MOBILE ROBOT PROGRAMMING CONTEST...Members of the SCS community are invited to watch the seminfinals and finals of the robot competition, representing "the culmination of the effort of fall semester's Robotics 16x62 students -- Mobile Robot Programming Lab -- on Tuesday, December 2 at noon in Rangos Ballroom 3, the University Center. The course introduced students "to the full gamut of robot programming issues, from low-level robot control and reactive behavior to AI-level problems, including interleaving planning and execution, automatic mapping, communication and cooperation, and competitive strategies" notes Illah Nourbakhsh. Among the scheduled games and events will be two, R2D2-sized robots hunting for helium-filled balloons in games demonstrating head-on competition and cooperation. Illah adds, these robots will "move fast, talk, sing and play music....Be prepared for colorful games."

PROPOSALS...
**SEAN SLATTERY examines "Machine Learning on Hypertext" at his CS proposal on Wednesday, November 26 at 9:30 am in Wean 5409A. His committee includes: Tom Mitchell (Chair), Avrim Blum, Yiming Yang, and Raymond Mooney (University of Texas at Austin).
**ROWAN DAVIES tries "Practical Refinement-Type Checking" at his CS thesis proposal on Monday, December 1 at 3:30 pm in Wean 5409. His committee includes: Frank Pfenning (Chair), Bob Harper, Peter Lee, John Reynolds, and Alex Aiken (University of California, Berkeley).

TALKING IN CIRCLES...The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Constructive Learning Environments (CIRCLE) at the University of Pittsburgh has initiated a new seminar series focussing on tutoring and related topics. To subscribe to their distribution list, send mail to majordomo@list.pitt.edu. For additional information on the center, contact Kurt VanLehn at vanlehn@cs.pitt.edu.inc

IN THE NEWS..."Mr. Gates Builds His Brain Trust" is featured in the December 8 issue of Fortune Magazine. "Nathan Myhrvold and his CEO want to create the next great research lab. If they scceed, Microsoft will have an even tighter grip on the future of computing." The 9-page article elaborates and includes mention of former SCS'ers Rick Rashid, Gordon Bell, Steve Shafer, Xuedong Huang, and a quote from Jim Morris. As noted in the article, "In the past six years, Microsoft has quietly assembled 245 of the brightest researchers from around the globe, drawing from top universities and corporate rivals. Gates plans to hire another 400 researchers in the next three years, and build research centers around the world..." Read on.

WORDS FOR THOUGHT:
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25
**AI SEMINAR: Roger Dannenberg, "Recent Work in Music Understanding", 3:30 pm, Wean 5409.

THURSDAY/FRDIAY, NOVEMBER 27/28
**ANNUAL SCS TURKEY WORKSHOP: "Have a Relaxing Holiday Weekend", classes and regular office hours resume Monday, December 1.

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