Category Archives: Computer Science
Animation and nontraditional art forms Trinitonian – The Trinitonian
Animation club aims to bring support to a steadily growing artist demographic
Theres a new club in the works and its looking to provide resources that Trinitys campus currently lacks. Digital artists are a growing demographic in todays technology-driven society, but Trinitys campus lacks the resources for these artists. While traditional artists have access to the Dicke-Smith buildings wide array of materials paints, brushes, paper, wood and anything else a budding artists heart may desire digital artists are limited to Trinitys computers and the technology in CSI.
The up-and-coming animation club wants to fix that. Kinsey Neas, sophomore computer science major and a co-founder of the club, explained her initial frustrations with Trinitys lack of digital art resources.
When I first came to Trinity, I went to the art department and was like, Hey, what digital art resources do you have? Because digital art resources can sometimes be expensive. And I was like, before I go and try to buy stuff myself, Im gonna see if they have anything. And they just dont have any resources at all. They have nothing like digital art, animation Its all just traditional art, Neas said.
Trinitys curriculum also lacks classes for nontraditional artists, such as animation. Jack Pittman, junior computer science major and animation club co-founder, said that the club was not only looking to provide physical and digital resources, but also a space to teach nontraditional art skills and network with other nontraditional artists.
So that way people either can do it for fun, do it on the side, put in however much they want to, or potentially pursue it as a career, like what Im trying to do. That way people have options and all this variety and can use resources that Trinity has for animation, Pittman said.
The demographic of digital artists has seen exponential growth in the past decade. New technology has allowed media such as animation, 3D modeling and virtual reality to grow and change at unprecedented rates. Accordingly, the number of artists who work with these media has also increased rapidly. These artists dont work with the canvases, paints and tools that many associate with traditional art forms. Instead, they work with graphics tablets, desktops and even 3D printers to take their creations from ideas to reality.
These artists are also growing in number. Its easier than ever to gain an interest in the digital art that constantly surrounds us, but learning to create it can be challenging. Along with physical and digital resources, the animation club wants to offer workshops and classes that help new and established artists hone their skills. Pittman explained their current plans for art education are as follows:
Were looking to have students come in and be able to show them skills that Ive developed on my own because a lot of people are coming in with little to no 3D experience. Even a little bit of pointing them in the right direction is super helpful, Pittman said. I know certain professors know people who are in the industry I got to talk with. They had someone who worked at DreamWorks at one of the computer science colloquiums, and hes now a technical director for a VR-like studio. And so I got an interview with him after he talked at the colloquium.
Digital art is a field that consistently welcomes flexibility and new talent, and Trinity students with any interest in art are encouraged to check the club out.
William Abbott, junior business administration and communication double-major, has an interest in the club but no traditional art background.
I used to be an all-state singer. But thats completely different, Abbott said. I dont really have a huge physical art background. Im in Graphic Design Principles right now. So thats kind of dipping my toe into it.
Abbotts interest is in stop-motion animation, a time-consuming medium that yields beautiful results. Hes hoping that the animation club will continue to focus on these less traditional forms of art in the future.
Its such a cool field, Abbott said. Its very time-consuming, and its really difficult. But I think some of the most beautiful video you can do is animation.
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Animation and nontraditional art forms Trinitonian - The Trinitonian
Ken Griffin Launches New Ukraine Math and Science Achievement Fund to Provide Scholarships to Exceptional Ukrainian Students Impacted by War – Yahoo…
MIAMI and BALTIMORE, Oct. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Citadel Founder and CEO Ken Griffin today announced a $3 million donation to launch a new multi-year scholarship program to help exceptional Ukrainian students continue their science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) studies. The Ukraine Math and Science Achievement Fund, administered by the Digital Harbor Foundation in Baltimore, will provide tuition assistance and other support to help dozens of top Ukrainian students affected by the war pursue STEM studies at leading educational institutions around the world.
"Ukrainian students including some of the brightest of their generation have faced unimaginable hardship and have had their education and futures disrupted," said Ken Griffin. "The Ukraine Math and Science Achievement Fund aims to ensure that these brilliant students have the opportunity to realize their academic ambitions and leave their mark on the world."
