Category Archives: Computer Science
Bringing lessons from cybersecurity to the fight against disinformation – MIT News
Mary Ellen Zurko remembers the feeling of disappointment. Not long after earning her bachelors degree from MIT, she was working her first job of evaluating secure computer systems for the U.S. government. The goal was to determine whether systems were compliant with the Orange Book, the governments authoritative manual on cybersecurity at the time. Were the systems technically secure? Yes. In practice? Not so much.
There was no concern whatsoever for whether the security demands on end users were at all realistic, says Zurko. The notion of a secure system was about the technology, and it assumed perfect, obedient humans.
That discomfort started her on a track that would define Zurkos career. In 1996, after a return to MIT for a masters in computer science, she published an influential paper introducing the term user-centered security. It grew into a field of its own, concerned with making sure that cybersecurity is balanced with usability, or else humans might circumvent security protocols and give attackers a foot in the door. Lessons from usable security now surround us, influencing the design of phishing warnings when we visit an insecure site or the invention of the strength bar when we type a desired password.
Now a cybersecurity researcher at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Zurko is still enmeshed in humans relationship with computers. Her focus has shifted toward technology to counter influence operations, or attempts by foreign adversaries to deliberately spread false information (disinformation) on social media, with the intent of disrupting U.S. ideals.
In a recent editorial published in IEEE Security & Privacy, Zurko argues that many of the human problems within the usable security field have similarities to the problems of tackling disinformation. To some extent, she is facing a similar undertaking as that in her early career: convincing peers that such human issues are cybersecurity issues, too.
In cybersecurity, attackers use humans as one means to subvert a technical system. Disinformation campaigns are meant to impact human decision-making; theyre sort of the ultimate use of cyber technology to subvert humans, she says. Both use computer technology and humans to get to a goal. It's only the goal that's different.
Getting ahead of influence operations
Research in counteracting online influence operations is still young. Three years ago, Lincoln Laboratory initiated a study on the topic to understand its implications for national security. The field has since ballooned, notably since the spread of dangerous, misleading Covid-19 claims online, perpetuated in some cases by China and Russia, as one RAND study found. There is now dedicated funding through the laboratorys Technology Office toward developing influence operations countermeasures.
It's important for us to strengthen our democracy and make all our citizens resilient to the kinds of disinformation campaigns targeted at them by international adversaries, who seek to disrupt our internal processes, Zurko says.
Like cyberattacks, influence operations often follow a multistep path, called a kill chain, to exploit predictable weaknesses. Studying and reinforcing those weaknesses can work in fighting influence operations, just as they do in cyber defense. Lincoln Laboratorys efforts are in developing technology to support source tending, or reinforcing early stages in the kill chain when adversaries begin to find opportunities for a divisive or misleading narrative and build accounts to amplify it. Source tending helps cue U.S. information-operations personnel of a brewing disinformation campaign.
A couple of approaches at the laboratory are aimed at source tending. One approach is leveraging machine learning to study digital personas, with the intent of identifying when the same person is behind multiple, malicious accounts. Another area is focusing on building computational models that can identify deepfakes, or AI-generated videos and photos created to mislead viewers. Researchers are also developing tools to automatically identify which accounts hold the most influence over a narrative. First, the tools identify a narrative (in one paper, the researchers studied the disinformation campaign against French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron) and gather data related to that narrative, such as keywords, retweets, and likes. Then, they use an analytical technique called causal network analysis to define and rank the influence of specific accounts which accounts often generate posts that go viral?
These technologies are feeding into the work that Zurko is leading to develop a counter-influence operations test bed. The goal is to create a safe space to simulate social media environments and test counter-technologies. Most importantly, the test bed will allow human operators to be put into the loop to see how well new technologies help them do their jobs.
Our militarys information-operations personnel are lacking a way to measure impact. By standing up a test bed, we can use multiple different technologies, in a repeatable fashion, to grow metrics that let us see if these technologies actually make operators more effective in identifying a disinformation campaign and the actors behind it.
This vision is still aspirational as the team builds up the test bed environment. Simulating social media users and what Zurko calls the grey cell, the unwitting participants to online influence, is one of the greatest challenges to emulating real-world conditions. Reconstructing social media platforms is also a challenge; each platform has its own policies for dealing with disinformation and proprietary algorithms that influence disinformations reach. For example, The Washington Post reported that Facebooks algorithm gave extra value to news that received anger reactions, making it five times more likely to appear on a users news feed and such content is disproportionately likely to include misinformation. These often-hidden dynamics are important to replicate in a test bed, both to study the spread of fake news and understand the impact of interventions.
