Stanford Engineering Library Blog

Stanford is hosting a programming contast.

When: Saturday, 6 October 2007, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Where: Gates B02 (basement computer cluster) and Gates B21 (PUP cluster)

Are you a programmer or hacker with a flair for coding under pressure? Does the word "algorithm" send chills down your spine? If so, the Stanford Local Programming Contest is for you!

WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?

Once again, Stanford will be hosting a local programming contest to select the six individuals who will represent Stanford at the 2007 ACM Pacific NW Regional Contest and will have a chance to compete at the 2008 ACM ICPC World Finals in Alberta, Canada!

Palantir Technologies will be sponsoring free pizza following the contest, so come and hang out with us!

AM I ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE?

This year, the local contest will be open to ALL Stanford students who want to participate! Please see the website for eligibility requirements for the regional and world contests.

GREAT! WHAT DO I DO?

(1) Send an e-mail to indicating that you will be competing, so that I can get a rough idea of how many students to expect.

Please also mention:
(a) whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student,
(b) whether you are eligible for a spot on the Stanford ACM team, and
(c) whether you anticipate competing from Gates or from your own room.

(2) Come to Gates room B02 or B21 (the computer clusters in the basement) on Saturday, October 6th at 12:00 pm. I will go over the rules of the contest, set you up with a practice problem, and begin the contest promptly at 1:00 pm.

(3) Code like mad!!! The contest will last 4 hours. There are some great practice problems to try in the archives (previous contest pages). Come and help make a good showing for Stanford. I hope to see you there!

-- Posted to the EE student list by Chuong (Tom) Do.

CTL Fall Workshops for Graduate Students and Teaching Assistants

Workshop: The Voice of Authority
When: October 10 (W) 4:00-5:00pm English Terrace Room, (Bldg. 460, Room 426)

Using your voice effectively is a fundamental but too often overlooked teaching skill. In this workshop you’ll learn about some common vocal problems and how to work on them. You’ll be shown some exercises to increase your vocal range and reach, as well as to improve the clarity of your enunciation.

Workshop: Getting Feedback
When: October 16 (T) 4:15-5:30pm 403 Sweet Hall

You know what you are teaching but… what are your students learning? Beyond the traditional homework, exam, and end-of-quarter evaluation, there are a number of simple tools you can use to fine-tune your teaching and determine what your students are actually learning. The results will improve the experience of your students in the classroom as well as your end-of-quarter evaluations. For more information, please contact Marcelo Clerici-Arias at marcelo@stanford.edu. Register online at http://workshop.stanford.edu/gettingfeedback/.

Workshop: The Art of Asking Questions
When: October 24 (W) noon-1:30pm English Terrace Room, (Bldg. 460, Room 426)

Effective communication inside or outside the classroom includes not only what you say and hear, but also the types of questions you ask. We will discuss various functions of questions, and how to use effective and creative questions to enhance your teaching and interview skills. Regardless of your discipline, this workshop can help your communication be more refined and engaging. Led by Marianne Neuwirth.

Workshop: Academic Job Search Series: Giving a Successful Academic Job Talk
When: November 6 (T) noon-1:00 Graduate Student Center, Havana Room

Michele Marincovich, Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and the Director of CTL, discusses the ways in which you can prepare for an academic job talk, meet your audience’s expectations, and enhance the effectiveness of your talk by following some basic presentation principles. Co-sponsored by the Career Development Center.

Workshop: Launching a Faculty Career: Tips on Quick and Effective Starts
When: November 13 (T) 4-5:30pm Location: TBA

Join Robyn Wright Dunbar as she addresses what research on early career faculty tells us and who survives and who thrives. Based on the experiences of Robert Boice’s work with new faculty, this session will give you a sense of what to expect once the interview process is successfully behind you. Co-sponsored by the Career Development Center.

