CSE Undergrad News

—–Original Message—–
From: justincappos@gmail.com [mailto:justincappos@gmail.com] On Behalf Of Justin Cappos
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 8:52 AM
To: Crystal Eney; Elise DeGoede; Raven Avery
Subject: Research Project Needs Motivated Students

Hello!

I’m looking for a talented student (or two) who is interested in

working on a safe programming environment that will be deployed

on millions of computers ( https://seattle.cs.washington.edu ). This

environment is currently being used in networking and distributed systems

classes at universities around the world (including at UW!).   We already

have the world’s largest open testbed.  This is an excellent opportunity to

work on a very visible project.

There are a huge number of interesting subprojects that a student

could work on.   Here are a few example projects (but we are open to

suggestions):

Google Native Client integration — Some of the Google folks are interested

in integrating Google Native Client with our API.   This would allow

x86 binaries to be executed on our platform and provide Google Native

Client with performance isolation and resource restrictions.

Tor project support — Participation in Seattle as a hidden service to better

anonymize Seattle users.

Building cool apps — We’ve built DHTs, MapReduce, Paxos, and

other interesting applications, but we’re open to more development.

Mirror support and analysis — The TUF project

( https://www.updateframework.com/ ) is investigating security issues

related to software mirrors and needs a student who has strong

system administration skills.

As I mentioned before, these are only a few of the potential

subprojects that we’re interested in students working on.   If you

have your own project ideas we’d be keen to hear about them!

The benefits of doing research in our group:

* Work experience for your resume  —   Applicants with a background

in building real software are highly sought after in industry.

Working on a “production” research project gives you that experience

without needing to commute to work.

* Team environment    —   A significant amount of the work in our lab is

done in teams of 2-4 undergrads.   This helps to provide a supportive working

environment and allows students to accomplish more impressive things

in a shorter period of time.

* Research experience   —   One goal of the work is to spread

awareness by publishing in top conferences.   If you are interested in

graduate school, this will help tremendously.   One of prior students

is starting at Berkeley this year.

* Course credit or pay   —   Students will receive course credit

or pay in most circumstances.

* Letter of recommendation   —   Letters of recommendation about

research experience (Joe built an application used on millions of

computers) are often more reflective of skills than a letter based on

classroom interaction (Joe got a 3.8 in my class).

An applicant must have:

* Strong programming skills

* Self-motivation

I have had the privilege to work with many talented students,

including five who won awards and/or fellowships for research.   Our

lab currently is working with 8 talented undergraduates.   Three students

have either completed an honor’s thesis on this project and another

student has their thesis in progress.

We’re most interested in applicants who have prior experience working

either on open source software or have significant industry experience.

Competitive students should have a CS GPA >= 3.5 and

either have taken 3 CS courses or have prior experience.

Applicants also should have at least 1 year until graduation.

Significant experience in Python or C are a plus but not required.

If you are interested in learning more about our project, please send

an email to justinc@cs.washington.edu with the following information

(you need not list more an a few sentences for any item):

* Name

* Previous / Expected Degrees w/ CS and Math GPA

* Scholarships / Awards

* Expected graduation date

* Known programming languages / libraries and level of expertise

* Operating System familiarity (i.e. RedHat Linux administrator for 3

years, Windows user for 10 years)

* Work experience

* Any other skills I should know about

* The coolest project you’ve worked on

* Would you like pay / credit / volunteer?

* Email address you’d like to be contacted at

Thanks,

Justin

Hi all…

Nocturnal Flow, the light wall, will be repaired next week.  To prepare for this, the entire wall will be have scaffolding with installation starting  on Monday, 8/23.  All work, both scaffold installation and light wall repairs, will be done in the evening hours, after 5pm.

Tracy Erbeck, Facilities Manager

Paul G Allen Center for CSE

Box 352350

Seattle, WA 98195

206.543.9264 (desk)

206.543.2969 (fax)

From: faculty-admin@cs.washington.edu [mailto:faculty-admin@cs.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Hank Levy
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 1:27 PM
To: faculty – Mailing List; cs-staff – Mailing List; cs-ugrads – Mailing List; cs-grads – Mailing List; vgrads – Mailing List
Subject: “Breaking the Code”

FYI, there is a Seattle theater group (Strawberry Theatre Workshop)  that will be putting on the play “Breaking the Code” from September 8 through October 8 on Capital Hill.   The play is about Alan Turing, one of the fathers of computer science, focusing on his role in the development of the computer to break the German Enigma code during WWII, which had a significant impact on the outcome of the war.  It also deals with his persecution/prosecution as a homosexual in England at that time, which led to his suicide (just last year, Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a formal apology for Britain’s treatment of Turing — better late than never, I guess).

The play ran briefly on Broadway in 1987 and was nominated for several Tony Awards.  There was also a BBC TV version that was broadcast on PBS.

Tickets are $15 for students, seniors, or on Thursdays — otherwise $30 regular price.  More info here:

http://www.strawshop.org/nowplaying_folder/code/codeprogram.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_Theatre_Workshop

A review of the 1987 version of the play appeared in Time:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966030,00.html

hank

If you’re interested in web design and want to help a non-profit (or just want a place to use those new skills from 190M), check out this posting.