Taking a full-system approach
In addition to building a test bed to combine new ideas, Zurko is also advocating for a unified space that disinformation researchers can call their own. Such a space would allow researchers in sociology, psychology, policy, and law to come together and share cross-cutting aspects of their work alongside cybersecurity experts. The best defenses against disinformation will require this diversity of expertise, Zurko says, and a full-system approach of both human-centered and technical defenses.
Though this space doesnt yet exist, its likely on the horizon as the field continues to grow. Influence operations research is gaining traction in the cybersecurity world. Just recently, the top conferences have begun putting disinformation research in their call for papers, which is a real indicator of where things are going, Zurko says. But, some people still hold on to the old-school idea that messy humans dont have anything to do with cybersecurity.
Despite those sentiments, Zurko still trusts her early observation as a researcher what cyber technology can do effectively is moderated by how people use it. She wants to continue to design technology, and approach problem-solving, in a way that places humans center-frame. From the very start, what I loved about cybersecurity is that its partly mathematical rigor and partly sitting around the campfire telling stories and learning from one another, Zurko reflects. Disinformation gets its power from humans ability to influence each other; that ability may also just be the most powerful defense we have.
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Bringing lessons from cybersecurity to the fight against disinformation - MIT News
UCF-led Research Team to Play Key Role in National $26M NSF-funded Effort to Develop Smart Streetscapes – UCF
A team of researchers led by UCF Trustee Chair Professor Mubarak Shah, professor of computer science in the UCF Center for Research in Computer Vision, will play a key role in a newly funded national effort to forge livable, safe and inclusive communities with technologies built on advances in wireless communications.
This month the U.S. National Science Foundation announced its five-year award of $26 million to fund a new Gen-4 NSF Engineering Research Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3).
CS3 is spearheaded by Columbia Engineering in partnership with the University of Central Florida, Florida Atlantic University, Rutgers University and Lehman College.
The grant, which supports high-risk, high-payoff research centers focused on advancing engineered systems technology and education with high-societal impact, will fund the development of streetscape applications to forge livable, safe and inclusive communities.
More than 80% of Americans and more than half the worlds population live in urban areas. High-density cities are transforming how people live, work, travel and manage urban infrastructure. With the nations urban areas facing challenges that threaten livability, safety and inclusion, it is streetscapes neighborhood streets, sidewalks and public spaces that are the center of public and commercial activities, where data can be harnessed for the public good.
Understanding complex streetscapes in real time requires progress in fundamental engineering knowledge and enables exciting opportunities for deploying public interest technology: a smart streetscape of the future can instantly sense human behavior and guide disabled pedestrians, collect refuse, control pests, amplify emergency services, and protect people against environmental and health threats. It can address unmet needs in road and public safety, traffic efficiency, assistive technologies, outdoor work and hyper-local environmental sensing. The CS3 project is focused on doing all that with the active, ongoing collaboration of its many diverse stakeholders.
The Center for Smart Streetscapes will unite diverse research communities through a convergent research model that delivers innovations across five areas: Wi-Edge (high-speed wireless-optical networking); Situational Awareness; Security, Privacy and Fairness; Public Interest Technology; and Streetscape Applications.
The UCF-led team will address CS3s Situational Awareness research thrust a critical piece of the smart streetscape puzzle to develop computationally efficient and privacy-preserving computer vision and machine-learning algorithms to understand in real-time highly complex streetscape scenes, such as positions of people and things, context, people and objects in motion, and more, at scale with multiple cameras and fusion with other sensor types such as lidar.
The Situational Awareness team, led by Shah, director of the UCF Center for Research in Computer Vision and expert in advanced computer vision technologies, includes Mohamed Abdel-Aty, chair of the UCF Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering and expert in transportation safety and related technologies. Aty leads UCFs Future City initiative that provides research and educational opportunities in smart city technologies. The Situational Awareness team also includes seven researchers from Columbia University and Rutgers University with research expertise in civil engineering, computer science, electrical engineering and statistics.
Building upon many years of research collaboration between UCF and Columbia University, we are pleased to be the part of this NSF Engineering Research Center, where we will leverage our world class research in Computer Vision to solve real-world problems related to smart, secureand private cities, Shah says.
Our partnership provides an unprecedented opportunity to pool the strengths of our institutions, embedded in cities that can serve as models for other urban areas around the world, says Mary Boyce, provost, Columbia University. By improving life at hyperlocal scales, we will unlock transformative innovation for communities where it matters most.
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Microsoft and Amazon tease US relocation to African developers – Quartz
One month after graduating from the University of Lagos in November 2017, Timi Bolaji received an offer to become a software engineer at Microsoft after scaling through a process that was focused on hiring computer science graduates from African universities. He joined the companys team in Seattle a year later and has been there since, working on the Xbox Cloud Gaming team.
Microsoft is returning to Africa to hire more developers like Bolaji, with the same tantalizing promise of relocating them to offices in the US and Canada.
