas of math and science.' ... [A] Raytheon Corporation survey of 1,000 11-to-13-year-olds released last month found that 84% said they would 'rather clean their room, eat their vegetables, go to the dentist or take out the garbage than learn math or science.' ... Many kids are taught by teachers lacking a background in science or math, Augustine says. For example, among eighth-graders in a 1999 survey, 59% had math teachers who didn't specialize in the subject. The international average was 29%. Bush's 'American Competitiveness Initiative,' announced in his State of the Union speech, would train 70,000 high school teachers to lead advanced math and science courses. Another effort would encourage up to 30,000 math and science professionals to become high school teachers. Similar initiatives are proposed in the PACE Act.” February 7, 2006: Grant gives students a taste of engineering. By Clair Maciel. Fort Bend Herald and Texas Coaster & herald-coaster.com. "Every Wednesday, for two hours after school, students at Deaf Smith Elementary are getting an early start on learning how to be an engineer. With a $3,000 grant underwritten by the Lamar Educational Awards Foundation this year, teachers are helping the children learn the basics of building a functional robot in a 6-week robotics academy program. [PHOTO: Fifth-graders Sandra Grimaldo, Nancy Grimaldo and Kaitlyn Kendziora build their own remote-controlled robot in the after-school robotics program at Deaf Smith Elementary School.] A total of 54 students in first through fifth grades participate in the after-school program, where they build robots, cars and cranes out of LEGOs and learn the practicalities and mechanics of constructing such devices." February 6, 2006: Picking the job. By Nick Chordas. The Columbus Dispatch & Dispatch.com. "So you want to make video games? Get in line: The industry has become increasingly competitive. Fortunately, to give students a leg up after graduation, game-design programs in schools often focus on the five major positions. A primer: ... Programmer : The true techie writes the computer code, making use of physics and artificial intelligence. Thanks to the programmer, a car that hits a wall doesn’t pass through it unharmed. Average salary: $62,500; highest: $300,000."
>>> Careers in AI and AI Courses (@ Resources for Students), Video Games, Software Development, Industry Statistics February 5, 2006: Princeton dean - Comp sci field needs women. By Clark Cohen. The Brown and White. "Women are often discouraged from the field of computer science because of negative stereotypes and myths associated with the industry, Maria Klawe, dean of engineering at Princeton University, said in a lecture last Wednesday. Klawe’s speech, 'Gender, Lies and Video Games: the Truth about Females and Computing,' was a part of the computer science and engineering distinguished seminar series. Klawe said she hopes to increase participation of women in engineering and computer science. ... Myths that stop females from entering the computer science field include ideas such as computers were made for men and women lack the inherent ability to understand computers. ... The reasons women are less interested in technology can be traced to adolescence, Klawe said. ... By increasing interest in computing, Klawe said, and gaining confidence and a sense of belonging in the field, women will be more likely to follow career paths in computer science. Changing the computer nerd image associated with computing through media, games, contests, outreach workshops and speakers, and integrating more computer programming in math curriculum will also open doors for females, Klawe said. Emphasizing computer applications rather than just programming will also attract more women, she said. As will exposing females to computers at an earlier age." February 5, 2006: Getting their 'bot in gear - Richardson Students building machine for contest. By Jeremy Roebuck. The Dallas Morning News & DallasNews.com. "Just three weeks into the new semester, the students in Max Morales' robotics class have designed and started construction on a robot that can collect rubber balls and shoot them, and aim itself with an independent targeting device. 'This is not quite your daddy's shop class,' said Mr. Morales, a Richardson High School teacher. 'Instead of building dustbins and birdhouses, we're building autonomous robots.' Next month, the students will take their completed robot to Houston for the FIRST Robotics Competition Lone Star Regional. The event is part of the world's largest robotics competition for high school students, conducted by an organization called For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. More than 1,000 teams from countries across the globe compete. 'Programs like this are important if we want to attract more students to technology,' said Cristian Penciu, dean of electronics at DeVry University's Dallas campus." January 25, 2006: Programming Commander Data, Coding the Borg - New Viterbi School Undergraduate Class in Artificial Intelligence Turns to Science Fiction for Problem Sets. University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering News. "Milind Tambe, an associate professor of computer science, will be using science fiction as problem sets in a class on artificial intelligence for undergraduate programmers [CS499] beginning in the fall, 2006 semester. 