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The new School of Computer Science Community Celebration: Broadening the Impact of Computing

October 17 - October 19, 2013

In celebration of the creation of the new School of Computer Science (SCS) and the 50th anniversary of the founding of our Department, the School of Computer Science hosted a series of events, October 17-19, 2013, that explored the more expansive and outward looking view of the computing discipline, and its broadening impact across the campus and state, and in society.  The events, aimed at a diverse audience of students (undergrads, grads, majors and non-majors alike), alumni, campus and community members, were open to all. Hundreds learned about the many exciting directions in which computing is heading.

View photos from the Career Fair, CS Celebration Talks/BBQ, and the 50th Anniversary Banquet.

Event Highlights:

  • Visit with current and former faculty and students
  • Talks and panel discussions with distinguished guests, faculty, and alums
  • Alum Social & Dinner (50th Anniversary Celebration)
  • Career and Internship Fair - CS alums promoting their companies
  • BBQ lunch
  • Family-friendly activities
  • Campus Homecoming Events (Parade, Concerts, Tours, Sports, and more)
     

Some of the Current and Former CS faculty in attendance:

Rick Adrion, Jeannie Albrecht, James Allan, David Mix Barrington, Andrew Barto, Emery Berger, Yuriy Brun, Lori Clarke, Bruce Croft, Jan Cuny, Yanlei Diao, Robert Graham, Rod Grupen, Arjun Guha, Neil Immerman, David Irwin, David Jensen, Vangelis Kalogerakis, Jim Kurose, Erik Learned-Miller, Sridhar Mahadevan, Benjamin Marlin, Andrew McCallum, Alexandra Meliou, Eliot Moss, Robbie Moll, Leon Osterweil, Arnold Rosenberg, Daniel Sheldon, Prashant Shenoy, Ramesh Sitaraman, Bob Sproull, Don Towsley, Chip Weems, Jack Wileden, Connie Wogrin, Beverly Woolf, and Shlomo Zilberstein

Schedule:
 

 Thursday, October 17th

1:00 – 3:30

Career and Internship Fair.*

Meet with UMass-SCS alumni representatives now working in industry who develop or use leading-edge computing technology, applications, and services.

Companies registered: BBN Raytheon, Cisco, EMC, Fidessa, Fiksu, Google, Hit Point, HP/Vertica, Pegasystems, TripAdvisor, Virtusa, Vistaprint, Yahoo!.

3:45 – 6:00

Careers in Computing Panel.  

Alumni reflect on their UMass experience and offer advice on preparing and applying for jobs and internships.  Refreshments/networking follow panel (5:15 - 6:00).

Paul Hake (HitPoint Studios; UMass alum - BA '03); Brent Heeringa (Williams College; CS alum - Ph.D. '06), Irene Ros (Bocoup; CS alum - B.S. '06), Ken Schmidt (Yahoo!),  Steve Vinter (Google; CS alum - Ph.D. '85);
Moderator: Prof. Robbie Moll

 

  Friday, October 18th

8:15

Registration. 

Location: Computer Science Building atrium.

 

9:00

Welcoming Remarks

Lori Clarke (Prof. and SCS Chair); Michael Malone (Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement); Stan Rosenberg (Massachusetts State Senator)

9:15-10:30

Expanding Horizons in Computing.  

Join leadership from key federal research agencies, the state, and industry in a discussion of how computing, communications, and information systems increasingly touch our lives, impacting/accelerating discovery and innovation across many disciplines and contributing to economic development and growth in a knowledge-based society.

Jim Kurose (CS Distinguished Prof.); Henning Schulzrinne (FCC CTO; UMass Ph.D. alum, '92);  Robert Sproull (Chair of the U.S. National Academies Computer Science and Telecommunications Board); Steve Vinter (Engineering Director, Google; UMass Ph.D. alum '85); Unable to attend:  Farnam Jahanian (National Science Foundation, Assistant Director, CISE Directorate);

11:00  -12:15

Computing as a Core Subject in a 21st Century Education.