The company is interested in people still enrolled in or who have recently completed a bachelors or masters degree in engineering, computer science or related fields, and have one year of programming experience in languages like Java, Python and PHP. Being able to show an understanding of data structures and algorithms is also required.
Microsoft isnt the only Big Tech company directly fishing for new talent in Africa. Amazon is currently interviewing Nigerian developers for roles that promise relocation to Ireland and Canada. These moves coincide with the growth of software engineering talent in Africa in the last decade thanks in part to the work of companies like Andela that have helped produce the continents estimated 716,000 developers. Some of them have become startup founders who then hire developers, creating a ripple effect that inspires young students to consider careers in software engineering.
Microsoft and Amazon may simply be seeking a slice of an already globalizing African software engineering workforce since four out of ten developers in Africa work for at least one company based outside of the continent.
With the so-called Great Resignation of the last two years, theres a global shortage of talent and people are recognizing Africa as a source of talent, says Chika Nwobi, founder and CEO of Decagon, a Nigerian company that runs cohort-based software engineering training programs. He is certain that Big Tech companies will find the quality of talent they need in Nigeria because of the growth in expertise that has led to a vibrant tech-driven financial services ecosystem.
We may not have that many engineers who can operate at the scale of these large companies, but thats just an implementation hurdle thats easy to hop over, at the risk of trivializing it, says Justin Irabor, a developer who works remotely in Nigeria for a European company. As with all kinds of professions, there is a wide variation of talent quality, but I strongly believe we have good engineers here.
By going directly to universities for candidates that do not necessarily have years of experience, Microsofts betting on the diffusion of the innovation buzz from African tech companies and communities typically based in cities like Lagos, Nairobi, and Kigali to other parts of each country. The Windows maker may have to thank its competitor, Google, whose developer groups on campuses have become a key channel introducing young African undergraduates to the world of software development.
Many of the students that may apply to join Microsoft from Nigeria are probably at home due to a strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the union for lecturers in government-owned universities, now in its seventh month. Theres no end in sight.
Still, it is a sign of the maturing computer science programs in some schools in Africa that one of the worlds biggest companies is seeking students or recent graduates. Africas top universities for engineering and computer science are in Egypt and Tunisia, according to the US News and World Reports 2022 ranking. Greater Big Tech interest could be the catalyst for schools in other parts of the continent to compete for places on such rankings in the future.
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Microsoft and Amazon tease US relocation to African developers - Quartz
Congress Urged to Meet Budget Targets in CHIPS and Science Act – American Institute of Physics
Image credit Evan Vucci / AP
President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law on Aug. 9 at a ceremony on the White House lawn, hailing it as a once-in-a-generation investment in America.
The law will provide $52 billion to support the domestic semiconductor sector, which Biden said will coax companies to invest much more, citing commitments from Micron, GlobalFoundries, and Qualcomm that coincided with the signing, as well as plans previously announced by Intel.
Biden also highlighted the ambitious spending targets the bill sets for the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and National Institute of Standards and Technology, saying, This increased research and development funding is going to ensure the United States leads the world in the industries of the future: from quantum computing to artificial intelligence to advanced biotechnology.
However, unlike with the semiconductor funding, meeting those targets will depend on future appropriations. Aware that spending has fallen well short of such targets in the past, advocates are already lining up to push Biden and Congress to follow through.
While the CHIPS and Science Act makes extensive revisions to policy across NSF, DOE, and NIST, the ultimate impact of the law will hinge on how much funding its initiatives receive in the years ahead.
In his remarks, Biden noted that federal R&D spending as a fraction of gross domestic product is now at less than half its peak of nearly 2% in the 1960s, when the Apollo lunar exploration program was underway. Pointing to competition from China and other countries, he said, This law gets us moving up once again. It authorizes funding to boost our research and development funding closer to 1% of the GDP, the fastest single-year percentage increase in 70 years.
Legislative authorizations set funding targets for actual appropriations, but they are not binding. A similar wave of concern over national competitiveness earlier this century led Congress to pass two major R&D laws, the America COMPETES Acts of 2007 and 2010, which likewise authorized major funding increases for NSF, DOE, and NIST. However, those plans were quickly overwhelmed by the politics of deficit control that followed the 2008 economic downturn and the Republican takeover of the House in 2011.
Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, reflected on that experience in an op-ed published the same day as the bill signing, writing, Weve been here before: in 2007, Congress authorized tens of billions of dollars of new investments in federal research only to fail to deliver on funding at great cost to American innovation.
He pointed to an analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science that estimates Congress has cumulatively spent $77 billion less on R&D than if it had met the 2007 COMPETES Acts aim of doubling the agency budgets over seven years and then provided increases in line with inflation thereafter.
