MINERVA IS BACK...Minerva has just returned from a 2 week "job" as a tour-guide at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, DC., where "she" successfully showcased some of CMU's most recent advances in mobile robotics and AI: She reliably navigated through dense crowds, using learned maps of the un-modified museum. During the two-week period, the robot smiled (and sometimes frowned) at an unprecedented 50,000 people. Sebastian Thrun, team leader, notes, "We are excited that everything went so well and are overwhelmed by the world-wide media coverage. But most importantly, we got a good "bunch" of research done in these two weeks." Like to see more? Visit www.cs.cmu.edu/~minerva.

UNDERGRADUATES!..don't forget, you will be manipulated into one, large, artistic pile for the 1998 Undergraduate Group Photo on Tuesday, September 22. Assemble on the patio in front of Wean Hall at 4:45 pm sharp! Your mantra for the occasion will be "Cheese" :-)

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR CAREERS!...The Business Opportunities Conference and Technical Opportunities Conference will be held this Thursday and Friday, September 24-25, respectively, in the University Center. Stop by to meet with representatives from over 200 companies to discuss jobs opportunities. Resumes drop-offs are encouraged. Both job fairs begin at 10:00 am! Don't miss these programs, which signal the beginning of "Recruiting Season!"

IN DEFENSE...TODD WILLIAMSON squares off with "A High-Performance Vision System for Obstacle Detection" at his robotics defense this Friday, September 25 at 11:00 am, the Smith Hall 2nd floor Common Area. His committee includes: Chuck Thorpe (Chair), Takeo Kanade, Martial Hebert, and Robert Bolles (SRI International).

INFORMATION SESSIONS/OPEN HOUSES...
*BARCLAY'S CAPITAL will hold a presentation and reception on Tuesday, September 22 at 7:00 pm in Hamerschlag Hall B103. Fulltime and summer positions (starting at sophomore level!) are available. MS and PhD candidates are welcomed.
*EDS: Electronic Data Systems will host an Open House on Wednesday, September 23 at 7:00 pm in Wean Hall 5409. Representatives will be available for one-on-one discussions. Refreshments will be served.
*MICROSOFT will host an information session on Tuesday, September 29 at 6:00 pm in Doherty Hall 2210. Pizza will be served.
*HEWLETT-PACKARD will host an Open House on Tuesday, September 29 at 7:00 pm in Wean Hall 5409. Refreshments will be served.

SCS WAKE-UP CALL BREAKFAST...SCS will host an informal breakfast gathering for recruitors attending the TOC on Friday, September 25. For particulars, please contact copetas@cs.

CS FACULTY MEETING...The next CS Faculty Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 24 at 4:00 pm (Social)/4:30 pm (Meeting) in Wean Hall 4623.

WE SEE YOU...Robotics will host the Video Surveillance and Monitoring (VSAM) Workshop on campus on October 8-9, 1998. If interested in attending this workshop or finding out more, visit www.cs.cmu.edu/~vsam or contact Carolyn Ludwig, carolyn_ludwig@cs, for general information and/or a workshop brochure.

JAVA DAY '98...This coming Saturday, September 26, SCS will host "JAVA Day", sponsored by Sun Microsystems. This unique day affords faculty, students and staff from SCS and across campus an opportunity to learn firsthand from Sun's technical gurus and management about the intricacies/future of Java. The program, scheduled from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, will be held in McConomy Auditorium in the University Center. Ongoing demos are planned throughout the day. A complete agenda, speaker overviews, and registration form can be found at www.cs.cmu.edu/~javaday. Refreshments (i.e., food!) and T-Shirts to all registrants!

SCS INVITED TALKS...Randy Pausch proposed "Building Virtual Worlds: Combining Art and Engineering" as the keynote speaker at ACM Multimedia in Bristol, England on September 14, 1998. He also delivered a Distinguished Lecture on the same topic at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill on October 5.

A SPATIAL VISIT...SCS Facilities is hosting Spatial Technology, the maker of ACIS software, on Tuesday, September 22. They will offer a special demo beginning at 10:00 am in Wean Hall 4625. All are welcome to attend. Check out product specs at www.spatial.com.

NEW DIMENSIONS...The next program in the Dimensions Workshop, sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs, is scheduled today, Monday, September 21 at 6:00 pm in the Dowd Room, University Center. This week's topic, "RELAX! Test Taking Made Easier", features Mark Stehlik and Jim Roberts. As noted, "Test taking can make even the most prepared student a nervous wreck...learn how to reduce anxiety and learn new techniques/strategies for taking exams!

SCS FAMILY ALBUM...
**"President Clinton has announced his intent to nominate Anita Jones (CS/PhD '73), Pamela Ferguson and Robert Richardson to serve as members of the National Science Board, as noted in a recent Computing Research Associate (CRA) Bulletin.

WORDS FOR THOUGHT...
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
**AI SEMINAR: HERBERT SIMON, "Brand Names and Cumulative Science", 3:30 pm, Wean 5409.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
**HCI SEMINAR: DAVID VOGLER, Vice President and Creative Director, Nickelodeon Online, "Staying Creative", Special Time/Location: 3:00 pm, Mellon Auditorium, 1st Floor, Posner Hall.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
**ROBOTICS SEMINAR: Kaighham J. Gabriel, ICES/CMU, "Microelectromechanical Systems", Special Time: 4:00 pm, Adamson Wing. Refreshments at 3:45 pm.

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