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The latest news and announcements from the CS GSA are displayed below. Previous news and announcements can be accessed from the monthly archive on the right.
Due to the announced closure of Graduate and Family Housing buildings (Morgens and Scioto Halls), several graduate students who are residents of these building have been affected. The decision to close these buildings has apparantly been made without consulting the residents and asking thier concerns. For more details on this issue visit: http://gfhsurvey.blogspot.com
The GSGA is in support of the residents and is actively following up this issue. Below link is the petition prepared by the GSGA for the Graduate Student Housing Closings. It reflects the collective concerns of our Student Government on the subject matter, in addition to the thoughts of worried residents from Scioto and the Morgens Halls. Please take a minute to sign the petition and offer your support.
http://www.petitiononline.com/ucgfh/petition.html
Thanks!
Join Dr. Joel Shulman, Adjunct Professor of Chemistry, and former international recruiter for Procter & Gamble, for a discussion of the realities shaping the U.S. job market and practical ways to help you succeed, if you are hoping to find work in the United States! It is all part of the Special Sessions at Worldfest 2008 International Career Forum 2008. The forum, "To Increase Your Global IQ" will be held on Wednesday, April 30th from 10am to 3pm. For more information please Visit http://www.uc.edu/career/students/icf_a3.htm for details
WorldFest is UC's annual celebration of a world of cultures on campus. This year Worldfest goes green and takes on a world awareness of the environment.
For more details on the several free food & fun activities during this week, visit: http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.asp?id=8181
Invitation from Dr. Karen Davis:
Hi ECE and CS Graduate Students,
I would like to invite you and all of our students to join me and my family to play board games and card games on Saturday May 3rd starting at 3pm in Baldwin 755.
Bobby and I own dozens and dozens of games that range from very silly to fairly complex. We'll bring a mix of casual games for all ages (Apples to Apples, for example) as well as two-player and multi-player games.
We will not be providing refreshments. Feel free to bring your own.
--Karen
The PFF (Preparing Future Faculty): Sharpening Your Edge Beyond Grad School ” on April 21 st has reached our room's capacity and we've had to close registration. Response from grad students has been so overwhelming that we've scheduled another PFF session one week later, on Monday, April 28, 2008, from 12-1:30 pm in 480 Langsam. If you'd like to attend, please access the following link and choose the PFF session on April 28 th : http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=aI98Wym7R944MGm3O6I6Xw_3d_3d
And, yes, the CET&L is providing Subway sandwiches at each session.
SESSION DESCRIPTION:
Many graduate students enter the job market without a critical edge —that is, without teaching experience or much familiarity with the scholarship of teaching and learning. Therefore, many students lack that crucial shine when it comes to getting interviews and job offers because they require an inside understanding of:
UC's Preparing Future Faculty Program adds these strengths to participants' portfolios. Participation in PFF not only increases job marketability, it prepares graduate students to become more effective faculty members once they're hired. UC's PFF program includes pedagogy-related courses, workshops, and reading groups, and we offer mentoring experiences at UC or other local colleges. Program participants also receive detailed guidance on the finer points of:
This 90-minute workshop, PFF (Preparing Future Faculty): Sharpening Your Edge Beyond Grad School on Monday, April 28, 2008 from 12-1:30 pm in 480 Langsam, offers an overview of the PFF Program and includes sample modules from the PFF courses. A panel of current PFF students will also talk about their experience with the program and will answer questions. Come find out how PFF can hone your competitive edge beyond graduate school.
And to show our appreciation that you've chosen to spend your lunch hour with us, we'll happily provide Subway sandwiches to all attendees. We cap this session at 40 people, so sign up quickly by accessing the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=aI98Wym7R944MGm3O6I6Xw_3d_3d .
Dear GSAs,
Thank you for disseminating and/or taking our Graduate Student Survey. A total of 22 awards were allocated using the Excel Random Number Selection method. The following names are the winners of two Ipods, 10 $10 Starbucks gift cards, and 10 Campus Rec Center Food Court Passes.
