ACM

"I believe improvements are needed at all levels to bring diverse voices to the table. I honestly believe representation matters, and that inclusivity is essential for addressing the challenges in society. However, unfortunately, I still meet students discouraged because they do not see others like them in a major/career or are told/perceive that they do not belong in the computing field." --Aqueasha M. Martin-Hammond of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis IUPUI... Read more from Aqueasha's responses to questions about her career in computing, how underrepresentation shapes the experiences of Black students and professionals in the field, and what can be done to combat racial bias in computing and technology: https://bit.ly/3tNcxda #BlackHistoryMonth #ThisIsWhatACoderLooksLike

Academic researchers are using supercomputers funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, like the UC San Diego (UCSD)'s Comet and the Texas Advanced Computing Center Stampede2, to improve battery design. UCSD's Shyue Ping Ong said, "Comet was crucial for performing the calculations to elucidate the unique lithium insertion and diffusion mechanisms responsible for the high-rate capability in a new anode material we are developing." Meanwhile, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Illinois Chicago used Comet and Stampede2 to help synthesize two-dimensional alloys that may yield lithium-air batteries, and potentially improve electric-vehicle energy efficiency. Read more here via UCSD: https://bit.ly/2YUWjkb

Registration is now open for the ACM India 15th Academic Research and Careers for Students (#ARCS) Symposium 2021, which will take place on 11 and 12 February (Thursday and Friday). In ARCS (formerly called IRISS), research scholars in Computer Science and allied areas showcase their recently published work to a conclave of researchers and potential employers from academia and industry. Apart from 14 full papers, 9 short papers, and 13 posters, the two-day symposium hosts several invited talks (keynote address, early career researchers, Early Career Researcher awardees, and Doctoral Dissertation awardees), a panel discussion on diversity and inclusion, an institutional awareness panel, virtual competitions, and more. Register here: https://bit.ly/3q5RXTk

Researchers at Spain's Universitat Rovira i Virgili - URV and the icmab developed a machine learning model that can predict the performance of organic solar cells. The researchers were able to train artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms on thousands of data points to predict various factors that determine an organic solar cell's efficiency. Said ICMAB's Mariano Campoy-Quiles, "When using a conventional method, a sample provides you with information about only one point. H...owever, using our methodology we can obtain between 10 and 1,000 times more points." He added that as a result of this research, We have seen that the most critical parameters that determine the optimum composition are the electronic gap of each material, as well as how balanced the charge transport is in each one. Read more here via the Universitat Rovira i Virgili: https://bit.ly/3tH953E

Registration is now open for the ACM India event, the ACM-W India Workshop on 10 February! The theme of this workshop will be Women in Computer Science and Research, and it will provide an opportunity for participants to interact with experienced researchers from academia and industry across the globe, listen to distinguished speakers, and hear a keynote address by the winner of ACM India Outstanding Contributions in Computing by a Woman Award 2020. Register for free, here: https://bit.ly/3rtZU4I

"My advice to anyone entering the profession is to literally treat it like a craft; work on your craft consistently and diligently and become as skilled as possible. You should strive to become so skilled that your talent cannot be denied or ignored." --Julian Brinkley of Clemson University Read more from Julian's responses to questions about his career in computing, how underrepresentation shapes the experiences of Black students and professionals in the field, and what ca...n be done to combat racial bias in computing and technology: https://bit.ly/3ryNjgH #BlackHistoryMonth #ThisIsWhatACoderLooksLike

Happy birthday to #ACMTuringAward recipient, Barbara Liskov. Liskov earned her BA in mathematics at the University of California, and in 1968 at Stanford University she became one of the first women in the United States to be awarded a PhD in computer science. Liskov received the 2008 A.M. Turing Award for her contributions to practical and theoretical foundations of programming language and system design, especially related to data abstraction, fault tolerance, and distributed computing. https://bit.ly/2GqRMjR

Researchers at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Institute for Industrial Mathematics in Germany have developed a hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) platform that aims to make machine development faster and more affordable through the use of software simulation. Said Fraunhofer's Christian Salzig, "Our HiL simulator allows us to test heavy equipment of all kinds, including a variety of crane types and concrete pumps. This allows us to help optimize prototypes." The process involves repro...ducing the machine to be tested as a software model, incorporating its technical specifications and the physical laws of mechanics, hydraulics, and electronics as mathematical equations. The simulator with the digital twin is then connected to the electronic control units that control machine operation, with the machine's movements reproduced on an animated, three-dimensional display. The software can simulate the precision of operations between the machine and the control unit, as well as malfunctions and critical borderline situations. Read more here via the Fraunhofer Institute: https://bit.ly/32e8dI2 See more

The Skillsoft course, Fundamentals of Big Query focuses on and explores BigQuery and describes several operations including multiple table queries, nested and repeated fields and building BigQueries. The course is aimed at data professionals who are responsible for provisioning and optimizing big data solutions, and data enthusiasts getting started with Google Cloud Platform. By the end of the course, you will be able to demonstrate how to write query results, use cached queries, use parameterized queries, and save and share queries in BigQuery. Join ACM to access this and more than 4,800 Skillsoft Learning Collections eBooks: https://bit.ly/3eW5aIq

"Will Post COVID-19 Education be Digital?" Last month, Ubiquity held a virtual round table featuring Peter Denning, Andrew Odlyzko, Espen Andersen, and Jeffrey... Johnson to discuss digital education as millions of students worldwide struggle to continue studies in these difficult circumstances. Stay tuned for a follow-up debate from other editors, culminating in a free, one-hour webinar next year.

