System Level Design as Applied to CMU Wearable Computers

The paper describes a system level design approach to the wearable computers project at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). The project is an unique example of a cross-disciplinary effort, drawing students from mechanical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, computer science, and industrial design. Over the last six and half years that the course has been taught, teams of undergraduate and graduate students have designed and fabricated sixteen new generations of wearable computers, using an evolving artifact-specific, multidisciplinary design methodology. The complexity of their architectures has increased by a factor of over 200, and the complexity of the application has also increased significantly. We introduce a metric to compare wearable computers and show that their performances have increased by several orders of magnitude. A system-level approach to power/performance optimization is going to be a crucial catalyst for making wearable computers an everyday tool for the general public.     

Madan G. Singh (1946-2002): distinguished academic, scholar, and entrepreneur

For more than a quarter of a century, Madan G. Singh taught and accomplished seminal research on approaches to better control, manage, and understand complexity in systems. This interdisciplinary work has covered the intersections of the areas of control engineering, systems engineering, applied mathematics, management science, and computer science. His work has been remarkable at both a theoretical level, as well as at a practical level. Indeed, over the years, his practical work has led to new insights which have driven the theoretical developments. He has examined complexity in human-made systems, in managerial decision making, in marketing, and in production planning and scheduling. He has taken full advantage of contemporary developments in computing technology and in organizational science. He was, in a great many respects, a truly excellent exemplar of the modern academic, with highly tuned entrepreneurial skills integrated with major research skills. His career reflects well the contemporary changing character of academia that is now simultaneously home to ivory tower research, pragmatic market-driven research and associated product and service development. The purpose of this commemorative paper is to describe the evolution of his academic, research, scholarship, professional service, and enterprise efforts over the last two and a half decades.     

Interactive and informative art

The author discusses computers and art and also relates art and science. He considers multiple viewpoints and ambient media. Even the humble, ancient technology of paper has more fidelity than the most advanced display hardware.     

Sooner is better than perfect [millenium bug]

The author warns that it is not just personal computers and corporate IT systems that are at risk from impending date changes. He argues that the danger of embedded systems failing to cope should be just as great a cause for concern     

The future of computing: a 50-year prediction

Three “technologies” are driving the growing use of computers. First, the underlying component technology simultaneously is becoming less expensive and more capable. Computation rate and reliability are increasing, while requirements for space and power are decreasing. Second, the communications infrastructure is undergoing a similar increase in capability and decrease in cost. Last, breakthroughs in computer science and mathematics, coupled with increases in raw computing speed, are providing solutions to problems previously thought to be intractable     

When culture and rhetoric contrast: examining English as theinternational language of technical communication

We often hear the expression that mathematics is the universal language of science and technology. Yet, while mathematics can cut across certain communicative boundaries, it is not the actual language of the sciences, for that role has already been filled by English. The author considers how English is the international language of technical communication     

Investment in telecommunications: opportunities or pitfalls intoday's environment

The author discusses the expanding telecommunication industry, emphasizing the competitive market for equipment that has sprung up in the wake of deregulation. He discusses the growth of technology, particularly fiber optics and computers, and its effect on long-distance service. He examines the impact that regulation has had on long-distance companies and considers the possible harm that further policy changes could have     

Software is the glue in large systems

The author presents a brief history of computation, computers, and the emergence of software as the dominant factor in large systems. He discusses the increase in software cost and complexity and examines the reasons why the latter creates problems. He focuses on the complexity of the tasks to which computers are applied as compared to their original function of computation     

Why so few women?

