More GHC Cross-posts

The conference is over, and this is the first chance I've had to cross-post my other blog entries. If you would like to learn more, I highly encourage you to check out the GHC blog, and the GHC website. I hope we've encouraged more people to attend next year!

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Multi-Robot Intelligence

This talk was given by Manuela M. Veloso from the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University. Since I've always wanted an Aibo and even worked on a robotics competition last year, there was no dilemma for me about which talk I would attend!

The talk started with some examples of robots at work in CMU: the Roboceptionist, robots helping the elderly, and even dog and humanoid robots playing soccer! Dr. Veloso then discussed what makes a robot: integrated intelligence. Basically, there are three components:

• perception: the processing of sensory data
• cognition: learning and action selection
• action: the motion and manipulation of the robot.

Multi-robot soccer was invented to help scientists work on the multi-robot problem, in which robots perform a task by working together. We saw an example of "Small-Size" Robot Soccer, which has 10 robots and a golf ball, with five robots per team. It was neat to watch the video of the robots, called the CMDragons, actually playing soccer! Dr. Veloso's major breakthrough was to include teamwork in the game-play, in the form of passing. She then explained some of the details behind the robots' visual signal interpretation.

Dr. Veloso also gave some examples of soccer strategy for robots. She showed a video where the robots completed four passes and a chip-kick before scoring. The funny thing is, this had never been observed in the lab prior to the competition! Dr. Veloso also showed videos of Aibos playing soccer and explained the difference between the teamwork problem when the robots can and can't communicate with each other.

Did you attend Dr. Veloso's talk? Are you interested in robotics or working on these problems in robotics? Let us know!

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Mary Lou Jepsen's Keynote

Mary Lou Jepsen is the CEO of Pixel Qi, a for-profit spin-off from the One Laptop per Child project. Mary Lou began her talk by discussing children in developing companies and why giving them laptops increases their opportunities in life. Children and teachers reported that they love their laptops, with one child saying "I love my laptop more than my life".

Challenges to providing laptops such as OLPC are:

• price: needs to be low
• low power: many places in the developing world often don't have power sources that most laptops require
• network: these places often aren't connected to the internet either
• other infrastructure
• lifetime: it will need to last
• distribution: how to get the laptops to the children/schools?

One other interesting thing Mary Lou showed us was that GDP climbs when teledensity, or the density of cellphones in a population, increases.

Mary Lou also discussed some of the technical challenges, especially with respect to power consumption. Using a Linux OS is 160th the size of Vista, so using that required less hardware to run. They also found a way to turn off the CPU in 1/10th of a second, and wake it back up in the same time with a keyboard event or packet from the internet.

One major problem the laptops faced when first mass-produced was that they didn't ever come out of hibernation! Luckily they were able to fix the problem within three weeks, and since then, about 1 million have been deployed, with millions more ready to go.

The price of the laptop is expected to drop to $100 by next year. I've always wanted an OLPC, but haven't got one yet. Do you have an OLPC? If so, what are you using it for? Do you like it? Let us know in the comments below - maybe you can convince some of us to buy one!

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Wendy Hall: ACM & Women in Computing

Wendy Hall is the first person outside of North America to be elected President of the ACM. One thing she announced during her talk is that the ACM is going to be elevating the ACM-W within the organization this year, which is exciting news. They also have an ACM-W Ambassadors program which is really neat. This year there will be an ACM Women's Council, chaired by Elaine Weyuker. The ACM Women's Council will give us a voice at the top levels of the ACM, which is also really cool.

I'm curious if you are a member of ACM, or if you've participated in ACM-W. If so, what is the best part about these organizations for you?

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Student Groups Networking: Come Integrate Your Ideas Today!

Hi everyone! Hope you're having a great time at the conference so far!

A bit of shameless self-promotion again! Our BOF session (entitled "Integrating Ideas: Together We Can Build a Better World") is today at 5:10 and we'd really love to see you there. Come contribute to our discussion on student groups, whether you are part of one or would like to be! We truly believe that by helping each other build these groups and by sharing our ideas, we can build a better world.

We'd also like to mention that we are building a collaborative website for sharing ideas post-conference. It's nowhere near complete and we need you to help make that happen! If you would like to collaborate with us and share your ideas, send an email to: kjtsouka AT gmail DOT com. If you don't want to become a site member at this time, you can also leave a message on our forum to ask questions or give answers. Whichever you choose, we'd love to hear from you!

Updates from the GHC Blog

My cross-posting has suffered a serious decline as I was so busy for the last few weeks I completely forgot to put my GHC blog posts here too! I'm going to include them all in this post to save time/space. Enjoy!

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Where Are You Traveling From?

Reading some of the posts on the Facebook site, I've seen messages from people coming from the US, Australia, and the UK. My own presentation group has people coming from Canada, India, Singapore, and Mexico. It's exciting to have an opportunity to meet people who are studying in different places and see such diversity in Computing!

With less than a week left until the conference, I'm curious as to where you're traveling from, and wondering who is making the longest journey... who knows, maybe you'll find someone here who is coming from the same place as you, that you didn't know before!