Three of the initial Griffin Scholars hail from Lyceum 27 in Kharkiv, a city in Ukraine that has been particularly hard hit by the war. They include Ihor Pylaiev, an International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) two-time gold medalist who, with a perfect score, was this year's overall IMO winner; IMO two-time silver medalist Svyatoslav Deniskov; and IMO bronze medalist Vadym Hasseiev. Four additional Griffin Scholars Liza Horokh, Roksolana Ivanchuk, Mariia Mikhnovska, and Anton Havrilyuk studied in Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv.Like theirKharkiv peers, they have each medaled at various Olympiads, share a passion for math and problem-solving, and have endured war-related hardships.
The fund has enabled four of these outstanding students to accept offers to study at the University of Cambridge this fall; the three other members of the first cohort are attending secondary school Hills Road Sixth Form College in the City of Cambridge. Future funding rounds beginning later this year will allow additional talented Ukrainian students to pursue educational opportunities around the world and scholarships to study at universities in both Europe and the United States.
The Ukraine Math and Science Achievement Fund builds on an effort led by Dr. Ferenc Huszr, an associate professor of computer science at Cambridge; Dr. Iryna Korshunova, a machine learning researcher; and a group of volunteers who have been providing the displaced Olympiad community from Ukraine with access to financial support, laptops, and educational resources since the onset of the war. After learning about this grassroots effort, Ken Griffin was inspired to amplify this work and further support top STEM students seeking to pursue their studies and maximize their potential.
"The talent and determination these students have shown in recent months is inspiring," said Dr. Huszr. "Despite the stress and uncertainty they have faced, they went on to solve complex problems, to learn, and to compete with incredible success. This fund not only enables them to study at top schools, but also recognizes the hard work and talent of these students and their teachers."
In addition to this new scholarship fund, Griffin's firms, Citadel and Citadel Securities, also sponsored Ukraine's Informatics Olympiad team earlier this year, when the war jeopardized the team's ability to compete internationally. The funding enabled a group of students to train in Poland, compete in Olympiad competitions across Europe, and travel to Indonesia in August to compete in the International Olympiad in Informatics, the most prestigious computer science competition for secondary and high school students around the world.
The Ukrainian team placed first among all the European teams and sixth globally at the competition.
"TheOlympiad has changedtheirlives," said AntonTsypko,the coach of the Ukrainian Olympiad team."In the midst of an incredibly challenging period, it has opened new doors for these talented students and put them on a path to pursue their studies at top universities. I look forward to the contributions they'll make within their academic communities and society more broadly."
Members of the Olympiad team are among the students eligible to apply for scholarships from the Ukraine Math and Science Achievement Fund as they look to continue their studies at the world's top universities upon graduation. Applications for funding this year and next will be accepted on a rolling basis beginning later this fall at ukraineachievementfund.org.
About the Digital Harbor FoundationDigital Harbor Foundation is dedicated to digital equity for everyone, increasing diversity in the technology sector, creating educational opportunities, and advancing technology innovation for the public good. Driven by our sincere belief that access to opportunity is a basic right, we support a portfolio of projects that take bold yet practical actions to support making a better future now. Learn more at digitalharbor.org.
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Yale increases investment in blockchain research – Yale Daily News
Yale, which was ranked 34 in Coindesks 2022 Best Universities for Blockchain, has invested significantly in the rapidly growing field.
Alex Ye 12:08 am, Oct 12, 2022
Staff Reporter
Zoe Berg, Senior Photographer
This time last year, Yale was unranked in CoinDesks Best Universities for Blockchain. A year later the University places 34th overall, on par with Harvard and other major universities around the world.
The reports results recognize Yales recent significant investments into blockchain research, including the hiring of four new blockchain experts to the Computer Science faculty, Ben Fisch, Charalampos Papamanthou, Katerina Sotiraki and Fan Zhang one of whom is leading a project that has received a $5.75 million grant for blockchain development.
In the last few years, blockchain, as an interdisciplinary field, has spurred a huge amount of development in distributed systems and cryptography and their intersection, said Fisch. This is also why its such a fascinating academic topic, because it ties together so many different fields, not only from computer science, but also from economics, law and policy. Yale has a very unique combination of strengths in all these different areas, especially at present.
In August, Yale blockchain researchers accepted a $5.75 million grant from the Algorand Foundation, a not-for-profit organization focused on the development of blockchain technology.