Workshop: Basic PowerPoint
When: November 15 (TH) noon-1:30pm Sweet 403
Multimedia slideshows can be an effective supplement to your presentations. However, PowerPoint can harm as well as help your presentation. This hands-on workshop covers strategies for integrating slides into your presentation, as well as the basic techniques of creating and editing slides using PowerPoint. Other topics covered include: incorporating images, data, and media; using master slides for consistency. Animation will not be addressed in this workshop. Registration is required. Please go to http://workshop.stanford.edu/basic_ppt to sign up.

Workshop: Teaching Portfolios Series
When: November 29 (TH) and December 6 (TH) noon-1:30pm Sweet 403

Whether a loose collection of teaching materials, a polished bound volume, or an online document, a teaching portfolio is an important asset in the job search and in the process of your self-development as a teacher. Participants in this workshop series will consider the types of materials to include in a portfolio and a variety of ways to present these materials. Supported by CTL staff members participants will write and get feedback on a teaching statement. A major goal of this series is for participants to produce a teaching statement. Time will be devoted in each session to analysis and writing, and participants should expect to spend some time between sessions working on drafts. (Note: Participants must attend BOTH sessions.)

Join CTL’s Graduate Student Reading Group

You are invited to join an ongoing pedagogy reading group open to graduate students from all departments. We meet once a month to discuss relevant issues in today’s classroom as well as how to prepare to be a great teacher in an academic career. Possible topics include but are not limited to: visualization in learning, cognitive processes of learning, disparity in the classroom, integrating class lectures with readings. The first meeting this quarter will be on Thursday, October 4, 5pm at the Asian American Activities Center Conference Room in the Old Union Clubhouse. Please see our website for more details: http://teaching-grads.blogspot.com/
RSVP to I-Chant at iac@stanford.edu.

For further information on the Center for Teaching and Learning, see http://ctl.stanford.edu

Stanford OSA/SPIE, UC Berkeley OSA/SPIE, UC David Optics cub

When: Saturday, October 13

10 am - Meet on campus to carpool to San Francisco

11:30 am - Lunch with Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC Davis optics groups...

Meet other optics/photonics students for lunch at the Exploratorium Cafe. This is a great time to get involved in chapter activities - all new members welcome!

1:00 pm Exploratorium Exhibits: Educational Outreach Inspiration

Explore numerous exhibits such as "Seeing: Light and the Eye", "Color", and the "Microscope Imaging Station" to get ideas for improving our outreach materials

3:30 pm Depart San Francisco to return to campus

Faculty, staff, students, post-docs: Please RSVP to Meredith Lee (stanford.osa@osa.org) with your name and affiliation so a name tag can be created and to help plan for transportation and food. Limited subsidy funds - sign up ASAP before Monday October 8.

http://student-osa.stanford.edu

Stanford Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) presents:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) speaker event

Subject: Computer Simulation & Its Role in Studying Critical Infrastructure
Date & Time: Thursday October 4, 5:30pm
Location: Packard Building 101
Speaker: Dr. Charles R. Noble, Lead Engineer for Critical Infrastructure, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

(Food and refreshment will be served)

Abstract:
Recent structural failures, such as the MacArthur Maze in Oakland, California and the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, have only reminded us of how important infrastructure is in our everyday lives. Dr. Noble will describe the finite element software being developed and used at LLNL to simulate U.S. critical infrastructure, providing examples of simulations of earthquake safety of bridges and dams, including examples related to Homeland Security. He will also discuss how these simulations require the teamwork of scientists and engineers across many different disciplines (e.g. structural engineers, mechanical engineers, chemists, statisticians) at LLNL.

Speaker Bio:
Charles Noble is the Lead Engineer for Critical Infrastructure at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Since being hired at LLNL in 1997, Charles’ work has focused primarily on seismic, impact, and blast effects on America’s critical infrastructure. He received his B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Davis in 1996, his M.S. in Structural Engineering from the University of California at Davis in 1997, and his Ph.D. in Structural Mechanics from the University of California at Davis in March 2007. His Ph.D. research focused on methodologies for the computational simulation of concrete dams under seismic excitation.

