- csc-general - CSC Mailman

This Week: Dr. Chris Eliasmith, Unix 102, and more!
by Computer Science Club 11 Oct '10

11 Oct '10

Hi everyone, This week Dr. Chris Eliasmith will be giving Tuesday's talk, at 4:30 pm in MC4061. The title is "How to build a brain: from single neurons to cognition". Abstract: Theoretical neuroscience is a new discipline focused on constructing mathematical models of brain function. It has made significant headway in understanding aspects of the neural code. However, past work has largely focused on small numbers of neurons, and so the underlying representations are often simple. In this talk I demonstrate how the ideas underlying these simple forms of representation can underwrite a representational hierarchy that scales to support sophisticated, structure-sensitive representations. I will present a general architecture, the semantic pointer architecture (SPA), which is built on this hierarchy and allows the manipulation, processing, and learning of structured representations in neurally realistic models. I demonstrate the architecture on Progressive Raven's Matrices (RPM), a test of general fluid intelligence. We will also be holding an installment of our Unix tutorials: Unix 102. It will be on Wednesday, October 13, at 4:30 pm in MC3003. Unix 102 is a follow up to Unix 101, requiring basic knowledge of the shell. If you missed Unix 101 but still know your way around you should be fine. Topics covered include: "real" editors, document typesetting with LaTeX (great for assignments!), bulk editing, spellchecking, and printing in the student environment and elsewhere. To wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving, there will be a ham and mustard in the office for lunch on Tuesday, first come first serve. Finally, for those of you who follow this sort of thing, the clang compiler has reached 'production ready' status for C++, so on Tuesday we'll be heading to Kickoff in the plaza for a pint or two. Hang around the office in the evening, if no one is there go straight away to Kickoff. As usual, if you have any questions check out the website http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/ or e-mail the executive: exec(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca

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Fall Office Staff
by Computer Science Club 07 Oct '10

07 Oct '10

Hello, This e-mail is being sent with regards to the club office staff members for the Fall term. I'd like to begin by thanking everyone who came to the scheduled staff training session and who proceeded to restore the office to its former semi-clean self. Your help is greatly appreciated and I will endeavor to ensure that general level of cleanliness does not fall too far from where it is now. As for the second order of business, the following office staffers were selected to become keyed staffers and will be receiving their keys shortly. 1) b4taylor 2) mimcpher 3) ajacob 4) jdmpapin 5) amstan My decision was based on two main factors. First, you were only considered for a key if you actually showed up to the event and secondly proficiency and familiarity with general club running procedure. *If for whatever reason you were unable to attend the training session* and were an Office Staff member in previous terms, if you would like to have your position reinstated, please respond to this e-mail and indicate as such. Without these additions, the list of office staff members currently resembles the following ajacob amstan a4park b4taylor dchlobow jdmpapin jdonland kshyatt kfarnwor mimcpher mthiffau nhaghtal If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to let me know. Thanks, -- Sayed Khader, Office Manager Computer Science Club University of Waterloo

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UNIX 103 Tomorrow, in MC3003
by Computer Science Club 05 Oct '10

05 Oct '10

Hello, the CSC is hosting UNIX 103 tomorrow at 04:30 PM in MC3003. Unix 103 will cover version control systems and how to use them to manage your projects. Unix 101 would be helpful, but all that is needed is basic knowledge of the Unix command line (how to enter commands). Hope to see you there. If you have any questions about the event e-mail the executive or check http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca.

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This Week: BareMetal OS & Unix 103
by Computer Science Club 04 Oct '10

04 Oct '10

Hello, This week the CSC is holding a talk and another installment in our unix tutorials. The talk, entitled 'BareMetal OS' will be Today at 04:30 PM in MC4021. It will be presented by Ian Seyler of Return Infinity, the company that created BareMetal. Light refreshments will be provided. Talk Abstract: BareMetal is a new 64-bit OS for x86-64 based computers. The OS is written entirely in Assembly, while applications can be written in Assembly or C/C++. High Performance Computing is the main target application. We will also be holding Unix 103 on Wednesday October 6 at 4:30pm, in a lab to be announced. Unix 103 will cover version control systems and how to use them to manage your projects. Unix 101 would be helpful, but all that is needed is basic knowledge of the Unix command line (how to enter commands). -- Edgar Bering, Vice President ebering at uwaterloo dot ca Computer Science Club http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~ebering Mathematics Society MC 3036, (519)888-4567,x33870 University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1

