Upcoming Conferences, Workshops and Symposiums
Cloud Futures 2012 – Call for Participation
May 7-8, 2012 – Berkeley, California
Cloud computing is an exciting platform for research and education. It has already advanced scientific and technological progress by making data and computing resources available at unprecedented economy of scale. To realize the full promise of cloud computing for research and education, however, we must think about the cloud as a holistic platform for creating new services, new experiences, and new methods to pursue research and teaching. Pursuing these goals presents a broad range of interesting questions. The Cloud Futures 2012 workshop is a joint venture between the Microsoft Research Connections, Azure Research Engagement, and Developer & Platform Evangelism Academic groups, and is in association with and supported by the University of California, Berkeley. For more information and to register, please visit http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/events/cloudfutures2012/.
The 21st International ACM Symposium on
High-Performance Parallel and Distributed Computing
(HPDC'12) – Call for Participation
June 18-22, 2012 - Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
Early Bird Registration – May 25, 2012
The ACM International Symposium on High-Performance Parallel and Distributed Computing (HPDC) is the premier annual conference on the design, the implementation, the evaluation, and
the use of parallel and distributed systems for high-end computing. HPDC'12 will take place
in Delft, the Netherlands, a historical, picturesque city that is less than one hour away
from Amsterdam-Schiphol airport. For more information and to register, please visit http://www.hpdc.org/2012/.
SACNAS - Call for Student & Postdoc Research Presentations
Submission Deadline – April 26, 2012
"Having the judge listen to me gave me a great sense of confidence and knowledge of my own abilities that I could have never gained absent of the presentation." - Connor Ferguson (Choctaw), Undergraduate Student, Oklahoma State University Undergrad and graduate students and postdocs are invited to submit an abstract for a chance to present their research during one of our most vital mentoring programs at our national conference. SACNAS research presentations mentors provide feedback & guidance to students at every level of research experience and presentation skill. In 2011, more than 900 students presented their research at the SACNAS National Conference. At the awards ceremony, 124 students were recognized for their outstanding research presentations. For more information, including submission guidelines, please visit http://sacnas.org/events/national-conf/student-postdoc-research-presentations?.
16th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Distributed Simulation and Real Time Applications – Call for Papers
October 25-27, 2012 - Dublin, Ireland
DS-RT provides an international forum for the discussion and presentation of original ideas, recent results and achievements by researchers, students, and systems developers on issues and challenges related to distributed simulation and real time applications. Authors are encouraged to submit both theoretical and practical results of significance. Demonstration of new tools/applications is very desirable. For more information on the scope of the workshop and to apply, please visit http://ds-rt.com/2012/.
XSEDE Happenings
XSEDE12: Richard Tapia Selected as Keynote Speaker
Richard Tapia, Rice University Professor of Engineering and Computational and Applied Mathematics, recent recipient of the National Medal of Science, and longtime diversity advocate, has agreed to deliver a keynote speech during the XSEDE12 conference in Chicago, July 16-20. XSEDE is the eXtreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment, a new NSF-funded national cyberinfrastructure service that began in July of 2011, succeeding the TeraGrid. The XSEDE12 conference is the inaugural conference for science, education, outreach, software, and technology related to XSEDE and to the NSF Cyberinfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering (CIF21). Tapia serves XSEDE as director of the XSEDE Scholars Program, assists underrepresented minority students who are earning degrees in computing-related fields at research institutions and provides them with opportunities for learning more about high-performance computing and XSEDE, networking with the research community, and participation in XSEDE-facilitated research experiences. At Rice University, Tapia is a mathematician and professor in computational and mathematical sciences, the Maxfield-Oshman Professor in Engineering, and Director of the Center for Excellence and Equity in Education. In December 2011, he was named a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) “for significant contributions in optimization theory and numerical analysis and extraordinary efforts to foster diversity, inclusiveness and excellence in the mathematical sciences.” In October 2011, he was presented the National Medal of Science — the highest national honor that can be bestowed on a U.S. scientist — by President Obama in a White House ceremony. Tapia received the award “for his pioneering and fundamental contributions in optimization theory and numerical analysis and for his dedication and sustained efforts in fostering diversity and excellence in mathematics and science education.”
Richard Tapia Bio: http://www.caam.rice.edu/~rat/brief_bio.html
XSEDE12: https://www.xsede.org/web/xsede12/welcome
Apply to Become an XSEDE Scholar
Application Deadline - April 30, 2012
Are you a student that wants to learn more about high performance computing and the exciting digital resources that are available to research scientists for free? Interested in joining a cohort of students that can provide mutual support in academic endeavors? XSEDE, the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment, is the most advanced, powerful, and robust collection of integrated digital resources and services in the world. It is a single virtual system that scientists and researchers can use to interactively share computing resources, data, and expertise. XSEDE integrates the resources and services, makes them easier to use, and helps more people use them.
