Monthly Archives: April 2017

M.S. Informatics ranked among top 35 best IT masters for 2017

April 17, 2017

College Choice, an independent online publication, just released its list of the “35 Best Masters in Information Technology for 2017,” in which UCI’s M.S. in Informatics was ranked No. 22. The College Choice review team gave the informatics graduate degree program an almost perfect score of 97.03 out of 100.

According to College Choice, “Whether they come from the arts or the sciences, UCI’s M.S. in Informatics students share one a common desire to seek to build a deeper understanding of the relationship between people and technology.”

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Informatics Ph.D. Students accept ARCS Scholars Awards

April 13, 2017

Informatics Ph.D. candidates Kathryn Ringland and Christine Wolf formally received their ARCS Scholars Awards for 2016-17 from the National ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) Foundation on March 16, 2017.  The two were honored during the 17th Annual Scholar Awards Dinner held at UCI’s Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center. During the ceremony, Ringland and Wolf were reminded of their contributions to the fields of computer science and informatics.

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Informatics Ph.D. student introduces DanceCraft to OC autistic children

April 10, 2017

In February, informatics Ph.D. student Kate Ringland teamed up with Broadway choreographer and UCI Assistant Professor of Drama Andrew Palermo to create DanceCraft, a software program that is part of a six-segment dance study on autism.

“It started as a project for Autism App Jam one year and we realized there was real potential for good in it,” said Ringland. “I worked with a great team of undergraduates to build DanceCraft. It’s been an important side project for me.”

Dance can help children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with body awareness, one of several sensory atypicalities associated with ASD.
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Dourish featured in April’s CACM magazine

April 8, 2017

Chancellor’s Professor of Informatics and Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Fellow Paul Dourish is the featured ACM member in the April 2017 issue (Vol. 60, No. 4) of Communications of the ACM magazine. The article, titled “Looking to computers to help make sense of the world,” provides a brief look at Dourish, how he became interested in computer science, as well as his current focus on human-computer interactions, particularly the social implications of information technology. Read the full article about Dourish online.

Taylor to receive Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award from CU Boulder

April 7, 2017

Richard Taylor, director of UCI’s Institute for Software Research and Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of Informatics, will be honored with the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award (DEAA) from his alma mater the University of Colorado, Boulder.

The DEAA honors alumni who have distinguished themselves through outstanding personal qualities, knowledge and significant contributions to their fields. Award winners fall into one of five categories: education, research and invention, government service, industry and commerce, and private practice. Taylor’s DEAA for education recognizes his contributions to computer science and to CU Boulder’s College of Engineering and Applied Science. He will be honored with the other DEAA recipients at the Engineering Awards Banquet this spring.
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Newsworks: “It takes a ‘learning hero’ to break out of the education pipeline” (Ito featured)

Who is your learning hero? Who would you say has been an inspirational person in your life who has unlocked new ideas and pushed you to learn?

Cultural anthropologist Mizuko “Mimi” Ito asked that question when she spoke last month at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University about technology use, and how the ways in which kids’ relationship with media and communication is changing might lead to innovations in education. Her presentation was part of an ongoing project of Drexel’s ExCITe Center, called “Learning Innovation.”

Read the full story at Newsworks.

Connected Camps: “How to Get Your Daughters into Tech by Embracing Who They Really Are” by Mimi Ito

April 5, 2017

Only 26% of computing professionals are women, which is down from 36% in 1991. Millions of dollars are being spent on closing this gender gap, but it persists. Even though girls are just as into math and science in their school years, few go onto major in these areas, and even fewer go on to tech careers. What can we do to help our daughters buck these odds? Girls and Minecraft offer important hints.

Read the full story at Connected Camps.

BBC: “Meet the people who’ve stopped emailing”

April 4, 2017

The idea, say those who are eschewing email, is to have more time for other types of work and communication. In fact, higher email use is associated with lower levels of productivity and higher levels of stress, according to Gloria Mark, a professor at the University of California Irvine who was the lead author on the 2014 study with this finding.

Read the full story at BBC.