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Office Staff Training
by Computer Science Club 02 Oct '10

02 Oct '10

Hello everyone, This is a notice for any members that wish to get involved in the management of the club office for the Fall term. Anyone that is interested should be present in the office (MC 3036) at 1630 on Tuesday October 5th for a staff training session. This training session will be used to select 5 office staffers to be key holding office staff for the term. This event will be comprised of a review of general Computer Science Club office policies as well as an informal evaluation of the office proficiency of those wishing to be keyed staffers. I look forward to seeing you all and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me at offsck(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca - Sayed Khader Office Manager Computer Science Club offsck(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca

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This week: Talk: 'A Brief Introduction to Video Encoding' & Unix 101
by Computer Science Club 27 Sep '10

27 Sep '10

Hello, this week the CSC is hosting two events. The first is a talk entitled 'A Brief Introduction to Video Encoding' on 2010-09-28 at 04:30 PM in MC4061. It will be presented by Peter Barfuss. Talk Abstract: With the recent introduction of digital TV and the widespread success of video sharing websites such as youtube, it is clear that the task of lossily compressing video with good quality has become important. Similarly, the complex algorithms involved require high amounts of optimization in order to run fast, another important requirement for any video codec that aims to be widely used/adopted. In this talk, I will go over the concepts used in video encoding (such as motion estimation/compensation, inter- and intra- frame prediction, quantization and entropy encoding), and then demonstrate these concepts and algorithms in use in the MPEG-2 and the H.264 video codecs. In addition, some clever optimization tricks using SIMD/vectorization will be covered, assuming sufficient time to cover these topics. The second is our popular Unix 101 on 2010-09-29 at 04:30 PM in MC3003. Need to use the Unix environment for a course, want to overcome your fears of the command line, or just curious? Attend the first installment in the CSC's popular series of Unix tutorails to learn the basics of the shell and how to navigate the unix environment. By the end of the hands on workshop you will be able to work efficiently from the command line and power-use circles around your friends. Hope to see you there. If you have any questions about the event e-mail the executive or check http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca.

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Scholarships for CS Students
by Computer Science Club 26 Sep '10

26 Sep '10

Hello CSC members! I have been informed by Justin Wan that over the past couple of years there has been a decline in CS students applying for scholarships. Some of the scholarships are specifically for CS students and some are competed between CS and other programs. He says "it is disappointing that these scholarships are either unclaimed or offered to students of other programs because of a lack of qualified CS applicants." The list of upper year scholarships can be found at http://safa.uwaterloo.ca/scholarships/currentawards.html#mathematics It has all the application and deadline information. Sincerely, The CSClub Executive

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Call For Member Talks
by Computer Science Club 19 Sep '10

19 Sep '10

Hello everyone, This term, in addition to the prof talks and out of town speakers we will once again also run member talks. If you would like to present a talk, please send in a proposed title and an abstract (1-2 paragraph description). The deadline is this Thursday at 5:00pm. There are currently 4 slots scheduled for member talks. If I receive more proposals than that, the program committee and I will decide which ones to accept, and notify submitters of the decision by 5:00pm Friday. Talks are typically 1 hour in length, please keep this in mind when planning your abstracts. Thanks, -- Edgar Bering, Vice President ebering at uwaterloo dot ca Computer Science Club http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~ebering Mathematics Society MC 3036, (519)888-4567,x33870 University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1

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Next week's talks: In the Beginning & Cooking for Geeks
by Computer Science Club 17 Sep '10