'Computer science is catching up with the ideas in these stories,' says Tambe. 'We are using science fiction as the spice for the main dish of teaching an important new area of our discipline.' While a number of universities use science fiction to introduce concepts in physics and other fields, Tambe believes his course is the first of its kind in computer science. ... The class will focus not on robots per se, but on their 'minds,' what are called in the field of artificial intelligence 'agents.' These are virtual robots, disembodied machine entities that can create strategies to achieve ends, and even negotiate with each other to cooperate while doing so. 'Science fiction provides three key benefits in this course,' said Tambe. 'First, it is a great motivator and it provides context, generating excitement about artificial intelligence topics in general, and agents and multiagent systems in particular. Second, science fiction also helps provide a perspective on how far we have come in our research, as well as current limitations, and future research challenges. Third, science fiction literature is a great vehicle for understanding the impact on society if agent-based computing truly succeeds.'" January 25, 2006: NIST fellowship open to undergrads. By Florence Olsen. FCW.com. "The Information Technology Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology is accepting applications from undergraduate students for its 2006 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. ... The laboratory conducts research in many areas including computer forensics, software quality, statistical and mathematical modeling, data mining, machine learning, language and speech processing, virtual reality, information security, biometrics for computer access and security, and health care informatics." January 25, 2006: Robotics, For the Rest of Us. By Hector Hernandez. The Tech [published by the students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology]. "Recently, I attended a public talk by Professor Rodney Brooks, director of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. The talk, titled 'Space Exploration and Robotics,' was part of a new lecture series sponsored and held at the MIT Museum with support from the Boston Globe. Part of the MIT Museum's plan to change its programming and image, the series is being broadcast as 'saloon-style, early-evening conversations with scientists and engineers who are making the news that really matters.' ... Surrounded by the metallic creatures which are part of his life, Brooks shared his vision for the development of space exploration. He painted a picture of autonomous robots preparing a landing site and habitat for humans to settle, and made sure to note both benefits and pitfalls of such exploration. ... At the conclusion of the evening, I was enthralled by the disposition and camaraderie of the audience. Here were people of all ages and walks of life sitting together having meaningful discussions about scientific advancements and potential effects on their lives. ... If there is a chance for us to ignite an interest in science and engineering in this country, we need more programs like this one started at the MIT Museum. We need more professors to take to the pulpit, or the soapbox, and with clear concise words explain to our audiences the science and engineering wonders we encounter every day." January 17, 2006: Catchy class names attract more students. By Matt Krupnick. Contra Costa Times & ContraCostaTimes. com. "Faculty everywhere walk the thin line between catchy course names and plain old wackiness, with varying success. ... [Mills College] Computer science professor Ellen Spertus brings in students from several disciplines to her class, 'Robots, Persons and the Future.' 'Computer science is not a popular major right now, but everyone loves robots,' said Spertus, who started the class about four years ago. Students build Lego robots and read and write robot-themed fiction in the course. The name game worked on 25-year-old students Denali Nicholson, a computer science major who took the class last semester. 'It definitely caught my eye,' she said. 'I was definitely curious about how she was going to tie all this together.'" January 14, 2006: And they call it robot love. Interview by Rachel Nowak. New Scientist (Issue 2534). "How do people react when brought face-to-face with intelligent robots for the first time? It's a question that has fascinated Mari Velonaki for nearly a decade. But she is no anthropologist. She's not even a scientist in the conventional sense. Velonaki is an artist with a PhD, and a passion for electronics. She is also determined enough to have convinced the prestigious Australian Centre for Field Robotics in Sydney to give her a desk, lab space and expert assistance to help her understand what happens when humans interact with mechanical beings. Velonaki has collaborated with robotics scientists at the centre to create Fish-Bird, a live exhibition comprising a pair of moody, love-struck robots disguised as wheelchairs that can communicate through movement and written text. ... [Q:] From your experience, do artists, engineers and scientists have much in common? [A:] There is a lot in common. They are passionate and proud people who create things that didn't previously exist. ..." January 14, 2006: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Robot. Astrobiology