Hope to see you there! Stanford IEEE

Career Drop-Ins - Every Thursday afternoon

You may have your resume/C.V. critiqued or quick career related questions answered every Thursday afternoon, from 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM, at the Clark Center, Room E129 (Brainstorming Room).

You will get a change to meet with Career Development Counselors in a drop-in type format at the Clark Center. These Drop-ins are co-sponsored with Stanford Biodesign and the Career Development Center.

No appointments are necessary.

When: We meet the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 PM in Packard 202.

We're seeking new student members. You don't have to be licensed to join. We charge no dues for students, and offer training classes so you can get your own FCC license. Faculty, staff and alumni are also welcome as participants. New student members welcome

Do you want to see your name on a Stanford building? Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard were student members of the Stanford Amateur Radio Club. They're quoted as saying, "We learned more in the ham club than we did in our courses."

The radio club http://www-w6yx.stanford.edu/ offers unique opportunities for you to gain hands-on experience with radio/wireless equipment,
antennas and systems, under the guidance of experienced mentors. Our meetings feature talks about current technology directions in wireless.

The Stanford club history goes back to the dawn of shortwave radio in the 1920's. But it's not just the past: At Site 530 in the foothills we enjoy one of the best equipped amateur radio facilities among all universities.

The club is seeking new student members. You don't have to be licensed to join. We charge no dues for students, and offer training classes so you can get your own FCC license. Faculty, staff and alumni are also welcome as participants. We meet the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 PM in Packard 202.

Tonights meeting will focus on club introduction, upcoming public service events, report on past and upcoming contests, equipment status report, and donation reminder for non-students. There will then have a question and answer period before we take a short break and then begin a business meeting. The business meeting will focus on upcoming club constitutional changes and the yearly student officer elections.

Students, please join us. Faculty, please announce this in your classes.

Oct. 9, 7:30 PM in Packard 202
Map here:
http://campus-map.stanford.edu/index.cfm?ID=04-030

Posted to the EE list by:
Daniel Clark - W6YX President

IRITE/Elevator Talk Workshops will take place twice Autumn quarter. Learn to produce short, accessible written statements that explain your research and one-minute long "elevator pitch" oral presentations that are succinct and invite further discussion. FREE!! Especially good for advanced doctoral students and postdocs. See: http://www.stanford.edu/group/i-rite/about.html

Session 1: Tuesday October 23, 6-9 pm & Thursday Oct. 25, noon - 5 pm.
Session 2: Thursday November 8, 6-9 pm & Saturday Nov. 10, 1 - 6 pm.

GSBGEN 374: Interpersonal Influence and Leadership. Open to graduate students outside of the school of business, this course combines two popular and long-standing GSB courses. It teaches students to build productive, effective and rewarding relationships at work. Students develop self-awareness, and learn to raise and work through difficult issues, to give and receive feedback, and to work effectively in groups. Winter & Spring quarters. For more information, including the pre-qualification assignment (due October 15, 2007), see this site http://vpge.stanford.edu/students/id.html and follow the links to the course.

VPGE has funding available on a competitive basis to support dissertation research expenses on diversity-related topics. Funds will be awarded on a competitive basis. Deadlines: November 15, 2007; April 15, 2008. Details at: http://vpge.stanford.edu/students/diversity/diversity.html#funding
Please contact Stef Moss (stefmoss@stanford.edu) with questions.

Stanford Scientific Magazine Public Lecture Series Presents

IPCC, Kyoto, and the Next Steps to Meet the Challenge of Climate Change

* Who writes those IPCC reports?
* Why has addressing climate change been so difficult?
* What needs to happen for a meaningful response?

Join IPCC coauthor and prominent climate change scholar Chris Field for a lecture and audience Q&A.

(When) Wednesday, January 23 at 7:30pm
(Where) Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University
(How much) Free and open to the public

The strong historical link between carbon emissions and economic activity highlights the dual economic and ecological nature of the looming challenge. Our challenge is cutting emissions while powering a global economic engine likely to grow more than 10-fold in the 21st century. Many low-emitting technologies are available today, but moving them from the laboratory scale to global energy system is the grand challenge of our era.

