CSE Undergrad News

Hey All,

Those of you that came to Winterfest, we hope you all had a good time!  The tech talk season is winding down, we have a few more left.

0.) White Page

When: Wed, February 23, 5:30pm – 7:00pm

Where: CSE Atrium

Description: Talk by 2010 UW Grad Koos Kleven. http://www.whitepagesinc.com/careers

1.) Yahoo Hack-U Event

You will see some big posters going up very soon about this annual event.  Basically there will be 2 tech talks on some Yahoo  development tools, and then a 24 hour “Hackathon”  with free food,  caffiene, and fabulous prizes! (on the order of netbooks and trips to Yahoo Headquarters).  The talks and the event are a great experience, here is a day by day breakdown.

1a.) KickOff and Mobile Development

Wednesday March 2nd, 6pm, EE105

1b.) New Javascript Talk

Thursday March 3rd, 6pm EE105

1c.) 24-Hour Hackathon

Fri/Sat March 4th-5th, 12noon-12noon, 6th  floor Gates Commons

1d.) Judging, Lunch, Demos, Awards,

Saturday March 5th, 12noon-2pm, 6th  floor Gates Commons

Here are the photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/equanimity/sets/72157623399179465/with/4394250124

Links to Hack from last year:
http://developer.yahoo.com/hacku/show/2010/feb/washington

This will be a fun event, definitely consider it!

Chris Raastad

ACM Mass-Emailing Person

For those of you interested, this is a reminder that the first Imagine Cup deadline is approaching quickly.  If you’re planning to submit something we’d love to hear from you, please email me (ceney@cs) so we can track everyone involved.  This is a really great opportunity for students to showcase their creative side.

http://www.imaginecup.com/students

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Pamela Tufts <ptufts@uw.edu>
Date: Thu, Jan 20, 2011 at 11:09 AM
Subject: [Advisers] UW Environmental Innovation Challenge – INFO SESSION Thurs Jan 27 PIZZA!
To: “advisers@u.washington.edu” <advisers@u.washington.edu>

UW Environmental Innovation Challenge

Information Session – and PIZZA!
Thursday January 27, EE Bldg, 403 Conference Rm, 4:30-5:30

Are you participating or thinking about participating in the UW Environmental Innovation Challenge? We’ll talk about judging criteria, logistics, and insights for the Challenge, which is on March 31. If you are looking for a team to join, come and hear what others are doing.

Who Does This Event?

If you’ve got a passion for clean-tech, the smarts to play in the emerging green economy, and the desire to leverage your background to make an impact, the UW Environmental Innovation Challenge can provide just the platform you’ve been looking for.  Teams are cross-disciplinary, from undergraduates to grads, from colleges and universities across the state.

And don’t forget, there’s that chance to win $10,000.

First deliverable:  INTENT TO SUBMIT DUE February 17, 2011

Pam Tufts
Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
ptufts@uw.edu

---

From: Richard Ladner
Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2010 2:57 PM
To: cs-ugrads – Mailing List
Subject: FW: CMD-IT Undergraduate Student Competition

How would you like to design your own project for a class like CSE 142 or 143 that has broad appeal?  Here is your chance to do so and maybe win some money and get some recognition.

Please take a look at this competition.

