Compiler - April 2008
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Issue 22 | April 2008 View in a Web browser
Picture of the Month
Computation+
Journalism
Anton Kast, chief scientist at Digg,
comments during the Journalism 3G – The
April 2
2008 GT Symposium on
Computing Systems
and Technologies
KACB 1116E and 1116W
vcal ical
Future of Technology in the Field
symposium held at GVU on February 2223. More than 200 journalists, academics
and executives from around the country
came to the inaugural conference, the
brainchild of CoC Associate Professor Irfan
Essa. Seated to Kast's left is Dr. Cully Clark,
Dean of the Grady College of Journalism at
the University of Georgia. See more of CoC
In Pictures at our Flickr site.
April 3
CERCS IAB Meeting and
Alumni Day
KACB 1116
vcal ical
Research News
April 3
CSE Seminar
Dr. Guy Lebanon
KACB 1456
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YTD New Awards
$8,623,391
Proposed Contracts for February 2008
Total $ Amount IC
(53% decrease from
last year)
8
2,900,086
CS
CSE GVU GTISC
42% 53% 5%
0%
0%
Newly Awarded Contracts for February 2008
Sponsor
Value
PI
Co-PIs Title
North
Carolina
A&T State
University
$98,804
Maureen Biggers
None
Collaboration Between HBCU and RI
Universities to Promote African
Americans
Siemens
Corporate
Research
$29,000
Jarek Rossignac
None
Bank of Anatomies
NSF
$400,000 Adam Kalai
None
CAREER: New Approaches to
Agnostic Learning
NSF
$400,000 Karen Liu
None
CAREER: Synthesis of Autonomous,
Realistic Human Motion
NSF
$397,426 Nick Feamster
Lee
Gray
CRI-IAD: Collaborative research
Enabling Security and Network
Management
Closed Contracts for February 2008
Sponsor
IRobot
Corporation
Value
$34,872
PI
James Rehg
Co-PIs
Title
None
Mobility Prediction for UGVs Using
On-Line Learning and Vehicle
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/compiler/
April 3
UCouncil: Town Hall
KACB 1116
vcal ical
April 4
CERCS IAB Meeting
Georgia Tech Hotel and
Conference Center
vcal ical
April 7
Computing Expo
KACB Atrium and 1116
vcal ical
April 14
ARC Colloquium
Anup Rao
KACB 1116E
vcal ical
April 15
GTISC Industry Leaders
Seminar
KACB 1116E, Atrium Level
vcal ical
April 16
2008 UROC Research
Symposium
KACB Atrium and 1116E
vcal ical
April 19
AP CS Bowl
Competition
4/2/2008
Compiler - April 2008
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TBD
vcal ical
Modeling
Army
$25,000
Steelcase
Inc.
Wenke Lee
Apr. 22
17th Annual CoC
Honors and Awards
Ceremony
KACB
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None
ARO Workshop on Research in
Botnets
$110,000 Beth Mynatt
None
In-Space
UNC at
Charlotte
$109,172 Maureen Biggers
None
The Stars Alliance: Southeastern
Partnership for Diverse Participation
April 25
Spring Semester Ends
NSF
$149,800 Carlton Pu
None
Cyber Physical Systems: Architecture
Study and Research Challenges
Apr. 27
Lipton Theory
Symposium
KACB
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Co-PIs
Description of Gift/Donation
April 28-May 2
Finals Week
Grants/Gifts Received for February 2008
Donor
Amount
PI
Motorola
$30,000
Karsten Schwan
None
CERCS - Mobile and Embedded
Virtualization
Google
$25,000
Alexander Gray
None
IC - Sound Classification
GTF
$40,000
Mary Jean
Harrold
None
PD - CoC FY08 Advance Prof
Motorola,
Inc.
$17,000
Umakishore
Ramachandran
None
CS - Cross-Platform Gaming
GTF
$10,000
Richard Lipton
None
Richard Lipton Symposium
April 30
CoC Quarterly Staff
Luncheon and Meeting
TSRB Rooms 132-133
vcal ical
May 3
Spring Commencement
vcal ical
GTISC Faculty Step up Their Botnet Hunt
Wenke Lee (PI), Nick Feamster and Jon Giffin, together with Ph.D. candidate David Dagon and
co-PIs from Damballa, Support Intelligence LLC, Internet Systems Consortium Inc. and Global
Cyber Risk LLC, received a $1 million DHS contract to deploy advanced techniques and
systems for the detection, analysis and mitigation of botnets.