The grant will support PAVE: A Center for Privacy, Accountability, Verification and Economics of Blockchain Systems, which will be led by Papamanthou. PAVE will bring together a cross-disciplinary team of experts from four institutions Yale, Columbia University, the City College of New York and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, with Yale being the leading institution to advance research of blockchain systems.
Apart from the technical agenda, PAVE will also host hackathons, symposiums and blockchain summer schools.
The expansion of blockchain research at Yale coincides with the rise of the blockchain technology market. The value of blockchain technology in the banking, financial services and insurance sector market is expected to grow by $4.02 billion between 2021 and 2026, according to Technavio. The Technavio study found that easier access to technology and disintermediation of banking services will create more growth opportunities within the industry.
Papamanthou believes the hirings acknowledged the importance of blockchain, and that the University has more generally acknowledged the interdisciplinary nature of the blockchain space. He emphasized the University provides opportunities to explore the blockchain industry, such as interdisciplinary majors like computer science and economics.
Papamanthou spotlighted the newly established Roberts Innovation Fund created by the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, which assists blockchain projects that could be commercialized through funding and mentoring.
An increasing number of students are interested in the field of blockchain, according to Mariam Alaverdian 23, president of the Yale Blockchain Club.
Alaverdian explained that because of the many applications of blockchain technology from personal identity security to healthcare to money transfers the emergence of blockchain into our lives is inevitable. She added that the Yale Blockchain Club has seen interested students come from a variety of backgrounds, with some having no prior exposure and others who already have startups in the space.
The Yale Blockchain Club started last spring and we received a lot of attention from Yale undergraduate and graduate students, Alaverdian wrote in an email to the News. We had 600 people sign up for our mailing list within a couple of weeks there is definitely a high demand from Yale students for educational materials and guidance.
As the blockchain industry has continued to grow, Yale has been a fierce advocate for blockchain research and development, Papamanthou noted.
Papamanthou explained that because Yales faculty is now made up of leaders in the field of
distributed computing and cryptography, the potential blockchain innovation at Yale could be unprecedented.
Its amazing that Yale has hired two phenomenal professors, Ben Fisch and Fan Zhang, whose research focuses on aspects of blockchains, said Roshan Palakkal 25, a student in Frontiers of Blockchain Research, a course taught by Fisch. Yale CS typically isnt known to be the best, but I think the new classes and faculty have positioned it to become one of the best universities for blockchain, with lots of potential for interdisciplinary collaboration in areas like economics, global affairs, and public policy.
Papamanthou added that students who are interested in blockchain have access to a variety of courses across the Computer Science and Economics Departments, as well as at the Yale School of Management and Yale Law School.
According to Fisch, from a computer science perspective, Yale is educationally competitive with any other university in the field of blockchain.
I will be offering a course in the spring that is comparable to the blockchain course thats offered by Stanford, Fisch said. And the research seminar that Im teaching now is uncommon at other universities, as it really goes in depth at a graduate level into all the most recent research topics that are being worked on currently.
The Yale Computer Science Department is located at 51 Prospect St.
Alex Ye covers faculty and academics. He previously covered the endowment, finance and donations. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, he is a sophomore in Timothy Dwight majoring in applied mathematics.
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Yale increases investment in blockchain research - Yale Daily News
RIT faculty prepare to teach large classes in SHED using scaled-up classroom | College of Science | RIT – Rochester Institute of Technology
Students in an 8 a.m. principles of data management class talk among each other as they solve a data base problem. Sometimes they get up and write on a 6-foot whiteboard on wheels that doubles as a screen between tables of students in their extra-large classroom.
The room in Slaughter Hall seats 150 students and is meant to simulate the learning spaces in the Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED) that will hold classes next fall. The Slaughter classroom, dubbed the betaSHED, combines three rooms to give professors and students a preview of the large-scale learning environment.
Emanuel Griffin, a third-year computer science major from Brooklyn, N.Y., said its hard to learn when a professor stands in front of the room and lectures or reads from their Power Point slides.
Here its really different because you take the material and then use it on the problem, Griffin said. You also collaborate with classmates and get feedback and learn how to do it properly. I like it a lot.
Instead of lecture-hall seating, the students sit at tables of six and function as their own cohort. Professors and teaching assistants circle through the classroom answering questions.
You can feel how many people are here, but its also large enough that you dont feel cramped, said Jackson Connor, a third-year computer science major from Lancaster, N.Y. Its a nice change of pace from other classes.
