STUDENTS CHART COURSE FOR ICEBREAKER MISSION...The students in the 1998 Mobile Robot Design Course present a special robotics seminar on "Drilling for Lunar Ice: Rover and Lander Design for the Icebreaker Mission" on Friday, December 4 at 3:30 pm in the Adamson Wing (refreshments 3:15 pm). In 2002, the Icebreaker mission will land a mobile robot, Polaris, in the Gioja crater near the north pole of the Moon, and "deploy instruments to confirm the presence of subsurface water ice deep within permanently shadowed areas, known as cold traps...[and] over three months and from numerous sites, transmit data and visual images back to Earth." An amazing effort by an equally amazing team. Learn more at this seminar!

IN DEFENSE...RICHARD McDANIEL runs the "gamut" in "Building Whole Applications Using Only Programming-by-Demonstration" at this CS thesis oral on Friday, December 4 at 2:00 pm in Wean 4623. His committee consists of: Brad Myers (Co-Chair), David Garlan (Co-Chair), Roger Dannenberg, and David Wolber (University of San Francisco).

PROPOSALS...
ISTVAN DERENYI tunes in to "Realistic Classical Trumpet Performance Synthesis Using a Combination of Instruments and Performance Models" during his CS thesis proposal on Wednesday, December 9 at 9:00 am in Wean 4615A. His well-tuned committee includes: Roger Dannenberg (Chair), Scott Fahlman, Paul Heckbert, Mark Dolson (E-mu/Creative Technology Center).
LISA MARIE SAKSIDA ponders "A Nonassociative Neural Network Model of Perceptual Learning: Psychological Theory and Neuropsychological Application" at her Robotics thesis proposal on Tuesday, December 15 at 3:00 pm in Mellon Institute 115. Her committee members include: Jay McClelland (Chair), Tom Mitchell, Tai Sing Lee, and John Pearce (University of Wales, Cardiff).

SCS INVITED TALKS...Michael Shamos, Director of the Universal Library, is presenting the keynote address, "The Universal Library and Its Role in Scientific Information", at the meeting of the RNA Society on December 8. The symposium deals with the Emerging Sources of RNA Information in Genetic Research and will be held at the National Science Foundation Headquarters.

WHETHER ON LAND OR IN THE AIR...Takeo Kanade is being noted! The November 1998 issue of AGORA, the official publication of JAL (Japanese Airlines) features a 9-page photographic montage with accompanying (japanese) text on Takeo Kanade.

GPS MONITORS REINDEER TREK...If all predictions and plottings are correct, the SCS holiday season will officially arrive on Friday, December 11 at 10:00 am in the Connan Room of the University Center. Food will abound, joyous moods will propagate, and we'll begin our annual 5 pound weight gain :-) as we assemble for the SCS Holiday Brunch! Join us in welcoming the holidays...

WINTER CONFERENCE 99...This half-day program, open to all students, will be held on Sunday, January 17 at the University Center, and focusses on strategies and paths for achieving both academic and personal success. The program kicks off at noon with a keynote address by Indira Nair, Vice Provost for Education, on "What's Love Got to do with It?", and runs through 5:00 pm (followed by a dinner). Topics will include: "The Simple Art of Making Dreams Come True", "Juggling Group Projects", "Study Skills for the Real World", "Presenting Yourself", "From Buddah to Michael Jordan: What's the Connection?", "Facing the Blank Page", and much more. Complete details are available from the Student Life Office at x8/2142. Plan now to attend!

MONEY!...Now that we have your attention! Remember that December paychecks and/or direct deposits will be available on Wednesday, December 23 to accommodate the winter holiday/recess schedule.

WORDS FOR THOUGHTS...
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4
**THEORY SEMINAR: Luca Trevisan, DIMACS, "Construction of Extractors Using Psuedo-Random Generators", 3:30 pm, Wean 7220.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7
**COMPUTER SYSTEMS SEMINAR: Michael Flynn, Stanford University, "Reflections Down the Line", 3:30 pm, Wean 5409.

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