Magazine (based on an Electrolux release). "Will robots one day rule the world? For decades this notion has both fascinated and terrified humans, our hungry imagination fed by Hollywood blockbusters and sci-fi novels. Now a new generation of robots promises a breakthrough in the world of Artificial Intelligence as they become capable of cognitive thought processes. The 2005 Fourth British Computer Society's Annual Prize for Progress towards Machine Intelligence sponsored by Electrolux has been won by IFOMIND, a mobile robot system that demonstrates intelligence as it meets a new object in its world. Based on Khepera , a robot commercially available from K-Team, the machine intelligence system was designed and programmed by a team led by Professor David Bell from Queens University, Belfast. ... Runners up include Rollo Carpenter's entry -- a chatty personality, George.... Rollo explains, 'George learns from every word everyone says to him - to imitate people, as well as trying to be himself.' ... The award is sponsored by Electrolux, a leader in the field of home appliance machine intelligence, with appliances such as the Electrolux Trilobite 2.0 - a robotic vacuum cleaner. ... Sales of domestic appliance robots reached 39,000 units in 2003 and are forecast to hit 20 million by 2008." January 9, 2006: Robonauts. The next generation of space explorers will look -- and act -- more like people than probes. By Carolyn Y. Johnson. The Boston Globe & Boston.com. "In 1989, using an insect-like robot named Genghis, Rodney Brooks pitched a bold vision for exploring space: Send up an army of small, cheap machines to rove around on a distant planet and beam back data. The concept kicked off a new era in robotics, and eight years later, NASA sent the simple probe Sojourner rolling across the surface of Mars. But now Genghis sits in a box, and the sophisticated machines that populate Brooks's lab at MIT are becoming increasingly human-like: One has a sense of touch, another can find a familiar face in a crowd. Eventually a robotic torso named Domo -- now learning to wield a screwdriver -- will be able to master new skills by imitating people instead of undergoing software updates. The new designs are part of a broader shift toward a vision of robots that are partners, not simply remote-controlled probes. ... 'The thing we were tasked by NASA is: How can robots support manned missions on the moon and Mars before people get there, while they are up there, and after they've left?' said Brooks, director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 'The danger is sticking with the mind-set that developed in the 1960s of "what robots do" and "what humans do."' It is now clear that both humans and robots have their advantages in space -- and the segregation between the two is fading as NASA pursues colonization of the moon and Mars. ... At the Johnson Space Center in Houston, researchers are developing Robonaut, an agile, tool-using robot-astronaut that can outlast any human on a space walk. SCOUT, a lunar rover being developed by NASA, will carry astronauts but will also have the potential to act on its own. Last month, NASA launched two competitions to encourage the private sector to create autonomous robots -- ones that can assemble structures with minimal human intervention and ones that can steer along a flight path and touch down to take surface samples." January 5, 2006: Geeks in Toyland. By Brendan I. Koerner. Wired News (to appear in the February 2006 issue of Wired Magazine). "The kit, due in stores in August, looks nothing like 2.0 and isn't backward compatible. Users still program the bots from their PCs, but everything else about the experience has been changed. The centerpiece of a Mindstorms kit is the RCX brick, which acts as the robot's brain. It receives input from sensors and sends instructions to motors, breathing life into plastic-block creatures. The new brain has a 32-bit processor -- a huge upgrade over the old 8-bit processor -- allowing NXT bots to perform more-complex tasks than their predecessors, like ambling with a near-human gait or reacting to voice commands. ... The programming language has been revamped, as have the sensors, motors, and I/O ports. As a result, Mindstorms NXT robots look and act far more realistic than their predecessors. ... Instead of cobbling together a 3.0 version, Lund decided to make a clean break with the past. Mindstorms' main flaw, he believed, was its complexity; many kids lost interest before completing their first robot." January 2006 [issue date]: Helen Greiner - Entrepreneur of the Year. By Patricia Greco. Good Housekeeping. "While studying computer science and mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Helen Greiner would often tell her mother about robots made for space exploration. 