Prof. Chris Field is the founding director of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology and Director of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. He was the coordinating lead author on the 2007 IPCC chapter on impacts of climate change on North America. A member of the US National Academy of Sciences, Field has appeared recently on BBC's "The World Today," CBC's "Quirks and Quarks," and NPR's "Science Friday."

HOW I WRITE

Professor Terry Root
Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor of Biological Sciences

Tuesday, February 5, 2008
7PM
The Hume Writing Center,
Basement of Margaret Jacks Hall (460-020)

Terry L. Root, a Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor, by courtesy, of Biological Sciences, primarily works on large-scale ecological questions with a focus on impacts of global warming. She actively works at making scientific information accessible to decision makers and the public (e.g., being a Lead Author for IPCC Third and Fourth Assessment Reports). She is the author of numerous scientific articles for such journals Science, Climatic Change, Biodiversity and Conservation, and Nature. She has written numerous chapters in books, as well as being the author of Atlas of Wintering North American Birds: An Analysis of Christmas Bird Count Data and co-author of Wildlife Responses to Climate Change: North American Case Studies. In 1999 she was chosen as an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow, in 1992 as a Pew Scholar in Conservation and the Environment, and in 1990 as a Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation.

Join Hilton Obenzinger, Associate Director of the Hume Writing Center, Honors and Advanced Writing, in a conversation on the techniques, quirks, and joys of advanced writers producing work in all fields and genres.

Sponsored by the Hume Writing Center, Undergraduate Advising and Research, and Stanford Continuing Studies

Look for previous How I Write Conversations on Stanford on i-Tunes

Plan to attend the second annual Entrepreneurship Week at Stanford University, February 22-29, 2008. Everyone is invited!

Enjoy up to 14 events throughout the week, including prestigious speakers; roundtable discussions; a mixer with venture capitalists (VCs), students and entrepreneurs; VC/student "speed dating"; and a start-up job fair.

Be sure to attend the exciting kickoff event with a keynote presentation by Stanford President and entrepreneur, John Hennessy, and world premiere of the movie, Imagine It!, an inspiring documentary featuring numerous Stanford students competing in last year's "Apprentice-style" Innovation Tournament. View the trailer.

Most events are free and open to the public. See the full schedule and get details at http://eweek.stanford.edu.

BILL GATES
On Software, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, And Giving Back

Bill Gates, chairman and co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, will discuss the importance of digital innovation in driving our global economy and addressing societal issues and the benefits afforded by careers based in math and science.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008
3:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Memorial Auditorium
Stanford University
Doors open at 3:00 p.m. and close at 3:45 p.m.
An event for the Stanford Community

Ticket Information:

* The event is open to Stanford students, faculty, and staff.
* Free Admission. One (1) ticket per Stanford ID.
* Tickets must be picked up in person with Stanford ID at the Stanford Ticket Office.
* Limited tickets may be available at Memorial Auditorium on the day of the event.
* Stanford Ticket Office location/hours:

1st Floor, Tresidder Union
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday
12:00 noon - 4:00 p.m., Saturday.
For further event information, please call: 725-2787.

Tom Kelley, General Manager of IDEO and author of two best selling books on innovation, will be on campus to give a talk, “Young at Heart: How to Be an Innovator for Life." In addition, Tom will help us kick off this year's Global Innovation Tournament.

November 12, 4:30-6:00 PM
Kresge Auditorium
Free and open to the public

Make plans to participate in the Tournament. It is fast and fun, lasting only four days. Each team will be charged with creating as much value as possible using an everyday object. We will unveil the mystery object after Tom Kelley's talk. Teams produce a short video showing what they have done. Come with a team or form one after the launch event.

The first year of the Tournament, the mystery object was Post-it Notes, and last year it was rubber bands.... You can see last year's winners at: http://eweek.stanford.edu/2008/winners.html

Prizes include once-in-a-lifetime experiences, such as playing Deathball with Tim Draper or playing ice hockey with Guy Kawasaki. Winning submissions will be announced and showcased on Wed , Nov 19, from 4:30-6:00 in Kresge Auditorium.

