Past events

The computer science colloquium takes place on Mondays from 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

This week's speaker, Pamela Wisiniewski (University of Central Florida), will be giving a talk titled "Risk and Resilience: A Teen-centered Perspective on Teens and Technology Use".

Abstract

We often equate keeping teens safe online to shielding them from experiencing online risks – such as information breaches, cyberbullying, sexual solicitations, and exposure to explicit content. However, this abstinence-only approach tends to be very parent-centric and does not take into account the developmental needs and experiences of our youth.  For instance, parental control apps operate by monitoring and restricting teens’ mobile activities, instead of helping teens self-regulate their online behavior. By valuing control over autonomy, we violate the personal privacy of teens and inadvertently show them that they are not to be trusted. We often assume teens have no personal agency when it comes to their own online safety, and that they cannot effectively manage online risks by themselves. Yet, developmental psychologists have shown that some level of autonomy and risk-seeking behaviors are a natural and necessary part of adolescent developmental growth. In fact, shielding teens from any and all online risks may be detrimental to this process. Further, Dr. Wisniewski’s research shows that parents are often not authoritative figures when it comes to the risks their teens are experiencing online; thus, an over-reliance on parental mediation to ensure teen online safety may be problematic. As such, Dr. Wisniewski’s research takes a teen-centric approach to understanding adolescent online risk experiences, how teens cope with these risks, and ultimately challenges the assumptions that have been made about how to protect teens online. Her research suggests new approaches that empower teens online by enhancing their risk-coping, resilience, and self-regulatory behaviors, so that they can learn to more effectively protect themselves from online risks.

Biography

Dr. Wisniewski is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Central Florida. She is a Human-Computer Interaction scholar whose research lies at the intersection of Social Computing and Privacy. Dr. Wisniewski is an expert in the interplay between social media, privacy, and online safety for adolescents. She was one of the first researchers to recognize the need for a resilience-based approach, rather than an abstinence-based approach to adolescent online safety, and to back this stance up with empirical data. She has authored over 75 peer-reviewed publications and has won multiple best papers (top 1%) and best paper honorable mentions (top 5%) at top conferences in her field. She has been awarded over $2.96 million in external grant funding, and her research has been featured by popular news media outlets, including ABC News, NPR, Psychology Today, and U.S. News and World Report. She is an inaugural member of the ACM Future Computing Academy and the first computer scientist to ever be selected as a William T. Grant Scholar. She is also the recipient of the National Science Foundation’s prestigious CAREER Award for her innovative, teen-centric approach to adolescent online safety, “Safety by Design: Protecting Adolescents from Online Risks.”

The computer science colloquium takes place on Mondays from 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

This week's speaker, Matias Volonte (Clemson University), will be giving a talk titled "The Effect of Animation Fidelity and Affective Behaviors of Virtual Humans on Users’ Visual Attention and Non-Verbal Conducts in Dyadic and Crowd Scenarios".

Abstract

Anthropomorphic virtual characters are digital entities that mimic humans’ behavior and appearance. Currently, virtual humans have the potential to revolutionize human-computer interaction since they could be used as interfaces for social or collaborative scenarios. Present technology advancements provide the means to create virtual humans with an animation and an appearance of fidelity that will make them almost indistinguishable from humans. Understanding the emotional impact on users during interaction with digital humans is primordial, specifically in training systems, since emotion influences learning results. 

This presentation describes the result of studies focused on understanding the impact that animation fidelity and affective behaviors of virtual characters have on users’ visual attention and verbal and non-verbal behaviors in dyadic and crowd scenarios.

Biography

Matias Volonte is a Ph.D. candidate in Human Centered Computing at Clemson University, South Carolina. His doctoral research investigates the effect that appearance and affective behavior of virtual humans have on users visual attention and overall behaviors. 