Women account for only 15-20 percent of computer science majors in the United States, and the percentage has dropped over the last five years. By avoiding computers, women may be missing out on the generous salaries and abundant career opportunities in information technology. The paper considers this troubling trend     

Of workstations and supercomputers

Factors to consider when choosing between workstations and supercomputers are identified. Applications and computers are categorized, and speed requirements as a driving force in computer development are examined. It is shown how to analyze an application to determine the type of system that can best solve the problem, and the types of problem for which workstations are best are discussed     

Building a in a flash supercomputer

A flash mob is a group of strangers, organized over the Internet, that comes together briefly, acts out a predetermined scenario-often something as simple as clapping for 30 seconds-and then disperses. A supercomputer is a very fast and powerful computer that outperforms most mainframes, at a cost, typically, of millions of dollars. Can a flash mob build a supercomputer? It can sure try, and so it did on 3 April at the University of San Francisco's Koret athletic center. The goal was to run the Linpack benchmark, a standard method of assessing the speed of supercomputers, to achieve a speed of at least 403 gigaflops (billion floating point operations per second). This would be fast enough to earn the system a place on the list of the world's fastest 500 supercomputers. The goal was not reached. The group reached just 180 gigaflops before it was time to pack up the computers and go home. However, even though the San Francisco effort fell short of speed goal, it did ignite imaginations.     

Fueling the Internet [computer power consumption]

The author discusses power consumption of computers and their peripherals and household appliances which are supposedly switched off. The author examines the claims that the Internet is leading to growth in demand for electricity. The impact of this demand for power on the energy supply industry is also discussed     

Elliptic Curve Cryptography Engineering

In recent years, elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) has gained widespread exposure and acceptance, and has already been included in many security standards. Engineering of ECC is a complex, interdisciplinary research field encompassing such fields as mathematics, computer science, and electrical engineering. In this paper, we survey ECC implementation issues as a prominent case study for the relatively new discipline of cryptographic engineering. In particular,we show that the requirements of efficiency and security considered at the implementation stage affect not only mere low-level, technological aspects but also, significantly, higher level choices, ranging from finite field arithmetic up to curve mathematics and protocols.     

Where do wavelets come from? A personal point of view

The development of wavelets is an example where ideas from many different fields combined to merge into a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. The subject area of wavelets, developed mostly over the last 15 years, is connected to older ideas in many other fields, including pure and applied mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineering. The history of wavelets can therefore be represented as a tree with roots reaching deeply and in many directions. In this picture, the trunk would correspond to the rapid development of “wavelet tools” in the second half of the 1980's, with shared efforts by researchers from many different fields; the crown of the tree, with its many branches, would correspond to different directions and applications in which wavelets are now becoming a standard part of the mathematical tool kit, alongside other more established techniques. The author gives here a highly personal version of the development of wavelets     

Think Parallel: Teaching Parallel Programming Today

Parallel computing is rapidly entering mainstream computing, and multicore processors can now be found in the heart of supercomputers, desktop computers, and laptops. Consequently, applications will increasingly need to be parallelized to fully exploit the multicore processor throughput gains that are becoming available. Unfortunately, writing parallel code is more complex than writing serial code. An introductory parallel computing course aims to introduce students to this technology shift and to explain that parallelism calls for a different way of thinking and new programming skills. The course covers theoretical topics and offers practical experience in writing parallel algorithms on state-of-the-art parallel computers, parallel programming environments, and tools.     