You can become involved in XSEDE, too, if selected as a Scholar.
This yearlong program for U.S. students from underrepresented groups in the area of computational sciences will provide opportunities to learn more about high performance computing and XSEDE resources, network with cutting-edge researchers and professional leaders, and belong to a cohort of student peers to establish a community of academic leaders. In particular, the focus is on the following underrepresented groups: African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and women. XSEDE scholars will receive a travel grant to attend the XSEDE12 conference in Chicago (July 15-19, 2012) and participate in at least six online sessions throughout the year. Undergraduate participants will be encouraged to consider future graduate studies and research careers. Both graduate and undergraduate students will gain support through in-person and online community activities. Accepted Scholars will have the option to apply to participate in the program the following year. For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/XSP_2012.
For more information on the XSEDE Scholars Program, please visit https://www.xsede.org/xsede-scholars-program.
Students: Participate in the XSEDE12 Student Program!
XSEDE12, the first conference of XSEDE, the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment, will be held July 16-19, 2012, at the InterContinental hotel in downtown Chicago.
XSEDE provides high-performance computational resources and services for scientists and researchers around the world.
If you are a high school, undergraduate, or graduate student and are interested or engaged in computational research, we encourage you to participate in the XSEDE12 Student Program. Attend introductory tutorials tailored for students new to computational science or more advanced tutorials designed to help you get the most out of XSEDE resources.
- Present your research that uses XSEDE or OSG resources by submitting a paper to our Technical Program.
Pending final approval, the National Science Foundation may provide limited funding to support student travel, lodging, and/or registration costs for attending XSEDE12.
For details on submitting posters and papers, see the Call for Participation:
https://www.xsede.org/web/xsede12/call-for-participation. To apply for travel funding, see the Student Program Support Request:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XSEDE12StuProg
Research Features from Across XSEDE and Campus Champion Partners
University of Pennsylvania Researchers Tune In to the Internet Buzz
University of Pennsylvania researchers recently launched the Mining Internet Messages for Evidence of Herbal-Associated Adverse Events (MICE) project, which involves mining message boards and Twitter feeds to see what breast and prostate cancer patients are saying about herbal and nutritional supplements as treatments. Even if there is no scientific evidence to support what people post, it is useful to identify areas that would merit further study, says University of Pennsylvania researcher John Holmes. The Internet can be a great source for information epidemiology and "we can learn a lot about public sentiment, public attitudes, and public knowledge," agrees University of Toronto professor Gunther Eysenbach. However, analyzing Web conversations raises some ethical and privacy issues. MICE researchers only mine discussion sites that require participants to register and explicitly state in their terms of use that any information posted will become public. To read further, please visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303404704577309794125038010.html.
Face Recognition Could Catch Bad Avatars According to University of Louisville Researchers
University of Louisville researchers are developing the field of artificial biometrics, known as artimetrics, to serve as a way to authenticate and identify non-biological agents such as avatars, physical robots, and chatbots. The researchers, led by Roman Yampolskiy, have developed facial recognition techniques specifically designed for avatars. "Not all avatars are human looking, and even with those that are humanoid there is a huge diversity of color," Yampolskiy says. Therefore, the software uses a large variety of colors to improve the recognition of avatars. The researchers also are studying how to match a human face to an avatar generated from that face. Combining the color-based technique with existing facial recognition software led to the best results, suggesting that it could be possible to track users between the physical and virtual worlds. To read further, please visit http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428596.100-face-recognition-could-catch-bad-avatars.html.
Lehigh University Researchers Move Toward a Modular Defense Against Hackers
Lehigh University professor Gang Tan has developed automated techniques to scan for errors in large software systems. Tan and Lehigh researchers also recently received a five-year CAREER Award from the U.S. National Science Foundation to study and develop modular software that is less vulnerable to system-wide attacks by hackers. The researchers want to apply the principle of least privilege to software systems. "The principle of least privilege is like the separation of powers in a political system," Tan notes. He says the researchers have made progress in privilege separation in software environments, but challenges remain with operating system portability, high runtime overhead, architectural flexibility, and compositional reasoning. “These new tools and methodologies will make the principle of least principle easier to apply to big software systems," Tan says. To read further, please visit http://www4.lehigh.edu/news/newsarticle.aspx?Channel=/Channels/News:+2012&WorkflowItemID=519ce182-445e-4d8a-a837-6945492cdf08.
