CSE Undergrad News

I’d like to invite University of Washington Students to apply to the third annual NYC Turing Fellowship, a program that matches outstanding computer science and mathematics students with paid summer internships at leading NYC startups.

Fyi-  Most of you won’t be around for the indoor testing, but please take note.  See below.

tracy

Thank you,

Kendrick Tang

HKN Treasurer

The Washington Opportunity Scholarship increased its funding available for College juniors and seniors in high-demand fields such as engineering.  Freshmen and sophomores are also eligible to apply for this award.  The application opens January 7:  http://www.waopportunityscholarship.org/

The Washington State Opportunity Scholarship helps low- and middle-income Washington State residents earn first bachelor’s degrees.  Over 700 scholarships will be awarded to new students who will be college freshmen, sophomores or juniors in the 2013-14 academic year.  These students will receive $1,000 renewable scholarship each year to help in their pursuit of four-year degrees in the following eligible high demand programs of study: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) or Health Care.

When students have completed enough credits to reach junior class standing (at least 90) and have submitted verification that they have been admitted into an approved high demand major as determined for 2013-14, their scholarship will be increased to $5000.

The application for the 2013-2014 academic year will be available on January 7, 2013. Complete application eligibility and timeline will be posted as soon as it is known.  However, the minimum eligibility criteria to apply as stated in the legislation governing this program are:

• Student must receive (or have received) a high school diploma or GED from a Washington high school or institution
• Student must be a Washington state resident (as defined in RCW 28B.15.012)
• Student must show intent of completing a bachelor’s degree from an eligible Washington State college or university
• Student may first enroll at a community or technical college before later transferring to a four-year college or university
• Student must enroll each year in an eligible high employer demand program of study. Eligible programs of study are approved each year by the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship Board of Directors.
• Student must submit each year the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the application deadline
• Student’s family income must be less than or equal to 125% of Washington state median family income (e.g. for the 2012-13 application, the family income for a student with a family size of 4 had to be $102,200 or less to apply. – a new  chart with income and family sizes will be available when the 2013-14 program is available)

Dawn Wiggin Esselstrom

Associate Director

University of Washington – College of Engineering

Student Academic Services

Loew Hall 301 – Box 352180

Seattle, WA 98195-2180

P: 206.543.8711

http://www.engr.washington.edu/about/sas.html

dwiggin@uw.edu

• Prototype funding Applicationdeadline is Sunday, December 16: https://catalyst.uw.edu/webq/survey/uwcie/185034

• Resource Nights, Winter Quarter, every Thurs, 6-7:30. Suggested for EIC teams-n/nc or audit.  Open to students from other schools – drop in, no rsvp required.
• Networking Nightat Resource Nights, Thurs Jan 17 – excellent place to find a team and/or teammates.  Open to all!
• February 3, Intent to Submit – online preliminary team information.
• February 26, Official Team Entry. 5 to 7-page Business Summary. Describe the problem, the solution, the team, market opportunity, and prototype or computer simulation. Feedback to each team will be provided by a panel of judges to each team.
• March 13, Pitch Workshop 6-7:30 Mandatory for all EIC teams within the Seattle area. At least 1 member from each team needs to attend.  More are recommended.
• March 31, 1-page Business Summary: describe the problem, solution, team, market opportunity, and potential for impact and describe the prototype, computer simulation or proof of concept.
• April 4, Thursday Challenge Day! Team set-up in the morning, judging begins at noon and is followed immediately by the reception and awards ceremony from 5-7:00.

As the stress level rises, it’s a good idea to remind all of our students that there are resources on campus to help if you are feeling overwhelmed or know fellow students who are troubled.  Here is the UW link to resources:

http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/help/distress.php

UW Hall Health office also wanted us to advertise these openings specifically:

We are pleased to announce that our Wednesday Procrastination/Perfectionism group now has openings.    Our Friday group, which meets from 10 to noon, is currently closed, but you could be placed on a wait list if Wednesday is not an option.

Based on feedback we gathered last week, there will be an offering of CSE 341 added this spring taught by Professor Grossman.  We will still try to overload a few students into winter’s 341 offering at the start of the quarter, but most of you should plan to take it this spring.  The overload process for 341 is the same as it is for most other CSE courses.

Other notes:

Reminder that there is still space in the robotics course, CSE 490 for winter.

We’ll release information on additional space in 484 by Friday of this week.

The updated schedule of courses can be found here: https://www.cs.washington.edu/education/time-sched/

Monte-Carlo Methods for Artificial Intelligence: A Short Course

March 18-22, 2013, Corvallis, Oregon

http://www.eecs.orst.edu/mcai

Following the previous year’s highly successful short course, the National Science Foundation and Oregon State University are sponsoring another all-expenses paid short course on Monte Carlo algorithms.