“I’m currently working for a non-profit organization (FRAEC – see www.fraec.org) and we’re currently looking for someone who would be willing to help us redesign the website as a type of internship or opportunity to build a portfolio.  Is this an opportunity that could be posted somewhere in either the the CSE or elsewhere?  I’m thinking that this might be a good opportunity for Jr or Sr – level undergrads or perhaps Graduate students as well.

Let me know if you have any suggestions.  I can be reached at 206-915-3294.

Thank You,
Ryan Burley
rburley94@hotmail.com

Foundation for Russian-
American Economic Cooperation
206-915-3294″

Hi all,

Barbara Mones is hosting one more info session on the animation program for next year. They will be wrapping up the application process soon and would like all interested students to have a chance to apply.

Here are the details:

Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) and the Animation Research Labs invite you to an information session on the Animation Production undergraduate course sequence at UW Seattle.  This sequence runs from Autumn 2010 through Spring 2011. The Animation Capstone culminates in a professional and collaboratively produced digital short film, similar in process to Disney/Pixar and Dreamworks productions.  Examples of previous award winning films produced in this course series will be shown and questions regarding applications and admission, etc. will be addressed. We look forward to seeing you there. Light refreshments will be served.

What:
Animation Capstone Series Information Session

When:
3:30pm on Monday August 16, 2010

Where:
Paul G. Allen Center for CS&E, Room  674 (Gates Commons conference room)

Questions?

Contact:

Barbara Mones, Animation Production Program Director (mones@cs.washington.edu)
Robert Forsberg  Program Assistant (dybbek@cs.washington.edu)

—–Original Message—–
From: On Behalf Of Yaw Anokwa
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 9:05 AM
To: faculty – Mailing List; cs-staff – Mailing List; cs-grads – Mailing List; cs-ugrads – Mailing List
Subject: motorcycles@cs

hullo,

i’ve talked to a number of uw-cse motorcyclists who want to do group

rides this summer. if you are interested in this and other

motorcycling issues (going to track days, maintenance howtos, watching

motogp, gear recommendations, etc.), please subscribe to

motorcycles@cs.washington.edu.

i’ll be sending out an email in the next week or so to organize our

first ride. join now so you don’t miss out. oh, and feel free to

forward this to cse alumni in seattle — everyone is welcome to join.

yaw

Hi all,

Misha was a CSE major who passed away two years ago from complications during dental surgery. His friends and family are putting on a fundraiser to have a bench at UW to honor his memory. Details below.

Dance in Mikhail’s Memory

What: A fund raising salsa dance to install a memorial bench for Mikhail/Misha/Michael Manyak. There will be a lesson for beginners from 6:00 – 6:45, dancing until 9:00 with performances by Johnny Bravo Dancers, and Salsa Con Todo at 8:00.

Who: Misha’s friends, family, fans, fellow dancers, etc. This event is open to the public, attendees need not have a personal connection with Misha.

When: Sunday, August 8 6pm – 9pm

Where: HaLo located at 500 E Pike St

Why: Two years ago we lost a dear friend and we want to establish a place on or near the University of Washington campus where he will be remembered forever.

How: The minimum cover will be $6 (the usual at HaLo), with a recommended donation of $25 for individuals and $40 for couples. Our goal is $5400 to cover the cost of the event and the bench on the University of Washington campus, and this is our main fund raising event. Anything you can donate helps!

Any questions about the event or donations for the bench can be made to Eugenia Prezhdo and Leah Fury, friends of Misha: eprezhdo@u.washington.edu and lpfury@u.washington.edu.

If you will be on campus this Saturday (7/31) and willing to talk with a new CSE major briefly, please email me.

This newly-admitted student is only available to visit UW on the weekend, when the Allen Center is locked and no one is around to answer questions. He’s a post-baccalaureate student, so it could be helpful for him to talk with another post-bac or a transfer student — but feel free to volunteer even if you started at UW as a freshman. 🙂

If you’re planning to be in the building, we’d greatly appreciate your help! I will connect you with him, and you can work out the time.

PEERs Seminar:http://engr.washington.edu/peers
Leadership Development to Promote Equity in Engineering Relationships

Our next PEERs course is in Fall Quarter 2010, Thursdays 1:30-2:20
Location TBD

Course Instructors:
Dr. Joyce Yen, Program/Research Manager, UW ADVANCE Center for Institutional Change
Dr. Sapna Cheryan, Assistant Professor, Psychology

Course Description: The seminar will enlist engineering students’ energy, creativity, social conscience, and on-the-ground perspectives in improving the diversity environment in the UW College of Engineering. Students will explore topics such as diversity in science and engineering, impact of unconscious bias, community engagement, leadership, etc. The seminar will culminate in a student-developed short presentation which will be the core of presentations in the College of Engineering PEERs initiative. Students who successfully complete the seminar can apply for quarter-long internship opportunities as PEER Leaders.

Hey ugrads! We need a few volunteers to give 20-minute CSE building tours for Freshmen Orientation on July 15 and July 22. The tours will be 3-3:45 (you’ll give the same tour twice).

These are the “Special Interest” orientation groups who have specifically selected to attend a CSE-centric session, so they’ll be excited to meet a real CSE major.  🙂  Some of the students will be Direct Admits, but many will still be deciding on a major.

No experience necessary. Email me if you’re interested!

Raven Avery
Academic Adviser
Computer Science & Engineering
University of Washington
ravena@cs.washington.edu