The National Science Board, a body of external experts that oversees NSF, is gearing up to press for the funding authorized in the CHIPS and Science Act. At a board meeting on Aug. 4, its chair Dan Reed referred to the task at hand as turning the poetry of authorization into the prose of appropriation.
The law recommends that Congress roughly double NSFs budget over five years, with a significant portion of the money going to its new Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) for efforts to spur key industries and craft research-driven responses to societal challenges such as climate change.
Board member Dario Gil, IBMs director of research, explained at the board meeting that to recruit advocates he and others are looking beyond NSFs traditional academic constituency. He noted for instance the regional economic development focus of the new TIP Directorate could broaden the agencys usual base of support. He also argued that NSF plays a significant but underappreciated role in funding fields that are important for industry, such as computer science.
It's important to activate those constituencies, where key business leaders of the most critical sectors in our economy or key leaders of our national security establishment [are] saying, 'I need that future. I need it today. I need a lot more of it. And the agency that can carry that out and can make it happen is the National Science Foundation.' Those are words that today are not coming out of those leaders, he said.
Gil was among the semiconductor industry representatives who intensively lobbied Congress to appropriate the CHIPS funding. He currently chairs NSB'sexternal engagement committee, which leads its communications with government, industry, universities, and the public.
Assuring the board that the advocacy push does not imply a lack of interest in the agencys broader mission, he remarked, I just want to state for the record that even though we will pick very select things that we need to communicate for very specific audiences to drive the maximum impact, it in no way [means] the board does not appreciate the full range of activities that happen in NSF.
Advocates first goal will be to convince Congress to meet the CHIPS and Science Acts spending targets for fiscal year 2023, which begins on Oct. 1 but will probably not receive a final appropriation until late this year or even early next year.
Proposals already advanced by the Biden administration, the House, and Senate all undershoot those targets by billions of dollars. Moreover, the House and Senate proposals were assembled by Democratic appropriators without the input of Republicans, who will have a significant influence on the final outcome and have argued that proposed spending on non-defense programs is too high.
Meanwhile, Democrats on the House Science Committee are looking ahead to the administrations budget request for fiscal year 2024, which is being assembled now and is due for release in February.
In a letter to DOE and the White House on Aug. 11, they argue the administrations fiscal year 2023 request for the DOE Office of Science is insufficient to cover the needs of its research facility construction projects, reiterating points they and Republican committee members made at a hearing in April. While those projects are in line to receive a funding boost through the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed yesterday, the amounts will not be enough to see most projects through to their completion.
The Democrats also assert the request is inconsistent with Bidens commitment to increasing R&D spending overall. They argue the administration has not given a convincing reason for why it requested a significantly smaller proportional increase for the Office of Science relative to its requests for DOEs applied R&D programs and other science agencies.
They urge the administration to embrace the fiscal year 2024 target in the CHIPS and Science Act, which is $2 billion more than the offices current $7.5 billion budget. It is imperative that we meet this historical moment with transformative investments in science and innovation, and that process begins with the presidents budget request, they state.
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Congress Urged to Meet Budget Targets in CHIPS and Science Act - American Institute of Physics
Nancy Parra-Quinlan Named AFA’s 2022 Teacher of the Year | Air & Space Forces Association – Air Force Magazine
Nancy Parra-Quinlan of Kino Junior High School in Mesa, Ariz. is AFA's 2022 Teacher of the Year.
The Air & Space Forces Association is proud to announce Nancy Parra-Quinlan of Kino Junior High School in Mesa, Ariz., as our 2022 Teacher of the Year (TOY). She was originally nominated for the award by AFAs AZ-151 Frank Luke Chapter.
AFAs Teacher of the Year award is an annual recognition of exceptional teachers who are invigorating their students passion and promoting innovative STEM education. The award is sponsored by Rolls-Royce North America Defense.
Our Teacher of the Year program not only serves to recognize the education talent we have in the U.S., but also to acknowledge the importance of educators in our society, said Stephen Gourley, AFA Vice Chairman of the Board for Aerospace Education. Mrs P-Q rightfully joins a long list of exceptional teachers. We are proud know her and provide this well-deserved recognition.
Parra-Quinlan is a 7th and 8th grade science, STEM, and Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher at Kino Junior High, a Title I school in an economically disadvantaged area of Mesa. Since offering the schools first STEM class in 2011, she has grown the program to include elective courses on robotic programming, 3D modeling and design, DNA comparison, and aeronautic engineering. Parra-Quinlan is also the sponsor of Kino Junior Highs STEM club and has arranged for the clubs members to visit the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Space Academy in Huntsville, Ala., and Astro Camp in Idyllwild, Calif., during the summer.