'That's great, honey,' her mom would say, 'but what I really want is a robot that can clean hard-to-reach places.' Greiner, 38, delivered on her mom's request. As cofounder and chairwoman of iRobot, she helped develop the Roomba...." December 21, 2005: Challenging young minds. By Lety Laurel. San Antonio Express-News & MySA.com. "Robotics has arrived in Edgewood elementary schools. In an effort to entice young students into the booming fields of engineering and technology, science and math, the district paired elementary and high school students to work on robots made of motorized Lego machine sets for its inaugural elementary robotics challenge.... The event was part of the Engineering and Robotics Learned Young Challenge, developed by a nonprofit group in Houston." December 18, 2005: In computer science, a growing gender gap - Women shunning a field once seen as welcoming. By Marcella Bombardieri. The Boston Globe. "As a young high school teacher in 1982, Diane Souvaine leapt into graduate school for computer science having taken only one class in the subject. Computers, she believed, offered an exhilarating way to apply her math skills to real-world problems. And because computer science was coming into its own in the feminist age, she also hoped it would be more welcoming to women than her undergraduate math department. Today, Souvaine chairs the Tufts University computer science department, which has more female professors than male. But few younger women have followed in her generation's footsteps. Next spring, when 22 computer science graduates accept their Tufts diplomas, only four will be women. Born in contemporary times, free of the male-dominated legacy common to other sciences and engineering, computer science could have become a model for gender equality. In the early 1980s, it had one of the highest proportions of female undergraduates in science and engineering. And yet with remarkable speed, it has become one of the least gender-balanced fields in American society. In a year of heated debate about why there aren't more women in science, the conversation has focused largely on discrimination, the conflicts between the time demands of the scientific career track and family life, and what Harvard University President Lawrence H. Summers famously dubbed 'intrinsic aptitude.' But the history of computer science demonstrates that more elusive cultural factors can have a major impact on a field's ability to attract women. ... [Some computer scientists] view the dearth of women as symptomatic of a larger failure in their field, which has recently become less attractive to promising young men, as well. Women are 'the canaries in the mine,' said Harvard computer science professor Barbara J. Grosz. ... The shortage of new computer scientists threatens American leadership in technological innovation just as countries such as China and India are gearing up for the kind of competition the United States has never before faced. The US economy is expected to add 1.5 million computer- and information-related jobs by 2012, while this country will have only half that many qualified graduates, according to one analysis of federal data. Meanwhile, the subject is becoming increasingly intertwined with fields ranging from homeland security to linguistics to biology and medicine. ... A Globe review shows that the proportion of women among bachelor's degree recipients in computer science peaked at 37 percent in 1985 and then went on the decline. ... [T]he National Science Foundation will soon announce a new set of grants to universities, high schools, and industry groups with creative ideas for attracting women to computer science. ... A number of universities are trying to do something similar to Tufts. At MIT, where the percentage of women is much lower in computer science than in the general student body, the electrical engineering and computer science department will pilot two new introductory classes this spring." December 15, 2005: High school robotics programs growing. By Rick Wills. Tribune-Review & PittsburghLIVE.com. "[Alan] Fregoso is one of a growing number of students who participates in high school robotics. A generation ago, robots were mostly confined to science fiction movies. Now students such as Fregoso, who wants to be a mechanical engineer, see almost limitless possibilities for them. ... 'There is a big push to grow the number of technologically literate kids,' said Robin Schoop, director of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and a technology education teacher at Schenley High School in Squirrel Hill. In the past five years, Schoop has helped about 50 Western Pennsylvania school districts develop a robotics program. The CMU curriculum that he helped develop is used in about 3,000 schools nationwide. Also joining the nationwide robotics push is a Manchester, N.H., nonprofit group called For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or First. The group runs a nationwide robotics competition. ... Robotics isn't just for high schoolers anymore. At Hampton, for example, high school students run a robotics camp for about 15 middle school students. Senior Steve Ung, 17 co-president of Hampton High School Technology Club, will help run the camp. ... 