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Countdown to GHC!

GHC is now less than a month away, and I've been trying my best to keep up with what's going on in various places. But as the conference looms closer, I've seen several comments about worried first-time GHC attendees: whether they are nervous about being in a foreign country, anxious about meeting such amazing women, or intimidated about coming alone.

It's hard to imagine because it is such a different experience (one perhaps many of us are unused to), but GHC brings together such a diverse group of women, from so many backgrounds, fields, and occupations (students, industry people, academics) that it really would be hard to find yourself out of place. Last year, I felt an amazing sense of community almost immediately upon arrival at the hotel, and I've read accounts from other attendees who have expressed similar sentiments.

It's easy to meet people too! Last year's GHC was my first, and I was pretty new to networking at conferences. But I met people and made some lasting friendships in some unexpected places. For example, a few of us were staying in a condo and had some extra room, so we advertised on the Facebook GHC group for additional occupants. We found two lovely girls from Toronto and we are still in touch today! We had an awesome time and I learned a lot from them. There were some other students from my own school that I hadn't really had a chance to talk to before, and I got to know them much better as well. Sharing a room, car, or making travel plans together is a great way to meet new friends, and if you are looking to try it out, there is a new discussion topic on this year's Facebook group for just this purpose, so check it out!

There will also be lots of other opportunities to meet people informally, whether you are chatting between sessions, enjoying the banquet, or partying at the Sponsor Night (speaking of which, does anyone have any theories about this year's party?). If you are a Hopper, get to know your fellow Hoppers! Attend the lunches, or make a point of chatting to your neighbour at breakfast. You won't be disappointed!

Help Us Integrate Your Ideas!

And, here's my latest GHCBloggers post. Today I'm talking about our Birds of a Feather session and asking for reader's input. If you somehow made it here rather than the GHCBloggers site, feel free to leave a comment here, but I think it might be easier to keep them all in one place at the GHCBloggers site. Thanks!


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As has been mentioned (a few times now, sorry!), I am part of a four-person international collaboration that will be presenting a Birds of a Feather session (Friday, October 3rd, 5:10 p.m. — 6:10 p.m.) at this year's Grace Hopper Conference. Our session is entitled: "ʃIntegrating Ideas = Together We Can Make a Better World", and will be presented by Aakriti Agarwal, Sunayana Sitaram, Alicia Chong, and me, Kate Tsoukalas.

Here is a quick excerpt from our session proposal:

"Facebook, email, the internet and other types of online networking provide our long distance relationships with the fastest and easiest communication ever. This session is mainly about Student Group Networking, because different Women in Technology Student Groups around the globe are working with similar purposes. These networking applications make it easy for us to share ideas, but most importantly, integrating them can give the result that most groups expect and are working hard to accomplish. We really think that Together We Can Build a Better World - that by integrating our ideas, sharing old ones and making new ones our Student Groups can grow, and new student groups can come forward."

Part of the presentation will consist of a discussion of our experiences using networking tools to build our own women in technology student groups, with advice and tips on how you can too. However, we want to try to 'integrate' the ideas from a larger community - the global community - to help give women in technology groups a boost the world over.

This is where you come in!

Before, during, and after the session, we will be collecting your ideas, feedback, and experiences, and posting them on the internet so that we will have a record of all the amazing things being done to promote these student groups. So whether you've faced challenges or experienced great successes, we'd love to hear about it and possibly share it during our session. You can leave your comments right here at this post, and we'll be sure to 'integrate' them with our session materials as the conference approaches. Post away!

GHC Scholarships: 3 Reasons Why People Don't Apply, and 3 Reasons Why You Should

Not much new news from me, just my latest installment for the Grace Hopper Blogger's blog:


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Recently, I read a pretty surprising statistic: only about 600 people applied for a GHC Google Global Community Scholarship this year! The scholarship provides winners with accommodations and travel funding to help them get to GHC, as well as all their meals and conference fees waived. This is a great program that helps many students, especially undergraduates who have limited time and funds for attending conferences.

Last year, over 900 people applied, so I wondered why the numbers would fall so dramatically this year. I'm worried; I think encouraging students to apply for the scholarship raises their awareness of GHC and increases the likelihood of their participation. Even if they can't attend, it may encourage them to be more involved in their student community, especially women's technical groups. Most importantly, students are really the life-blood of GHC - if we don't encourage young talent to come, the conference may eventually die out.

So, I've done some thinking and have three reasons why people aren't applying. I've also got some counter-reasons why [next year] you should give it your best shot anyway:

• "There are so many fantastic female students out there, I don't have a chance!"
  If you don't apply, you have zero chance, but if you submit something, there is always some chance, right? Also, it's very likely that you are also fantastic. You don't have to be a superwoman to merit an award; think of all the little things you are doing at school and in your community to help women in technology. Reviewers are looking for what makes you passionate and what you are doing to make a difference, no matter how small you think it might be. It might help to talk to others about your impact; in my previous post a reader commented that they hadn't realized they were doing all the same things that I had been doing, but hearing them from someone else gave her that 'light bulb' moment.