A smartphone app developed by researchers at the University of Washington (UW) can notify d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing people of nearby sounds. When a sound of interest to the user is detected by the SoundWatch app, the user is sent a buzz/alert with information about the sound it detected. The watch sends the sound to the user's phone, and the results are then sent back to the watch. Said UW's Dhruv Jain, "This technology provides people with a way to experience sounds that require an actionsuch as getting food from the microwave when it beeps. But these devices can also enhance people's experiences and help them feel more connected to the world." Read more here via UW: https://bit.ly/38i021d

Looking back, it is often possible to divide your computer science career into three or more distinct phases. For example, the first phase of a career typically builds on an undergraduate education, and can often lead individuals to pursue specific research interests and explore how computing can help them reach certain goals. At some point, though, most realize that a career path is not a long, straight line stretching into the future. You might have an internal yearning to ...do something more, and that might lead you to move to a new geographic region, or to pursue opportunities in an entirely new industry. Once you have built up sufficient expertise and expanded your personal network, it is time to move your career into its next phase, when you will often have significant managerial or executive responsibilities. Read "A Career Unfolds in Phases" by Celeste M. Rohlfing in the November 2020 issue of Communications of the ACM: https://bit.ly/2TQXHSm

Congratulations to Ranjita Bhagwan for receiving the inaugural ACM India Outstanding Contributions in Computing by a Woman (OCCW) Award! The OCCW award recognizes women professionals who have made fundamental, innovative and impactful contributions to the computing field primarily working in India. The award carries a prize of 7 lakhs. Financial support for this award is provided by Google . Bhagwan is recognized for "her contributions to design of networking and distribute...d systems, particularly using data and machine learning to improve system design, mentoring young researchers, and being an inspiration to women in research and technology." https://bit.ly/3oXlBtI

Register now for the ACM India Webinar Series on Education: "Building a Successful and Satisfactory Academic Career," to be presented on Saturday 7 November 2020 at 11 am IST by Pankaj Jalote, Distinguished Professor at IIIT Delhi. An academic career is one of the most demanding, but one which can also be deeply satisfying. While earning is clearly important, at the heart of it an academic career is about making an impact through new knowledge creation, through teaching young minds, and through service to the profession. In this talk, we discuss the key dimensions of research, education, and service of an academic career, and what one can do and guard against to achieve a degree of success and satisfaction. Register at https://bit.ly/3k4st4G

Applications Now Open for Cutler-Bell Prize for High School Students The ACM/CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing recognizes talented high school students intending to continue their higher education in computer science or technology. The program seeks to promote and encourage the field of computer science and empower young and aspiring learners to pursue computing challenges outside of the traditional classroom environment. Applications for the 2021 prize are open now through January 18, 2021. https://bit.ly/2ExephU

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a machine learning system that can automatically translate a lost language, without advanced knowledge of its relationship to other dialects. The system applies principles based on historical linguistic insights, including the fact that languages generally evolve in certain predictable patterns. MIT's Regina Barzilay and Jiaming Luo developed a decipherment algorithm that can segment words in an ancient language and map them to words in related languages. The algorithm infers relationships between languages, and can assess proximity between languages. Read more here via MIT: https://bit.ly/3268VHa

Koji Yatani is Associate Professor and Director of the Intelligent Systems Laboratory at the University of Tokyo. This year, Yatani received the IPSJ/ACM Award for Early Career Contributions to Global Research. Read a fascinating People of ACM interview with Yatani in which he discusses the projects he is working on at the Intelligent Systems Laboratory, and some interesting trends in human-computer interaction and ubiquitous computing. https://bit.ly/2HVl7DP

ACM Distinguished Speaker Sanjaya Kumar Panda is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of CSE at @NIT Warangal, Telangana, India. He has published more than 100 papers in reputed journals and conferences and has delivered more than 70 invited talks, and chaired sessions in many national and international conferences. His current research interests include grid computing, cloud computing, fault tolerance, load balancing and recommender systems. To learn more about Sanjaya and request a lecture, click here: https://bit.ly/382lvuA

Chicago: Join us on Wednesday, November 18 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM for a meetup featuring speaker Kalina Borkiewicz, Senior Research Programmer at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The presentation, entitled Cinematic Scientific Visualization: Where Science Meets Hollywood Visual Effects, will take a deep dive into how scientific visualization for public education serves a vital role in our modern society which communicates with image-based memes and incentivizes out-of-context sensationalism through clickbait journalism. Register now: https://bit.ly/383aCZw ACM Local Meetups help thousands of smart technical people connect with peers and solve challenges together. Learn about meetups in your area and how to organize ACM Local Meetups in your city and expand your networks: https://bit.ly/2YUmecz

The Computing Research Association recently released the first of more than a dozen planned white papers exploring areas and issues around computing research with the potential to address national priorities over the next four years. Called "Quadrennial Papers," they attempt to portray a broad picture of computing research detailing potential research directions, challenges, and recommendations for policymakers and the computing research community. The papers cover five thematic areas: Core Computer Science, Broad Computing, Socio-Technical Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Diversity and Education. https://bit.ly/2TTyyGz