Monte Carlo methods are search algorithms based on repeated random sampling. Originally invented in physics to optimize nuclear reactions, they are used in many fields such as computational biology, finance, astrophysics, and microelectronics. They are creating big advances in Artificial Intelligence, including the first master-level play in Go, and excellent performance in Solitaire and other games. Monte Carlo methods are also being applied to many more practical problems such as robot planning, species conservation, weather forecasting, and air traffic control.

Monte Carlo methods are naturally parallel, simple to implement, and appear to perform better or comparably to other more complex approaches. There are many open research problems including some fundamental ones such as why and when they work well.

Applicants should be US citizens or permanent residents with a preference to historically under-represented groups in computer science (women, minorities, first generation to attend college). They should be in the second or third year of their undergraduate degree and should have prior experience in programming. Background in Artificial Intelligence is not required. The course runs from March 18-22 in the beautiful town of Corvallis. We will provide accommodation, airfare, computer access, high quality interactions, and technical presentations.

If you are interested or have questions, please visit http://www.eecs.orst.edu/mcai. Applications are due by December 20, 2012.

We are planning to add more space to CSE 484, but you must fill out the survey if you want to be considered. Professor Kohno will likely be on sabbatical next year, so while we are hoping to offer security during the 2013-2014 academic year, we can’t promise it.  With that being said, please fill out this survey if you want to take 484 this winter. You will need to have completed CSE 332 and 351. Experience with C programming is important, so 333 might also be helpful.

Unlike the rest of the courses where we will overload during the first week of the quarter, we will give space in 484 to some of the students who fill out this survey. Priority will go first to graduating students, then to students who will graduate before the next possible offering.

We will not be able to accommodate all students, but hopefully opening space in 484 will also offset pressure in some of the other courses.

484 survey: https://catalyst.uw.edu/webq/survey/cseadv/186915

CSE Advising

From: Academic Personnel and UW Human Resources
[mailto:uwhr@u.washington.edu]
Sent: Friday, December 07, 2012 12:27 AM
Subject: [UW Policy] Update on Initiative 502 – Use and Possession of
Marijuana

This message is being sent to all Faculty and Staff with approval from the
Office of the Vice President for Human Resources

Dear UW employees,

As most of you undoubtedly know, effective December 6, 2012, State
Initiative 502 (I-502) legalizes the possession of a small quantity of
marijuana by those 21 and over in Washington state. I-502 also revises the
laws regarding marijuana regulation and taxation, and the criminal and
civil penalties for the production, distribution, and possession of
marijuana.
However,  I-502 continues to make it unlawful for anyone, whatever their
age, to open a package containing marijuana or consume marijuana in a
public place.

Notwithstanding I-502’s passage, it is critically important for UW
employees to understand that it is still a federal crime to possess and
use even small amounts of marijuana on or in any University facilities or
vehicles.
Further, as a recipient of federal funds, the UW must comply with the Safe
& Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act and the Drug-Free Workplace Act
which require that the UW maintain a drug-free campus. Failure to comply
with federal laws and regulations on marijuana possession and use on
campus jeopardizes the UW’s continued receipt of federal funds.

Accordingly, the passage of I-502 will not change the UW policies that
prohibit the production, distribution, possession, or use of marijuana on
University property or during University-sponsored activities. Violating
these policies may lead to sanctions under the applicable general code of
conduct or the University rules relating to your particular employment
status.

Also, under Federal regulations a number of University employees are
subject to drug and alcohol testing because of the type of work they
perform.
Testing positive for marijuana is a violation of these regulations and
will remain grounds for employment sanctions including termination, even
if the marijuana use occurred outside of work hours and otherwise in
accordance with state law.

Visit http://www.uw.edu/admin/rules/policies/APS/13.07 to view the
University’s Drug & Alcohol Abuse Policy.

The resources listed below are available to assist employees who feel that
marijuana is causing problems either for themselves or their family
members.

UW RESOURCES
– UW CareLink, Faculty & Staff Assistance Program:
http://www.uw.edu/admin/hr/benefits/worklife/carelink
– Hall Health Mental Health: http://depts.washington.edu/hhpccweb
– Psychological Services and Training Center
http://www.psych.uw.edu/psych.php#p=371

COMMUNITY RESOURCES
– Washington Recovery Help Line: 866-789-1511 (available 24/7) or
http://www.warecoveryhelpline.org

Sincerely,
Cheryl Cameron, Vice Provost for Academic Personnel Mindy Kornberg, Vice
President for UW Human Resources

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact
uwhr@u.washington.edu