Students (K-12 and higher education) from diverse backgrounds should be provided an opportunity to gain the solid grounding in computing and computational thinking required for them to prosper in a 21st century knowledge-based economy. Explore the opportunities and challenges posed as computing becomes a core subject in a 21st century education.

Jan Cuny (NSF/CISE Program Director for Computing Education and former UMass Amherst CS faculty); Ann Drobnis (Director, Computing Community Consortium at Computing Research Association); Kelly Powers (CS Dept. Chair, Advanced Math and Science Academy charter school, Marlborough and CSTA Greater Boston co-Chair); Cameron Wilson (long-time Director of Public Policy for ACM and Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Government Relations at Code.org)
Moderator: Prof. Rick Adrion

12:15

Lunch: BBQ under the tent. 

Be our guest for lunch under the tent!  Meet friends, faculty, students and alumni, and find out more about the new School of Computer Science.

 

2:00 – 3:15

Computing Across the Campus. 

Computing infuses many disciplines across campus. To encourage and enable UMass Amherst students to employ interdisciplinary uses of computing, the School of Computer Science has been collaborating with other departments across campus to formulate a new, highly interdisciplinary undergraduate program in Informatics.  Explore how UMass Amherst and others are developing such programs.  Interested and curious students, faculty, and staff are particularly encouraged to participate.

Peter Bloniarz (Dean, College of Computing and Information, Univ. at Albany/SUNY); Edmund Durfee (Prof., CS & Eng., Univ. of Michigan; CS Alum - Ph.D. '84)  Patricia Galvis-Assmus (Professor of Art, UMass Amherst); Moderator: Prof. Prashant Shenoy

3:45 – 5:00

Panel: Computing Research. 

This panel focuses on computing research involving faculty, students, alumni, and collaborators in the School of Computer Science, emphasizing the world-class nature of the research and its impact, and showcasing interdisciplinary efforts. Lab tours and posters available throughout the day allow in-depth exploration of a myriad of research topics.

Eric Brown (Director, Watson Technologies at IBM Research; CS  alum - Ph.D. '96); Yanlei Diao (UMass Amherst CS Prof.); Matt Rattigan (OFA analytics team; CS alum - Ph.D. '12); Moderator: Prof. David Jensen

6:00

Computer Science Social and 50th Birthday Party Dinner with Alumni, Faculty and Friends.  

Celebrate SCS – past, present and future. Registration required in advance.

Steve Vinter (Engineering Director, Google; CS alum - Ph.D. '85) - keynote speaker

 

 

 Saturday, October 19th

9:00

Registration and Continental Breakfast.   

 

10:00

Hands-on Computing. 

A family-oriented, hands-on morning of activities in robotics and wearable computing. For kids of all ages!  Registration required in advance.

Rod Grupen and Rui Wang (UMass Amherst CS Professors)

 

 

REGISTRATION:

Register online.  Please contact Leeanne Leclerc at 413-545-3640 or leclerc [at] cs.umass.edu if you have questions. If you would like assistance with travel from Boston/Cambridge and back, contact Leeanne Leclerc (413-545-3640 or leclerc [at] cs.umass.edu) - we are helping to arrange transportation.

ACCOMMODATIONS:

See the accommodations page for more details and other lodging options. Note that our event was held during the campus Homecoming Weekend, so it was important to reserve your accommodations early.

LOGISTICS/DIRECTIONS:

Most of the events were held in the Computer Science Building; 140 Governors Drive, Amherst, MA.  Free parking was available in Lots 31 and 26 directly across from our main entrance, and Lot 45 which is adjacent to our CS building.  Overflow parking was also available in Lot 25.

The 50th anniversary social/dinner was held in the Campus Center - Marriott Center, 11th Floor at the Top of the Campus Ctr. If you wish to park for dinner close to the Campus Center, the Campus Center Garage is an option (though there is a fee for parking there).