Matias holds a master’s degree in Digital Production Arts oriented to Visual Effects from Clemson University, South Carolina and a bachelor’s degree in Audiovisual Communication from Universidad Blas Pascal, Argentina. Prior to starting her doctorate, Matias worked in the film industry as an artist and technical developer for feature films and television commercials.  

The John V. Carlis Memorial Lecture is dedicated to the advancement of education and inclusion in the field of computing.

This year's speaker is Charles Isbell from Georgia Tech, giving a talk titled "A Conversation about Invisibility and Equity in Computing: From Here to There".

Abstract

It is easy enough to have a conversation about increasing diversity in the abstract, and even easier to leave it in the abstract. I will spend some time talking about concrete programs that try to address not just diversity but equity at multiple spots of the pipeline, ranging from k-12 (which might seem a little too far away) to the professoriate (which might see a little too close), and extract some lessons that we have learned. Although I will frame the discussion, the goal will be to have a conversation, and to think together about what drives the outcomes we see.

Biography

Dr. Charles Isbell received his bachelor's in Information and Computer Science from Georgia Tech, and his MS and PhD at MIT's AI Lab. Upon graduation, he worked at AT&T Labs/Research until 2002, when he returned to Georgia Tech to join the faculty as an Assistant Professor. He has served many roles since returning and is now The John P. Imlay Jr. Dean of the College of Computing.

Charles’s research interests are varied but the unifying theme of his work has been using machine learning to build autonomous agents who engage directly with humans. His work has been featured in the popular press, congressional testimony, and in several technical collections.

In parallel, Charles has also pursued reform in computing education. He was a chief architect of Threads, Georgia Tech’s structuring principle for computing curricula. Charles was also an architect for Georgia Tech’s First-of-its’s-kind MOOC-supported MS in Computer Science. Both efforts have received international attention, and been presented in the academic and popular press.

In all his roles, he has continued to focus on issues of broadening participation in computing, and is the founding Executive Director for the Constellations Center for Equity in Computing. He is an AAAI Fellow and a Fellow of the ACM. Appropriately, his citation for ACM Fellow reads “for contributions to interactive machine learning; and for contributions to increasing access and diversity in computing”.

A one-and-a-half day event for IT historians, academics and the interested public. 

This Charles Babbage Institute hosted symposium will address how code—construed broadly, from software routines to bodies of law and policy—structures and reinforces power relations. It will explore the ways that individuals and institutions use software, algorithms, and computerized systems to establish, legitimize, and reinforce widespread social, material, commercial, and cultural inequalities and power imbalances.

The event will also examine how individuals, unions, political organizations, and other institutions use code to fight for equality and justice. The papers will draw from across the humanities and qualitative social sciences, including disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, science and technology studies, and communications. 

Find more information at justcode.cbi.umn.edu/home

A one-and-a-half day event for IT historians, academics and the interested public. 

This Charles Babbage Institute hosted symposium will address how code—construed broadly, from software routines to bodies of law and policy—structures and reinforces power relations. It will explore the ways that individuals and institutions use software, algorithms, and computerized systems to establish, legitimize, and reinforce widespread social, material, commercial, and cultural inequalities and power imbalances.

The event will also examine how individuals, unions, political organizations, and other institutions use code to fight for equality and justice. The papers will draw from across the humanities and qualitative social sciences, including disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, science and technology studies, and communications. 

Find more information at justcode.cbi.umn.edu/home

The Center for Transportation Studies presents a webinar, Exploring a Smart Cloud Commuting Service.

About the Event

This presentation will feature a brief overview of project funded by the National Science Foundation on a "Smart Cloud Commuting Service" (SCCS) via shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs). It will also highlight two preliminary studies exploring the feasibility of the envisaged SCCS. The first includes the development of a queuing theoretical model to determine how many SAVs are needed to serve peak commute demands. The second involves a proposed hybrid spoke-n-hub with point-to-point transit service model that leverages the flexibility and autonomy of SAVs.

This webinar will be held in conjunction with a meeting of the CTS Transportation Safety and Traffic Flow Research Council.