'It's a backwards way of learning math and science program -- students learn math and science, not to mention computer and design skills by figuring out what they need to do to build a working robot,' said David Richardson, the planning committee chairman for First's regional competition, to be held in February." December 14, 2005: City to get advanced robotics lab. BBC News. "A multi-million pound robotics lab which those behind it claim will rival similar institutions in Japan and the USA is to be built in Bristol. The project is a joint venture between the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England. ... The Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) is due to open in 2006." December 13, 2005: Robotics gains a new focus at Vic. Press release from Victoria University of Wellington / available from Scoop. "Designing and building robots that can operate without human intervention will be one of the options available for postgraduate science students at Victoria University in 2006. The University is launching a new major in electronic and computer systems engineering in the Master of Science programme to be led by New Zealand robotic expert, Associate Professor Dale Carnegie. ... While Victoria has offered some robotics courses in the past, mechatronics is a new field that combines mechanical, electronic and software engineering with sensors, physics, mathematics, marketing and design. Drawing on the resources of the Schools of Chemical & Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Statistics & Computer Science and Design, the programme, which begins next year, includes a blend of courses on artificial intelligence, mechatronics, software engineering, physics and mathematics, with hands on work in making robotic devices. ... The creation of autonomous robots is a potential new industry for New Zealand, [Carnegie] says. 'We will never be able to compete against the massive robotic manufacturers in Japan and Taiwan, but we can create robots to carry out repetitive but varied manual tasks in niche industries. The potential is simply unlimited. My students have already made robots that can autonomously move through a farm, checking pasture quality. Such robots could be used to move through a forest, assessing the size and number of trees ready to be felled. One day they might even carry out the logging as robotic lumberjacks.'" December 11, 2005: Science Project - After 175 years, the Museum of Science is embarking on a mighty mission: to get schoolchildren excited about engineering and technology, help the US compete in the global economy, and, oh yes, make field trips more fun. By John Hanc. The Boston Globe. "[O]ne of New England's most popular attractions is attempting a dramatic shift that is being watched closely by science museums around the country. As the museum transforms its emphasis, programs, and role in the city and beyond, the place that the parents of these children visited during their long-ago field trips may become as extinct as the Tyrannosaurus Rex, whose skeleton still stands in the Blue Wing. A hint of what's to come peeks out of a corner near the entrance. Yellow letters spell a question: 'Why Technological Literacy?' ... 'We have gone from being a society that makes things to a society that talks about things,' [museum president and director, Ioannis Miaoulis] says. 'That's because engineering doesn't get the respect it deserves.' ... In December 2000, Miaoulis and other educators persuaded the Massachusetts Board of Education to adopt curriculum frameworks for teaching engineering in grades K through 12. ... [T]he face of the museum's future may not be the intense mien of Miaoulis but the plastic snout of AIBO - the robot dog manufactured by Sony that has been adapted for educational use at the museum. AIBO demonstrates the possibilities of artificial intelligence in an exhibit area on the first floor, where it has become one of the most popular attractions at the museum." December 9, 2005: Students to sink effort into underwater robot. Edinburgh Evening News. "A team of engineering students from Heriot-Watt University are to take part in an underwater robot challenge. ... The Student Autonomous Underwater Challenge has a first prize of £5000." December 4, 2005: Science class gets new spin - Engineers spark student interests. By Megan Means. Columbia Daily Tribune. "[Professor Satish Nair of the University of Missouri-Columbia] led efforts to land a $1.6 million, three-year grant to support the Engineering Fellows Project. It's part of a national program supported by the National Science Foundation and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The program allows eight MU engineering graduate students to pair with middle school science teachers as well as one elementary school in Columbia, Hallsville and Glasgow. It adds about $1,000 in resources to every classroom, including pricey robotics kits for hands-on activities. ... 'I really think the U.S. has lost out on math and science in general, as statistics show,' Nair said. 'My personal feeling also was that teachers were doing their best, but something was missing. The rigor was not there.' By using activities that engage students, such as the robots, the program also hopes to spark interest in science careers. Nair says the ideal window for sparking a scientific imagination could be as early as the elementary school years. ... Nair sees benefits for the graduate students, too. They might not plan on a teaching career, but he believes they benefit by learning to communicate and explain concepts to non-expert audiences." December 1, 2005: Bioinformatics project goes to next level - High school curriculum development expanded to include other local teachers. By Kevin Fryling. UB Reporter (University at Buffalo - State University of New York). "The Bioinformatics Workshop for High School Teachers was designed to help the educators integrate bioinformatics smoothly into biology and programming courses commonly taught at the secondary level. 