Richard Ladner

Boeing Professor in Computer Science and Engineering

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Fostering Innovation Through Inclusiveness http://www.cmd-it.org CMD-IT Undergraduate Student Competition Introductory CS Course Projects: It’s All About Inclusion OVERVIEW The objective of this competition is to have students develop descriptions of computing projects that they find exciting, inspiring, and appealing to students from underrepresented groups (African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and People with Disabilities).  The projects can be artistic (for example using motion detection to make music with body movement) or practical (for example using embedded microchips to help in emergency situations).  Medical, cultural, economic – the projects can focus on any topic so long as it includes computing. The competition does not require implementation of the proposed project. The scope of the project should be consistent with what a team of two students can implement in a two week time-frame for an introductory computing course. ELIGIBILITY The contest is open to students attending a U.S. institution and meeting the following Eligibility Criteria mentioned below: You are actively enrolled as an undergraduate student at an accredited college or university during the Contest Period. A Team may consist of up to three (3) eligible students. A student may be involved in only one team. ENTRY DEADLINE:  31 January 2011, 11:59 EDT ENTRY REQUIREMENTS The competition does not require any implementation.  Each team is limited to one submission.   All submissions must go through the submission site.  Each entry must include the following: A PDF document describing the project, how the project engages the  underrepresented cultures, the computing concepts utilized in the project, and pseudo code or algorithm description of the project.  Teams are encouraged to submit figures or pictures with the description.  The description is limited to 5 pages,  using 12-point font.  Again, no implementation is required. A letter from the department head (of any one of the students) on department letterhead confirming that all the students on a team are in good standing and are undergraduate students. REVIEW CRITERIA The entries will be reviewed by the five members of the CMD-IT Executive Leadership           Team and Annuska Perkins from Microsoft and organizer of the Imagine Cup Competition for Accessibility.  The entries will be reviewed based upon the following criteria: 40% Description of engaging of underrepresented cultures 20% Project creativity 20% Concepts utilized 20% Pseudo code or algorithm description of the project The winning projects as well as those projects receiving honorable mention will be posted on the CMD-IT website.  Each project will be allocated a page with images and contextual cues to make it as realistic as possible.  Further, programming exercises will be provided by CMD-IT for each selected project. PRIZES First Place:  $3,000 Second Place:  $1,500 The prizes will be presented to the winning teams at the Tapia Conference in San Francisco on April 5, 2011.  The winning teams will receive support to attend the Tapia Conference. BACKGROUND MATERIALS Some articles about underrepresented cultures can be found on the CMD-IT resource           site. About CMD-IT CMD-IT (pronounced “command it”) is the national Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in Information Technology that is focused on the following under-represented groups: African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, and People with Disabilities. The center, which is focused on Fostering Innovation Through Inclusiveness, is comprised of corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profits. Our mission is to ensure that under-represented groups are fully engaged in computing and information technologies, and to promote innovation that enriches, enhances, and enables these communities, such that more equitable and sustainable contributions are possible by all communities.  More details about CMD-IT can be found here. Director:  Valerie Taylor, taylor@cse.tamu.edu Deputy Director:  Richard Ladner, ladner@cs.washington.edu Executive Leadership Council:  Ron Eglash (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), Ann Gates (University of Texas in El Paso), Bryant York (Portland State University) The Competition is made possible by support from the following organizations:

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Oren Etzioni <etzioni@cs.washington.edu>
Date: Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 4:03 PM
Subject: the 2011 UW Business Plan Competition!
To: cs-grads – Mailing List <cs-grads@cs.washington.edu>, cs-ugrads – Mailing List <cs-ugrads@cs.washington.edu>
Cc: faculty – Mailing List <faculty@cs.washington.edu>

The UW Business Plan Competition is an opportunity to make serious headway on that great idea you’ve been tossing around for months (or years!). And if you’re already working on your start-up, it’s an excellent way to gain visibility from  the community–we have over 350 members of the Seattle entrepreneurial and investment community involved in judging and coaching our competition. The competition is also full of networking opportunities–both with other competitors and the wider Northwest entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Now in its 14^th year, the UW Business Plan Competition is designed to bring interdisciplinary teams of students together to promote student start-up ideas and venture creation. Any degree-seeking college or university student in the state of Washington can submit his/her 5- to 7-page executive summary to the BPC.

The Grand Prize is $25,000, and in total the BPC awards $140,000 each year to student teams to fund their companies. 87 student teams have received funding to date, many of which are still going strong, including: Contour, Nanocel, Epic Seats, Athleon, NanoString Technologies, Giant Campus, Brass Media, and Impel Neuropharma, just to name a few.

The competition takes place in spring quarter, and the deadline to enter is Wednesday, April 6, 2011.  Right now we’re also offering Resource Nights to help students prepare to enter the competition. These workshops provide an opportunity to learn first-hand from local entrepreneurs the essentials of business planning and what it really takes to get a company off the ground. The nine sessions run each Thursday night, January 6 through March 3, from 6-7:30 pm.