invstrat@aol.com (ipod)
howelltg@email.uc.edu (ipod)
longj7@email.uc.edu (Starbucks)
Bowermml@uc.email.edu (Starbucks)
graytk@uc.edu (Starbucks)
nicklebl@email.uc.edu (Starbucks)
craiglr@email.uc.edu (Starbucks)
aminkhatami@gmail.com (Starbucks)
joelhoffa@gmail.com (Starbucks)
montazmd@email.uc.edu (Starbucks)
behlerml@email.uc.edu (Starbucks)
grahammc@ucmail.uc.edu (Starbucks)
ibanezba@uc.edu (Center Court Buffet)
ahra@email.u.edu (Center Court Buffet)
lacount.terri@ucmail.edu (Center Court Buffet)
davisc9@email.uc.edu (Center Court Buffet)
kumarrh@email.uc.edu (Center Court Buffet)
wilsonhr@email.uc.edu (Center Court Buffet)
mccaneca@email.uc.edu (Center Court Buffet)
subramoniam.p@gmail.com (Center Court Buffet)
yuewa@email.uc.edu (Center Court Buffet)
ki.lee@cchmc.org (Center Court Buffet)
P.S. GSA department's students who participated the most will be notified soon and the award for that is $100 addition to their group budgets.
-- Ezgi (GSGA President)
The Engineering Library will offer a workshop on LaTeX, an open source document preparation system widely used in engineering, mathematics, natural sciences and other disciplines, on Thusday, April 24, from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. The workshop will be held in the Engineering Library classroom ( Baldwin 850D) . The workshop will be conducted by Aravind Ranganathan .
Due to the large response to the Latex workshop held in January, we are asking those who plan to attend to register for the workshop by using the following link.
Wednesday, 4/23/2008
Thursday, 4/24/2008
As Earth Day 2008 Nears, UC Solar House Builds for the Future. Tthe UC solar house is now back on campus, located on McMicken Commons. It will be open for tours throughout April 21-22. In the coming months, the house will serve as a living laboratory to test alternative-energy technologies. For more information please visit the website http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.asp?id=8182
The May 3 event is an opportunity for the UC community to take part in beautifying the Uptown community. UC's Center for Community Engagement is signing up volunteers for Green-Up Day, a community clean-up program sponsored by the Cincinnati Parks Department. For more information on becoming a UC volunteer for Green-Up Day, check this link http://www.uc.edu/cce/gud.html
The Women's Center is accepting 2008-2009 school year applications (attached with a program description) for the Reclaim Peer Advocate program. The application is due Friday, May 2nd by 5pm in the Women's Center 571 Steger Student Life Center. If you have any questions please contact Kim Fulbright at fulbrika@uc.edu or 556-4328.
Hello all UC graduate students:
Is there any aspect of design or art production to your work at UC, whether you're affiliated with DAAP or not? We know there are lots of people who incorporate design thinking in varied disciplines around UC (think engineering design, biomedical information design, CCM stage set design, video gaming design, etc…), and we'd like to get them all together to talk and share ideas.
If you're one of them, we're inviting you to participate in the first edition of talk20 |Cincinnati at the University of Cincinnati 's College of Design , Architecture, Art, and Planning on Thursday May 8 th from 7-9pm. We hope it will become a loose and open forum for design & art discussion for the entire educational and professional community that is more frequent and less formal than lectures, annual design awards events, or job fairs. We hope you'll participate and share your ideas, visit in person as a spectator, or at least tune into the live simulcast on UC's website!
What is talk20?
In essense, talk20 is an itinerant journal of design and art in all its forms and as it exists in many industries. talk20 is not a lecture but a gathering, an open forum for the dissemination of ideas related to problem-solving and creative production. Produced in cities around the world, talk20 has emerged as a live catalogue of designed culture that seeks to instigate a conversation within and without the design community. talk20 begins with a series of very short, informal presentations of 20 slides each, selected and narrated by a hybrid roster of students, educators, and professionals working across the allied fields of design and art—and it ends with music, food, open discussion, and fun. See talk20.org for more details.
Why talk20 in Cincinnati ?
While there are some events where students, educators, and professionals who are involved in design & art production can interact in Cincinnati , they are usually only job-related, formal awards events and lectures, or discipline-specific professional organization meetings. talk20 aims to provide an open venue for interdisciplinary design & art ideas to be shared without a lot of fuss in preparing, where these diverse groups can interact more frequently, personally, and casually. Think of it as “design karaoke”! You only need a set of 20 electronic slides and the desire to share (we'll even make the slides for you).
Who can participate and what can be presented?
If you incorporate elements of design or art in your work in any field, whether directly related to professional design and art or not, you can participate. The idea isn't to prepare a formal lecture, but to simply put together compelling or provocative content related to art & design to share with like-minded folk. It can be recent work for which you'd like feedback from people with other backgrounds, an editorial on a design issue important to you, or a rant on the state of design & art in Cincinnati ….the sky's the limit!