Outside of class time, Parra-Quinlan coaches the RoboKolts, Kino Junior Highs after-school robotics team in the FIRST LEGO League. She also plans, markets, and runs the Aerospace Academy, a two-week summer camp that gives students from around the Phoenix metropolitan area exposure to STEM careers through tours and guest speakers. Her campers have visited Boeings AH-64 Apache helicopter factory and a Southwest Airlines maintenance hangar, and they have met air traffic controllers and other Federal Aviation Administration staff at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Parra-Quinlan is also a captain in the Civil Air Patrol and an Aerospace Education Officer. In these roles she helps cadets pursue their aerospace career goals and supplies local teachers with resources to cultivate thriving STEM programs at their schools.
Congratulations to Nancy for this well-deserved recognition as AFAs National Teacher of the Year! said Lt. Gen. Darryl Roberson (Ret.), Senior Vice President of Business Development at Rolls-Royce North America Defense. [We are] proud to support Nancy and the Air & Space Forces Association as we all work together to develop and support todays STEM studentsthe science and technology specialists of tomorrow."
AFA also congratulates Robbie Ferguson, the 2022 TOY award first runner-up. Ferguson, who was nominated by AFAs CO #127 Mile High Chapter, teaches aerospace engineering and computer science to 9th-12th grade students at Westminister High School in Westminister, Colo. He has partnered with organizations like NASA and the Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology to provide his students with the opportunity to earn college credits and industry certifications that will set them up early for future careers in STEM.
The second runner-up winner of 2022s TOY award is Dr. Marina Mosneaguta, who was nominated by AFAs SC Swamp Fox Chapter 298. A math teacher and the STEM lead at Alice Drive Middle School in Sumter, S.C., Mosneaguta gives her students hands-on experience conducting scientific research through the Students Spaceflight Experiments Program. She also organizes virtual meetings between her students and STEM professionals, including aerospace engineers, astronauts, and even Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. Thompson.
AFA proudly honors all of these teachers whose commitments, achievements, and contributions to STEM education are shaping Americas youth and future.
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Post-COVID, recoded: Training, prospecting, and programming for the new corporate needs – Fast Company
Thirty months ago, when the novel coronavirus pandemic began flagging economic alarm, there was tangible concern regarding how a shrinking corporate sphere would support enough jobs for a healthy employment rate. But luckily, the path of COVID-era management has not only replenished lost roles, but its also created new ones. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects employment in computer and information occupations to grow 13% by 2030, creating approximately 667,000 new jobs. Businesses across all sectors have a greater need for cloud computing, data storage, and cybersecurity; a lack of available roles has not turned out to be the problem.
Interestingly, though, theres a barrier to connection between employers and employees. I am seeing it keep candidates and business owners away from the symbiotic connection that defines a strong company and a strong economy at large. As in-demand roles have multiplied and changed across the IT space, an apparent skills-mismatch has emerged in a number of crucial areas, including DevOps, customer experience, cloud infrastructure, automation, platforms and products, data management, and cybersecurity. McKinsey researchers predict this employer-candidate gap will worsen before it improves; the disparity between employer needs and candidate experience could leave employers with gaps in positions that the pandemic has rendered integral.
SKILLS GAP: FACT OR FICTION?
I believe the skills mismatch can partially be explained by the nature of the industry itself. Computer science is intensely progressive. Breakthrough innovations are developed, integrated, and adopted faster than they are in other industries. The cyclical progressnew languages being introduced, adopted, and replaced soon afterrepeats.
For candidates, educators, and employers, its hard to know where to intersect within that cycle of change. I believe the best thing a candidate can learn is how to learn and how to pivot between new programs, languages, and processes with speed, enthusiasm, and agility. For prospective candidates in the IT space, now is an opportune time to invest in lifelong learning.
CONSTANT AND CONTINUED EDUCATION
The pace of tech evolution can actually work as an equalizing force. A candidate with a relevant degree might possess the initial advantage, but in my experience, its the candidate committed to growth that will best navigate the industry. The lack of a traditional computer science degree need not prevent a candidate from participating in the tech industry boom, nor should fears about the cost of alternative training. Current alternative training options exist at low or no cost. Many programs offer online learning with a focus on relevant skills in a changing industry.
BEGINNING, AGAIN
In considering programs, a candidate should ensure the training they receive is relevant. One strategy is to network within the target sector, looking for programs that are need-aware and that offer courses tailored to local industries. However, if a candidate is still unsure of their desired focus, they can explore the subcategories of computer scienceprogramming, systems analysis, database administration, network architecture, software development, and researchand the jobs that accompany them. Studying information technology trends, watching webinars on LinkedIn or Youtube, and leveraging other self-led learning platforms are all great ways to begin.
The next step in securing relevant training is to select a stack to pursue. Many startups are using Javascript-based technologies, such as NodeJS, ReactJS, VueJS, AngularJS, and React Native.
