Colorado State University PRSSA

2005 - 2006 Past Events:

End of Year Picnic

All Computer Science students are invited to the spring picnic sponsored by Agilent Technologies, the Computer Science department, and ACM.

Come relax and enjoy good food from The Pita Pit and visit with representatives from Agilent Technologies and fellow CS faculty and students.

In case of rain the picnic will be held in USC 110.

New Computer Science Building Discussion

The Computer Science department will be receiving a new building in the near future. Construction on the new Computer Science building is slated to begin in 2007.

Darrell Whitley, Department Chair, and the ACM are holding a meeting to discuss the new building. Have questions, such as “Where will it be built?” or “What will make it better than our current beloved building?” then come to find out. Have suggestions or comments? Feel free to bring those too.

As always, food will be provided as well as great company. We hope to see you there!

eSoft and ACM present: Capture the Flag - CS Style

Ever wanted to crack passwords? Sneak into Servers? Sniff traffic? Compete against other Colorado Schools for prizes? Well now's your chance. With the collaboration of ACM and eSoft the first ever Capture the Flag showdown will be held April 21st. Don't want to participate? We are also looking for a team of Referees and ‘common users' to help us set up, and run the event! Come and cheer on other teams, enjoy FREE FOOD and GREAT PRIZES!!!

If you wish to participate you must email acm@cs.colostate.edu and say if you want to be on the competing team or on the referee team.

Schools such as the Air Force Academy and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs will be competiting to win the GRAND PRIZE!!!

Officer Elections!

Meeting Minutes

The ACM Club elected new officers for the 2006-2007 academic year.

President - Nate Olech

Vice President - Nick Robbins-Parrish

Treasurer - Dave Rostron

Archivist - Matt Cole

Webmaster - Jasmun Hendrick

Official Announcement

The ACM club would like to thank all of you for making this a great year. Now it's time to think to the future, and decide who will lead the ACM into 2007! This Wednesday the ACM will be holding Officer nominations and elections for the upcoming year; Fall 2006 to Spring 2007.

Think you'd be good at running the ACM club, know anybody you think has natural leadership ability? Then come and nominate yourself or them at this week's meeting. In order to nominate, vote, or run for an officer you must be a member of the club. Not a member? It's not too late to join, simply contact an ACM officer, pay 15 dollars in membership fees and you're good to go.

So why should you run or care about ACM elections? The ACM club is responsible for putting on many of the fun activities the CS department has come to know and love. These include CS Jeopardy, the annual picnic, and of course the ACM meetings. If you want to put input, feedback or suggestions on how the ACM should be run then you should definitely attend this meeting.

In the officer positions are:

President: The head honcho, in charge of pretty much all the important stuff. Vice President: Shares many of the responsibilities with the president. Archivist: In charge of the weekly announcements and other clerical duties. Treasurer: In charge of the money for the club. Web Master: In charge of maintaining the club web site.

So join us for free pizza, nominations, and anything else we can think of related to shaping this club.

We hope to see you there!

I'm Hired, Now What? Essential Know-How For Your First Real Job

Join us for a great presentation and FREE FOOD provided by Lockheed Martin.

You're on your way to your first job… either internship/co-op or full time. Sure you are technically competent, but do you really know all you need to know to start a JOB? Do you know how to fill out your W-4, I-9 and 401K forms? Do you know how to decipher corporate culture or how you are graded at work? Come learn all the basics that will make your first months on the job SO much easier!

ACM presents: Short Java Coding Challenges Exposed

Think you know the in's and out's of Java? Ready to be stumped?? Having just returned from Google, your ACM Treasurer, Jilmil, is going to show us some one-line Java Coding Stumpers as told by Google!

For example: 1) Provide a declaration of i that turns this loop into an infinite loop

while( i != i);

2) What will happen when this section of code is executed?

int i = 0; System.out.println(i); http://www.google.com(approve sites) i = 10; System.out.println(i);

3) Provide declarations of x and i such that the following is a legal statement x += i; and the following is not a legal statement x = x + i;

To find out the answers to the questions listed above, come join us March 22nd, at 5 pm in Hammond Hall, for free food and coding challenges exposed. Jilmil will present some amazing Java.