17 Sep '10

Hello, the CSC is hosting two talks this week. The first is entitled 'In the Beginning' and will be on 2010-09-21 at 04:30 PM in MC4061. It will be presented by Dr. Prabhakar Ragde, Cheriton School of Computer Science. Abstract: I'll be workshopping some lecture ideas involving representations of numbers, specification of computation in functional terms, reasoning about such specifications, and comparing the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. No prior background is needed; the talk should be accessible to anyone attending the University of Waterloo and, I hope, interesting to both novices and experts. The second is entitled 'Cooking for Geeks' and will be on 2010-09-22 at 06:00 PM in MC4045. It will be presented by Jeff Potter. The CSC is happy to be hosting Jeff Potter, author of "Cooking for Geeks" for a presentation on the finer arts of food science. Jeff's book has been featured on NPR, BBC and his presentations have wowed audiences of hackers & foodies alike. We're happy to have Jeff joining us for a hands on demonstration. But you don't have to take our word for it... here's what Jeff has to say: Hi! I'm Jeff Potter, author of Cooking for Geeks (O'Reilly Media, 2010), and I'm doing a "D.I.Y. Book Tour" to talk about my just-released book. I'll talk about the food science behind what makes things yummy, giving you a quick primer on how to go into the kitchen and have a fun time turning out a good meal. Depending upon the space, I’ll also bring along some equipment or food that we can experiment with, and give you a chance to play with stuff and pester me with questions. If you have a copy of the book, bring it! I’ll happily sign it. Hope to see you there. If you have any questions about the event e-mail the executive or check http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca.

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CS Club Fall 2010 Preview
by Computer Science Club 16 Sep '10

16 Sep '10

Hello Members, Welcome to the Fall 2010 term. In this message we hope to give you a preview of what the club will be doing this term, and let you know how you can help out if you so choose. -- Membership Remember to renew your membership! If you can't remember if you have paid dues for this term just ask. Note that you can pay for several terms in advance. -- Election Results Our election for Fall 2010 was last Tuesday, the following were elected/appointed: President: Jacob Parker Vice President: Edgar Bering Treasurer: Rebecca Putinski Secretary: Kyle Spaans Systems Administrator: Jeremy Roman Office Manager: Sayed Khader Librarian: Matthew McPherrin -- Talks Each term we run a bunch of talks. This term we're planning to have a seminar every Tuesday at 4:30, starting next week. The seminar will have a mix of local professors, members, and out of town speakers presenting. If you have suggestions for speakers to invite, e-mail the program committee (progcom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca) If you would like to give a talk, the Vice President will be sending out instructions on what to do in the next few days. -- Unix Tutorials New to Unix? Need a hand in figuring out what to do? We will once again be running our popular Unix tutorials. Experienced with Unix and want to help teach? We can always use more tutors, e-mail progcom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca to find out how to help. -- Trips, Socials, Code Parties, etc. Last winter we promised a "CSC Invades U of T" or similar trip, but plans fizzled. We're going to try again. As you may or may not be aware, TRON: Legacy comes out this December. If there is enough interest we will look into going to a showing as a club, possibly getting discount tickets. We're also planning a code party or two, and there's a possibility there will be mini-contests at them. Stay tuned. -- And More! This is quite an ambitious program. If you would like to help run events or have an idea for an event you'd like to run with the help of the club, contact the Vice President (veep(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca) and ask about helping out with the program committee, who run the events. In addition to events, the club maintains an office, and we'll be looking for good office staff once again. Stay tuned for information on how to become an office staffer. Office staff keep the office functioning and clean, as well as check out library books and sign up members and are otherwise helpful to people coming by. If systems administration is more your bent, contact the Systems Administrator (sysadmin(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca) for information on how to join the systems committee, who administer the club's computing environment. -- Fall 2010 Executive

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Talk: Elyot Grant: The Incompressibility Method: Tuesday July20th, 4:30pm, MC2066
by Computer Science Club 17 Jul '10

17 Jul '10

Elyot Grant is giving a talk on Tuesday July 20th at 4:30pm in MC2066. The information follows below: Title: The Incompressibility Method Abstract: Heapsort. It runs in $\Theta(n \log n)$ time in the worst case, and in $O(n)$ time in the best case. Do you think that heapsort runs faster than $O(n \log n)$ time on average? Could it be possible that on most inputs, heapsort runs in $O(n)$ time, running more slowly only on a small fraction of inputs? Most students would say no. It "feels" intuitively obvious that heapsort should take the full $n \log n$ steps on most inputs. However, proving this rigourously with probabilistic arguments turns out to be very difficult. Average case analysis of algorithms is one of those icky subjects that most students don't want to touch with a ten foot pole; why should it be so difficult if it is so intuitively obvious? In this talk, we shall explore the incompressibility method---an interesting and extremely powerful framework for determining the average-case runtime of algorithms. Within the right background knowledge, the heapsort question can be answered with an elegant 3-line proof. The crucial fact is that an overwhelmingly large fraction of randomly generated objects are incompressible. We can show that the inputs to heapsort that run quickly correspond to inputs that can be compressed, thereby proving that heapsort can't run quickly on average. Of course, "compressible" is something that must be rigourously defined, and for this we turn to the fascinating theory of Kolmogorov complexity. In this talk, we'll briefly discuss the proof of the incompressibility theorem and then see a number of applications. We won't dwell too much on gruesome mathemtical details. No specific background is required, but knowledge of some of the topics in CS240 will be helpful in understanding some of the applications.