Consulting firms or state-owned enterprises might use more established technologies such as Java or .NET Core. Multinational companies sometimes favor Ruby. A good strategy is to examine the job market for each language and try to determine which language is most commonly listed on job postings that are local or seem interesting.
Another consideration is how easy a language is to learn and what projects one is able to build and add to a portfolio while learning a language. In the end, the best language depends on a candidates needs and interests. The most important priority is to learn an initial language in depth and to use it to build a foundation for other languages, as well as a portfolio. No one can be an expert in every aspect of computer science, and there are no wrong choices.
FACING THE INTERVIEW
Armed with new knowledge and experience, candidates are ready to explore the available roles in their desired field. The top priority on both sides of an interview, for both the candidate and the employer, is to explore the fit in depth; no one wants to be in a working position thats not right for them. And while the interview can be a stressful stage in the journey of a job search, candidates who are able to keep that goal in mind might find some much-needed ease.
Bringing in a portfolio of self-directed projects is a great way for a candidate to communicate their interests, experience, and skill level to date. In addition, candidates should be ready to bring alternative educational experience, skill test scores, and unpaid apprenticeship experience to the employers attention. Recruitment teams often make the mistake of specifying degree requirements in the language of a traditional educational system, but may be just as open to skills earned in other ways. Candidates who are able to speak to those alternative experiences are in the best position to demonstrate their intrinsic interest and motivation in a way that will be memorable to recruitment teams.
Finally, a candidates answers are only as good as their questions. Inquiring about a companys long- and short-term goals in the recovery phase demonstrates an advanced awareness and collaborative capacity. Consider also inquiring about how the company supports the career goals of its employees. Does the company invest in reskilling and upskilling? Does it value its employees individual improvement, particularly in the post-pandemic landscape?
Building a career in programming can seem intimidating, particularly without a computer science degree. However, a candidate can construct a path by exploring subfields, researching stacks, and finding relevant training. This training can give them the skills to create a portfolio, complete skills tests, and secure initial work experiences. The number of self-made tech professionals is ever-growingperhaps the perfect solution to a field that evolves greatly every day.
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Senior Research Assistant in the Division of Science, Computer Science job with NEW YORK UNIVERSITY ABU DHABI | 304844 – Times Higher Education
Description
The New York University Abu Dhabi Computational Approaches to Modeling Language (CAMeL) Lab seeks to hireone new researcherto work on the development of cutting edge video-chatbot dialogue systems within its Time-Offset Interaction Application (TOIA) Project. CAMeL's mission is research and education in artificial intelligence, specifically focusing on natural language processing, computational linguistics, and data science. Since its establishment in 2014, the CAMeL Lab has produced over 120 publications and 20 language resources and tools. The lab website ishttp://camel-lab.com/. Google Scholar of the lab is athttp://scholar.camel-lab.com/.
The positions will target the rank of Senior Research Assistant (BS or MS). A strong preference is for individuals with (a) computer science or engineering, information or data science, or statistics degrees including previous experience in natural language processing; or computational linguistics/language technologies degrees; (b) strong programming and software engineering skills, and machine learning experience; (c) some research publication experience; (d) experience with running big projects including user studies are preferred; (e) industrial experience is a plus.
The terms of employment are very competitive and include housing and educational subsidies for children. Applications will be accepted immediately and candidates will be considered until the position is filled. To be considered, all applicants must submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, transcript of degree, a one-page summary of research accomplishments and interests, and at least 2 letters of recommendation, all in PDF format. If you have any questions, please email:nizar.habash@nyu.edu
About NYUAD:
NYU Abu Dhabi is a degree-granting research university with a fully integrated liberal arts and science undergraduate program in the Arts, Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering. NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU New York, and NYU Shanghai, form the backbone of NYUs global network university, an interconnected network of portal campuses and academic centers across six continents that enable seamless international mobility of students and faculty in their pursuit of academic and scholarly activity. This global university represents a transformative shift in higher education, one in which the intellectual and creative endeavors of academia are shaped and examined through an international and multicultural perspective. As a major intellectual hub at the crossroads of the Arab world, NYUAD serves as a center for scholarly thought, advanced research, knowledge creation, and sharing, through its academic, research, and creative activities.
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UAE Nationals are encouraged to apply
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For people in the EU, click here for information on your privacy rights under GDPR:www.nyu.edu/it/gdpr
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The sixtieth anniversary of my first computer program: things have and have not changed. – Daily Kos
An entirely improbable confluence of events in my sophomore year in high school in Denver, Colorado, in 1962, sent me off in unpredictable directions.