How can I participate?
Just email Darrin Hunter in the Graduate School of Design at UC with your name, contact information, company if a design/art professional, and an idea of what you'd like to talk about. We'll send you particulars once the roster is established. If you just want to come and view the event, all are welcome!
Links and more information:
************
Darrin Scott Hunter
Graduate School of Design
College of Design Architecture Art & Planning
University of Cincinnati
hunterds@email.uc.edu
Yue Chao, a graduate student in our Dept and the SUN Ambassador @ UC is giving his final seminar on SUN Technologies on Thursday, 17th April at 4:30PM in 749 Baldwin. He will talk about high performance computing with Sun Studio 12. Pizza will be provided.
Responsible Conduct of Research:
Everyday Practices that Compromise Integrity in Research & How to Respond to Them
All students and faculty are invited to join us for an INTERACTIVE & FREE Symposium on Research Ethics. Graduate students will especially be interested in the subject as both the industrial and academic job markets are placing new importance on education that focuses on research ethics (more info / FLYER).
The keynote address, delivered by Professor Nicholas Steneck, will discuss what is known about and society's response to a wide range of misbehaviors in research, from serious misconduct to seemingly minor questionable practices. His talk will conclude a summary of the challenges and responsibilities faced by researchers in day-to-day practice. Interactive Breakout and Wrap-up sessions, led by faculty with specialization in the area, will conclude the session. Pizza will be served.
Date: Wednesday 4/23/08
Time: 5:00 – 7:30 pm
Place: 400 Tangeman University Center
Online Registration Required
LEAP (Leaders for Environmental Awareness & Protection) is organizing a special showing of the film "The Eleventh Hour" at the TUC Mainstreet Cinema on Thursday (4/17/2008) at 8:00PM.
The 11th Hour is a critically acclaimed 2007 feature film documentary , created, produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, on the state of the natural environment. The film documents the grave problems facing the planet's life systems and addresses Global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction, and depletion of the oceans' habitats.
Mark Bousquet , likened to the “Al Gore of higher education” in the Chronicle of Higher Education, will be speaking on some of the labor issues faced by those employed in higher education—including Graduate Workers.
If you are interested in his presentation, visit the link below for more details: http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.asp?id=8174
Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Time: 4:00 PM
Place: 53 McMicken Hall
The 3rd Annual ECE & CS Poster Competition is going to be held on 18th April, 2008. 22 graduate student groups and 1 under graduate group are showcasing their research at this event. Mark your calendars and be there for the event !
For more details, see here
This quarter CS Department will have research talks by several invited speakers, some of which have been sponsored and organized by the CS GSA. The tentative schedule is given below. We would like to arrange meetings of the speakers with our faculty and students. Please plan to attend the talks; and also to meet the speakers if you have sufficient interest in their research areas. Details about rooms and times will be announced closer to the dates of the talks. Contact Dr. Raj Bhatnagar (rbhatnag@ececs.uc.edu) if you have any questions.
April 9th, 2008
Woosung Kim, Convergys Corporation Research Laboratory
Title: "Online dialogue monitoring for spoken dialogue systems"
May 2nd, 2008
Mukesh Singhal, Distinguished Chair Professor, University of Kentucky, Lexington
Title: "A New Model for Robust Routing in Large Mobile Ad Hoc Networks"
May 13th, 2008
Dan Siewiorek, Director, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
Title: TBA
Jointly sponsored by IEEE Student chapter, GSA, and CS Department
May 23rd, 2008
Mehmed Kantardzic, University of Louisville
Title: "Does Data Mining Research Need a New Direction?"
May 29th, 2008(tentative)
Vicotr Bahl, Microsoft research
Title: TBA
Jointly sponsored by IEEE Student chapter, GSA, and CS Department
Note: Although our department and the IEEE student chapter are co-sponsoring Dr. Siewiorek's guest lecture on May 13th 2008, the CS GSA is applying for $400 for the honorarium from the GSGA group budget. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the same, let us know at csgsa@ececs.uc.edu.
Call for Participation/Posters:
The Ohio graduate student symposium is great way to present your research and get to know other graduate students in computer science, information science, and computer engineering throughout the state of Ohio. Be sure to register to quick, as the deadline is approaching.
Poster Abstracts Due: April 18th, 2008 (DEADLINE EXTENDED)
Event Date: April 26th, 2008, 9am–5pm
Venue: 233 Math & Computer Science Bldg.,
Kent State University,
Kent, Ohio
For further details visit: http://ogss08.cs.kent.edu
The University of Cincinnati College of Engineering will host a lecture by Dr. Trevor P. Martin from 6-7 p.m., Friday, April 11, in 427 ERC entitled, “Digital Obesity and the Need for Fuzzy Thinking.”