Speakers

Zhi-Li Zhang is the associate director for research at the Digital Technology Center and a Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Qwest Chair Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota. His research interests include computer communication and networks, Internet technology, multimedia, and emerging applications.

Yanhua Li is an assistant professor in the Computer Science Department and Data Science Program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA. His research interests include artificial intelligence and big data analytics in many contexts, including urban intelligence, smart cities, and urban planning and optimization.

Registration and more

This webinar is free to attend, but registration is required. Once you have registered, you will receive an email confirmation with a Zoom link. The link should not be shared with others; it is unique to you.

If you're unable to join us for the live broadcast, a recording of the webinar will be available on the event web page following the event.

For more information, please contact Kaydee Kirk at kkirk@umn.edu.

The computer science colloquium takes place on Mondays from 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

This week's speaker, Feng Qian (University of Minnesota), will be giving a talk.

The application deadline for the computer science integrated program (Bachelor's/Master's) is October 15.

This is exclusively available to students officially admitted to the College of Science & Engineering Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science, Bachelor’s of Computer Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts Bachelor’s of Arts in Computer Science, and the College of Liberal Arts Second Major in Computer Science. The program allows students with strong academic performance records to take additional credits (up to 16 credits) at undergraduate tuition rates during their last few semesters which can be applied towards the Computer Science M.S. program.

Applicants must have at least 75 credits completed at the time of their application. Read more about the program eligibility requirements.

Applications must be submitted online. Before applying, students should review the application procedures.

Students will be notified of the outcome of their application via email by December 1 for a spring start. In some cases, an admission decision will be put on hold until semester grades are finalized. Students will be notified if their application is on hold.
 

The computer science colloquium takes place on Mondays from 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

This week's speaker, Daniel F. Keefe (University of Minnesota), will be giving a talk titled "Humanizing Data with Interactive Visualization".

Abstract

Data-intensive computing is central to so many aspects of society today.  Scientists and engineers continue to collect and simulate data that challenge our most sophisticated computational tools.  However, today's users of data-intensive computing extend well beyond these "traditional users" to include, for example, designers, visual artists, the general public, and Indigenous communities.  Our research explores how processes of analyzing and communicating about data will change in the future and can better serve this wide range of users and computing applications.  Our methods, employed with interdisciplinary collaborators across a range of projects, include a combination of novel visual designs, interactive techniques, and computer graphics and data processing algorithms.  In this talk, I will present specific examples that include: 1) advanced art-inspired algorithms for rendering multi-variate global climate data in immersive environments, 2) interactive simulation-based engineering design tools for understanding supercomputer ensemble datasets, and 3) interdisciplinary cultural revitalization and data storytelling within the UMN Indigenous Futures Grand Challenges project.

Biography

Dan Keefe is a Distinguished University Teaching Professor and Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota. His research centers on interactive data visualization, immersive computer graphics, art+science collaborations, and computing for social good. Keefe’s awards include the National Science Foundation CAREER award; the University of Minnesota Guillermo E. Borja Award for research and scholarly accomplishments at the time of tenure; the University of Minnesota McKnight Land-Grant Professorship; and the 3M Non-tenured Faculty Award. He also shares multiple IEEE and ACM conference best paper awards with his students and collaborators.  Outside of computer science venues, Keefe has published and exhibited work in top international venues for digital art, such as South by Southwest, Northern Spark, ISEA, and Leonardo.  His research and art practice have been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation; the National Institutes of Health; the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative; the US Forest Service; the City of Minneapolis office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy; and industry. Before joining the University of Minnesota, Keefe did post-doctoral work at Brown University jointly with the departments of Computer Science and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and with the Rhode Island School of Design. He received the Ph.D. in 2007 from Brown University’s Department of Computer Science and the B.S. in Computer Engineering summa cum laude from Tufts University in 1999.

The last day to receive a 25% tuition refund for canceling full semester classes is Monday, October 5.

View the full academic schedule on One Stop.