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CSCTalk: Tuesday July 13th 4:30pm MC2066: Halftoning and Digital Art
by Computer Science Club 12 Jul '10

12 Jul '10

Edgar Bering will be giving a talk tomorrow in MC2066 at 4:30pm. Title: Halftoning and Digital Art Abstract: Halftoning is the process of simulating a continuous tone image with small dots or regions of one colour. Halftoned images may be seen in older newspapers with a specled apperance, and to this day colour halftoning is used in printers to reproduce images. In this talk I will present various algorithmic approaches to halftoning, with an eye not toward exact image reproduction but non-photorealistic rendering and art. Included in the talk will be an introduction to digital paper cutting and a tutorial on how to use the CSC's paper cutter to render creations. -- Brennan Taylor b4taylor at uwaterloo dot ca Computer Science Club http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~b4taylor University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1

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Friday Code Party!
by Computer Science Club 08 Jul '10

08 Jul '10

There is a CSC Code Party Friday starting at 7:00PM (1900) until we get bored (likely in the early in morning). Come out for fun hacking times. -- Brennan Taylor b4taylor at uwaterloo dot ca Computer Science Club http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~b4taylor University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1

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How would you like to hear about your upper-year education?
by Computer Science Club 06 Jul '10

06 Jul '10

The question has been passed onto us here at the CSC. How do students want to hear about the opportunities they have for their upper-year education? In the past a number of approaches have been attempted: 1) Professors teaching the classes will give a 10 minute introduction and answer questions. 2) Students will answer questions and talk about their experiences. 3) A couple of Professors will talk about upper-year courses in general. How would you like to hear about the upper-year courses? Do you want to know the horrors of Real-Time? The shininess of Graphics? The ridiculous things compiler writers do? Send your responses to veep(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca please! -- Brennan Taylor b4taylor at uwaterloo dot ca Computer Science Club http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~b4taylor University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1

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Talk: Nomair Naeem on Dataflow Analysis on Tuesday July 6th, MC2054
by Computer Science Club 03 Jul '10

03 Jul '10

Tell your friends! Again the talk is Tuesday July 6th, 4:30pm in MC2054. Nomair A. Naeem - Dataflow Analysis === Abstract After going through an introduction to Lattice Theory and a formal treatment to Dataflow Analysis Frameworks, we will take an in-depth view of the Interprocedural Finite Distributive Subset (IFDS) Algorithm which implements a fully context-sensitive, inter-procedural static dataflow analysis. Then, using a Variable Type Analysis as an example, I will outline recent extensions that we have made to open up the analysis to a larger variety of static analysis problems and making it more efficient. The talk is self-contained and no prior knowledge of program analysis is necessary. -- Brennan Taylor b4taylor at uwaterloo dot ca Computer Science Club http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~b4taylor University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1

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Talk: Prabhakar Ragde: Compiling to Combinators
by Computer Science Club 18 Jun '10

18 Jun '10

There is a talk coming up Tuesday June 22 at 4:30pm. It is in MC2066. Light refreshments will be supplied. The title is: Compiling To Combinators Abstract: Number theory was thought to be mathematically appealing but practically useless until the RSA encryption algorithm demonstrated its considerable utility. I'll outline how combinatory logic (dating back to 1920) has a similarly unexpected application to efficient and effective compilation, which directly catalyzed the development of lazy functional programming languages such as Haskell. The talk is self-contained; no prior knowledge of functional programming is necessary. -- Brennan Taylor b4taylor at uwaterloo dot ca Computer Science Club http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~b4taylor University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1

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Talk Tomorrow.
by Computer Science Club 14 Jun '10