Lockheed Martin - Before You Sign on the Dotted Line

Join us for a great presentation and FREE FOOD provided by Lockheed Martin.

When faced with multiple job offers, how do you choose the best one for you? Or before you even start your job hunt, how do you narrow down the choices? Come learn about “Total Compensation” and why it's NOT all about the salary!

Achieving the cutting edge: Interviewing Do's and Don'ts

Ever wonder what really matters in interviews, what sets you apart from the other candidates? Is it the responses to the questions, is it professional responses, the questions you ask, or is it just the way you smell?

Now's the time to ask! A current hiring manager at HP, K.C. will candidly discuss all the intricacies of the in's and out's of the hiring world. What questions does she ask? What questions is she asked? What's the right answer, the wrong answer, and the worst possible response?

Join ACM and K.C. on Wednesday February 22nd, at 5pm to answer all these questions and more!

Open Source High-Availability Software on Linux

Join us for !!! free food !!! and a great talk with a Open Source Advocate!

Talk Abstract

One of the capabilities most-often identified as being necessary for Linux to be considered a world-class server operating system is High-Availability (HA) services. High-Availability systems provide the illusion of continuous operation for a cluster of computers where one computer takes over for another in the event of hardware or software failures and planned administrative events. This talk will discuss three complementary open source projects which provide high-availability capabilities for Linux.

These projects are the High-availability Linux (Linux-HA) project, the DRBD project, and the Linux Virtual Server project.

It is the purpose of this talk to provide an overview of the HA capabilities provided by these projects, how they are used together, and provide a brief look into the future of High-Availability on Linux.

Alan Robertson's Bio:

Alan Robertson has been an active developer and project leader for High-Availability Linux for the last several years. He maintains the Linux-HA project web site at http://linux-ha.org(approve sites), and has been a key developer for the open source heartbeat program. He worked for SuSE for a year, then joined IBM's Linux Technology Center in March 2001.

Alan also jointly leads the Open Cluster Framework effort(approve sites) to define standard APIs for clustering, and provide an open source reference implementation of these APIs.

Before joining SuSE, he was a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff for Bell Labs. He worked for Bell Labs 21 years in a variety of roles. These included developing products, designing communication controllers and providing leading-edge computing support.

He obtained an MS in Computer Science from Oklahoma State University in 1978 and a BS in Electrical Engineering from OSU in 1976.

Woody's Pizza

So you're bummed because break is over and you have to go back to school. Well ACM club has the answer! Have fun with fellow Computer Enthusiasts this upcoming Wednesday at Woody's Pizza, located on 518 W. Laurel Street.

Come meet officers of the ACM to find out what great events we have planned for this semester. Come meet fellow students, to network and learn from. Come for great pizza, and just an all around good time.

The semester will get busy fast, so let's all have some fun before it does. What's more fun to do on a school night than eat pizza and hang with friends? We hope to see you there!

Dabas

Stressed? The weight of final projects, assignments, and classes have you tearing your hair out? Well don't worry!

ACM to the rescue!

We're sure next week you'll be up in the lab working late trying to finish everything before finals week. So the ACM is setting up a beacon of hope in the USC room 310b to help. Stop by between 5pm and 7pm and join us for hot cocoa,hot cider and coffee.

Have a study group that wants a nice environment? Bring them by. Just want to grab some quick refreshment before sitting down in front of the monitor? That's ok too. Come for the refreshments, stay for the homework!

We hope to see you there.

Perl

Want to learn a great scripting language? Well join the ACM Club this Wednesday November 16th in the Hammond Auditorium(Engineering 120) for Perl. Esteemed Alumni Onyx will be giving a presentation on Perl.

Need something that understands regular expressions? Need to know what a regular expression is? Need something that can easily manipulate files and words for you? Well Perl does that and so much more! Onyx will give a brief overview of Perl,including history and syntax. He will also demonstrate some of the awesome things you can do with this incredible tool.