The betaSHED classroom combines three sections of the same computer science class. Next fall, five large format, active-learning classrooms in the SHED will combine some multi-section classes and seat up to 150 students. Projectors, screens, and other learning technologies will enhance these spaces.
Jeremy Brown 01 (computer science) and Scott Johnson 14 (computer science) 14 MS (computer science), senior lecturers in the Department of Computer Science, co-teach the principles of data management class in the practice SHED classroom. They had long wanted to flip their classroomsputting lectures on videos and focusing on activities and group work during classtime. It wasnt until the COVID pandemic forced educators to rethink how they deliver information that Brown and Johnson created their video lectures and began creating a library of activities.
The activities are tricky to create. They must challenge students without discouraging them and fill the class time. We have spent many semesters rewriting and revamping activities that ask students to do more than look up answers in a textbook, Brown said.
Active learning means a lot of different things, Johnson said. For us, it's more about engaging the students with each other. Instead of the students just sitting in lecture, being bored and taking notes, they are now doing lecture outside of class and then coming in and consulting with their peers, he said. They teach each other.
This style of teaching can reduce failure rates, improve grades and attendance, create community among students, and allow for more professor-student interaction. It is also inclusive. Deaf and hard-of-hearing students in these cohorts face their peers and the sign language interpreter sits at the table with them, Johnson said.
The dynamic in Johnson and Browns data management class creates an upbeat vibe in the room.
I can see what the positive impacts are with everyone in the same space and having more people together, and the collaborative energy, said Uzo Ukekwe, a third-year computer science major, from Monroe, N.Y.
Key to active learningespecially in large format classesis the prep work that takes place ahead of time. For Michelle Weatherell 04 (biology) 12 MS (environmental science), lecturer in the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, this means working with the general biology lecture instructor team, which includes Sandi Connelly and Emily Coon-Frisch, to plan activities and problem-solve the logistics of preparing and transporting materials needed for their large sections of general biology. This semester, Weatherell, who teaches in the betaSHED room, uses two teaching assistants to enhance learning in the large classroom.
The students, in my opinion, seem to be more confident and comfortable with the material, Weatherell said. I also feel that more students are asking questions above the material, and applying it outside of what we are doing.
Weatherell encourages faculty who are curious about active learning to observe one of the classes in the large room.
It's interesting to see how instructors are using this space because everyone interprets active learning a little bit differently, Weatherell said.
Brown and Johnson have already booked classtime in the betaSHED room for the spring semester and are eager to teach in the SHED when it opens in fall 2023. They have seen the benefits of active learning and apply elements of it in every class they teach. Students with different learning styles appreciate the difference.
Nate Mount, a second-year computer science major from Westminster, Md., said the small group projects keep him focused. Here the professors are able to move around and check you along with the TAs and it keeps you more in the mindset of the material youre looking into that day.
Courses that lend themselves to active learning can help students get the most out of a class, Brown observed.
Students are changing, Brown said. They arent used to being lectured to for hours on end. Active learning is about getting them engaged.
Workshops for active learning
Workshops for RIT faculty, adjunct faculty, and teaching assistants will share strategies for adopting active learning in regular-sized classes and for the extra-large learning spaces that will be available next fall in the Student Hall for Exploration and Development. National expert Andy Gerhart, professor of mechanical, robotics, and industrial engineering at Lawrence Technological University and facilitator for KEEN (the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network), will share his best practices for facilitating learning through small group collaborations. Registration is required to attend the free, in-person workshops:
The Center for Teaching and Learning is sponsoring the workshops, following a remote session Gerhart led via Zoom in September. Contact Sandi Connelly, interim associate director, at sjcsbi@rit.edu to view the recording of the earlier session.
To learn more about teaching in the SHED, go to TeachSHED.
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Governor Hutchinson Selected to Lead National Education Organization – Governor Asa Hutchinson
Go Back For Immediate Release 10.11.2022 Governor Hutchinson Selected to Lead National Education Organization
LITTLE ROCK Governor Asa Hutchinson has been selected as Chairman of the Education Commission of the States (ECS),a national, nonpartisan organization that serves as a partner to state education leaders.
"It is an honor to have been selected as Chairman of ECS," Governor Hutchinson said. "Arkansas has been a leader in education from computer science to pandemic learning, and I am excited for the opportunity to work with other leaders to secure our children's future."