14 Jun '10

There is a talk at 4:30pm tomorrow, Tuesday June 15th in MC2066. The title and abstract follows: === Do programmers need MBAs? What value (if any) does an MBA provide? Isn't it enough to be smart and get stuff done? Hear from a Waterloo alum who struggled to figure this out. Ian Tien is currently a Stanford MBA student and was formerly a senior product manager at Microsoft developing consumer cloud computing offerings extending Windows to the web. His portfolio included Office Web Applications, SkyDrive, Live Mesh, Windows Live Photos, FrameIt, and Favorites. In 2009, he served as interim lead for the Hotmail product management group. Previously, he led and managed engineering teams in the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server division, and is first inventor on multiple Microsoft patent applications covering Excel, Sharepoint, Visio and SQL Server product lines. He's an alumnus of Cornell University and the University of Waterloo with degrees in computer science, cognitive science and computer engineering. -- Brennan Taylor b4taylor at uwaterloo dot ca Computer Science Club http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~b4taylor University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1

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Copyright Bill C-32 Activism Party!
by Computer Science Club 11 Jun '10

11 Jun '10

Hello CSCers, The Canadian government recently proposed Bill C-32, which would change how copyright works in Canada. As stated, the bill would make it illegal for Canadians to circumvent "digital locks". The affects of this change would be drastic, as many ordinary freedoms would be taken away from the public. For example, it would become illegal to watch legally-purchased DVDs with open-source software, illegal to modify video games or consoles for personal entertainment, illegal to circumvent the copy-protection on many PDFs in order to quote from a document, etc. I strongly recommend that you read over the proposed bill and make an informed decision. Then you can contact your MPs and local newspapers to request change where it is due. Please read: [*] http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/crp-prda.nsf/eng/home [*] http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5097/125/ Furthermore, the CSC is hosting a meeting/party this Saturday to discuss the bill, and write letters to MPs and the media. Please join us: Saturday, June 12th 18:30 - 21:00 PM MC 2017 I hope that you will get involved in this important matter. Regards, Calum T. Dalek

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School of CS Council Meeting
by Computer Science Club 08 Jun '10

08 Jun '10

Hello everyone, The SCS Council is meeting tomorrow, and I will be attending as one of the undergraduate representatives. For those who don't know, School Council is the governing body of the School of CS, they make decisions about curriculum and course offerings, CS policy and the like. At tomorrows meeting two revisions of the SE curriculum are being considered: 1) To create CS247 for SE students that has the content of the current CS246, and ammend the prerequisites. As you are probably aware, CS246 is being revised and moved before CS241, SE does not want a similar change and wants to keep CS241 in 2A. 2) To change the description of CS138, which removes Scheme from the SE curriculum. This is being done to facilitate SE students taking the revised CS241 in 2A. If you have comments on either of these, in support of or against the changes, please send them to me and I will do my best to make sure they are brought up. Thanks, -- Edgar Bering, Office Manager ebering at uwaterloo dot ca Computer Science Club http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~ebering Mathematics Society MC 3036, (519)888-4567,x33870 University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1

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Member Talks
by Computer Science Club 27 May '10

27 May '10

It's not too late! You can give a talk for the CSC. This is a reminder that abstracts are due tomorrow if you want to give a talk. But it is also early in the semester so don't be discouraged. If you want to give a talk email me and we'll work something out. There are plenty of spots left. Email the title and a paragraph or two describing the talk to: veep(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca -- Brennan Taylor b4taylor at uwaterloo dot ca Computer Science Club http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~b4taylor University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1

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CUMC2010@waterloo: A call for volunteers!
by Computer Science Club 25 May '10

25 May '10

Attention Mathematically slanted Waterloo students: The CUMC is looking for smart, energetic, dedicated volunteers to help with the logistics of this years conference! The Conference runs July 6th to July 10th, and is looking to recruit approximately 15 volunteers for running the event. Perks for being a Volunteer include having your conference fee waved, special CUMC staff Merch (Staffers get super special staff t-shirts) and of course the joy of helping out the exciting event this summer. For more information on the event, check out the website at cumc.math.ca. If you would like to apply to be a volunteer, please send an email with subject "VOLUNTEER", to cumc.2010(a)gmail.com. In the email, indicate if you can commit full time, or if you have other academic responsibilities that you will be doing concurrently. If you're interested in being one of the 5-7 students who gets trained on the visual equipment the conference will use, please indicate. We'll be accepting application emails until June 3rd. Thanks, the CUMC team. A bit more on CUMC: There is a discount on registration for UW students, since it is in town it makes a really great deal. If you are interested in attending more information can be found here: http://cumc.math.ca/2010/. -- Edgar Bering, Program Committee ebering at uwaterloo dot ca Computer Science Club http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~ebering Mathematics Society MC 3036, (519)888-4567,x33870 University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1