• "I applied before and was rejected (maybe more than once)."
  First of all, each year the competition changes. This year 300 fewer people applied, so your chances of winning may have increased. Second, with each time you try, you have a chance to improve your application. It's quite likely that you learned something about writing scholarship applications between now and the last time you applied, added some new accolades to your resume, or got some feedback on your unsuccessful applications that have given you some ideas for the next one. Use what you've learned to try again, and don't give up!


• "It's not worth the time, and I'm extremely busy."
  There are so many reasons why this is worth your time. A free trip never hurt anyone, for starters! But this isn't just any free trip; past attendees have described how GHC made them rethink the direction they were taking their career in, helped them decide to go to graduate school, or inspired them to finish their degree when they were having a tough time. Winning a scholarship could also encourage your peers to get involved and try to attend GHC themselves, or convince your school to support more students.

So now that I've (hopefully) convinced you to apply next year, what can you do to make you application the best it can be?

• Show Your Passion: Show why you're passionate about technology and the community of women in technology. You can demonstrate that passion in many small ways - maybe you've helped build a website, kept a regular blog, or organized meetings with other female students. Make sure you highlight those contributions!


• Be Specific: What will you do if you win a scholarship? How will you stretch the award to benefit as many as possible? Think of different ways you can contribute to the conference, the community at large, and your school. You might submit a technical poster or talk, or get involved with a Birds of a Feather session. Maybe you will present your experiences to your peers after the conference has ended. Give concrete plans and specific details.


• Present Yourself: Even if you're a spelling whiz, it doesn't hurt to have a second pair of eyes look over your application. Find someone to help proof-read your work and don't forget to return the favor! Presentation is important and you wouldn't want your work to be overlooked because of a few typos.

If you can't attend GHC or still don't want to apply for a scholarship, there are still other ways to contribute: encourage people you know to apply and help them with their applications. Remind people of the deadlines, help edit their applications, even write reference letters. Let's do all we can to encourage everyone! Even if those you help aren't successful in winning the scholarship, you will likely have improved their chances, boosted their confidence, and strengthened your network. Which is what the spirit of GHC is all about, right?

3(.5) Reasons I'm Looking Forward to this Year's Grace Hopper Conference

This year, I'm an official blogger for the Grace Hopper Conference! I wrote my first post and will cross-post it here too.


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I've been looking forward to this year's GHC since the closing day of last year's event, which was my first ever GHC. And I have several reasons to be excited!

Last year's conference was a whirlwind of amazing experiences. I was a bit star-struck: I got to meet such amazing people, from the girls I stayed with, to a VP of Cisco Systems and the President of the ACM, to the first woman to win the Turing Award, Fran Allen. I'd never attended anything like it before, and it made quite the impression on me. So the first reason to look forward to this year's conference is last year's conference, and that I know this year's will be even better (wait, is that two reasons?).

As my friends know, when I get excited about something, I have to share it with them. I've told just about everyone I can think of about GHC. I got started during last year's event; I blogged about it on my personal blog, told my friends about it, and made presentations about the conference to my labmates at school and to our Women in Computing Science (WICS) group. When this year's conference was announced and applications opened for the Google Global Community Scholarship, I got going again, emailing, Facebooking, and IM-ing like crazy. Which leads me to the second reason to look forward to this year's GHC - we have eight fabulous female students attending this year's GHC from SFU (my school).

All this Facebooking led me to meet three wonderful students from around the world, with whom I'm collaborating on a Birds of a Feather session at this year's GHC. We're hoping to help people learn how to start their own technology groups for women and also learn from those who attend our workshop. This is my first conference presentation and first international collaboration, and I'm excited about both. Which is the third reason to be excited about this year's GHC!

Ok, so it's pretty clear I'm excited. GHC is full of such wonderful opportunities, and I think we should do everything we can to get as many people involved as we can. If you're wondering how you can help spread the word, or get your own delegation organized, there are a few things you can do:

• Blog your experiences. You never know who will read it. Better yet, let your department know you are going; maybe they can help advertise your posts. You can reach a lot of students this way!


• If you don't have a Women in Computing Science/Women in Engineering/Women in Technology group, start one! It can be as easy as meeting for coffee or going for lunch. Let the group know about GHC and keep them updated on your trip so they'll be excited for next year.


• If you've found a deal on airfare or similar travel arrangements, let others know. Traveling together is a great way to get to know people from your department better! Sometimes it's cheaper, too.


• Read the Anita Borg Newsletter, join the Grace Hopper 2008 Facebook group, and encourage your friends/peers/colleagues to do the same. There is a wealth of information on how to prepare for the conference, what to do when you're there, travel tips, etc etc. It's also a great way to network - you may even find people to stay with! I find these groups invaluable and often find myself passing on information I find in them.

Thanks for reading this far! I'll keep blogging up to and during the conference, and I'll try to keep the posts shorter. Hope to see you there! ;)