During his time as Chairman, Governor Hutchinson will lead the Chair's Initiative, which will focus on expanded computer science education.
The Governor's selection comes on the heels of his recent tenure as National Governors Association Chairman, where he led the most successful Chair's Initiative in the organization's history. The Compact to ExpandK-12 Computer Science Education was signed by 50 state and territorial governors, the most ever for a Chairman's Initiative.
ECS' team of experts provides trusted information and opportunities for partnership that allow policymakers to gain the insight and experience needed to create effective education policy for their states.
You can find more information on the Education Commission of the StatesHERE.
CONTACT:Press Shop (press@governor.arkansas.gov)
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Governor Hutchinson Selected to Lead National Education Organization - Governor Asa Hutchinson
Amazon Fellows and faculty-led projects advance innovations in machine learning and artificial intelligence – Virginia Tech Daily
TheAmazonVirginia Tech Initiative for Efficient and Robust Machine Learninghas announced support for two Amazon Fellows and four innovative research projects led by Virginia Tech faculty that further the initiatives mission of advancing new directions in machine learning.
Funded by Amazon, housed in theCollege of Engineering,and directed by researchers at theSanghani Centerfor Artificial Intelligence and Data Analyticson Virginia Techs campus in Blacksburg and at the Innovation Campus in Alexandria, the initiative was launched in March to support student and faculty-led development and implementation of innovative approaches to robust machine learning such as ensuringthat algorithms and models are resistant to errors and adversaries that could address worldwide industry-focused problems.
An open call for student fellowship nominations and research projects went out concurrently across the Virginia Tech campuses. The initiatives advisory committee, comprised of Virginia Tech faculty and Amazon researchers, selected two Amazon Fellows from among 11 nominations and four faculty award recipients from 14 submissions.
Our inaugural cohort of fellows and faculty-led projects showcases the breadth of machine learning research happening at Virginia Tech, saidNaren Ramakrishnan, the Thomas L. Phillips Professor of Engineering and director of the Amazon-Virginia Tech Initiative. The areas represented include federated learning, meta-learning, leakage from machine learning models, and conversational interfaces.
This research will not only contribute to new algorithmic advances, but also study issues pertaining to practical and safe deployment of machine learning, said Ramakrishnan who also directs theSanghani Centerfor Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics. We are very excited that the partnership between Amazon and Virginia Tech has enabled these projects.
"The talent and depth of scientific knowledge at Virginia Tech is reflected in the high-quality research proposals and Ph.D. student fellowship applications we have received, said Prem Natarajan, vice president of Alexa AI. I am excited about the new insights and advances in robust machine learning that will result from the work of the faculty and students who are contributing to this initiative."
The Amazon Fellows are:
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Insects Get ‘Caught on Camera’ to Help Farmers in Latest Short Takes – University of Arkansas Newswire
Photo by Russell Cothren
Khoa Luu and Ashley Dowling monitor insect activity at the U of A Farm.
The U of A and U of A System Division of Agriculture researchers have developed a prototype of an insect trap that can help farmers monitor and identify potential pests more efficiently.
Ashley Dowling, a professor of entomology and plant pathology conducting research for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, partnered with Khoa Luu, an assistant professor of computer science and computer engineering, to create a trap that captures footage of insects, uses artificial intelligence to identify them and sends real-time data back to the farmers.
Once farmers become aware that certain pests are present, they can take the appropriate measures to counteract their potential damage.
The trap itself was created by a local Arkansas business [SolaRid AR], and they came to the university with lots of ideas about what theyd like their trap to be able to do, Dowling said. One of the things on their list was this smart trap approach to things. We jumped at the chance to work with them and create this for them.
Prior to the development of this prototype, farmers typically set traps manually and then sent someone out to evaluate them every few days a process that takes much longer and can sometimes result in crops being ruined in the meantime.
Oftentimes, by the time they get the data, its almost too late, Dowling says.
The new device, however, eliminates the need for manual monitoring, so farmers can make decisions on the fly.
The trap itself is attracting insects using lights of certain wavelengths that are attractive to insects, Dowling explains. It also has the ability to put chemical odors into it that you can target very specific insects with.
As insects beeline their way into the trap, they pass through a sensor with an infrared plane, which then activates the camera. From here, the computer uses artificial intelligence perfected by Luu to identify the insect and transmit the results to the user.