So come and learn Onyx' Perls of Wisdom! We hope to see you there.

Bowling Day:

Middle of the semester getting you stressed? Then join the ACM club as we throw bowling balls at bowling pins! Next Wednesday November 9th the ACM will meet at Hammond Auditorium(Engineering 120) at 5pm. We'll wait about 15 minutes before we head up to Chipper's Lanes at 830 N College Ave. For a little under 10 dollars you can get two games, and a chance to prove your skills to all the other students.

So come, relieve some stress, meet exciting people. Bring anyone you can think of. If we get 20 or more people Chipper's will give us a group rate! We hope to see you there.

Department Open Forum

Do you have questions about the Computer Science Department? Well the ACM club has answers. Well, we managed to get the people who have the answers. Join us Wednesday November 2nd from 5 to 6 in the Hammond Auditorium(Engineering 120) for the faculty panel.

That's right, the ACM club has managed to get 4 faculty members in one place for an hour to hear your questions. Wonder why the classes are scheduled the way they are? Wonder where to go to get help? Well bring any questions you can think of and the panel will do their best to answer them.

If that isn't enough, we're also bringing pizza for all you starving students. So come get your questions answered, eat good food, and meet new people. We hope to see you there!

R and LaTeΧ

Join the ACM Club next Wednesday October 26th at 5pm in the Hammond Auditorium(Engineering 120) where the language of the day will be R and the number of the day will be 42! Distinguished Professor Anderson will be presenting about the programming language R, which can be used for many more things than just pirate jokes. Interested in a good language for Graphics, doing matrix multiplication quick, or handling all that yucky math stuff you just hate? Then R is a great tool any programmer should know and Dr. Anderson will be giving a demonstration of it.

I'm also sure you didn't know laTex could be used to help you write papers, import graphics, and display complex math equations. That's because we are talking about laTex the paper writing tool, and not the paint. Dr. Anderson will also be showing how to use this powerful tool to make even a bad paper look good.

So come, learn helpful tools, meet new friends! We hope to see you there.

Networking

Join the ACM club this Wednesday October 19th from 5pm to 6pm in the Hammond Auditorium(Engineering 120) to learn about networking! We're not just talking about interacting with other people in your field either. Dan Massey, network guru, has agreed to share his wealth of knowledge with us! It's an opportunity not to be missed. So if anything in the abstract interests you even a little bit, join us! Bring anyone you think might be interested. We hope to see you there.

Talk Abstract:

The Internet has developed from a small research project into a very powerful system for communication; email is now a common form of personal communication, private information ranging from course grades to financial data is available online, commercial products and government services can be obtained over the web, and so forth. Furthermore, power grids, air traffic control systems, and other networks are being connected to the Internet. The net result is that the Internet has grown to such an extent that it now plays a role in many people's daily lives. However, it is unclear whether improvements in network security have kept pace with this growth. To a large extent, network security often relies on smart decisions by end users. This worked well for a small community of researchers where the security concerns were minimal at best, but it raises serious concerns for today's global Internet. For example, security protocols may assume that people will check the authenticity of new web certificates and will not provide confidential data unless the certificate is valid. Perhaps more importantly, systems frequently assume people will protect their home PCs by applying patches and checking security features. These assumptions can be deadly for today's Internet. In this talk, we will examine some of the problems and assumptions behind the “state of the art” Internet security, examine what still needs to be done, and consider what you can do to protect both your private data and the Internet in general.

Study Session - Cookies for Coders!

Midterms and assignments got your next week swamped? Wish that there was something to brighten up your long nights in the lab? Well next Wednesday the ACM will be offering fresh baked cookies and refreshments to any suffering student. Join us Wednesday October 14th from 5 to 7pm in 310A of the USC building. Come for the food and company. Stay to relax for a while before rushing back to your all nighter. We hope to see you there!

Unix Workshop

Join the ACM club Wednesday October 5th at 4pm in the Hammond Auditorium in the Engineering building for UNIX!