One of the members of the Math Club at George Washington HS was the son of a sales rep for Control Data Corporation. The sales office had a CDC 160A demo unit, and if it was not in use for sales (and was actually not down for trouble diagnosis, or raided for spares by the field service folk...) Math Club members could use it for instructional purposes. This, admirably, was organized as a course in programming using the F0RTRAN language. (Whoever designed this presentation of the language decided that a circle with a stroke through it would be the letter O, when for decades it had signified the digit 0 for telegraphy and radio communications. Consequently, a slashed circle as upper-case o became the sign that you really were hip to exotic technological information.)
The CDC 160A was Seymour Crays first commercial computer, and was not as massively capable as most of the quarter-acre systems, but being transistor-based it was capable of being miniaturized (the base unit was like a very large office desk). In overall processing power terms, it was basically the equal of the computer that runs your wall thermostat, or your coffee pot. In present-day currency, delivered and supported models began at $200K, according to my ability to recover price lists.
START
We would craft our programs, writing the instructions on coding sheets (a practice that persisted for perhaps twenty more years, in some shops), then use a Friden Flexowriter to punch a paper tape with the program. When your turn came. Then, when your turn came, reset the machine, load the Compiler tape, then your program source code tape. Normally, the machine would then spit out a paper tape containing terse and cryptic diagnostic criticisms of your precociously inept work product, which you must now correct and re-punch. (Our first lesson in LOOP, ENDLESS: SEE ENDLESS LOOP). Otherwise, it would spit out the Object tape.
Eventually after fussing with the Linker tape and the Library tape and the Object tape, an executable tape would issue forth, which then (when your turn came) could be loaded and run in the machine, usually with results that elicited vocalizations like Well, bless my sox, whatever does this unexpected result betoken?", and a return to the coding sheets.
GOTO START
In the ensuing 59 years, there were many adventures. I inadvertently invented the Third Normal Form in 1976, not having the benefit of a formal education in what little was known of computer science in that era. I restructured the operating system that controlled the engine and powertrain in Ford passenger cars (EEC-IV, 1987 and beyond). I was the architect of perpetual inventory and stock management systems for a couple of large telecom enterprises. This stuff has always been in my blood, so to speak. In fact, after I discovered at age 68 that I am autistic, it became obvious that these things were a Special Interest, and not every other human will have these interests and/or skills.
Today I read the article http://www.dailykos.com/
CDC gave permission for the Math Club to allow us to invade, and benefit from, their commercial enterprise. I dont doubt that there was some grasp of the fact that, when these machines became ever more affordable, a vast army of nerds with coding sheets would be indispensable.
From the standpoint of what benefits for-profit corporations, this makes eminent sense in that, like construction workers, you need a lot of em to get things built. Withal we have for-profit coding academies, as well as some that appear to have objectives other than accumulation of wealth.
From my experiences while jobless and in bankruptcy due to unemployment, I find that most businesses are entirely clueless when it comes to their actual needs, and how to find individual humans who can meet them. After all, remember that the HR departments primary function is to identify the persons who should not be hired. I only got my job at Ford because I was a contractor (therefore a product, handled by Purchasing and not a human, handled by Human Resources). Even though I didnt have an engineering degree (thus not eligible for hire through HR), I was at one point assigned to tutor a recent new-hire, who did have a degree (U Mich), in how to do software engineering.
It seems like, daily, I encounter examples of elementary software blunders in software that controls our lives. These things cannot happen (at least not as oppressively often) if coders" have correct and unambiguous instructions from designers, whose designs derive from the overall architecture propounded by competent architects.
Our problem, in part, stems from the unfortunate hierarchical distinction between coders, designers, and architects. The inbuilt assumption is that the coders are of the least value, and the architects are of the most. This is harmful. Coders, carpenters, pipefitters, bricklayers if they dont love what they do, things will tend to fall apart. If their value is not perceived and taken into account, there will be issues, short- and long-term.
My late Dad was a pipefitter. He loved it, was very good at it, and taught me as much as my neurologically deficient self could absorb. I wound up as a designer and an architect; Im really a poor coder, but I have enormous respect for those who do it well.
An effective system for finding, cultivating, and deploying people in their promised land must begin by knowing what you are looking for, and what to do with it when you find it.
The for-profit model only works accidentally.
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The sixtieth anniversary of my first computer program: things have and have not changed. - Daily Kos
St. Cloud TEDx 2022 speakers announced – SC Times
Times staff report| St. Cloud Times
ST. CLOUD St. Cloud's sixth annual TEDx event on Oct. 13 will feature seven local speakers sharing "ideas worth spreading."
This year's theme is "Rattle." The independently-organized local event, licensed by TED, is scheduled for 5-9 p.m.Thursday, Oct.13at The Paramount Center for the Arts in downtown St. Cloud.
The seven speakers include:
Santo Cruz grew up in rural Stearns County before embarking on his legal career. He currently serves CentraCare as senior vice president and chief legal officer after previously being associate general counsel and vice president of community and government relations.