'The workshop on Nov. 30 was the culmination of phase one of the [Next Generation Scientists: Training Students and Teachers] project,' said E. Bruce Pitman, professor of mathematics and associate dean for research and sponsored programs in the College of Arts and Sciences. Pitman and Thomas Furlani, associate director of the Center for Computational Research (CCR) and research associate professor of chemistry, organized the program. ... Bioinformatics is the application of mathematical, computing and statistical techniques to the understanding of the information of molecular biology, Pitman explained. It was used by scientists in decoding the human genome and is an important tool in the treatment of genetic diseases. Bioinformatics 'is not typically' covered as part of the high school curriculum, Pitman said, adding that he is not aware of any other formal bioinformatics programs in place at a secondary school nationwide." November 30, 2005: The right stuff - With a boost from NASA, Hellgate Elementary kids expand their knowledge. By Rob Chaney. Missoulian. "Getting kids to stay after school to do extra work sounds about as easy as putting a man on the moon, right? Thanks to a dedicated group of parents, teachers and NASA rocket scientists, it's a regular event at Hellgate Elementary School. At the only school district in Montana designated a NASA Explorer School, Hellgate Elementary students are skipping bus rides home to build robots, check moon positions and stretch the boundaries of their classroom education. ... After school Tuesday, a dozen fifth- and sixth-graders in the Hellgate Elementary Robotics Club were hard at their task of programming robot cars to accomplish a set of tasks far more complicated than programming a VCR. Using Lego Mindstorm kits, half of the the children set up obstacles and challenges on a big floor map. The other half crowded around computers, working out the software the robots must follow to complete their tasks." November 30, 2005: 'Robot women' of U of M reach out to girls, students of color. By Bob San. Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. "When Monica Anderson and fellow University of Minnesota students Kelly Cannon and Katie Panciera go shopping, they are reluctant to tell the salespeople what they major in. The three are studying for their doctoral degrees in the university's Computer Science and Engineering Department's Center for Distributed Robotics. In short, they study robots. 'We get that look when we tell them we study robots,' said Anderson. ... Anderson, Cannon and Panciera are studying and designing software for intelligent robots that can do surveillance work for humans. 'The idea is to keep people out of danger and save lives,' Anderson explained. 'They can be used to search for people in natural disasters, in collapsed buildings, and to search for bombs.' ... Anderson feels that women can offer different perspectives to the field of engineering and science research. ... Anderson, Cannon and Panciera are doing something extra to help more women and minorities into science and technology. Cannon ran a Minnesota Technology Day Camp for 15 middle school students this past summer. For five days, Cannon, Anderson, Panciera and other U of M students gave these students an insight into the world of robotics. ... 'Lots of girls think people studying computer science are antisocial, quiet and nerdy,' Cannon said. 'I want to show them that we are nice, normal people who do normal things.'"
>>> Equality & Diversity and Academic Departments and Summer Camps and Associations (@ Resources for Students), Hazards & Disasters, Robots, Applications November 30, 2005: Carleton students win scholarships for robotics research. Ottawa Citizen (subscription req'd.). "Two Carleton University graduate students have won $7,500 scholarships in a program that promotes research into robots and other forms of intelligent systems. ... 'We are committed to creating job opportunities for highly-skilled Canadians right here at home, and these funds will go a long way in helping to address Canada's 'brain drain' and skills shortage challenges,' [Precarn Inc.president Paul Johnston] said." November 29, 2005: 16 hands, 1 cyber glove. Eight Traverse City teens win an MIT grant for young inventors. By Susan Ager. Detroit Free Press. "Last month, the Traverse City teens got an $8,000 grant from one of America's top universities to develop a prototype of an invention the team is calling, for now, a 'mouse-glove.' ... The team is one of 18 in the nation awarded grants of up to $10,000 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this year. The Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams program is intended to excite, empower and encourage high school students in creative science. ... InvenTeam grants have, in the past four years, gone to teams proposing an eclectic mix of inventions, including a portable device to test the ripeness of watermelons. Last year, the only other Michigan team to win a grant, a group in in Saginaw, worked on a robot that stripes or re-stripes athletic fields. Whether these inventions are ever marketed is irrelevant."