CSE a Major Presence at SIAM PP08
The biannual SIAM Conference on Parallel Processing for Scientific Computing was held March
12-14 in Atlanta.
Associate Professor David Bader (Computational Science and Engineering) co-chaired with
Ashok Srinivasan (Florida State) the Minisymposium on High Performance Computing on the
Cell Processor, and co-chaired with Jeremy Kepner (MIT LL), the Minisymposium on HPC on
Large Graphs.
Jeffrey Vetter (CSE, ORNL), Rupack Biswas (NASA), and Lenny Oliker (LBL) co-chaired three
Minisymposia on Revolutionary Technologies for Acceleration of Emerging Petascale
Applications (Cell, GPUs and FPGAs).
David Bader gave the following talks:
"Irregular Algorithms on the Cell Broadband Engine"
"Accelerators, Cell Broadband Engine, Graphics Processors, and FPGA"
"Parallel Algorithms for Small-World Network Analysis and Partitioning"
"Accelerating Combinatorial Scientific Computing with the Cell Broadband Engine
Processor''
Assistant Professor Richard Vuduc (CSE) gave the following talks:
"Automated Data Structure Transformations for Sparse Matrix Kernels,” with James
W. Demmel and Katherine Yelick, UC Berkeley
"Sparse Matrix Kernels Tuned for Multicore Platforms"
Jeffrey Vetter gave the following talk:
"Tightly-Coupled Heterogeneous Computing - Deus Ex Machina?"
Several CSE graduate students gave poster presentations, including:
"Financial Modeling on the Cell Broadband Engine," by Virat Agarwal and David A.
Bader; Lurng-Kuo Liu and Michael Perrone, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
"FFTC: Fastest Fourier Transform on the IBM Cell Broadband Engine," by Virat
Agarwal and David A. Bader
"Parallel Random Number Generation on the Cell Broadband Engine," by Aparna
Chandramowlishwaran, Virat Agarwal, and David A. Bader
"Real-Time Fault Diagnosis and Failure Prognosis of Aircraft Systems on the Cell
Broadband Engine," by Seunghwa Kang, David A. Bader, Abhinav Saxena, and George
Vachtsevanos
"CellBuzz Project: Multimedia and Data Compression Library Optimization for the
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/compiler/
9th
National ranking given
by U.S. News and
World Report to CoC's
doctoral program in
Computer Science
$84,000
Highest starting salary
offer made to a Georgia
Tech computer science
graduate, according to
the Spring 2007
commencement survey
59
Number of students
enrolled in the 10-week
CoC study abroad
program beginning May
7 at the Facultat
d'Informatica de
Barcelona in Spain
This month, various
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Compiler - April 2008
Cell Broadband Engine," Seunghwa Kang and David A. Bader, Sulabh Patel, Electronic Arts,
Inc.
"SNAP: A Parallel Graph Framework for Large-Scale Network Analysis," by Kamesh
Madduri and David A. Bader
"GTFold: A Scalable Code for RNA Secondary Structure Prediction," by Amrita
Mathuriya, David A. Bader, Christine E. Heitsch and Stephen Harvey
GVU at CHI 08 -- Edwards and LeDantec Win Best Paper
Many members of the GVU community are participating in CHI 2008, April 5-10 in Florence,
Italy. Eight papers by GVU affiliates have been accepted by CHI, considered the premier
conference on human factors in computing systems. The 2008 conference focuses on the
balance between art and science, design and research, practical motivation, and the process
that leads the way to innovative excellence. Organizers of the event, the 26th CHI conference,
expect nearly 2000 attendees.
"Designs on Dignity: Perceptions of Technology Among the Homeless," by Chris
LeDantec and Keith Edwards, was named Best Paper. Andrea Grimes' and Richard Harper's
(Microsoft Research) paper also was nominated for the Best Paper.
