The road below has no forks, nor is it fog-covered, but you still can’t predict what lies ahead. Making decisions under uncertainty involves more than being presented with multiple options and choosing the best one. The problem is much more complex because the forks and options are not readily seen. Inevitably, plans go wrong. Plans . . .
For Linda Ott, debugging a program is like solving a mystery. “We don’t tell girls about computing when they’re young, so they don’t see how fun computing can be,” Ott explains. “They hear about biology and chemistry, but computing seems abstract.” And very few middle and high schools have computing courses or instructors. “Girls don’t . . .
Astronomy is a citizen’s science. Its foundation is ordinary people who help answer serious scientific questions by providing vital data to the astronomical community. Nebulas, supernovas, and gamma ray sightings. The availability of smartphones make collecting and sharing scientific data easier, faster, and more accurate. These days former astronomy teacher Robert Pastel isn’t as interested . . .
Redeveloping Michigan Tech’s introductory computer science courses has not been an easy feat. But for Leo Ureel, it’s meaningful work. “It’s about setting the right environment,” he says. Humans learn best when we communicate with others. We’ve taken what we know works in industry and applied it to the classroom. In the old model, instructors . . .
For Keith Vertanen, the satisfaction of helping people with visual impairments is a byproduct of the challenge he seeks. Vertanen’s research will offer more texting options not only to the blind community, but to the situationally impaired, too. “My interest stemmed from sighted text entry research. The decoder (a touchscreen keyboard recognizer) is so accurate—we . . .
Associate Professor Tim Havens received a $15,000 contract from MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Tim and his team will investigate signal processing for active phased array systems with simultaneous transmit and receive capability. While this capability offers increased performance in communications, radar, and electronic warfare applications, the challenging aspect is that a high-level of isolation must be . . .