Dr. Martin is Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.
This event is free and open to the public and is the first in the Herman Schneider Lecture Series for the 2007-2008 academic year. Refreshments will be available in the foyer outside 427 ERC beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Nominations for the GSGA Campus Representative is now open. The elections will be held during our GSGA Monthly meeting in May.
Campus Representative position deals with one on one graduate student relations, attends committees, holds office hours, and act as a part of the GSGA Executive body.
The position pays $400 per quarter and is part-time. Applicants may have TA/GA/RA at the same time. Please contact the GSGA President, Ezgi Akpinar (akpinae@email.uc.edu), if you are interested in the position.
Information from Prof. Ralescu:
The 19th Midwestern Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science Conference will once again take place in Cincinnati during April 12-13, 2008.
Details on the conference can be found at http://penguin.ewu.edu/MAICS2008
I hope that you will find it worthwhile to participate. The conference proceedings are listed in the DBLP Computer Science Bibliography.
Best regards,
Anca
___________________
Anca Ralescu
Professor of Computer Science, ECECS Department
University of Cincinnati ML 0030 Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0030
tel:(513)556-4752,
fax:(513)556-7326
E-mail:Anca.Ralescu@uc.edu
www.ececs.uc.edu/~aralescu
Mainstreet cinema is screening the movie "Maxed Out" on Thursday April 10, 2008 and Friday April 11, 2008 at 7:00PM.
"Maxed Out" is a highly acclaimed documentary on that chronicles abusive practices in the credit card industry. A brief synopsis from imdb:
When Hurricane Katrina ravaged America's Gulf Coast, it laid bare an uncomfortable reality-America is not only far from the world's wealthiest nation; it is crumbling beneath a staggering burden of individual and government debt. Maxed Out takes us on a journey deep inside the American debt-style, where everything seems okay as long as the minimum monthly payment arrives on time. Sure, most of us may have that sinking feeling that something isn't quite right, but we're told not to worry. After all, there's always more credit! Maxed Out shows how the modern financial industry really works, explains the true definition of "preferred customer" and tells us why the poor are getting poorer and the rich getting richer. By turns hilarious and profoundly disturbing, Maxed Out paints a picture of a national nightmare which is all too real for most of us.
Each student will also receive a coupon for a free potbelly sandwich.
April 7+ - Signatures required for adds
April 6 - Last day to register for audit, pass/fail, change credit hours, without signature
April 14 - Last day to drop (no entry to academic record)
May 27 - Last day to submit Grade Replacement Form
May 27 - Last day to withdraw from classes
June 6 - Last day of class
June 7-12 - Exams
June 13,14 - Quarter ends/Commencement
Holidays:
Memorial Day May 26
For more details see: http://www.uc.edu/registrar/spring_important_dates.html
Information from UCIS (formerly ISSO) regarding the new OPT policy. For all international graduate students:
On April 8, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security announced a 17-month extension of Optional Practical Training (OPT) for certain F-1 nonimmigrant students. This extension IS NOT available to ALL F-1 students on OPT. A complete analysis of the new OPT extension rule follows.
Overview
Currently, F-1 nonimmigrant students who are otherwise eligible can be authorized for 12 months of post completion Optional Practical Training (OPT). The Department of Homeland Security has published an interim final rule which would extend the maximum period of OPT from 12 months to 29 for F-1 students who have completed a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) and who are employed by employers enrolled in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) E-Verify employment verification program. E-Verify is a free internet-based system which is operated by USCIS, in partnership with the Social Security Administration and determines a new employees eligibility to work. Students who have yet to complete the degree in a STEM are not eligible for the 17-month extension.
This new rule has several reporting components. It requires F-1 students on authorized OPT to report changes in the students name or address and changes in the employers name or address. It requires students every 6 months verify the accuracy of this information with his or her school. The rule requires the employers of F-1 students who have received an extension of post-completion OPT authorization to report to the students Designated School Official (DSO) within 48 hours of the termination or completion of a students employment with that employer, if it ends prior to the end of the authorized period of OPT.