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The deadline for IOI @ UW volunteering is soon
by Computer Science Club 25 May '10

25 May '10

Hello everyone, The University of Waterloo will be hosting the IOI (International Olympiad in Informatics) this August 14-21st. CEMC (Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing) is looking for volunteers to help us out during that week-long event. In particular, they are still looking for people who are fluent in a language other than English to volunteer as Guides. This is an exciting opportunity to meet people from around the world, give a positive impression of Waterloo, Ontario and Canada, and to practice your languages all while gaining volunteer hours. Information about the 2010 IOI can be found at www.ioi2010.org. The deadline for volunteering is this Friday. CEMC is still looking for a Guides who speak one of the languages listed here: http://www.ioi2010.org/languages.shtml Contact jnissen(a)uwaterloo.ca with your information as soon as possible. Thanks, Calum T. Dalek

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REMINDER: Gerald Sussman: Today and Tomorrow
by Computer Science Club 25 May '10

25 May '10

Hello everyone, Just a quick reminder: Gerald Sussman is down for today and tomorrow for a series of events. Full details can be found at http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/misc/sussman/ . As always, if you have questions just reply to this email. Thanks, Calum T. Dalek

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Speaker: Gerald Jay Sussman
by Computer Science Club 18 May '10

18 May '10

Hello CSCers! We've got a big event happening next week. Gerald Sussman is coming in from MIT to give a couple of public lectures. Gerald Sussman is, among other things, the creator of Scheme - a programming language many of you are no doubt familiar with. There will be two talks and a public reception. Come out to the reception for the free food and meet some people. If you have a copy of Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs bring it to the reception to get it signed! All of the details are located at http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/misc/sussman/ . For those of you not able to attend due to distance: there is a non-zero probability that the lectures will be posted online in video form. If you have any questions reply to this email.

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Spring 2010 Term Preview
by Computer Science Club 17 May '10

17 May '10

Hello Members, Welcome to the Spring 2010 term. This is the term Preview. We have a surprising amount of stuff happening in a Spring term. -- Membership Remember to renew! If you can't remember if your membership is arranged for the term, just ask. -- Gerald Sussman This is very cool. There will be an email very shortly with full details but I'll let you in on a sneak peek. Gerald Sussman is coming to UW to give a few talks and hang out next week. A coauthor of SICP, an ACM winner of the Karl Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award in 1990 and the Amar G. Bose award for teaching in 1991, and a laundry list of other very cool stuff. He's a man worth meeting. Keep your eyes peeled. -- Election Results Our election for the Spring 2010 term was last Tuesday. The results and appointments follow: Prez - Jeff Cameron Veep - Brennan Taylor Trez - Vardhan Mudunuru Sec - Matt Lawrence Sysadmin - Mike Ellis Office Manager - Edgar Bering Librarian - Tapan Oza -- Prof and Member Talks We want lots of them! We are planning on running them like last semester where we will run a talk every Tuesday at 4:30pm. But we need your help. Don't worry it is easy. Give us suggestions for professors you would like to hear from. Or better yet, volunteer to give a talk on whatever you find interesting within the vast and exciting field of Computer Science. Send veep(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca an abstract by May 28th. Past suggestions from members about topics the members would like to hear about are: *Prabhakar Ragde - A topic of his choice *Ray Laflamme - Quantum Computing things *Kate Larson - AI whatnot *Ian Goldberg - Being Awesome *Tim Brecht - OS Hotness *Michael Best - Portfolio Optimization -- Contest - Call for Volunteers Zero experience required! Our President, Jeff Cameron, has worked hard in previous terms to run a number of AI contests and as always he needs people to help him out. There is so much to do and anyone that can contribute even in a small way is much appreciated help. But there is more to it than that. You'll be hooked! You'll be working in a decent sized team to make something great and fun. You don't even need to know what the contest is or how our contests have run in the past to help out. -- Code Parties We will be having them. They will be on Fridays on dates yet to be determined. But if you keep your eye on the website we will give you plenty of notice. They are always fun, and there is so much hacking of code to be done this term -- Brennan Taylor b4taylor at uwaterloo dot ca Computer Science Club http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~b4taylor University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2L 3G1

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