James Gosling, a vice president and fellow at Sun Microsystems who is best known as the father of the popular Java programming language, presented the keynote lecture for the 25th (plus one) anniversary of the pioneering Andrew Project, which developed Carnegie Mellon University’s central distributed computing service and made it the world’s first wired campus. The lecture, open to the public, will be held in the Rashid Auditorium of the Hillman Center for Future-Generation Technologies. News release

Carnegie Mellon “Tartans” Defend Title at Regional Programming Contest!

The Tartans, a team of computer science juniors Tom Conerly and Alan Pierce and electrical and computer engineering senior Celestine Lau, took first place for the second year in a row at the ACM-ICPC East Central North American Regional Programming Contest in Cincinnati. News release

Light a Light for Randy: Professor Randy Pausch inspired millions through his work and “Last Lecture,” including the tens of thousands of individuals like you who purchased a DVD of his lecture. In celebration of his life and legacy, Carnegie Mellon University dedicated the Randy Pausch Memorial Bridge in his honor on Oct. 30, 2009. Dedication and Lighting Information

New Minor in Neural Computation! Neural computation is a scientific enterprise to understand the neural basis of intelligent behaviors from a computational perspective. Study in neural computation includes, among others, decoding neural activities using statistical and machine learning techniques and developing computational theories and neural models of perception, cognition, motor control, decision-making and learning. The minor is open to students in any major of any college at Carnegie Mellon. Information Session: October 30 (Friday) 4:00-5:00 pm GHC 4303

Sesame Street Executives To Give Talk Nov. 4!

Seven executives of Sesame Workshop, the non-profit group behind public television’s “Sesame Street,” will discuss the trailblazing show for pre-schoolers and about their re-launch of “The Electric Company” during a talk at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday Nov. 4 in the Rashid Auditorium on the fourth floor of the Hillman Center for Future-Generation Technologies. News brief

An iPhone application that turns the Apple phone into a translator that converts English speech into Spanish, or vice versa, is now being sold by Jibbigo LLC, a startup company launched by Alex Waibel, professor of computer science and language technologies at Carnegie Mellon University.

News release

A 230-foot-long pedestrian bridge spanning a hollow between the new Gates Center for Computer Science and the Purnell Center for the Arts on the Carnegie Mellon University campus will be dedicated at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 30, in memory of Randy Pausch, professor of computer science, human-computer interaction and design, and author of the bestselling book “The Last Lecture.” The ribbon-cutting and bridge-lighting ceremony will be held in front of the Purnell Center’s main entrance. News Release and Carnegie Mellon feature

Eric P. Xing, associate professor of computer science, machine learning and language technology, is one of 38 scientists and engineers chosen for funding through the U.S. Air Force’s highly competitive 2010 Young Investigator Research Program. News Brief.

Automated methods for discovering astrophysical phenomena by sifting through massive amounts of cosmological data are being developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Washington under a new three-year, $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). News Release.

Women@SCS, SCS faculty and students had the honor of meeting with the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead during his day at Carnegie Mellon. The Admiral gave a University Lecture: "America's Global Navy: In the Middle East and Beyond". In his lecture, Admiral Roughead addressed the future challenges that the U.S. Navy faces. Read more.