A student who has properly filed Form I-765 for OPT extension at least 90 days prior to the expiration of his or her post completion OPT is allowed to maintain continuous employment for up to 180 days while USCIS adjudicates the extension request. This interim rule also provides relief for students seeking H-1B specialty worker status and for the employers who wish to hire them. The status of F-1 students, as well as their work authorization, is automatically extended if a timely-filed H-1B petition has been granted by, or remains pending with, USCIS. This means that anyone on OPT whose employer has filed an H-1B application with the USCIS between April 1 and April 7, 2008 can remain employed as long the petition remains pending (i.e. it is accepted for inclusion in the 2009 H1-B lottery) or the petition has been approved for a 10/01/2008 start date.
All students should note that this interim rule, for the first time, does limit the amount of time a student can remain in the U.S. on OPT while being unemployed. Students can remain on OPT while unemployed for an aggregate of 90 days during a 12 month OPT period. Students who receive the 17-month OPT extension can remain unemployed for an aggregate of 120 days. You will be expected to depart the U.S. after 90 or 120 days (whichever applies to you) of unemployment.
Who is eligible to apply for the OPT extension?
In order for you to take advantage of the OPT extension, your degree, as shown on your I-20 form in SEVIS, must be in a degree field that is on the current STEM Designated Degree Program List. STEM refers to degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. This means if your degree is in such fields as business, education, the humanities, social sciences or visual and performing arts, you will not be able to apply for an extension of your OPT. STEM fields of study are as follows:
· Actuarial Science
· Computer Science (except data entry/microcomputer applications)
· Engineering
· Engineering Technologies
· Biological and Biomedical Sciences
· Mathematics and Statistics
· Military Technologies
· Physical Sciences
· Science Technologies
Medical Scientist
In addition, your employer must be enrolled in the E-Verify Employment Verification Program operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Currently, it is estimated that only about 1% of employers nation-wide are registered participants in E-Verify. If your employer is not registered in the E-Verify system, you CAN NOT apply for extension of your OPT, even if your field of study is on the STEM degree list. Employers must also agree to report termination of your employment to UC International Services no later than 48 hours after your employment has ended. Employers interested in becoming enrolled in E-Verify can visit the site below.
https://www.vis-dhs.com/EmployerRegistration
Periods of Unemployment During OPT
DHS regulations currently define the period of an F-1 students valid status as the time the student is pursuing a full course of study or is engaged in authorized post completion Optional Practical Training, plus a 60 day grace period. With this interim rule, the DHS establishes an aggregate maximum period of allowed unemployment of 90 days for students on 12-month OPT. Students who qualify for and receive the 17-month OPT extension can be unemployed for an aggregate of 120 days. This particular part of the rule also puts responsibility on students to keep UC International Services up to date with the name and address of your OPT employer. Unless we have the SEVIS system updated with the name and address of your employer you will be accumulating unemployment time in SEVIS. Once you have reached the 90 or 120 day maximum your F-1 status will be terminated. For those of you currently looking for employment, please notify UC International Services with the name and address of your employer once employment is secured. If you dont secure employment within the 90 day period beginning with the start date on your OPT card you will be expected to depart the U.S. or otherwise take steps to maintain proper F-1 status (get a new I-20 to start a new program of study).
H-1B Cap-Gap Relief
Perhaps the most significant part of this interim rule relates to what is called cap-gaprelief. Currently, F-1 students who are the beneficiaries of approved H-1B petitions, but whose period of authorized F-1 stay expires before the H-1B employment start date, would have a gap in authorized stay and employment requiring them to depart the U.S. and return within 10 days of beginning H-1B employment. This interim rule provides relief to students and employers in this situation. This interim rule extends the status AND work authorization of any F-1 student who is the beneficiary of a timely-filed H-1B petition requesting an employment start date of October 1 of the following fiscal year. This rule applies to all students on OPT, not just STEM students. The extension of duration of status and work authorization automatically terminates upon the rejection, denial, or revocation of the H-1B petition filed on the student's behalf.
Professor Sir Harold W. Kroto , 1996 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (for his co-discovery of the carbon "buckyballs" or the buckminsterfullerene) will speak on " SCIENCE, SOCIETY AND SUSTAINABILITY" on Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 4:30 PM in the Zimmer Auditorium and his presentation will be followed by an open reception in the foyer/lobby of the Zimmer Auditorium.
Yue Chao, a graduate student in our Dept and the SUN Ambassador @ UC is giving the next in the seminar series on SUN Technologies on Thursday, 3rd April at 4:30PM in 749 Baldwin. He will talk about open solaris. Pizza & Subs will be provided
All the very best to the ECE & CS students taking their DQE this time. Good luck!
--CS GSA