Research Affiliate with SDSC Urges “Big Data” Donations of Health Data
UC San Diego Biomedical Informatics chief Lucila Ohno-Machado proposes that patients could donate data like they donate tissue or organs, with informed consent. The researcher affiliated with Calit2 and SDSC was speaking at a Big Data conference in D.C., on a panel moderated by New York Times' Steve Lohr. Machado is the Founding Chief of UC San Diego’s Division of Biomedical Informatics. Director of the Biomedical Research Informatics for Global Health Program, and Editor in Chief of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. Dr. Ohno-Machado noted how patients today give a tremendous amount of data to health care providers and hospitals, data that could be of great use to researchers if assembled together, such as solving the puzzle behind autism. She proposed that patients could donate data like they donate tissue or organs, with informed consent, to researchers. If properly handled and analyzed, such data can bring great advances in knowledge without violating privacy, but, like the other panelists, she stressed the need for more multidisciplinary data scientists in her field. For more information on this panel discussion, please visit http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/challenges-and-opportunities-in-big-data-from-industry-and-1.
Student Engagement and Opportunities
2012 STARS Celebration
August 11 – 13, 2012 - Hampton, Virginia
Application Deadline - May 5, 2012
Join the 2012 STARS Celebration, an annual leadership conference that allows for student, faculty, and industry partners to share and disseminate their best practices among their colleagues from across the country. An integral part of the STARS Computing Corps, the Celebration showcases the accomplishments of the Corps’ past year, while simultaneously introducing fresh ideas to excite participants in their continued mission of broadening participation through student-led regional engagement. Through our dedication to recruiting, retaining, and engaging the brightest minds in computing, we are building and preparing a larger, more diverse national computing workforce for the 21st Century. For more information and to apply, please visit http://www.starsalliance.org/celebration/2012/.
NASA's National Community College Aerospace Scholars Program at NASA Johnson Space Center
Application Deadline - June 5, 2012
National Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) is a program funded by NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) and the Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP) and administered by NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). Community college students from across the nation who are interested in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will apply to travel to NASA for a three-day experience. This opportunity will provide a hands-on project featuring engineering career possibilities. Selected students will begin the semester commitment with Web-based preparation prior to their onsite visit. The only cost to the student is a $30 registration fee; NASA covers travel (up to $700), food, and lodging. For more information and to apply, please visit http://ncas.aerospacescholars.org/apply.
Alabama Computer Science Camps
July 16- August 3, 2012 – University of Alabama
The University of Alabama Department of Computer Science within the College of Engineering will host a series of Computer Science camps. High School students have the option to stay in our dormitories as residential campers (the 2011 camps had students attending from 7 states). Students will be taught multiple topics of Computer Science while learning to program a computer in several exciting contexts (e.g., game programming in Java, robotics in Java, and Android smartphone programming in App Inventor and Java). For more information, please visit http://www.cs.ua.edu/outreach/camps/ or contact Dr. Jeff Gray at gray@cs.ua.edu.
California Computer Science Camps
June 20-August 17, 2012 – San Diego Supercomputer Center, UC San Diego
The San Diego Supercomputer Center at the University of California, San Diego is offering eight weeks of computer science camps for middle and high school students. This full day, non-residential program is open to students in grades 6-12. Classes include Introduction to Computer Programming in a 3D Environment with Alice, Object Oriented Programming with Java, the use of App Inventor, computer security classes, coding with MIT’s Processing and GIS focused workshops. For more information and to apply, please visit http://education.sdsc.edu/teachertech.
Last But Not Least – Items of Interest
Cooperating Mini-Brains Show How Intelligence Evolved
Trinity College Dublin researchers recently developed computer simulation experiments to determine how human brains evolved intelligence. The researchers created artificial neural networks to serve as mini-brains. The networks were given challenging cooperative tasks and the brains were forced to work together, evolving the virtual equivalent of increased brainpower over generations. "It is the transition to a cooperative group that can lead to maximum selection for intelligence," says Trinity's Luke McNally. The neural networks were programmed to evolve, producing random mutations that can introduce extra nodes into the network. The researchers assigned two games for the networks to play, one that tests how temptation can affect group goals, and one that tests how teamwork can benefit the group. The researchers then created 10 experiments in which 50,000 generations of neural networks played the games. Intelligence was measured by the number of nodes added in each network as the players evolved over time. To read further, please visit http://www.livescience.com/19612-cooperating-evolution-brain-size.html.