Learn more and sign up in advance at http://eweek.stanford.edu .

Public Lecture
Tuesday, December 16, 2008. 7:30 PM.
Location:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's Panofsky Auditorium
URL: http://www2.slac.stanford.edu/lectures/

Eighty years ago, William W. Hansen joined the Stanford Physics Department as a student and soon after started on a journey to build the first linear electron accelerator at the university.
His success spawned the construction of a 1 Billion volt machine on campus which in turn led to the proposal to build the three-kilometer long electron accelerator at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Since 1966, this accelerator, its added storage rings and detectors have produced an incredible series of discoveries, resulted in four Nobel prizes, and opened the road to new projects currently underway, one of them in outer space, the other one an X-ray laser. In this Public Lecture, Gregory Loew, who has been at SLAC for five decades, will guide you through SLAC's origins, highlight its scientific achievements, and give you a glimpse of its future.

Stanford Pioneers in Science series presents Daphne Koller, Professor of Computer Science.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 7:30 pm / Cubberly Auditorium

This series of events celebrate the lives and contributions of Stanford faculty members who have been awarded Nobel Prizes, National Medals of Science or Technology, and MacArthur Fellowships.

Each evening will be introduced by a distinguished colleague of the prizewinner, who will put the scientist's accomplishments in context. Then the prizewinner will be joined by interviewer Paul Costello for a wide-ranging conversation about the honoree's discovery, professional career, values, and advice for aspiring scientists. Plenty of time will be allowed at the conclusion of each event for questions to be posed by members of the audience.

This series is your chance to engage with some of the most consequential thinkers of our day—people who have helped to shape the scientific, technological, and economic fabric of our modern world.

The Stanford Pioneers in Science Series is sponsored by the Stanford Historical Society, School of Medicine, the Hoover Institution, Office of Public Affairs and Stanford Continuing Studies.

-----------------------------------

DAPHNE KOLLER

Professor of Computer Science

Daphne Koller won a 2004 MacArthur Fellowship for her creativity in the area of artificial intelligence. Her research on Bayesian methods, a once obscure branch of probability theory, has been called by Technology Review "one of the 10 emerging technologies that will change your world" because of the potential it offers for machines to understand the world and make accurate predictions using incomplete knowledge. This past April she was awarded the first-ever $150,000 ACM-Infosys Foundation Award for making computers "intelligent." She also was awarded a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers at the White House in 1999. She received a PhD from Stanford where she earned the Computer Science Department's award for the best thesis in 1994.

Daphne Koller's scientific creativity and achievements will be presented by her colleague, Stanford Professor of Computer Science, Sebastian Thrun, best known for leading two student teams to first and second places in the DARPA $2 million Grand Challenge robot races in 2005 and 2007 respectively.

STANFORD PIONEERS IN SCIENCE SERIES: 2008 — 2009

FALL QUARTER 2008

Sidney Drell, who won a MacArthur Fellowship for his contributions to theoretical physics and international arms control (October 21)

Robert Sapolsky, who won a MacArthur Fellowship for research that revolutionized our understanding of physical and emotional stress (November 12)

WINTER QUARTER 2009

Carl Djerassi, who won the National Medal of Science whose research led to the birth control pill, and the National Medal of Technology for new approaches to pest control (January 14)

Daphne Koller, who won a MacArthur Fellowship for extraordinary advancements in the next generation of computer technology (February 11)

Burton Richter, who won the Nobel Prize for discovering a new subatomic particle, taking us a step closer to understanding what the universe is made of (March 4)

SPRING QUARTER 2009

Kenneth Arrow, who won the Nobel Prize for his contributions to economic equilibrium theory and welfare theory (April 15)

Paul Berg, who won the Nobel Prize for research that laid the groundwork for recombinant DNA technology (May 20)