Dowling explains that when certain thresholds of insects are reached in a field, that tells the farmer its time to take action, particularly to avoid substantial economic losses. And, knowing if the pests are isolated to a certain area allows farmers to target only the areas that are potentially affected.
Beyond the fields, the technology has the capability of being applied in other areas of entomology, like biodiversity or museum collections, where samples containing thousands of specimens are regularly collected and need to be analyzed in a timely manner.
Learn more about Dowling and Luus smart insect monitoring system inCaught on Camera: Insects Editionand find additionalShort Takesvideos here.
About the University of Arkansas:As Arkansas' flagship institution, theUofAprovides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, theUofAcontributes more than$2.2 billion to Arkansas economythrough the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies theUofAamong the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity.U.S. News & World Reportranks theUofAamong the top public universities in the nation. See how theUofAworks to build a better world atArkansas Research News.
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Computer science at University of Waterloo ranked number one nationally for third year in a row – CTV News Kitchener
The Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo (UW) has been ranked number one nationally for a third year in a row, according to Macleans 2023 university rankings released this week.
Based on program and research reputation, computer science at UW shared the podium for first place with the computer science programs at the University British Columbia and University of Toronto.
Its gratifying to see that the Cheriton School of Computer Science is in the top spot nationally for both program and research reputation once again, said Raouf Boutaba, professor and director of the Cheriton School of Computer Science in a media release. We are fortunate to have a virtuous circle of talent, where our exceptional undergraduate and graduate students help us attract excellent faculty and staff, who in turn attract top students.
This years Macleans 32nd annual university rankings continued a mandate established in 1991 to provide essential information to help students choose the university that best suits their needs and career aspirations.
The results of the Macleans 2023 rankings were released on Oct. 6.
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Ridgefield teen one of 369 students in the world to achieve perfect score on college level test – The Ridgefield Press
RIDGEFIELD A local high school senior's plans to study computer science in college are off to a strong start after he achieved a perfect score on the Computer Science Advanced Placement (AP) test.
Ryan Williams, 17, a Ridgefield High School senior, was one of 369 students in the world to get a perfect score on the test.
Out of 77,434 students worldwide that took the exam, 369 students less than .5 percent earned a perfect score, said Steven Anton, a math, computer science and engineering teacher at Ridgefield High School.
A lot of the Computer Science AP test, Ryan said, is about coding. A multiple choice question might ask students to look at a section of code and identify what it does, while a free response question might ask students to handwrite code to complete a task, like organizing a group of animals in alphabetical order.
You can study for it, Ryan said of the test. You can study for the material theres 10 units in the computer science curriculum, but theres also an aptitude part of the test. Generally, I find the people that enjoy class end up doing better on the exam just because a lot of computer science is application based. The more projects you do in the class and the more interested you are in the projects, the more youll get out of it.
Ryan said he took the Computer Science AP test in early May and found out about his perfect score a few weeks ago. In terms of what constitutes a perfect score, Ryan said he got every point on the exam correct.
Anton said Ryan received a score of 5 on the AP exam, which is scored on a 1-to-5 scale. However, he said a 5 encompasses a range of scores since the test has 80 possible points to earn. As an example, Anton said a 5 might be earned by any score between 62 and 80. Ryans perfect score, Anton said, means Ryan earned all the points possible and that he scored 80/80.
Its so exciting, especially because I want to go into computer science and software, Ryan said. I love the course, I love the teachers as well and it feels kind of surreal to do something like this as well as making my teacher and school and community proud as well.
Having studied computer science with him for two years, Ryan accredited Anton as a mentor that helped nurture his interest in computer science.
As a teacher in general, he makes you feel comfortable in the classroom, Ryan said of Anton. Hes always willing to take questions, he jokes around with the students. That makes it a nice and joyful learning environment rather than a strict one, but at the same time, hes also very good at teaching the course and provides the necessary assessments and encourages students to do their best. Hes been a mentor and kind of grown my interest and love for this.
Ryan was is the student that you know was always excited to learn more about computer science, Anton said of Ryan. You could tell he was very passionate about the subject and interested in learning more, and he kind of just always dove into the projects and was excited to learn more and understand the material hes covering.
I am extremely proud of Ryan for his hard work, Anton said. He worked hard through both of my classes and I think that the perfect score really reflects that its hard work but its also really meticulous effort on the exam where you really have to pay attention and focus. Theres a lot of little things that could go wrong and to score absolutely perfectly is incredible.