The following papers also have been accepted:
"MAHI : Investigation of Social Scaffolding for Reflective Thinking in Diabetes
Management," Lena Mamykina, Elizabeth Mynatt, Patricia R. Davidson (Saint Claires
Hospital) and Daniel Greenblatt (Motorola Research and GVU alum)
"Re-Placing Faith: Reconsidering the Secular-Religious Use Divide in the United
States and Kenya," Susan Wyche, Paul Aoki and Beki Grinter
"The Buzz: Supporting User Tailorability in Awareness Applications," James Eagan
and John Stasko
"Automatic Whiteout++: Correcting Mini-QWERTY Typing Errors Using Keypress
Timing," James Clawson, Kent Lyons, Alex Rudnick, Robert A. Iannucci Jr. and Thad Starner
"CareLog: A Selective Archiving Tool for Behavior Management in Schools," Gillian R.
Hayes, Lamar M. Gardere, Gregory D. Abowd and Khai N. Truong
"Sesame: Informing User Security Decisions with System Visualization," Jennifer
Stoll, Craig S. Tashman, W. Keith Edwards and Kyle Spafford
"TALC: Using Desktop Graffiti to Fight Software Vulnerability," Kandha
Sankarpandian, Travis Little and W. Keith Edwards.
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groups at CoC are
pursuing partnerships
whith the following
companies:
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Creative Commons
Corp.
Dell Computer Corp.
GCI Group
Google
Humana
Interface
LogicBlox
Microsoft
Motorola
Nikon
Minnesota Public Radio
Motorola
Turner
Telcordia Technologies
Texas Instruments
Yahoo
People@CoC
Gregory Abowd Elected to CHI Academy
School of Interactive Computing Distinguished Professor Gregory Abowd will join the Computer
Human Interaction Academy, an honorary group of scientists who are leading and shaping the
study of HCI, at the CHI 2008 conference in Florence, Italy, in April. “[ Abowd 's]
mathematical background is evident in the rigorous analysis that is the basis of his many
research papers, and his work has led the way in demonstrating how ubicomp can solve real
problems in our everyday lives,” according to the Academy's website.
Fujimoto Gives Keynote Address at SIMUTools
Professor Richard Fujimoto of CSE gave a keynote talk at the SIMUTools conference in
Marseille (March 3-7) on his transportation system simulation project: Ad Hoc Distributed
Simulations. SIMUTools is the first International Conference on Simulation Tools and
Techniques for Communications, Networks and Systems. Visit site.
Goodman Briefs Lawmakers on Secure Cyberspace
Over the last month, Professor Seymour (Sy) Goodman of the School of Computer Science has
given four invited briefings on Capitol Hill on the subject of building a safer and more secure
cyberspace. Three briefings -- given jointly with Tony Rutkowski, vice president of Verisign and
a member of the GTISC Advisory Board, and Steve Lukasik, first chief scientist of the FCC -were facilitated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and
presented to staff members and congressmen with the House and Senate Homeland Security
Committees and to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Goodman also has
been invited to give testimony in April to the House Armed Services Committee's
Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats and Capabilities.
Ashwin Ram Speaks at ICT
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Associate Professor Ashwin Ram of the School of Interactive Computing gave an invited talk
titled "Case-Based Reasoning for Game AI" at the Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) at
the University of Southern California on March 28. Game Artificial Intelligence is an effort to
take computer games beyond scripted interactions, however complex, into the arena of truly
interactive systems that are responsive, adaptive, and intelligent. ICT is a leader in games
research.
Vijay Vazirani Presents at DARPA Workshop
Professor Vijay Vazirani of the School of Computer Science attended a DARPA Information
Science and Technology workshop on “Games of National Importance,” March 19-20 in Ann
Arbor, Mich., and gave a talk on "Computational Issues in Markets and Games."
Maureen Biggers Presents Paper at CS Education Symposium
Senior Research Scientist Maureen Biggers, director of the IC Diversity Research Lab,
presented a paper at the 39th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education,
held March 12-15 in Portland, Ore. Bigger's paper, titled "Student Perceptions of Computer
Science: A Retention Study Comparing Graduating Seniors vs. CS Leavers," looked at
undergraduate retention in computer science at Georgia Tech. The paper was co-authored by
psychology graduate Anne Brauer (BS December 2007)and Tuba Yilmaz, a first-year Ph.D.
student in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. It prompted quite a bit of positive
feedback, Biggers said, and an invitation for her to replicate the research on a national level.