>>> Applications, Resources for Students, Resources for Educators November 28, 2005: News in A Flash - Army of robots hits campus. By Chloé Fedio & Jake Troughton. The Gateway. "A group of 30 school kids were on [the University of Alberta] campus this Saturday building robots with the help of engineering students. David Kastelan, an engineering student and member of the Autonomous Robotic Vehicle Project (ARVP), which put on the event, worked with other members of his group on the robot kits before the kids, aged ten to 15, took up the task. ... 'Robots can do cool things that humans can't; like, if they have to go clean up a nuclear accident, they can, but humans can't, 'cause they could get sick, like in Chernobyl,' [12 year old Stephan Soucy] said. Soucy, like all the kids at the event, submitted an essay to the Edmonton Journal about his interest in robots and was chosen to take part in the building process. 'Some day they might take over, who knows,' the seventh-grader warned. Still, he says he hopes to pursue a career in robotics." November 25, 2005: Bennettsville book fair promotes literacy. By Shireese M. Bell. Morning News Online. "[T]wo Bennettsville natives, CDF Founder Marian Wright Edelman ... and Karina Liles, a junior Spelman College student, a member of the Spelbots RoboCup Soccer Team, attended the [Children's Defense Fund's annual book fair]. ... Liles demonstrated Sony's ERS-7 AIBO Robot Dog. ... Liles said her professor Dr. Andrew Williams, who specializes in robotics and artificial intelligence, came up with the idea of forming a robotics team. She said the team started last year and had the opportunity to compete in the International RoBoCup 2005 Four-Legged Robot Soccer competition in Osaka, Japan, this past summer. The team was formed to provide hands-on robotics training and research for female computer science students and promote technology. Out of 24 teams, Spelman was the first and only historically black college and university and the only U.S. undergraduate school to qualify." November 22, 2005: Video Games Are Their Major, So Don't Call Them Slackers. By Seth Schiesel. The New York Times (registration req'd.). "Three decades after bursting into pool halls and living rooms, video games are taking a place in academia. ... Traditionalists in both education and the video game industry pooh-pooh the trend, calling it a bald bid by colleges to cash in on a fad. But others believe that video games - which already rival movie tickets in sales - are poised to become one of the dominant media of the new century. ... According to the International Game Developers Association, fewer than a dozen North American universities offered game-related programs five years ago. Now, that figure is more than 100, with dozens more overseas. ... 'The skills and methods of video games are becoming a part of our life and culture in so many ways that it is impossible to ignore,' said Bob Kerrey, the former Nebraska senator who is now president of the New School, which includes Parsons. Parsons has offered game courses to graduate students for five years and this fall began an undergraduate program in game design. 'But if you just look at the surface of people playing games, you are missing the point, which is that games are all about managing and manipulating information,' Mr. Kerrey said. 'A lot of students that come out of this program may not go to work for Electronic Arts. They may go to Wall Street. Because to me, there is no significant difference -- except for clothing preference -- between people who are making games and people who are manipulating huge database systems to try to figure out where the markets are headed. It's largely the same skill set, the critical thinking. Games are becoming a major part of our lives, and there is actually good news in that.' ... Jason Della Rocca, executive director of the game developers' association, said that no firm figures were available for overall employment in the industry. But at bellwether Electronic Arts, employment has almost doubled since 2000, to roughly 6,450. Over the same period, the number of employees in Electronic Arts's creative operations - the people who actually make games - has almost tripled, to 4,300. At universities that have embraced video games, the curriculum varies. ... " November 14, 2005: From building blocks to robots to winners - Richmond students turn Legos into a high-tech win. By Angela Mullins. Port Huron Times Herald. "Kathy Campau was introduced to Lego robotics four years ago. Not knowing what she was in for, Campau - a Richmond Middle School Spanish teacher with a flare for computers - signed up for a workshop on the subject at a technology seminar. She's been hooked ever since. ... Now, she is passing a love of the subject along to her students. The school's 22-member Lego robotics team started meeting in September. On Sunday, the group took home two trophies from a competition in Clinton Township in Macomb County. Popular at some schools locally and at many nationwide, Lego robotics is a team competition that challenges youth to build robots from Lego kits. Once the robots are assembled, the teams use computers to program them to do specific tasks. This year's theme was Ocean Odyssey...." November 10, 2005: Brain Work Gets New Digs at MIT. By Mark Baard. Wired News. "Hundreds of researchers will soon move into new offices at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT.... Robert Desimone, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT and a specialist in attention disorders, is the institute's director. Desimone said in an interview before the dedication th | |||