You can learn more about the Business Plan Competition and the Resource Nights on our website.  If you have any questions about the UW Business Plan Competition or the Resource Nights, please contact Sarah Massey, manager of the competition, at masses@uw.edu or 206.685.9868.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Steve Tanimoto <tanimoto@cs.washington.edu>
Date: Thu, Jan 6, 2011 at 2:31 PM
Subject: [cs-ugrads] 2011 CS Simulator Design Competition

2011 IEEE Computer Society Simulator Design Competition

IEEE Computer Society is presenting the 2011 Simulator Design competition
for students worldwide with a top prize of 8,000 USD and a second place
prize of 2,000 USD. Student teams will be invited to design a CPU
simulator, a program used in many architecture courses to illustrate how
computers work.

“This is an exciting competition because it cuts across traditional
boundaries by combining architecture with program design and software
engineering just like real life,” said Alan Clements, chair of the
competition and an emeritus professor of computer science. “All you
have to do is to write a program. Well, that’s not quite all. You
have to write an excellent program using professional design
techniques.”

The competition requires that students have taken a course in architecture
and have both programming and software engineering skills. Student teams
will submit both a report and a working program at the end of the
competition.

Who can compete?
The competition is open to student members of the IEEE Computer Society
organized into teams consisting of three to five students enrolled at the
same institution of higher learning.

Current IEEE student members can add Computer Society student membership
(8 USD in the U.S. and Canada and 13 USD in the rest of the world) at:
http://www.computer.org/addcsmembership
Non-member students can join both IEEE and IEEE Computer Society (40 USD)
at:    http://www.computer.org/studentoffer

As part of their member benefits, all student members receive access to
the Computer Society Digital Library (CSDL).
The competition is conducted through online submission of reports and
simulators to the panel of international judges (chosen by the IEEE
Computer Society).  This year’s judges include Bob Colwell, one of the
world’s leading experts on computer design and Intel’s former chief
architect on the Pentium 4 processor.

To register and for more information visit the competition web site at:
http://www.computer.org/portal/web/competition
(Registration deadline is 18 January 2011)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Oren Etzioni <etzioni@cs.washington.edu>
Date: Mon, Jan 3, 2011 at 11:50 AM
Subject: Thinking about entering the 2011 UW Business Plan Competition but not sure where to start?
To: cs-grads – Mailing List <cs-grads@cs.washington.edu>, cs-ugrads – Mailing List <cs-ugrads@cs.washington.edu>
Cc: faculty – Mailing List <faculty@cs.washington.edu>

Then see below…

CIE ANNOUNCEMENTS

Calling all graduate students with a passion for technology and its commercial potential…

Earn two credits in ENTRE 600 this winter with the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship & the UW Center for Commercialization’s New Venture Internship projects. Students will assess the commercial potential of UW research by examining the feasibility of creating new companies based on the research as well as analyzing opportunities for licensing UW technologies to existing companies.

We are seeking currently enrolled graduate students with a passion for technology and its commercial potential. Interns must be highly motivated, with strong business and marketing skills and an interest in high tech, biotech, clean tech, and other exciting technology areas. These internships can have a major impact on the future commercialization of UW research and the potential to enter CIE’s annual Business Plan Competition and UW Environmental Innovation Challenge!

To apply, email your resume and a one-page statement of interest to Whitney Lackey. Deadline for priority acceptance is Thursday, January 6 by 5:00 pm.

Thinking about entering the 2011 UW Business Plan Competition but not sure where to start?

Join CIE every Thursday during winter quarter for Business Plan Competition Resource Nights and learn first-hand from local entrepreneurs the essentials of business planning and what it really takes to get a company off the ground. The nine sessions, which run from 6-7:30 pm, include topics such as: Entrepreneurial Checklist with Chris DeVore, Founder’s Co-op; Marketing in a Competitive Environment with Gail DeGiulio, Seattle Storm and Jane Park, Julep Nail Parlor; and Financials for Start-Upswith Alan Dishlip, CFO of Billing Revolution.

These sessions are open to students and the public. In addition to all the great entrepreneurial insights, you can also earn two credits for attending the BPC Resource Nights if you register for ENTRE 540 (or ENTRE 440 if you are an undergrad). More information on the Resource Night schedule and speakers can be found on the BPC schedule page, or contact Sarah Massey at masses@uw.edu or 206.685.9868.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursday January 6, 2011
Entrepreneurial Checklist with Chris DeVore, Founder’s Co-op

BPC Resource Nights, 6 – 7:30 pm, Paccar Hall 391

Believe it or not, there is a checklist for why start-ups succeed or fail.  You’ll get the details from a successful, dynamic, “tell it like it is” entrepreneur-turned-investor, who will also share insider tips on how to find mentors to help you through the start-up process.