Personnel Announcements
Michael Terrazas joined CoC as Assistant Director of Communications in the Office of
Communications effective 3/27/08. His email address is mterraza@cc; his phone number is 57225; and his office is in CCB 131.
James Fedd joined CoC as a Tech Temp in IC effective 3/20/08. His email address is
jfedd@cc; and his phone number is 4-4666.
Christina Pearson returned to CoC as Director of Development in CS effective 3/26/08. Her
email address is cpearson@cc; her phone number is 5-4546; and her office is in KACB 3412.
Julie Williams has been promoted to Administrative Manager I assisting Merrick Furst
effective 2/27/08. Her email address is juliew@cc; her new phone number is 5-2835; and her
new office is in CCB 164A.
Eden Chandler was hired permanently as a Computer Services Specialist III in TSO effective
3/5/08. His email address is edochan3@cc.
Aron Cosby's last day at CoC was 3/19/08.
Shanita Williams' last day at CoC was 3/24/08.
Tony Gallego's last day at CoC is 4/4/08.
Francine Lyken's last day at CoC is 4/11/08.
General News
GVU Center Hosts 2nd Annual Turner VIP Showcase
GVU hosted nearly 100 Turner executives at the 2nd Annual Turner VIP Showcase on March
25. Designed to facilitate discussions among Turner leaders and GVU faculty and students, the
showcase focused on innovative areas of human-centered, technology-driven research,
including gaming and entertainment.
Attendees represented a cross-section of executives including Scott Teissler, CTO at Turner
Broadcasting; Mitch Gelman, senior vice president of CNN.com; and David Payne, general
manager of CNN.com. Also attending were executives representing TBS/TNT, TBS
International, GameTap, CNN, CNN International, Cartoon Network, Turner Broadcasting, and
Turner Entertainment Networks.
Guests were joined by a Spanish CNN TV crew who interviewed a student from the showcase
and expressed interest in covering more GVU research in the future.
Journalism 3G: The Future of Technology in the Field
Approximately 200 journalists, computer scientists, bloggers and others converged on GVU
February 22-24, for Journalism 3G: The Future of Technology in the Field. The first annual
symposium on computation and journalism, Journalism 3G was hosted by GVU and organized
by Professor Irfan Essa and Ph.D student Nick Diakopoulos, who designed and teach a
computational journalism course in the School of Interactive Computing.
The goal of the symposium was to bring together experienced technologists and journalists
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from academia and media to talk about how technology and innovation can be readily
transferred. Keynote speakers were Krishna Bharat, creator of Google News; Michael Skolar
from the Center for Innovation in Journalism at American Public Media; and Elizabeth Spiers,
media columnist for Fast Company and founding editor of Gawker.com.
ICE Hosts AP Bowl
The Institute for Computing Education is hosting an AP Bowl, a chance for high school
students to practice taking the Advanced Placement exam in computer sciences, on April 19.
Barbara Ericson, director of computer outreach at the School of Interactive Computing,
estimates that 60 high school students will take the practice exam.
Relay for Life Weekend: April 11-13
Relay For Life, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, is an event designed to bring
together those who have been touched by cancer and to help raise money and awareness
needed to eliminate cancer as a major health issue. CoC student leaders (headed by Jennifer
Whitlow) have put together a team and are participating in the kick-off for this event April 11
at the SAC Fields. All are welcome to join and help with this cause. For more information or to
sign up, please visit this page or contact Jennifer Whitlow ( jennifer.whitlow@gatech.edu ).
Tech Beautification Day: April 5th
Tech Beautification Day (TBD) was started in 1998 as a day of service where students can give
back to their campus by participating in a day of general cleanup, landscaping, and bringing
together the Georgia Tech community as a whole.
The College of Computing has put together a team to help make our campus more beautiful.
For more information or to sign up, please visit http://www.gttbd.org/index.php . To be part of
the CoC team, please choose the project that names Candis Pham as project coordinator.
The Compiler is a publication of the Office of Communications
All content © 2007 The College of Computing at Georgia Tech
Contact Communications View The Compiler Online View Past Issues
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4/2/2008