Prior to joining CentraCare, he was a prosecutor for Hennepin County, assistant commissioner and general counsel for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, attorney for the Minnesota Department of Commerce and deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
Kari-ShaneDavis Zimmerman (nicknamed KSDZ by her students) is an associate professor of theology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint Johns University.She has served as the co-director of the First Year Experience and implemented the roll out of the College Success Course for all first-year students.
East-coast by background and temperament, KSDZ never fails to ask probingquestions and does not accept soulless answers. She asks all her students to engage their moral compass and stand up for what is true and just.
Ettien Koffi earned a bachelors degree in linguistics from the University of Abidjan, Cte dIvoire and a Ph.D. in linguistics from Indiana University, Bloomington. He is a professor of linguistics at St. Cloud State University, the author of five books, and author/co-author of several dozen articles.
He is working with Mark Petzold, an engineering and computer science professor at SCSU, to develop a text-to-speech synthesis to help document and revitalize Betine, a critically endangered language spoken in Cte dIvoire, West Africa. In 1999, there were only 200 elderly speakers of Betine left. They hope the technology they are developing will help document and revitalize some of the 2,923 languages out of 7,111 languages worldwide that are on the brink of extinction.
Grace Leapaldtis starting her junior year at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. She is majoring in both communications and Chinese studies. Grace plans to work for a company that does business with China and serve on the communications side between American and Chinese departments. Her dream would be to work for the embassy in China.
Leapaldtwas born and raised in St. Cloud. She attended the Guang Ming Academy Chinese Immersion Program, grades 1-12 through the St. Cloud Area School District. As a result, she is fluent in writing, reading, and speaking Chinese.
Mato Mackbee owns Krewe Restaurant, Flour & Flower Bakery and The Land by Model Citizen. He describes his cooking philosophy as creating technically driven, elevated comfort food using great ingredients with minimal manipulation.
Mackbee and his partner, Erin Lucas, leverage their restaurant, bakery, and farm to provide opportunities for urban youth to learn about growing food and potential food and hospitality careers all while promoting diversity and racial justice in Central Minnesota.While raised in Minnesota, Mackbees childhood summers always included several hot, steamy weeks in his mothers hometown of New Orleans visiting relatives and experiencing Creole and New Orleans-style food while learning to love its local foods, culture, music and sense of community.
Mark Petzold is a professor of computer science at St. Cloud State University, teaching in computer science and cybersecurity programs. He also is part of the leadership team for Huskies Invent, a hackathon-style event that allows students to solve problems for local industry, as well as co-principle investigator for the ACCESS STEM scholarship program, a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation intended to increase enrollment in STEM programs.
His current research includes student retention in STEM courses as well as computer applications for language research and preservation. He is originally from Idaho.
Heather Weemswas born and raised an Iowa Child (see poem of the same name by Sarah Hall Maney), and grew up in the farm fields and small-town spotlight of rural communities. She observed and learned compassion and wisdom from her English-teacher Mom, work ethic and doggedness from her agrarian Dad, and toughness, resiliency, and humor from her five brothers.Weems spread her wings at the University of Iowa, majoring in psychology while competing as a Hawkeye rower. It was as a resident hall assistant that she developed an affection for the campus environment, inspiring her completion of a masters degree in higher education administration.
Combining her love of athletics and competition with a passion for college student development, she is entering her 23rdyear as an intercollegiate athletics administrator. Weems is transitioning from ten years as director of athletics at St. Cloud State University to her new position as commissioner of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
How to get tickets to TEDx
Tickets are availablethrough the Paramount Box Office atparamountarts.org. For more information visitwww.TEDxStCloud.com.
The event is from 5-9 p.m.Thursday, Oct.13at The Paramount Center for the Arts in downtown St. Cloud.
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It’s game on for esports in Cincinnati – University of Cincinnati
The 5,500-square-foot space for the lab is located on the first floor of the Hub. It includes 45 computers, equipped with high-end peripherals and monitors, as well as a broadcasting and production studio designed for livestreaming.
This is not some glorified computer lab; this is a community space, said Chris Postell, senior manager of strategic initiatives in UCs Office of Innovation. The entire concept of this lab is to bring people together and celebrate a community.
Chris Vu, the president of the UC Esports Club, said having a dedicated space will open up many more opportunities for the club and make it much easier for the group to gather for events. There are more than 2,000 members of the UC Discord, an instant messaging and digital distribution platform, with hundreds of them actively involved in the club.
To me, the esports community has acted almost like a second family. Ive always come to it as my home away from home, Vu, a junior who is majoring in computer science, said. It makes me so happy to see that were finally getting a space to physically call home.
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It's game on for esports in Cincinnati - University of Cincinnati