Did you know that Intel has recently developed an optical interconnect (http://techresearch.intel.com/articles/None/1813.htm),  which they’re going to be rolling out onto PC’s over the next couple of years?  The computers of the very near future are going to include chip-scale optical and optoelectronic devices.

Understanding how photonic devices work and where they fit into realistic systems is going to be important for anyone who wants to understand the future of computer architecture and advanced VLSI implementation.

I’d like to invite you to sign up for a new course that I’m teaching this year, entitled Waveguide Integrated Optics.   In this course, we’re going to cover the basic technologies that go into building optoelectronic circuits within traditional CMOS VLSI.  We’ll cover process integration, modulators, detectors, waveguides, and the other issues associated with making these systems real.   The course will also include a project component, where you will learn to analyze silicon waveguide based devices using both theoretical and computational tools, including industry-standard optical design automation software.

My background includes starting a couple of companies in this space, including luxtera (www.luxtera.com), so we’ll also discuss commercial opportunities: Where might there be chances to do exciting research, both here on campus in the wider world?  What kinds of startup companies are likely to emerge?  How might you go about getting a company funded in this space?

The course is being taught at a special topics course this year, and is listed as EE400 section B; it’s three credits and mees on Fridays from 1:30 to 4:20 (probably with a short break in the middle).  It meets in EEB 025.   Please send me email at hochberg@washington.edu if you have any questions.

This course is open to both undergraduates and graduate students; you’ll be expected to be familiar with Maxwell’s equations and basic electromagnetics, though this will be reviewed briefly at the beginning of the course.  Very basic familiarity with some mathematical programming environment – matlab, C, or something else – will also be expected.

I look forward to seeing you in class!

Michael

Looking for a good VLPA for autumn quarter? Check out Art 126, Topics in Studio Art. (SLN 20625, TTH 230-520 in Art 110)  It’s a VLPA  and provides a good introduction to the basic discipline of art and design and how the discipline is applicable in many fields including visual communication, architecture, engineering, all the fine arts, etc.

From: Ed Lazowska
To: cs-ugrads
Subject: First three CSE Distinguished Lectures

The first three CSE Distinguished Lectures of the year are a bit off-beat, so I want to take a minute to *strongly* urge your attendance. Topics include space flight, molecular gastronomy (cooking with science), and the invention of wireless telephony. Read on for more info, and mark you calendars!  (more…)

Hey everyone,

Welcome back to school.  We hope you had a restful time away.  Now that you’re back, we have about 96 new Accelerated and Upper division students joining our program this fall and 37 new freshman who need your expertise to show them around CSE. If you have at least one quarter of CSE courses under your belt, please help us out by being a mentor on the first day of school, Wednesday Sept 30th from 5-7pm.

Mentors should plan to be in the commons (room 691) by 5pm Wed. If you can help us out, please rsvp via the catalyst below  (please don’t send an rsvp via email unless you have questions/concerns,  our inbox is exponentially exploding these days…. erg)

RSVP Here

We need about 50-60 mentors, so please grab a CSE friend and come help, (yes there will be some food involved)

Thank you!!
Crystal, Megan and Raven

From Evan Herbst, grad seminar coordinator:

The National Science Foundation fellowship is generally considered the most desirable fellowship for grad students in CS and related fields. All current seniors who are US citizens and permanent residents (and applying to grad school) are eligible to apply. The point of major fellowships is to pay for you to work on whatever you want in grad school rather than what your advisor, who can otherwise take away funding at will, tells you to. In this case, you get about $30k a year, but the important thing is you don’t have to stick to working on the project plan you present in your application–you can switch topics after you get to grad school.

Obama has kept up his campaign rhetoric about increasing research funding, and the little birdies say there should be two to three times as many NSF fellowships awarded this year as are usual. UWCS students (undergrad + grad) usually get about two a year. The more people who apply in the CS category, the more awards in the CS category there will be.

The CS dept. is holding an info/Q&A session on the NSF fellowship Friday 10/2 at 5 pm in cs303. You’ll hear from past NSF recipients and Prof. Ed Lazowska, who’s been on the NSF awarding committee. We’ll provide copies of past winning essays. And non-NSF-specific fellowship questions are welcome.

The application deadline is early Nov. Later in October we’ll provide essay-writing help. For now, come next week and open an application at nsfgrfp.org.

Thanks!

If you filled out an overload request for a CSE course and have NOT heard from me directly via email,  please email me. At this point I think I have contacted everyone about their course preferences. We’re still moving a few folks around, but you should have at heard from me.

We look forward to seeing everyone back in a few weeks (school starts on Sept. 30th)

Crystal

Subject: Marty Stepp: Geek of the Week
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:50:03 -0700
From: Dan Grossman <djg@cs.washington.edu>

Congratulations to Marty for being the Seattle PI’s “Geek of the Week”.

http://www.seattlepi.com/tech/geekoftheweek/
http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/archives/179372.asp

A couple of his former students were very helpful in putting together a great nomination.  And I think Marty did a great job with the survey.

-Dan Grossman

INTRODUCTION TO SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
CSE 490v and 599v
Time: MWF 10.30-11.20   Room: MOR 221
Professor Georg Seelig (gseelig@u.washington.edu)

SLN: 20251, 3 credits

This class is intended for graduate and upper-level undergraduate
students from a variety of backgrounds (EE, CSE, BioE and others). The class requires math
sophistication appropriate to a junior or senior in engineering but necessary
biological and  mathematical concepts will be introduced in class.

Synthetic biology is the application of engineering principles to
biology with the dual goals of (i) building new functional biological systems (for
example for the production of biofuels or drugs) and (ii) understanding biology by
re-engineering it (“what I cannot create I do not understand”, R. Feynman).

Covered topics include:
• DNA, RNA and protein: transcription and translation
• Synthetic gene regulatory networks: oscillators, switches and others
• Theory of chemical kinetics and biochemical reaction networks
• Synthetic biology with bacteria and mammalian cells
• RNA synthetic biology: RNA switches and sensors, RNA interference
• In vitro synthetic biology: building molecular circuitry in the test tube
• Molecular programming: compilers for chemistry
•  Applications: biofuels, drug production,…

In the past few years, UW students have done incredibly well in the national Putnam Mathematics Competition. And many of these students have been CSE majors.

The big asset that we have is a “training course” (The Art of Problem Solving) taught by two young faculty members in Mathematics. This training is essential to doing well in the competition.

They would like to recruit CSE students for the coming year. Please see the announcement below, and please seriously consider this. With the help of these two great Math profs, you can do exceedingly well in this top national competition. (more…)