CPSC 481: Seminar
CS Culture Assignments

  • Wednesday Dec 3: LAST DAY to turn in CS CULTURE Assignments (by 5pm)

    There is alot more to Computer Science than you will be exposed to through your normal coursework. The purpose of the CS culture assignments is to give you an opportunity to learn about: some of the various research areas (by attendence at research seminars), and some of the computer scientists that have made significant contributions to the field (by researching and writing short biographys).

    During the course of the semester you must do at least THREE culture activities. At most ONE of these can be a biography. That is, you have two options for the CS culture assignments:

    Culture assignment reports should be a minimun of 1 page single-spaced (or 2 pages double-spaced) with 11 point font and 1 inch margins. They should be submitted in hardcopy. They can either be submitted in class or placed in the instructor's mailbox on the 3rd floor of HRBB. Remember, your culture report must include a completed and signed coverpage - reports submitted without the coverpage will not receive credit.

    Seminar Attendance. To receive credit for this assignment you must attend the seminar and turn in a one page (type-written) report. Your report should be a minimun of 1 page single-spaced (or 2 pages double-spaced) with 11 point font and 1 inch margins and it should include (i) a few words about the speaker (who they are, where they work, etc), (ii) a short summary of the seminar, and (iii) a brief discussion of what you thought about the seminar - is the work interesting, do you think the results are important, what questions did you have, etc. (I want to know what you thought.) Reports are due one week after the seminar date.

    Acceptable seminars are listed below. More details and seminars will be added as they become available. If you are interested in receiving credit for a seminar that is not listed, check with the instructor in advance. Acceptable seminars include:

    Famous Computer Scientist Biography. To receive credit for this assignment you must research, write, and turn in a short one-page (type-written) biography of a famous computer scientist. Your report should be a minimun of 1 page single-spaced (or 2 pages double-spaced) with 11 point font and 1 inch margins and it should include (i) a few words about the person (who they are, where they work, etc), (ii) a short summary of the contribution their work has made to computer science, and (iii) a brief discussion of what you think about their work - is the work interesting, do you think the results are important, what questions do you have, etc. (I want to know what you thought.)

    Automatically acceptable computer scientists are ACM Turing Award winners. The Turing Award is the most prestigious technical award in computer science. It is given to individuals who have made contributions of lasting and major technical importance to the computer field.

    If you are interested in researching another computer scientist, check with the instructor in advance