Confused about UNIX? Wish you knew more than just Windows? Then come to this week's ACM to learn everything you wanted to know about UNIX. One of the Graduate Program's finest students, Charles Ross, will be demonstrating UNIX and anything else he can think of.

So if you'd like to learn more about UNIX or just want to confirm that you already know everything come and join us. Bring anyone you think would be interested and any questions you can think of. Hope to see you there!

CS Jeopardy - sponsored by OCI

Winners:round 1: Team “Rams” round 2: Team “Off in Shower” round 3: Team “Race Car” final round: Team “Rams” Team “Race Car” - runner-up

Official Announcement

Come compete in this Jeopardy style trivia game for fun and prizes. Don't feel like competing? Come watch others as their computer knowledge is challenged in the battle for iPods. Drinks and Snacks will be available for all attendees and participants.

9 teams of 3 people will compete for iPods donated by our sponsor, OCI (www.oci.com):

First Place: Color iPod
Second Place: iPod Mini
All other team participants: iPod Shuffle

Teams sign must sign up in advance, first come first served.

Participants must be members of the ACM student chapter.

Not a member? Sign up to be an ACM member at the Computer Science main office.

Robots

Want to see what a Computer Science degree and a robot will get you? Well you can find out.

Come join the ACM at 4pm on the 28th of September in Hammond Auditorium in the Engineering building to see ROBOTS! The Robot club will be giving a demonstration of their work this Wednesday and is inviting you to watch. Find out different applications of Robotics. Also find out ways you can potentially help make these robots even cooler! If you want to further mankind with the help of Robots, or even if you just want to make a robot minion, this is the meeting for you!

Bring anyone you think would enjoy this presentation. We hope to see you there!

CS Department Picnic and Softball Game

All CS students, Faculty and Staff (and families) are invited.

Please RSVP using email to Carol Calliham at calliham@cs.colostate.edu (We need a head count in advance so that we get enough food)

Why would you want to come, you ask.

FUN: We have reserved softball fields for a CS faculty/grads vs. undergrads game. There will also be volleyball and pick up frizbee. Even if you don't play — it will be fun to watch and cheer for your side. GAME starts at 1 PM.

FOOD: We are supplying hamburgers, hot dogs,chips and drinks. You are welcome to bring anything you like as well. The BBQ will fire up at 11:30 AM.

FOUNDATIONS: This is a fantastic way to get to know your CS faculty, staff, and peers in a informal enviroment — OUTSIDE THE USC!

FREE: Yup! This is free to you and your signifcant other, City Park is also family friendly, so if you have children, bring them too. We are also working with sponsorship outside the department for door prizes and such. We will keep you posted when we have more information.

Ask the Department

Ever wonder why CSU teaches both Java AND C++, isn't one language enough? Come to the ACM club meeting this Wednesday at the Hammond Auditorium(Engineering 120) to find out about C++ and Java.

Two of CSU's best and brightest, Dr. Bruce Draper and Dr. Ross Beveridge will be there to explain:

Why CSU teaches both languages
Why they are taught in the order they are.
Their differences, their similarities, and when to use them.
And anything else they can think of.

So if you haven't learned both, or even if you have, come find out everything you wanted to know and more. Hope to see you there!

What I Wish I Had Known

New to Computer Science? Old to Computer Science but still have stuff you would like to know? Then come to the ACM club's presentation of “What I wish I had known” tomorrow at 4pm at the Hammond Auditorium(Engineering 120) in the Engineering building. Learn advice from older and possibly wiser students about how to be a good Computer Scientist.

Topics will include:

Free Software Provided by the University / Computer Science Department
Campus Wireless / VPN
Free Printing Locations
How to find out what other people think of your next semester's professor
Research in CS
AND MUCH MORE!!

Come ready to learn from our esteemed ACM president Kathy Robertson about all the knowledge any student could ever want to know. Bring any questions you have or any advice you'd like to offer to other students. We hope to see you there.