NSF FELLOW ANNOUNCED...ADAM FASS is the new recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship.

CS/RI FACULTY CANDIDATES...
April 22: YIZHOU YU, University of California, Berkeley, "From Global Illumination to Inverse Global Illumination", 10:00 am, Wean 4623. His faculty host is Paul Heckbert. (Joint CS/RI Talk)
April 23: SUDIPTO SUR, Caltech, "Applications of Control and Robotics: Jet Engines to Operating Rooms", 10:30 am, Wean 5409.
April 26: NARAYANAN SHIVAKUMAR, Stanford University, "Large Scale Copy Detection", 10:00 am, Wean 4615A (Note special room!). His faculty host is John Lafferty.
April 26: TUCKER BALCH, Georgia Tech and CMU, 3:30 pm, Wean 4623. Contact sriso@ri.cmu.edu for appointments (Joint RI/CS Talk)

IN DEFENSE...GEOFF GORDON tests out "Approximate Solutions to Markov Decision Processes" at his CS thesis oral on Tuesday, April 20 at 10:00 am in Wean 4623. His committee includes: Tom Mitchell (Chair), Andrew Moore, John Lafferty, and Satinder Singh (AT&T Labs and University of Colorado).

SCS UNDERGRADUATE PICNIC...The annual SCS Undergraduate Picnic is scheduled for Friday, April 23 at 4:30 on the Wean Hall patio/plaza. The festivities and food (hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken) officially begin at 4:30...but note, the volleyball net will be set-up earlier! You need a "ticket" in order to eat, so see Maria Fischer or Mark Stehlik in Wean 4105/4103, respectively, to get one. Remember: no tickets, no food!

MOBOTS DEFY 30 MPH WINDS!...Despite nature's attempts to subdue this year's Mobot Race, over 16 teams turned-out for the 5th Annual Mobot Slalom Finals on April 16. The competition began at noon, shortly before the Start Banner was carried off by 35 mph gusts! Soon followed by the Finish Sign...things were looking ominous. Rain clouds were building up. But the teams and mobots held their (now frozen) ground and rallied with some outstanding performances, despite nature's attempts to derail sensors and vehicles. This year's victors:
First Place: Team: Marvin
Daniel Maynes-Aminzade
9 Gates, 03:05:98
Second Place: Team: mmm'Bot
Morgan Eli Simmons and Merle E. Romesberg
8 Gates, 03:44:31
Third Place: Team: Predator
James Bruce, Joshua Anhalt
4 Gates, 01:40:33
Open Class: Team: Moby Wan Kenobi
Philipp Herget and Jason Messier
14 Gates, 02:15:35 (plus all decision points!)
Judges Choice: Team: Moby Wan Kenobi
Philipp Herget and Jason Messier

Congratulations to all on a remarkable job!

ROBOTICS EXPERTS GATHER IN PITTSBURGH...On April 25-29, experts from around the world will gather at the Westin William Penn Hotel for the the Eighth Bi-Annual International Topical Meeting on Robotics and Remote Systems. Over 140 papers on the "state of robotics in industry, academia and government research laboratories" will be presented. Sponsored by the American Nuclear Society, CMU, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Technology Center, the meeting "highlights the importance of robots to the nuclear power and other industries, as well as their role in the nation's defence nuclear complex. Speakers will discuss recent advances in robotic technology, lessons learned...accomplishments in the later part of the 20th century, such as Sojourner...preview the spectacular advances anticipated in the 21st century...including the cleanup of Chernobyl....and more." Red Whittaker is honorary chairman of the meeting, with Jim Osborn serving as technical co-chairman. For complete details, visit www.ri.cmu.edu/ans99

SCS INVITED TALKS...David Touretzky presents "Attractor Models of the Rodent Head Direction System" on April 21 as invited speaker at the University of Chicago's Computational Neuroscience Seminar Series.

OUR DAUGHTERS ARE COMING...to work on Thursday, April 22 for The 7th Annual "Take Our Daughters To Work" day. Visit www.as.cmu.edu/todtw for particulars.

AND SLEEPING BAGGERS FOLLOW...on Monday, April 26. Admitted undergraduates and their families will be visiting during this final "bagger" session of the year. Information sessions, special seminars, and departmental discussion meetings are on the agenda. Watch for the SCS tour group!

MELISSA REVISITED...Rich Pethia, Manager of the Networked Systems Survivability Program at the SEI, testified last week before the Subcommittee on Technology of the House of Representatives Committee on Science, on the the Melissa Virus. For those interested, read the testimony at: http://www.house.gov/science/pethia_041599.htm

. IT'S VIRTUALLY HERE...The "Building Virtual Worlds" program, hosted by the Entertainment Technology Center in SCS, will take place Wednesday, April 28 at 6:00 pm in McConomy Auditorium, University Center (followed by a second show). Students will present their amazing term productions for all to experience. You really won't want to miss this. Watch for more announcements!

IS IT A BOOK OR AN E-BOOK?...You decide during "The Great Debate: Books, or Electronic Books?" on Friday, April 30 at 5:30 pm in Hunt Library. Raj Reddy and Michael Shamos will join University Librarian, Gloriana St. Clair, for an engaging debate, followed by a Universal Library demo, hands-on time with an electronic book, Q&A, and refreshments. RSVP to rkenney@andrew.cmu.edu, x8.2447, and/or check out "The Great Debate" site at /www.library.cmu.edu/

HE'S BACK...Brian Noble (CS PhD) will lead a discussion on Thursday, April 22 at 6:00 pm in Wean 4625 for all CS undergraduates contemplating a graduate degree in EE or CS at the University of Michigan. Now an Assistant Professor in their Department of EECS, Brian welcomes your questions. He has some good experiences to draw from. Pizza (while it lasts) will be served.

GET A LIFE!...Enjoy your campus! Several musical events are taking place this week: The Carnegie Mellon Contemporary Ensemble performs Thursday, April 22 at 8:00 pm in Alumni Concert Hall, CFA Building. The Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic, with guest conductor, Dr. Samuel Jones, performs Friday, April 23 at 8:00 pm in Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland. For tickets and information, call x8.2383

CAPS & GOWNS ORDERED?...If you have waited too long, breath deeply. You still have one last chance! Visit www.cmu.edu/commencement and order those caps & gowns (this includes faculty) today! If truly desperate, contact carol.worek@andrew.cmu.edu with your saga. And don't forget to RSVP for the SCS Commencement Brunch and Diploma Ceremony. Send mail to commencement@cs to sign-up.

WORDS FOR THOUGHT...
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21
*HCI SEMINAR: Judith S. Olseon, School of Information, University of Michigan, "Distance Matters", 3:30 pm, Wean 5409.

THURSDAY, APRIL 22
*PURE AND APPLIED LOGIC COLLOQIUM: Alex Simpson, Division of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, "Elementary Axioms for the Category of Classes", 4:30 pm, Wean 5409.
*1999 BUHL LECTURE: Nathan Seiberg, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, "The Pursuit of Unification: Fulfilling Einstein's Dream", 4:30 pm, Mellon Institute Auditorium.

FRIDAY, APRIL 23
*SPECIAL SEMINAR: Krithi Ramamritham, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, "Reading Consistent and Current Data 'Off the Air'", 2:00 pm, Wean 8220.
*ROBOTICS SEMINAR: Leonard McMillan, EECE/MIT, "Image-Based Rendering: A New Interface Between Computer Graphics and Computer Vision", 3:30 pm, Adamson Wing, Baker Hall.

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