BU-METCS

Cumulative Subgoal Fulfillment in Education by Prof. Eric Braude

On Tuesday, March, 25, Professor Eric Braude will make a presentation: "Cumulative Subgoal Fulfillment in Education."
The presentation will take place from 6 to 6:45 pm in the College of General Studies (871 Commonwealth Avenue), Room 515

(Posted 2/16/08)

Dr. Ian Davis lecture on AI in Video Games available online

If you missed Dr. Ian Davis and his presentation on Artificial Intelligence in Video Games this past November, you can now watch the video online by going to http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/buniverse/videos/view/?id=160. The video is posted at BUniverse, the BU Today’s media archive.

Ian Davis is widely acknowledged as one of the top Artificial Intelligence experts in the video game industry. His direct game credits include: Empire Earth® II, a PC Gamer Editor's Choice award winner garnering a 94% review score, (2005), Vivendi Universal Games; Dungeon Siege®: Legends of Aranna™, an Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences "Computer Role Playing Game of the Year" finalist (2003), Microsoft Game Studios; Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest (2002), Sierra Entertainment; Jane's® Attack Squadron (2002), Xicat Interactive; and for Activision Publishing Inc., Star Trek®: Armada II™ (2001), Call to Power II (2000), Star Trek®: Armada™ (2000), Civilization®: Call to Power™ (1999), Battlezone® (1998), Dark Reign: Rise of the Shadowhand™ (1998), and Dark Reign: The Future of War™ (1997).

Active in the game community, Dr. Davis serves as a Peer Panel Leader for the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Peer Panel for Gameplay Engineering and is a trusted advisor to key industry publishers. Currently authoring a definitive AI and games textbook for academic and industry training along with top AI researchers, he has taught “Characters in Video Games,”at MIT. Dr. Davis was recently appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Game Development.

Ian earned his doctorate in AI and Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University. In 1999 he founded Mad Doc® with the goal of developing Triple A titles that “expand the game playing experience and broaden the market through creative use of new Networking, Graphics, and AItechnologies” (Empire Earth® II uses Mad Doc's Mad3D™ Game Engine and MadAPM technologies). Mad Doc has quickly become an emerging force in the industry and Ian was named the 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. The Mad Doc team consists of industry veterans with experience in every aspect of gamedevelopment and an exceptional expertise in artificial Intelligence. Mad Doc team members are collectively responsible for over 10 million units in the game market worldwide.

(Posted 2/13/08)

Computer Science Education for the Working Professional

Talks are held at the
School of Management (Room 105)
595 Commonwealth Avenue Map
Boston, MA 02215
5:30pm Refreshments & 6pm-7:15pm Lecture

35 Years of Information Assurance at the National Security Agency: An Insiders Perspective

Mr. Richard George
Hosted by Dr. Tanya Zlateva
Date: Thursday, May 5th, 6:00 pm

Abstract: This talk will address the National Security Agency's current activities in the area of Information Assurance. The talk will discuss how the Information Assurance mission has changed over the last 30 years, as well as the numerous technical and political challenges facing the U.S. Government in the area of information assurance. The technical health of the Agency, as well as the math and computer science communities will be addressed, and the Agency's list of research challenges in the IT area will be presented. There will be ample time for questions and answers.

BIO: Richard (Dickie) George has worked at the National Security Agency as a cryptomathematician since 1970. He has spent his career in the area of information assurance, and he currently is the Technical Director of the Information Assurance Directorate.

Computer Security - Who Needs It? Postponed

Mr. Olin Sibert

Hosted by Dr. Tanya Zlateva
Date: Wednesday, January 26th, 2005

Abstract: Computer--or Information--Security is much more than just keeping track of the latest patches for Microsoft Windows. In this talk, I will discuss several of the many communities that depend on information security (some knowingly, some not), and describe some threats and vulnerabilities they face and some countermeasures (effective and otherwise) that they employ.

BIO: Olin Sibert is a consultant in the field of information security, specializing in system-level security for hardware, embedded systems, and operating systems.

Mr. Sibert started his consulting business, Oxford Systems, Inc., in 1981, and was a full-time consultant from that time through 1995. Before establishing Oxford Systems, he worked on the Multics project as an employee of MIT and later of Honeywell.

From 1995 to 2002, he held several positions at InterTrust Technologies Corporation, then returned to consulting full time. Some of Mr. Sibert's consulting activities include 12 years as a broad-based consultant and technical review board member for NSA's Trusted Product Evaluation Program; 8 years working with Sun Microsystems, as the architect for Sun's first trusted operating system, SunOS MLS; security architecture consulting for major computer peripheral company, advising on integration of security and cryptographic features for use in PC platforms; security and cryptographic architecture for a broadband mesh networking company; risk analysis for a NASA facility run by Harris Corporation; hardware and software covert channel analysis for Amdahl Corporation.

At InterTrust, Mr. Sibert was the architect for InterTrust's software Digital Rights Management product, and was responsible for the invention and development of many of InterTrust's ground-breaking software tamper-resistance technologies. Subsequently, as InterTrust's Vice President, Strategic Technologies, he invented and developed technologies for chip-level hardware tamper-resistance, co-developed a secure embedded system chip with Cirrus Logic, led development of a low-cost secure microcontroller chip, and established a business unit to develop and support the trusted software required by those hardware technologies. Although those efforts led to commercial delivery of several products, in early 2002, InterTrust refocused its business on intellectual licensing and discontinued all product development.