Chris DeVore is a general partner of Founder’s Co-op. Previously, Chris was co-founder and COO of Judy’s Book, a local search social network. Before joining Judy’s Book, Chris was a VP at Sapient Corporation (NASDAQ: SAPE) where he built and led the company’s strategy consulting practice. He arrived at Sapient via the 1999 acquisition of Adjacency, an e-Commerce consultancy which he and his partners bootstrapped into a profitable, 50-person, $15MM revenues firm that served clients like Apple, Nordstrom, Virgin, Land Rover, and Steelcase.

Tuesday January 11, 2011

Brad Feld: Rock Star Venture Capitalist on Startup Visas, Patents and TechStars

6 – 7:30 pm, Paccar Hall 391

Brad Feld has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for over twenty years and is a co-founder of Foundry Group and of TechStars. He is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship and writes widely read and well respected blogs at www.feld.com and www.askthevc.com.

RSVP (required) for the event at: http://bit.ly/bradfeldatuw.

Thursday January 13, 2011

Business Plan Competition Networking Night and Science and Technology Showcase

6 – 7:30 pm, Kane Hall 225 (Walker-Ames Room)

You have a great idea and know you want to enter the Business Plan Competition. Now you just need a team!  (Or, you STILL don’t have a great idea—but you know you want to enter.)  Either way, relax—we’ve got you covered. The Networking Night is the event students have dubbed “speed dating for entrepreneurs.” We’ll have an open mic, some appetizers, and a lot of laughs! The Networking Night is once again being offered in conjunction with the Science and Technology Showcase, so if you’re looking for a technology to take to market, here’s your chance.

If you’re an entrepreneur (or would like to be) and want some funding, and happen to be under 20 years old, this grant may be for you!

“Hello Professors,

I am writing on behalf of Peter Thiel and the Thiel Foundation, a non-profit devoted to promoting entrepreneurialism and innovation in science and technology. We recently announced a new fellowship called 20 under 20, in which we are giving 20 entrepreneurs under 20 years of age a $100,000 grant to not only explore their entrepreneurial ideas, but also to mentor with a wide range of companies, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and more.  The application is due December 31, and is free for students. The website is http://20under20.org
(more…)

Application is due SUNDAY, Dec 12! – Pam Tufts

UW Environmental Innovation Challenge – Prototype Funding Due Sunday, December 12!

WE HAVE A CHALLENGE FOR YOU.

If you’ve got a passion for clean-tech, the smarts to play in the emerging green economy, and the desire to leverage your engineering background to make an impact, the UW Environmental Innovation Challenge can provide just the platform (and the funding!) you’ve been looking for.

HOW IT WORKS

For the UW EIC, interdisciplinary student teams will define a clean-tech problem, design and develop the solution, and work together to produce both a prototype (or proof of concept or computer simulation) and a business summary that outlines the market opportunity.

We have $25,000 available for prototype funding. In the Challenge on March 31, 2011, students will pitch their concepts and demonstrate their product/idea to a group of judges that includes technologists, entrepreneurs, and investors. Teams are judged on their prototypes, business summaries, and potential for impact. The grand prize is $10,000.

HOW DO YOU GET FUNDING?
The College of Engineering has provided $25,000 to help teams develop their prototypes.  The deadline for funding applications is midnight December 12, 2010! You can use this funding for purchasing materials to build your prototype, renting equipment, purchasing safety equipment, and hiring short-term work beyond your team’s capacity. (You cannot pay team members).

We prefer to see requests between $1,500 and $4,500 but will consider both smaller and larger amounts. Funding will be announced by January 4, 2011 and is to be used by March 31, 2011. Any unspent development money must be returned. Who can apply? Any team with at least one engineering student can apply, but the application must be submitted by the engineering student(s).  Please note: teams that receive funding agree to participate in the Challenge March 31.