A Practical Cross-Layer Mechanism For Fairness in 802.11 Networks

Many companies, organizations and communities are providing wireless hotspots that provide networking access using 802.11b wireless networks. Since wireless networks are more sensitive to variations in bandwidth and environmental interference than wired networks, most networks support a number of transmission rates that have different error and bandwidth properties. Access points can communicate with multiple clients running at different rates, but this leads to unfair bandwidth allocation. If an access point communicates with a mix of clients using both 1 Mb/s and 11 Mb/s transmission rates, the faster clients are effectively throttled to 1 Mb/s as well. This happens because the 802.11 MAC protocol approximate “station fairness”, with each station given an equal chance to access the media. We provide a solution to provide “rate proportional fairness”, where the 11 Mb/s stations receive more bandwidth than the 1 Mb/s stations. Unlike previous solutions to this problem, our mechanism is easy to implement, works with common operating systems and requires no change to the MAC protocol or the stations. Joseph Dunn received an M.S. in computer science from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2003, and B. S. in coputer science and mathematics from the University of Arizona in 2001. His research interests are in the general area of computer systems, primarily focusing on security and scalability in distributed systems. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Michael Neufeld received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder in December of 2004, having previously received an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2000 and an A.B. in Computer Science from Princeton University in 1993. His research interests are in the general area of computer system, specifically concentrating on wireless networking, software defind/cognitive radio, and streerable antennas. He is currently a postdoc in the Computer Science department at the University of Calorado at Boulder pursuing research related to software defined radio and new MAC protocols for steerable phase array antennas. Anmol Sheth is a Ph.D. student in Computer Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He received his B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Pune, India in 2001. He has been co-leading the development of the MANTIS operating system. He has co-authored three papers include MAC layer protocol design, energy-efficient wireless communication, and adapting communications to mobility. Dirk Grunwald received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1989 and joined the University of Colorado the same year. His work addresses research and teaching in the broad area of “computer systems”, which includes computer architecture, operating systems, networks, and storage systems. His interests also include issues in pervasive computing, novel computing models, and enjoying the mountains. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and in Electrical and Computer Engineering and is also the Director of the Colorado Center for Information Storage. John Bennett is a Professor of Computer Science with a joint appointment in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He also serves as Associate Dean for Education in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. He joined the CU-Boulder faculty in 2000, after serving on the faculty of Rice University for 11 years. While at Rice, Bennett pioneered a course in engineering design for both engineering and non-engineering students that has been emulated at several universities and high schools. In addition to other teaching awards, Bennett received the Keck Foundation National Award for Engineering Teaching Excellence for his work on this course. Bennett received his Ph.D. in 1988 from the University of Washington. Prior to completing his doctoral studies, he was a U.S. Naval Officer for several years and founded and served as President of Pacific Mountain Research, Inc., where he supervised the design and development of a number of commercial computing systems. Bennett's primary research interests are broadly focused in the area of distributed systems, and more narrowly in distributed information management and distributed robotic macrosensors.     

Digital Brain Atlases for Biomedicine

Spurred by the advent of in vivo imaging methods, computational neuroanatomy - in particular the development of brain atlases - has emerged over the last decade as a major discipline in neuroscience , engaging diverse fields such as computer science, mathematics, signal processing, and statistics. This new field is greatly advancing medical research, basic biological science, and clinical practice. An atlas may be used as an instance of anatomy upon which teaching or surgical planning is based, a reference frame for understanding the normal variation of anatomy, a coordinate system for functional localization studies, and a probabilistic space into which functional or structural features are mapped. Within the context of neuroinformatics, the atlas serves as the mechanism through which novel sources of spatially indexed or image-based information may be linked with other databases such that new relationships may be derived. In this article, we introduce the technology and challenges of constructing digital brain atlases and some of their most promising applications in biomedicine.     

Telephone wiring: a conduit for networking standards

The author discusses emerging standards for local area networks (LANs) on unshielded copper wires that are expected to make it cheaper and easier for computers to communicate in offices, factories, and laboratories. He describes two twisted-pair standards developed by the IEEE 802.3 working group, one, already approved, designed for data transmission at 1 Mb/s, the other at 10 Mb/s. The official designation of the 1 Mb/s network is 1BASE5, but it is known as StarLAN after the AT&T network from which it is adapted     

Computers [1999 technology forecast and analysis]

This paper presents a computer technology analysis and forecast for 1999. The subjects covered include personal computers, magnetic disk storage, open operating systems, digital versatile disks and supercomputers     

"信号与系统"课程的双语教学实践

华中科技大学从2001年开始全英语教学试点工作,迄今为止已进行了六年."信号与系统"课程是本校全英语教学试点课程之一,笔者作为任课教师,已经积累了一定的经验.在此基础上,我系在普通本科班开始了这门课程的双语教学改革.本文主要介绍这次改革实践活动并进行总结.文章首先介绍了"信号与系统"双语教学改革的教学对象,教学内容及教学方法,然后介绍了调查问卷情况,最后对统计结果进行了分析,并对双语教学这种教学方式进行了思考.