Mr. Sibert currently holds three U.S. patents (several pending) and has published numerous papers in security conference proceedings and journals, including a study of Intel x86 hardware security vulnerabilities which received the "Best Paper" award at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in 1995 and was later published in IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering.

Evolution of Wireless
Robert F. Scott
President, Verizon Wireless, New England Region

Hosted by Dr. Lou Chitkushev
Date: Tuesday, October 5th, 2004

Abstract: Bob Stott will present an overview of the wireless evolution and will discuss the future trends of this expanding industry. Bob Stott is a 37-year veteran of the telecommunications industry. He began his career at New England Telephone Company in May 1966 as an equipment installer. For more than 20 years, he worked in various positions within New England Telephone and NYNEX. In July 1986, Stott joined NYNEX Mobile Communications Company as general manager of engineering and operations in New England. In January 1991, Stott was appointed vice president of quality and ethics at NYNEX Mobile, and in March 1992, became vice president of technical services, where he was responsible for the aggressive expansion and service quality of the growing cellular network. In September 1993, he was named vice president of the New York Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, where he was responsible for restructuring the Bell Atlantic Mobile/NYNEX Mobile partnership in the New York metropolitan area. Following the restructure, he was appointed vice president and general manager of rural markets in 1994. Stott was appointed president of the Philadelphia Tri-State region in July, 1995 and became president of the company's New England region in January 1998.
Since assuming his position in New England, Stott has initiated numerous philanthropic efforts through the Verizon Wireless HopeLinesm program, all of which positively impact domestic violence organizations, court advocates and support agents throughout the region. He is a former chairman of the Greater North Shore division of the 1998 United Way Cabinet, and is an in-demand guest speaker for regional events. In 2003, Stott collected donations to support the Home for Little Wanderers for running in the Boston Marathon.
Stott holds a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Lowell, Massachusetts, as well as, a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Pace University.

Gururaj "Desh" Deshpande
Founder & Chairman, Sycamore Networks, Inc.

Hosted by Dr. Tanya Zlateva
Date: Wednesday, October 29th, 2003

Abstract: Over the last few decades Networking has transitioned from being primarily a research topic to being at the heart of the new global economy. Dr. Deshpande has been a part of this industry for the last three decades as a student, a researcher, a professor, an engineer and lately an entrepreneur. He will share his experiences and views on where this industry is headed. He will discuss the emerging networking technologies and their implications on the global economy.

Dr. Deshpande is an influential technology entrepreneur and visionary whose companies and ideas often reshape entire industries. Led by Dr. Deshpande's vision and direction, Sycamore has helped create a fundamental paradigm shift in the role and architecture of the optical network-transforming a once static optical infrastructure into an intelligent and dynamic network foundation for the delivery of new services. Sycamore's equipment is currently carrying voice and data traffic in the networks of the world's largest service providers.

Dr. Deshpande is also widely respected for his contributions to education and the greater community. Numerous business and industry publications in both the US and his native India have recognized Dr. Deshpande with awards. Dr. Deshpande is frequently invited to deliver keynote addresses at business, technology, education, and government conferences.

Dr. Deshpande serves as a member of the MIT Corporation, and his generous donations have made possible MIT's Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation. The Deshpande Center was created to serve as a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship by supporting research and collaboration among entrepreneurs, young companies, and MIT students, alumni, and faculty.

Prior to co-founding Sycamore Networks, Dr. Deshpande was founder and chairman of Cascade Communications Corp. Between 1991 and 1997, Cascade grew from a one-person startup to a company with $500 million in revenue and 900 employees. In June of 1997, Cascade was acquired by Ascend Communications for $3.7 billion.

Prior to Cascade, Dr. Deshpande co-founded Coral Network Corporation in 1988. Previously, he served in various management positions for Codex Corporation, a subsidiary of Motorola. Before joining Codex, Dr. Deshpande taught at Queens University in Kingston, Canada.

Dr. Deshpande holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, an M.E. in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick in Canada, and a Ph.D. in Data Communications from Queens University in Canada.

Ad Hoc Networking: Real World To Research
Dr. Will E. Leland
Telcordia Fellow & Chief Scientist, Network Systems Research Lab, Telcordia.

Hosted by Dr. Lubomir Todorov Citkusev
Date: Tuesday, October 14th, 2003

Abstract: Ad hoc wireless networking is already an essential player in future military communications plans, while its potential commercial roles are only beginning to be exploited. This talk will provide an overview of ad hoc networking, describing the technology and outlining its anticipated role in military networks. It will then explore some of the ways ad hoc networking may touch all our lives. Finally, the talk will discuss some of the hard problems that still need new insights and new solutions.

Will Leland received his undergrad degrees from MIT and his Ph.D. (in Computer Sciences) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His work on realistic characterization for network traffic introduced the use of "fractal" models; for this work, he received the 1996 W.R.G. Baker Prize Award from the IEEE. Dr. Leland is a Fellow of the IEEE.

In addition to his work in Internet security, traffic characterization, network congestion control, and design of reliable networks, Dr. Leland has led Telcordia's research program in managed Internet services. His current focus is on network management systems for ad hoc wireless networks.