After graduating high school, Ryan plans to get his Bachelors degree in college and study computer science and software engineering. While hes not sure where hell attend school next fall, he's a dual citizen of the United States and Canada and has applied to different schools in both countries, including Stanford University in Stanford, Calif.; MIT in Cambridge, Mass.; the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario; McGill University in Montreal, Quebec; and the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario.
Taking Ryans plans to study software engineering into account, Anton said the perfect score itself might not have any direct impact in terms of college, unless schools consider it while looking at admission.
The score of 5 will be accepted by some schools for college credit but that is the same with any score of 5 on the exam, even if it is not a perfect score, Anton said. There could be other impacts that I am not aware of, however. Ryan is my first student to earn a perfect score in the years I've taught the AP course so I am unsure of the full impact.
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Most preprint studies of COVID-19 hold up through peer-review – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Research findings posted online as preprints studies made public before undergoing the review and approval of a panel of peer scientists required by most scholarly journals often hold up quite well to that scrutiny, according to a new report on COVID-19 studies.
While preprint manuscripts have become popular in many scientific fields since physicists made their arXiv (pronounced archive) repository accessible online in 1991, the COVID pandemic pushed new groups of researchers into the habit of posting and consulting fresh experimental results and analyses ahead of peer review.
Preprints have been broadly accepted in the social sciences, computer sciences, mathematics for quite a long time, says B. Ian Hutchins, a professor in the University of WisconsinMadisons Information School and leader of the new study of preprint published today in The Lancet Global Health. Biomedical research has been more cautious, I think, precisely because people use that information for making health-altering decisions.
The appearance and speedy global spread of a new virus as well as the quick response by scientists around the world forced many to reconsider that caution, weighing it against the cost of a typical delay of many months or longer for newly completed studies to clear the hurdles of a careful journal peer review.
A group of journal publishers decided during the pandemic to require preprint availability of COVID-19-related manuscripts submitted for their consideration, according to Hutchins whose own work was, as it focused on COVID-19 studies, also required to be made available as a (deeply meta) preprint.
The UWMadison researchers chose at random 100 COVID-19 studies that had been posted as preprints and then subjected to peer review and successfully published by journals. They examined how peer review affected 1,606 data points in the manuscripts, representing four types of data common to the COVID study genre: the closely-related infection fatality rates and case fatality rates, basic viral reproduction rates (how many people an infected person is expected to infect) and disease incidence (the number of new people infected in a given time period).
That was a strength of using infectious-disease research for this study, Hutchins says. Because when you talk about case fatality rate, theres an agreed-upon definition of what that is, broadly speaking, and so we could make better comparisons of that data across different labs.
Comparing preprint manuscripts to the eventual published versions of the individual studies, about 90 percent of those 1,606 data points were still in the text after peer review. More than 170 were edited out and more than 300 new data points were added across the 100-study sample.
And while the researchers found the confidence intervals associated with estimates thats like the margins of error you hear about in polling, Hutchins says had tightened about 7% after peer review, changes in the actual estimates were minor and statistically insignificant.
Wild swings between preprint and published versions would be hard to explain, Hutchins says. But thats not what we see. Theres not a whole lot of change in the data reported and the estimates based on that data.
Quantifying the differences typically seen after studies cross the peer-review finish line can help consumers of the freshest science consider how much weight they give preprint results as they report on discoveries or issue public health guidance.
Journalists and policymakers should look at the fact that 90% of the data points make it through peer review, should get a sense for how much they usually change, and ask themselves, am I comfortable accepting that degree of change? Hutchins says. The answer to that may depend based on the stakes of the decision. If all youre worried about is your reputation, you might be open to a different amount of risk than if youre making life-or-death decisions.
The National Institutes of Health has promoted preprint manuscripts as a way to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, according to Hutchins, who developed iCite, a curated search tool for COVID-19 research, while working at NIH.
Hutchins co-authored the new study with statistician Honghan Ye, who completed his doctorate at UWMadison in 2021, and several UWMadison undergraduate students, and hopes to expand his preprint studies to include a broader range of scientific fields and how preprint quality has changed over time.
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Most preprint studies of COVID-19 hold up through peer-review - University of Wisconsin-Madison