Prototype funding Application

Key Dates for the UW EIC
Prototype Funding – Application due December 12
February 17 – Intent to Submit due
March 3 – Business Summary due

March 27 – 1 Page Business Summary and 1 PowerPoint Slide due
March 31 – Challenge pitches and presentations, reception and awards ceremony

Questions?
Pam Tufts, UW Environmental Innovation Challenge (EIC)
Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
ptufts@uw.edu 206.685.3813

——— Forwarded message ———-
From: Richard Ladner <ladner@cs.washington.edu>
Date: Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 2:57 PM
Subject: [cs-ugrads] FW: CMD-IT Undergraduate Student Competition
To: cs-ugrads – Mailing List <cs-ugrads@cs.washington.edu>

How would you like to design your own project for a class like CSE 142 or 143 that has broad appeal?  Here is your chance to do so and maybe win some money and get some recognition.

Please take a look at this competition.

Richard Ladner

Boeing Professor in Computer Science and Engineering

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Fostering Innovation Through Inclusiveness http://www.cmd-it.org CMD-IT Undergraduate Student Competition Introductory CS Course Projects: It’s All About Inclusion OVERVIEW The objective of this competition is to have students develop descriptions of computing projects that they find exciting, inspiring, and appealing to students from underrepresented groups (African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and People with Disabilities).  The projects can be artistic (for example using motion detection to make music with body movement) or practical (for example using embedded microchips to help in emergency situations).  Medical, cultural, economic – the projects can focus on any topic so long as it includes computing. The competition does not require implementation of the proposed project. The scope of the project should be consistent with what a team of two students can implement in a two week time-frame for an introductory computing course. ELIGIBILITY The contest is open to students attending a U.S. institution and meeting the following Eligibility Criteria mentioned below: You are actively enrolled as an undergraduate student at an accredited college or university during the Contest Period. A Team may consist of up to three (3) eligible students. A student may be involved in only one team. ENTRY DEADLINE:  31 January 2011, 11:59 EDT ENTRY REQUIREMENTS The competition does not require any implementation.  Each team is limited to one submission.   All submissions must go through the submission site.  Each entry must include the following: A PDF document describing the project, how the project engages the  underrepresented cultures, the computing concepts utilized in the project, and pseudo code or algorithm description of the project.  Teams are encouraged to submit figures or pictures with the description.  The description is limited to 5 pages,  using 12-point font.  Again, no implementation is required. A letter from the department head (of any one of the students) on department letterhead confirming that all the students on a team are in good standing and are undergraduate students. REVIEW CRITERIA The entries will be reviewed by the five members of the CMD-IT Executive Leadership Team and Annuska Perkins from Microsoft and organizer of the Imagine Cup Competition for Accessibility.  The entries will be reviewed based upon the following criteria: 40% Description of engaging of underrepresented cultures 20% Project creativity 20% Concepts utilized 20% Pseudo code or algorithm description of the project The winning projects as well as those projects receiving honorable mention will be posted on the CMD-IT website.  Each project will be allocated a page with images and contextual cues to make it as realistic as possible.  Further, programming exercises will be provided by CMD-IT for each selected project. PRIZES First Place:  $3,000 Second Place:  $1,500 The prizes will be presented to the winning teams at the Tapia Conference in San Francisco on April 5, 2011.  The winning teams will receive support to attend the Tapia Conference. BACKGROUND MATERIALS Some articles about underrepresented cultures can be found on the CMD-IT resource           site. About CMD-IT CMD-IT (pronounced “command it”) is the national Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in Information Technology that is focused on the following under-represented groups: African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, and People with Disabilities. The center, which is focused on Fostering Innovation Through Inclusiveness, is comprised of corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profits. Our mission is to ensure that under-represented groups are fully engaged in computing and information technologies, and to promote innovation that enriches, enhances, and enables these communities, such that more equitable and sustainable contributions are possible by all communities.  More details about CMD-IT can be found here. Director:  Valerie Taylor, taylor@cse.tamu.edu Deputy Director:  Richard Ladner, ladner@cs.washington.edu Executive Leadership Council:  Ron Eglash (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), Ann Gates (University of Texas in El Paso), Bryant York (Portland State University) The Competition is made possible by support from the following organizations: