Information Technology and Web Science at RPI

ITWS Student goes to Africa!

2012-02-13T09:03:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

My name is Lindsay Poirier, and I love Africa! I should explain.

About a year and half ago, I had an epiphany. I want to go to Africa. It was strange. I had never wanted to go to Africa before; I had never even thought of it. It was just this random urge that overcame me. I was signed up with a volunteer program by the end of the following day.

Since that fateful night, I have spent two of my winter breaks providing care and education for the orphans at Living Water Children Centre (LWCC) in Arusha, Tanzania. As a volunteer, I had the opportunity to immerse myself in the Tanzanian culture – eating the way they eat, sleeping the way they sleep, commuting the way they commute, living the way they live, and so on.

Have you ever heard the term ‘culture shock’?

Well, it’s real. When I landed in Tanzania for the first time, I could only think about how beautiful everything was. It looked exactly like the National Geographic pictures and travel documentaries. I ‘ooh-ed’ and ‘aww-ed’ the for the entire duration of the car ride from the airport to the village, having no idea what was truly in store.

It didn’t take long for me to hate it. There were geckos on my bedroom walls and rats running around the house. The power was turned off every other night, and don’t even get me started on the Internet connection. Showers were cold, and drinking water was warm. There were fleas in my bed; I was constantly covered in dirt, and worst of all, I got sick just about every night from the food and the heat. Sounds like a great time, right? By the end of my second week, I wanted nothing more than to be in the comfort of my home.

The great thing about culture shock is that it fades. All of those little annoyances that I mentioned eventually just become a regular part of your day. You learn to deal with them until you forget that they ever bothered you at all.

I was lucky. I had a group of 30 kids to help me get over it a lot faster. The kids were the best. I would wake up in the morning, walk up to the centre where they lived, and hear ‘Good morning Teacha Lindsay’ from about a dozen voices as soon as I opened the gate. We would then spend the morning doing lessons in math or English and the afternoon dancing and playing games. They were all so happy and bubbly, and best of all, they all had extremely distinct personalities.

About three weeks into the trip, primary school started. This is when things really started falling into place for me. A few weeks before I arrived, a donor had set up a computer lab at the primary school. Unfortunately, there was no one at the school who knew how to use computers. They were literally just going to sit there.

So I offered to teach a computer class to each of the grades. I have never seen students so anxious to use a computer. I would walk into their classroom to announce that it was time for computer class, and they would sprint to the lab to get a good seat.

Seeing their excitement changed the way that I look at technology. It inspired me. It made me realize how my college education had given me a skill that could greatly impact lives for the better.

So I went back.

The second time was a lot easier. No culture shock. In fact, Christmas Day was the only day that I even experienced homesickness. This time, I just loved everything about Tanzania and couldn’t stand the thought of leaving. It’s truly a beautiful country with beautiful people.

I was a bit more prepared to teach computers this time around. Prior to the trip, Lorena Nicotra (ITWS ’12) and I had worked together on an open source educational software package that was tailored for the Tanzanian curriculum. My plan was to teach the instructors how they could use this software to enhance student education.

In Africa, things never really go according to plan. Due to political and infrastructural issues with electricity, I wasn’t able to actually turn a computer on at the school until my last week in Tanzania. I ended up cramming a lot of training into that week. They all seemed so appreciative though and were really excited to use the software with the students.

I kept a blog during the trip to document all of the crazy things that I experienced. If you’d like to hear more stories, you can access it at www.lpoirier.myrpi.org/Tanzania/journal.

Thanks for hearing my story!

Director of ITWS Department, Jim Hendler, Selected as 2011 AAAS Fellow

2012-02-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

Gilbert and Hendler Selected as 2011 AAAS Fellows

Two members of the Rensselaer science faculty have been selected as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Susan Gilbert, professor and head of biology, and James Hendler, senior constellation professor in the Tetherless World Constellation and head of the information technology and web science program, are two of the 539 newly selected AAAS fellows. They were recognized for their efforts to advance science or its applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished, according to AAAS. The announcement was made in the Dec. 23, 2011, issue of the journal Science.

“Professors Hendler and Gilbert represent two of the strongest and most
innovative minds in higher education.” —President Shirley Ann Jackson

In the announcement, AAAS cites Gilbert for distinguished contributions to our mechanistic understanding of microtubule-dependent molecular motor ATPases involved in cell motility. AAAS cites Hendler for fundamental contributions in artificial intelligence, including automated planning, and for the invention (with Tim Berners-Lee and Ora Lassila) of the Semantic Web—the next generation of the World Wide Web. AAAS will honor the new fellows at its annual meeting in February in Vancouver, British Columbia.

“Professors Hendler and Gilbert represent two of the strongest and most innovative minds in higher education,” said President Shirley Ann Jackson, who is past president of the AAAS and former chairman of the AAAS board of directors.

“Dr. Hendler's research is providing the world with entirely new ways to understand and harness the powers of the World Wide Web. His work with semantic technology is changing how we interact not only with our array of electronic devices, but also with each other in our increasingly global society. His work as an educator is creating a new generation of experts in web science, information technology, and artificial intelligence.



	James Hendler Photo by Lonny Kalfus

“Dr. Gilbert is an outstanding leader and educator, guiding the multifaceted research and education in biology at Rensselaer in imaginative and exceptional ways. Her leadership has made biology one of the fastest growing programs at Rensselaer, and her research is teaching scientists and doctors vital information about cell division and motility.”

Gilbert joined Rensselaer in 2007 from the University of Pittsburgh, where she served on the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences. She received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Randolph-Macon Woman's College and a doctorate in cell biology from Dartmouth College.

Her research focuses on cellular movements, and the molecular motors that drive these movements to better understand cellular function and dysfunctions such as cancer. She performed much of her early research at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. Gilbert received an NIH Career Development Award through the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

She is a fellow and member of the board of directors for the American Academy of Nanomedicine, and a member of council and chair of the membership committee for the Biophysical Society. She is a member of AAAS, the American Chemical Society, and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She is on the editorial boards for the Biophysical Journal, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Nanomedicine, andNanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine.

Hendler joined Rensselaer in January 2007. He became assistant dean of the information technology program in 2008 and modified the program to include the emerging area of web science. Prior to joining Rensselaer, he was a professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Maryland, where he also served as director of the Joint Institute for Knowledge Discovery and co-director of the Maryland Information and Network Dynamics Laboratory.

Hendler received a bachelor’s degree in computer science and artificial intelligence from Yale University, a master’s in cognitive psychology and human factors engineering from Southern Methodist University, and a master’s and doctorate in computer science and artificial intelligence from Brown University. He has written more than 200 technical papers in the areas of artificial intelligence, Semantic Web, agent-based computing, and high-performance processing.

He is a fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, the British Computer Society, and the IEEE. He is a member of the World Wide Web Consortium’s Semantic Web Coordination Group and serves as a director and trustee of the charitable Web Science Trust. He is the editor-in-chief emeritus of IEEE Intelligent Systems and is the first computer scientist to serve on the board of reviewing editors for Science. Hendler also serves as an “Internet Web Expert” for the U.S. government, providing guidance to the Data.gov project.

ITWS Student Lorena Valentin Wins Cisco Team Spotlight Award

2012-02-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

Last summer Lorena worked as an IT Business Analyst Intern for the Cisco LatAm Regional IT Team in San Hose, California. She continued working as an intern part time when she returned to school in Fall 2011.

Congratulations to Lorena Valentin for winning the Cisco Team Spotlight award at the CITS (Connected IT Services) Quarterly FY’12 Q2 All Hands meeting. The award was presented by the V.P. of Information Technology, Guillermo Diaz in San Jose, CA on January 19, 2012.

The project that received the award was started and organized by her Fall 2011 MITR team Effective Solutions, included Bill Wenrich, Steve DiPalermo, Michael Villeneuve, and Lorena. It was supported, implemented and completed by the Latin America IT team (also known as LatAm IT) composed of Diego Barrozo, Yandhira Rosillo, Sandra Fiorentini and Director Ileana Rivera.

Lorena will be joining Cisco full time after her graduation this May as an IT Business Analyst - CANSAC Business Relationship Manager for the Regional IT Team - LatAm. She will be starting her new job on June 18, 2012 in Miami, Florida!

Lorena Valentin and VP of IT, Guillermo Diaz

Lorena Valentin and Regional Director of LatAm, Ileana Rivera

Gamma Nu Eta Student to Student Career Coaching Event

2012-01-31T08:54:00.000-08:00

The IT honors society is putting together a career coaching program for the ENTIRE SCHOOL. The event is on February 6th from 8pm to ~10pm in DCC 330.

Why you should go:

Members of GNH will be giving career tips and advice, specifically on the following topics: preparing for the career fair, applying for jobs, keeping in contact with recruiters, how to write a professional email, interview skills, and resume advice.

But here's the best part:

Students at RPI will also have the chance to "adopt" a member of GNH who will be their personal career coach. A coach and a student will exchange contact information, and for the rest of the semester, the coach will be available to students any time they have a question, and will assist students with every step in the job-getting process: resume critiquing, editing cover letters, preparing for the career fair/interviews. There will be a meet&greet and Q&A after the lecture.

Don't hesitate to email the event coordinator, Michelle Sharer, with questions.

Foundry-RPI Info Session - Tuesday, January 24th at 6:00 PM

2012-01-19T08:07:00.000-08:00

Severino Center Launches Foundry-RPI

The Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship is launching Foundry-RPI, a working group where entrepreneurs can meet weekly, get peer feedback, and execute on ideas in an environment in which it is both expected that you are trying to do awesome things and it is okay to fail. The Foundry-RPI program will continue through summer 2012. Student teams can engage in the program either for course credit or in an internship setting. Small grants are available for the internship option.

The Foundry system was developed by an RPI graduate now at the University of Utah and includes a proven method for structuring business incubation. A key advantage of leveraging the Foundry system is the weath of resources available online. For more information on the Foundry program, view these videos.

An information session will be held on Tuesday, January 24th at 6:00 pm in room 104 in the Lally Building. RSVP to the Facebook Event

Join the Google Group (this is how we will share information throughout the semester)

Find Foundry-RPI on Facebook

The Journey

2011-12-26T16:46:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone!

Tonight is my final night in upstate NY before leaving my friends and family to go work for Cisco in Morrisville, NC. People keep asking me if I am scared or nervous and the answer is both yes, and no. Of course I am excited about the opportunity to work for one of the best companies in the country if not the world. But I'm finding it hard to leave behind my entire family even if its for only 9 months. Of course I will be back to visit in February and perhaps a few more times. I really hope you all get a chance to read about my current adventures in this country and learn some information about what going on CO-OP is really like. I am open to all questions and invite you to email me with said questions. I wish everybody a happy new year, and when I get my website up and running there will be even more to see! Have a great day everybody!!

Warm Regards,

Tim Mumford

Congratulations December 2011 MS in IT Graduates!

2011-12-13T07:21:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to our MS in IT students that are graduating this December! We are so proud of your accomplishments during your time here at RPI and look forward to keeping in touch with you in your professional careers. Good luck!

Stephanie Ardizzone

Hithika Chhaochharia

Christopher DeJong

Rajashree Deka

Rohan Dhruva

William Gill

Yiyi Jiang

Samuel Johnson

Arun Praka Lakshmi Narayanan

Sumitra Madhav

Fred Osoro

Kathyayani Prasad

Janani Ranganathan

Himanshu Sharma

Ankit Srivastava

Han Wang

Di Wu

Minjun Yang

Dr. Minna Levine Speaking at Tetherless World Constellation

2011-11-09T06:07:00.000-08:00

The use of SymTrend in the study of Asperger's, autism, neurological disorders and brain injury recovery

A talk by: Minna Levine
Date/Time: Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 - 5:00pm-6:00 PM Location: WINSLOW 1140
Page: http://tw.rpi.edu/web/event/talk/MinnaLevine-2011-11-09

Abstract

Dr. Minna Levine, President of SymTrend, Inc. will describe SymTrend and provide examples of research projects that have used the system with teens with Aspergers, children with lower functioning autism in substantially separate classrooms, teens who self-injure, and adults with neurological disorders/brain injury.

SymTrend is a web and mobile platform for creating and implementing data collection and guidance applications. Its development was funded in part by three STTRs from NIMH. It can be used by professionals and families to record behavioral observations and evaluate the impact of interventions. It has a site license with an authoring tool with which researchers can develop web and mobile instruments for their research. The authoring tool also enables design of graphic and tabular output for displaying individual participant/client progress data.

The authoring tool also enables construction of customized guidance tools - e-diaries that present clinician-recommended strategies contingent upon answers to questions. The latter guidance tools have been successfully implemented in projects with teens with Aspergers. Three groups have used these guidance tools as part of cognitive behavior therapy or social pragmatics/executive functioning/emotion self-regulation interventions with this population. The guidance screens can contain pictures from the client's life to make them more engaging.

Other useful features for research:
- Data can be collected online, on any Apple device, and on other phones with touch-based browsers.
- Projects with a site license have an administrative interface for creating accounts, monitoring activity in the accounts (uploads), linking participant accounts with researchers and/or other professionals, and assigning appropriate e-diaries to the participants.
- The graphs and tables displaying the data are produced as PDFs by the system so they can be easily shared with the families and host schools when necessary.
- A simple interface enables downloading of data from the system in a delimited file for use in a statistics package.
- Its "Care Record" can be used by families or professionals for entering non-diary information about medications, supplements, or other interventions/tests. These interventions can be displayed in graphics to ease examination of their impact on patient performance.
- Use of the system has been approved by several IRBs. The server for the website is in a locked cage at a co-location site in Marlborough, MA. Communication with the server is encrypted.

Biography

Minna Levine, OTR/L, PhD, President, has extensive experience in healthcare, data management, and clinical research. She has led workshops and has written on the use of mobile technology for monitoring care and self-management. Minna led the transformation of the SymTrend prototype into the SymTrend system. She also managed SymTrend's three small business grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the development of its tools for individuals on the autism spectrum.

Invited by

Joanne S. Luciano

Seeking the Next Social Media Leaders

2011-11-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

Do you have leadership potential?

Last Spring, the Social Media Club @Rensselaer, an educational chapter of the largest social media organization in the world, launched on campus. Its founders, Diego Regules and Travis Cano (ITWS Seniors), most significant contribution to the community was achieved through the Social Media Forum, to which more than 100 people attended.

Since Travis and Diego will graduate in December, they're currently looking for pro-active students looking to take responsibility in managing the club. They will transfer all their know-how, along with access to all of our platforms to any student (or group of students) that demonstrate a clear interest in learning about social media and possess some leadership acumen.

This Rensselaer Union-recognized club is flexible enough and open to allow any social media leader to take it in the direction she/he decides! Everything's in place already for someone else to lead the club: contacts in Capital Region Tech Valley and on-campus offices & organizations, Social Media Club connection website, web presence (Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, Scribd, Google services), etc. This is truly a unique opportunity to lead an innovative club with great potential without all the hassle of founding/promoting it!

As leaders we benefited from several unique résumé-boosting opportunities. Some of these include:

Networking with Public Relations, Online Marketing, Corporate Communications, Web Advertising, and Web Development professionals in the Capital Region through SMC Tech Valley, and around the US through the national organization Social Media Club
Job opportunities (interviews)
Direct contact with managers at Price Chopper and/or CEOs in Hyperlocal Advertising pioneer iZoca.
Leadership skills
Event coordination and advertising
Social media management skills: Facebook pages promotion, Twitter campaigns
Attended webinars with social media leaders
Abundant resources and support from SMC leaders
Administrating a Wordpress blog

We are looking forward to speaking with you!

Social Media Club @Rensselaer
Visit our website!

ITWS Salary Comparison

2011-11-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

The Center for Career and Professional Development website has Rensselaer's salary data posted by school and degree. A survey of the graduating Class of 2011 found that the ITWS degree ranks as the 3rd highest average salary and the highest low end starting salary! Check out the data for yourself: http://rpi.edu/dept/cdc/students/jobsearch/offers/2011_Accepted_Salaries_%20%282%29.pdf

This is great news for all of our current students, especially graduating students that are looking for full time employment. Good luck with the job and internship searches!

2011 ITWS Founders Awards

2011-11-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

The Founders Award of Excellence was established in 1994 to honor students who embody qualities of creativity, discovery, leadership, and the values of pride and responsibility at Rensselaer. Students nominated should demonstrate:

Strong academic performance. Candidates should be in the top 10% of their respective class.
Pride and responsibility in all aspects of his or her life at Rensselaer.
Outstanding leadership skills exhibiting discretion, judgment, and well-rounded regard for the opinions of others.
Originality and imagination that may be evidenced by the potential to solve problems and possess skills to promote new ideas and theories in his/her field of study.

Congratulations to the 2011 ITWS Founders Awards recipients!
Joseph Dougherty - Co-Term
Andrew Karnani - Class of 2013
Kristin Shumway - Graduate Student
Ankit Srivastava - Graduate Student
Han Wang - Graduate Student

Students were presented with the award at the 18th Annual Honor's Convocation held on Saturday October 29, 2011.

Ankit, Joe, Andrew and Han at Saturday's Ceremony

Photos From Alumni Panel

2011-10-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

Last night's ITWS alumni panel was a great success! Thank you again to all the alumni who made the trip to RPI to share their work experiences since graduating, you all had great stories and advice. Approximately 65 ITWS students made it to the event and asked some wonderful questions. Many of the students took the time to meet individually with the alumni after the Q&A session ended. As we all learned last night, networking is key to a successful career before and after graduation.
Photo highlights below. All the photos can be found here.

Dan Emaelaf, Yanan Li, Jason Reed, Emily McDonnell, Sara Petry, Tim Banker, and Pooja Daswani Rao made the trip back to RPI for the ITWS Alumni Panel on October 19, 2011

Alumni speak to a full room of ITWS students

Kevin Ung asks a question

Networking with Alumni

Annual ITWS Alumni Panel

2011-10-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Wednesday October 19, 2011 ITWS will be hosting it's annual alumni panel from 6-8pm in the Russell Sage Dining Hall. Don't miss this opportunity to connect with ITWS alumni and learn about their careers after RPI. There will be a Question and Answer session, so come prepared with questions for the alumni.

A few of the alumni will be collecting resumes at tomorrow's event.

Panelist are:

Tim Banker

Tim graduated in 2006 with a BS in IT with a concentration in Web Technologies. He is now working as the Digital Strategy Lead at The Hartford Financial Services group working on creating a multi-year digital roadmap to provide e-servicing capabilities and ensuring the best customer experience.

* Recruiting event, accepting resumes

Dan Emaelaf

Dan graduated in 2002 with a BS in Management. He has been working at GE for 9 years and is currently an Information Technology Quality Black Belt working to apply Six Sigma quality methodology to Information Technology programs working to apply six sigma quality methodology to Information Technology programs.

Yanan Li

Yanan graduated in 2010 with an MS in IT and a concentration in Management Information Systems. She is now working as a Consultant with Deloitte in the Enterprise Risk Services practice.

Emily McDonnell

Emily graduated in 2010 with a BS in IT with a concentration in Management Information Systems. She is now in her second year of the IT Leadership Program at Becton Dickinson.

Sara Petry

Sara Graduated in 2007 with a BS in IT with a Special Interest concentration. She is now working as a Product Manager at Knewton, an educational technology start-up company based out of NYC. Knewton is working to build the first Adaptive Learning Platform to customize standardized educational content to meet the unique needs of students. They analyze thousands of data points about each student and each piece of content to piece together the perfect bundle of content for that student. They’re currently powering three first-year math courses at Arizona State University for its 10,000 incoming freshmen, as well as pilot programs at universities all over the country. In the near future, they will also be rolling out an API that will be freely available for use so that anyone can create a course powered by their Adaptive Learning Platform.

* Recruiting event, accepting resumes

Jason Reed

Jason graduated in 2008 with a BS in IT and a concentration in Management Information Systems. He is now working as a Consultant with Deloitte in the Technology Information Management practice, primarily working with healthcare providers and academic medical institutions.

ITWS Laboratory - What the Students and Faculty Are Saying

2011-10-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

Have you stopped by the ITWS Laboratory recently?

Comfy couches make a great place to work on group homework, rest between classes, or have a snack before class.

There are twelve 22" monitors set up for student use. Give those tired eyes a break from staring at your laptop screen.

Snacks, coffee, soda, and juice are available in the lab for purchase. Best prices on campus! There is also a microwave, refrigerator, and water cooler.

Come in between classes, to study, work on group projects, or to socialize with other ITWS students.

What students and faculty are saying about the lab.

"The Information Technology and Web Science (ITWS) Lab has become a "satellite home base" where I can feel like I am at home. I often find myself going there in-between classes or at the latest hours in the night. It is the place where I, as well as many others, go to get work done. The space enables ITWS students to communicate and collaborate across the different class years. For example, I have seen freshman approach seniors/graduate students to ask about the program, what classes to take, and even for help with the classes they are currently taking. Due to the nature of the ITWS program, many courses are project based and teams/groups take advantage of the monitors and couches to hold their meetings. It truly is a place where collaboration on different ideas produce genuine products and services. The lab has greatly enhanced and embraced the "close knit" family feel of Information Technology and Web Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute."
Kevin Ung, ITWS Class of 2013

"I use the ITWS Social Lab Space as a place to work on class assignments and interact with my peers in the ITWS program. The lab has been very useful for me during group project work for ITWS courses, providing a space to work collaboratively with access to technology like dual monitors for laptops. The snacks and soda available make the lab a desirable space for interaction and exchange of ideas even when not doing classwork."
Alex Bulazel, ITWS Class of 2014

“The lab is a great place to collaborate with other students in a relaxed and comfortable setting. I have used the lab for meetings as well as for simply getting help on current projects or reviewing for tests. The lab is one of the best parts of not only the Lally building but also being an Information Technology and Web Science student.“
Catherine Hastings, ITWS Class of 2015

"The Lab space that the ITWS department has created is an amazing resource. Because the curriculum is heavily group focused providing a space for groups to meet and collaborate is a resource that has helped me to succeed. In creativity and IT my partner and I used the large monitors to work on a wireframe design for our project together. In Managing IT Resources my group uses the space as a quiet meeting place whenever we hold meetings. As a student living off campus the Lab provides a location for me to get work done between classes while remaining on campus. While there are other locations on campus for this type of activity none provide the atmosphere and size that is particularly conducive to either group or individual work."
Andrew Karnani, ITWS Class of 2013

"The IT lab has been a tremendous resource for me. When I transferred to RPI in the Spring, I frequently used the lab as a place to get help with my data structures course. Also, my project team for IT and Society frequently met in the lab until late in the evening. With the new layout this semester, I have been spending an even greater amount of time using the resources Linda, Lessa, Greg, and Jim have provided us. I am lucky to have this place to work and relax in between classes."
Alexander Lahuerta, ITWS Class of 2013

“I’ve always been impressed by the energy that the ITWS Student Leadership and GNH (the ITWS honor society) have put into building a student community around the program. Now that they have a dedicated laboratory, they’ve been able to take this energy in new directions, including the potential for pursuing some exciting undergraduate research projects.

– Atsushi Akera, member, IT Faculty & Chair ITWS Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.”

Into to ITWS Study Hours

2011-10-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

My name is Catherine Hastings and I am the freshman ITWS representative on the ITWS leadership board. As some of you are aware, we have a great lab space in the upstairs of the Lally Building. It has a bunch of monitors, a few couches and some great inexpensive snacks! I too am in the Intro to ITWS class and as you all know it is a project based class. A great way to get work done and to learn more about any given subject is to work with your peers. For this reason, I am proposing that we have ITWS study hours on Wednesday nights from 8-10. Obviously these are not required, but it’s a great way to meet more people in our class and work to help each other with our ITWS projects or new concepts. This will be student run and feel free to come in and out and show up whenever.

I look forward to seeing you all starting this Wednesday, October 5 from 8-10 (or sometime in between then) to study IT and work together on labs and new concepts. I can’t wait to utilize the wonderful space that we have and collaborate with all of you!

Thanks,

Catherine Hastings

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 2015

Information Technology and Web Science

The Cyborg in Us All - New York Times Article

2011-10-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

Check out the very interesting New York Times article about Gerwin Schalk's research. Gerwin is an alumni from the Master's in IT program here at RPI.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/the-cyborg-in-us-all.html

GNH Presents a Resume Workshop

2011-09-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

The career fair is right around the corner! Need help with your resume? Does it need a tune-up?

The ITWS Honor Society Gamma Nu Eta (GNH) is excited to present a Resume Workshop. Members of GNH and professors will be available to help critique, give pointers and discuss what you should or shouldn't have on your resume. Students will also be giving brief presentations about navigating the career fair and discussing some of the companies they have worked for.

When: Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Time: 4-6pm

Where: Lally 102

Refreshments will be served!

See you there in a week.

The 60 Second Sell - 2 Day Workshop

2011-09-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

"The 60 Second Sell" is an exciting two day work shop hosted by the Archer Center and the ITWS department. The 60 Second Sell is a technique developed to assist people in perfecting their ability to present themselves effectively. This skill is crucial for a professional because of the need to clearly articulate one's own strengths and abilities at any given moment. The 60 Second Sell allows you to sum up who you are, make a good first impression, and demonstrate what you have to offer.

Dates: Tuesday September 13, 2011 and Tuesday September 20, 2011

Time: 4:00 - 6:00 pm

Location: Lally Hall Room 102

Refreshments will be served at both sessions!

RSVP Required.

Limited seats available so reserve your spot early!

Welcome Back to School!

2011-09-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to campus for the Fall 2011 semester at RPI. We would like to especially welcome the ITWS Class of 2015 to RPI! Good luck with your first semester of college.
We held our annual ITWS Welcome Back Picnic on Tuesday September 6, 2011 and had a great turnout! Due to rain we had to move the picnic indoors this year, but we all squeezed in and everyone had a great time.
Photos from the event!

Students enjoying their indoor picnic.

ITWS Faculty and Staff

Burgers, hot dogs, fruit salad, veggie burgers, yum!

Graduate and undergraduates mingle at the event.

Are we the Web?

2011-08-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

Read Jim Hendler's newest blog post:
http://gigaom.com/2011/08/14/are-we-the-web/

What are your thoughts on this topic?

Jim Hendler - New York Times Article

2011-08-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Business Day

To Share Grievances, Microblogging the Frustrations of Flight

By JAMES HENDLER

Published: August 1, 2011

A computer scientist vents with fellow fliers over Twitter and learns to keep a paper backup for smartphone boarding passes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/business/microblogging-the-frustrations-of-flight-frequent-flier.html

A Summer Internship - Alex Bulazel

2011-08-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

Alex Bulazel, a sophomore in the ITWS program, is spending the summer in Washington, DC working as an intern for Congress. Alex has been attending a variety of interesting information technology-related meetings and hearings. At a recent Oversight and Government Reform Committee Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform hearing entitled "Transparency and Federal Management IT Systems" Alex got to meet and and have an interesting conversation with Vivek Kundra. Vivek Kundra is the first Chief Information Officer of the United States. Very exciting! He is enjoying his summer and is learning a great deal about the inner workings of Congress.

Alex with Vivek Kundra in Washington, DC

Elsevier/Tetherless World Health and Life Sciences Hackathon

2011-06-10T06:20:00.000-07:00

Elsevier/Tetherless World Health and Life Sciences Hackathon

When: Monday, June 27, 2011 9:00 AM - Tue , June 28, 2011 4:00 PM

Where: Pat's Barn Rensselaer Technology Park

See: http://tw.rpi.edu/web/event/TWCElsevierHackathonJune2011

Description: Create apps; Win Prizes!

The Tetherless World Constellation (RPI) and Elsevier's SciVerse Developer Network are hosting a 24-hour Health & Life Sciences Semantic Web Hackathon 27-28 June 2011 at Pat's Barn on the campus of the Rensselaer Technology Park.

Participants will compete to develop apps using linked data from TWC and other sources, web APIs from Elsevier SciVerse, and visualization and other resources from around the Web.

Register at: http://twcsciverse2011.eventbrite.com/

Contact: John S. Erickson, Ph.D. http://tw.rpi.edu

Topical Areas: Conferences, Workshops

Tags: Conferences, Training, Workshops, Conferences_Meetings

Commencement 2011

2011-06-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2011!

We had a fabulous dinner on Friday May 27th to celebrate the graduation of 19 Graduate students, 3 Co-Terminal students, and 29 Undergraduate students. The next morning, the students gathered together for the commencement ceremony, it was a beautiful clear and warm day!

Professor Huges speaks to the graduates

Group photo at the graduation dinner

ITWS Undergraduates

ITWS Master's

See all the photos here.

Good luck graduates and keep in touch!

Gamma Nu Eta - Volunteer Project at Unity House

2011-05-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

This semester Gamma Nu Eta, the ITWS Honor Society, decided to volunteer their time to refurbish and install new computers for a local non-profit charity based out of Troy, NY. They meet twice during the semester to reformat and install new software on nine (9) computers. Special thanks to Joe Dougherty for taking extra time to lead the committee for this project.

Last Thursday, May 12, 2011, four GNH members took a trip down to the Unity House Sunshine Program School Building to drop off the refurbished computers loaded with educational software. These computers were placed into the classrooms and will be used to teach children basic computer skills, and with the assistance of the educational software will help the children learn other basic skills.

Tyler Wilkin, Rebecca Camara, Ivette Alfonso, Joe Dougherty, and Lindsey Poirier in front of the Unity House Sunshine Program Building.

Ivette Alfonso, Child Care Program Manager for the Sunshine Program met us and directed the GNH members where to install the nine computers. Children (and teachers) gathered around to watch the setup and were eager to play on the new computers.

Joe Dougherty showing the children the new computer.

We still need four (4) monitors to help Unity House so please let Lessa know if you can help out.

Great job GNH and thank you!

ITWS Graduate Capstone Presentation - Albany Crime Analysis Center

2011-05-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

Below is the Capstone Team presentation for the Albany Crime Analysis Center project. This team created the Crime Information Distribution Network Portal and gave a wonderful presentation about the project. Congratulations Stephanie Ardizzone, Fred Osoro, Kathyayani Prasad, and Chad Ruhle!

ITWS Students Compete in the 2011 NY Business Plan Competition

2011-05-11T10:52:00.002-07:00

ITWS students Matt Heffler, Brian Heller, Tom Rozanski and Joe Dougherty entered into the 2011 New York Business Plan Competition at the end of March. Their proposal was for Fire Department Solutions, a non-profit business to develop and sell management software and related services to fire departments; their software was created with support from the Rensselaer Center for Open-source Software.

On April 28th they presented their project at the College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering in Albany in the Services/Non-Profit category. They had several meetings with Professors Miner, Hughes, and Kuruzovich regarding their slides and presentation content and found this extremely helpful.

The team came in second place for their category and won a cash prize! Congratulations!

Matt, Joe and Brian with their award.

RPI's Press Release:

Four Student Teams From Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Win Cash Prizes In New York State Business Plan Competition

Six student teams from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute participated in a recent statewide business plan competition, with four teams winning in several categories.

More than 20 student-run teams from colleges and universities across the New York state set their sights on winning part of the $100,000 cash prizes being awarded to winning teams as part of the New York State Business Plan Competition. The event was held on April 28 at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany.

Students from accredited colleges throughout New York state were invited to submit business plans for a student-born innovation that addressed a currently unmet need. Additionally, students from diverse academic areas were encouraged to work together to create a multidisciplinary approach to their research and business proposals. The competition featured several topical tracks that students could compete in that included: healthcare, information technology, nanotechnology, renewable energy/sustainability, services, and social/nonprofit.

The winning Rensselaer teams included:

MICROrganic Technologies, which produced a device that converts energy present in waste water to electricity while meeting the current treatment requirements, and ultimately making waste water treatment a net zero-energy process. Led by Brent Solina and Mark Lyons, the team won the first-place prize of $10,000 in the cleantech/sustainability track.
Wavefront Technologies, which is developing a patent-pending technology that uses ultrasound, in conjunction with advanced communications and signals processing techniques, to wirelessly transmit high-rate digital information as well as electrical power through metallic walls. Led by Jonathan Ashdown, Tristan Lawry, and Kyle Wilt, the team won the second-place prize of $5,000 in the high-tech track.
Fire Department Solutions, a nonprofit organization that provides cost-effective, user-friendly fire department management software systems as well as support for fire departments. Led by Joseph Dougherty and Rachel O’Neil, the team won the second-place prize of $5,000 in the services/nonprofit track.
Microwaves for Nanostructures, a nanomaterial manufacturing business based around a novel and innovative manufacturing technique that uses microwave synthesis. Developed by Rutvik Mehta and Yanliang Zhang, the team won the third-place prize of $1,500 in the high-tech track.

“The UAlbany NanoCollege is delighted to have spearheaded the New York State Business Plan Competition, which is developing into a premier platform for identifying, nurturing, and showcasing entrepreneurial talent,” said Pradeep Haldar, CNSE professor and head of NanoEconomics. “The competition promotes an integrated and interdisciplinary learning experience that supports academic and research excellence, while instilling the critical importance of translating innovative ideas into practical and pragmatic business opportunities. We appreciate the support of SEFCU as this year’s title sponsor, and are encouraged by the continuing growth and success of the event.”

“The New York State Business Plan Competition offers students a unique opportunity to develop business plans that will help them transition virtual products and services into real-world businesses,” said Professor Gina O’Connor, associate professor and director of the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship at the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer. “We are pleased to have entertained a broad group of ideas turned into strategic plans, and to have seen firsthand their potential to transform innovations into many different industries.”

Additional Rensselaer teams that participated in the competition include: Betonicaum, which serves as a full-service provider for patent management with a focus on the users of patent information in a company, like CEOs, CTOs, accountants, and others. The program would support companies in the identification of patentable innovations and ensures professional patent management on behalf of the customer. Betonicaum was developed by Ulrike Rehn, a management graduate student; Efficient-C Composites is a manufacturing innovation company currently focusing on energy-efficient processing of advanced composite materials. It was created by Jaron Kuppers and Casey Hoffman.

The contest was presented by CNSE in partnership with UAlbany’s School of Business, the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer, and Union Graduate College School of Management. This year, the event was expanded to include several higher education institutions from around New York, including CNSE, UAlbany, Rensselaer, Syracuse University, Columbia University, University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Cornell University, and Clarkson University.

Cash prizes were made possible by title sponsor SEFCU. The winning teams were chosen by a panel of 20 judges representing a host of leading organizations from the technology, legal, and financial sectors.

“The New York State Business Plan Competition serves as a focal point for our recent efforts to promote student entrepreneurship, and to use our new School of Business Building as the catalyst for effective commercialization of ideas and intellectual property developed at the university,”said UAlbany School of Business Dean Donald S. Siegel. “I also applaud Michael J. Castellana, president and CEO of SEFCU, who received his B.S. and MBA from the School of Business and serves on the School of Business Advisory Council, for supporting this important competition as title sponsor.”

“As a business leader, encouraging entrepreneurship is a great way to stimulate our economy, add jobs, help make a positive impact in our community, and inspire young people,” said Castellana, SEFCU president and CEO. “SEFCU is pleased to be part of such an exciting initiative that brings today’s workforce together with tomorrow’s business leaders in an effort to foster technological advancements that will benefit us all.”

For more information about the competition winners, see the CNSE announcement.

CNSE Press Release: http://www.cnse.albany.edu/Newsroom/NewsReleases/Details/11-04-29/UAlbany_NanoCollege_announces_winners_of_New_York_State_Business_Plan_Competition.aspx

Media articles: http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Planning-to-be-competitive-1357627.php

ITWS Graduate Capstone Presentation - California Planet Search

2011-05-09T13:42:00.000-07:00

Capstone Team 4 made an excellent presentation on their project "Exoplanet Modeling Explorer" for California Planet Search. Congratulations Brian Wang, Samuel Johnson, Amanda Hunt, and Yiyi Jiang!

ITWS Student Leadership Elections

2011-05-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon ITWS!

The time has come to hold elections for Student Leadership. The candidates are all listed below with a brief paragraph about why they would like to run for their chosen office. Please email me your three selections (1 - President, 2 - VP, 3 - Class Rep) by midnight on Tuesday May 10th.

Good luck to all the candidates.

Happy voting!

Lessa Shear

President

Andrew Karnani:

For the past two years I have been a part of the ITWS student leadership. These two years have seen significant changes to the department from the name, to the creation of a new lab space for all of us to use. I have greatly enjoyed my time on student leadership and have learned a lot. I hope to have the opportunity to continue to serve this amazing department for another year.

David Molik:

I would like to become your IT President. I want to give back to the community that has nurtured me as I matured a college student. The IT Department has seen to my needs as a student and I want to give back to them in my most capable capacity. I want to improve the student body leadership into the best version of itself. It has always been a goal of mine to improve the environment in which my community lives. Most of all, I want to help others.

I am a proven leader in education and experiences. My times as a boy scout saw to it that I would have many experiences as a boy scout. Here at RPI I have taken courses were I have had a leadership role and taken classes that more directly taught on leadership. I have a vested interest and a genuine care in the Information Technology and Web Science department. And finally, I am willing to spend the time commitment to always do a good job and to listen

Vice President

Kevin Ung:

Fellow classmates my name is Kevin Ung and I am running for the position of Vice-President of Student Leadership within our program. As the Class of 2013 Class Representative, I took part in creating a vision and the implementation of an ITWS Student Lab. To accurately voice your opinions I asked Andrew Karnani (the President) if ITWS Student Leadership can host a town hall meeting to find out what our students wanted in the lab space. Something that came up time and time again was the want for couches or comfortable seating. With the help of Lessa, I coordinated the efforts of getting the couches donated by Donald from the student health center. I also coordinated the efforts of arranging and rearranging the lab space until we found something that allowed for a working environment that encompasses a social atmosphere.

For next year, I believe we should host more social events. Whether it is a social outing for ITWS Students (with or without alumni) or a LAN party, the close-knit community of our program allows us to host events like these. It is what defines our identity as an interdisciplinary program here at Rensselaer. So vote for me, Kevin Ung, as your next Vice-President of ITWS Student Leadership!

Senior Representative

Adjoa Addae-Mintah:

My name is Adjoa Addae-Mintah and I am running for Senior Representative. I would like to be your Senior Representative because I want to be more involved in what happens in ITWS, I will bring a unique voice to our student leadership and I am qualified to do the job. As an ITWS student I do not think that I have been involved enough in the program and I would like to change that especially in this time of growth and improvement the program is going through. For the past two years the student leadership has been all male, as a female and underrepresented minority I will bring a different perspective to the ITWS Student Leadership. Lastly I am qualified for this position because I have held leadership roles such as: Class Representative for the Black Students’ Alliance, Vice President for the African and Caribbean Students Association, and Web Chair for the 32^nd Annual NSBE/SHPE Career Fair. So vote for me as your next Senior Representative, Thank You.

AJ Quartararo:

After being the representative for the Class of 2012 for the past 3 years, I have become more involved with each passing year. I have, to the best of my ability, addressed any concerns that my class has had, and have invested a lot of time into the Lab space. I would like to represent the class for my senior year because I have made a connection with many of my fellow classmates, and believe I am the best candidate for the position.

Junior Representative

Mike Chamberlin:

I would like to be your next Junior Representative in the ITWS Student
Leadership. I have worked closely with many of you over these past two
years and I believe I would be an excellent choice to represent our class.
I have experience working in a leadership position from my years of
working as a supervisor at Six Flags New England. I bring several
strengths to this position! I am:
- Organized, with great time management skills

- Hard working and dependable
- Open-minded and approachable
- Able to think outside the box and come up with innovative ideas
I think the lab space the ITWS Student Leadership created this year is
amazing! ITWS is an awesome department and as your representative I would
like to hear your thoughts related to how you think we can make our
program even better! I would like to help create similar projects to help
make our college experiences even better.
Please vote for me, MIKE CHAMBERLIN, for Junior Representative of the ITWS
Student Leadership.
Wishing you good luck with your finals and hoping you all have a wonderful
summer!
Mike

Rick Hamant:

Hi, my name is Rick Hamant and I am running for the position of ITWS Junior Class
Representative. I am currently a 2013 Class Council Representative in which I serve as the
Publicity Committee Chair and the Food for Finals Co-Chair. I am also the President of Photo
Club and will be an SO/NRB Advisor this summer. This past fall, I participated in the meetings
to establish a timeline and phases for the implementation of the ITWS Student Lab in Lally. As a
CEO for IT & Society, I have already seen the benefits this new space has provided for the ITWS
program and my fellow students. I would like to see this space further developed and utilized
by the ITWS student body. My experience in student leadership, activities, and support around
campus provides me with the qualifications needed to effectively represent juniors in ITWS. As
the Junior Representative, I would like to increase our sense of community within IT to increase
collaboration and support between students. I look forward to being your representative.

Alex Lahuerta:

Hi,
My name is Alexander Lahuerta. I am nominating myself for Junior class representative because I would like to be in a better position to advocate ITWS at RPI for prospective students. I am a transfer student finishing up his first semester here, and have really enjoyed my time here so far. Vote for me so I can work to get more people involved in ITWS here.
Thanks,
Alex

Sophomore Representative

Alex Bulazel:

Hello, I am running as Sophomore Class Representative for the ITWS Leadership Council. This year I worked as Freshman Class Representative, which meant attending council meetings every Friday, presenting about our department to prospective students, and staffing the IT Lab every Wednesday night. I hope to be on the council next year so I can continue to represent the Class of 2014.

Thank you,

Alex Bulazel

Michael Fox:

I want to be the sophomore representative because I want to be more
involved in the program, especially when it comes to the decision making
process of student leadership. During my high school career I was
involved in making similar decisions for their IT program thus giving me
a broad wealth of experience in this capacity. Because of this, I feel
as though I have the drive and knowledge to get people more involved in
the program whilst ensuring that they get the most benefit from it.
Michael Fox, MCSA, MCTS

Introduction Post - Rich Palmer

2011-05-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

My name is Rich Palmer, and I’m a ‘07 IT School Alumni. I graduated cum laude with a dual major in IT and Economics.

I’ll be contributing guest blog posts to the ITWS blog covering such topics as advice on IT at RPI, working in traditional companies vs. startups, recruiting, finance, starting your own business, and more. If there is ever a topic you’d like me to cover/expand on - or something I can help with - let me know.

This first post will be a brief introduction of who I am.

I’m currently living in Berkeley, CA and working on a web startup that I co-founded with another RPI grad called OvenAlly. We are launching in May.

Previously, I worked for 3 1/2 years at Capital IQ, a financial technology firm on Wall St, as a Business Analyst. I was responsible for all design and development of Portfolio Analytics and Quantitative Products (heavy stuff!) and worked with an international team to get things done.

I have a deep appreciation for design, finance, startups, and food - all evidenced by my past and future focus. Additionally, I’ve had the opportunity to be the CTO of a Domestic Microfinance Organization, start my own Investment Fund, join the leadership team for the Alumni Association and much more.

Thanks for your time! I look forward to sharing more with you all.

Best,

Rich Palmer

rich@richpalmer.org

WAMC: Professor Jim Hendler, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Understanding the World Wide Web (2011-05-03)

2011-05-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

Professor Jim Hendler, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Understanding the World Wide Web

(2011-05-03)

Listen Now

Prof. Hendler

ALBANY, NY (WAMC) - In today's Academic Minute, Professor Jim Hendler of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute explains efforts to fully understand the far-reaching consequences of the development of the World Wide Web.

Jim Hendler is the Tetherless World Senior Constellation Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Departments of Computer Science and Cognitive Science. He has served as Chief Scientist of the Information Systems Office at the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and in 2002 received the US Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Medal.

About Professor Hendler

Professor Jim Hendler - Understanding the World Wide Web

The World Wide Web is one of the most transformative technologies of modern times, changing the way we work, the way we communicate, the way we date, the way we interact with our government and just about every other aspect of modern life. Over 75% of Americans, and nearly 30% of the world's population use the Web -- it has also become a primary engine of innovation and development for our nation, and around the world.

Unfortunately, the Web also has a dark side -- our children are exposed to violence and pornography in a way they never have been before; bullies, criminals and terrorists use the Web in new and troubling ways; and we are being forced to rethink privacy and control of personal information in our ever-increasingly networked world.

Given the importance of the Web to the modern world, it is surprising for many people to discover how little we understand it at a deep, scientific, level. Understanding the Web requires knowing it's math, it's social impacts, and how to engineer it's future. I have been involved with a number of my colleagues in creating a new interdisciplinary area called "web science," in which my university, RPI, now has an major, to help answer these questions. The Web has become a critical piece of international infrastructure, we must learn to understand it to keep it, not only functioning, but free, open, and fun.

Academic Minute Home © Copyright 2011, WAMC

Please Vote for a Fellow ITWS Student

2011-05-02T12:55:00.001-07:00

Follow the link below and vote for D.J.I.G "NOW'S MY TIME" a song created by your fellow ITWS classmate Isaiah DuPree. If he gets the most likes his song will be featured in NBA2K!

http://www.facebook.com/NBA2K?sk=app_144996425562676
Thanks for helping out a fellow student!

From Jeopardy to the World Wide Web - Jim Hendler Talk This Thursday!

2011-04-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

Date: Thursday April 21st
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Blitman Commons

From Jeopardy to the World Wide Web: emerging technologies that will change our lives - a talk by Constellation Professor James Hendler.

Abstract:
Although the read/write world of Web 2.0 is now commonplace - even your parents use Facebook - the promise of massive scale human computing has barely begun to be exploited. New technologies, including the Semantic Web, mobile computing, and open data suggest ways that far more powerful systems than those we have today could be created, empowering humanity to help address some of our key problems. The potential for the sharing of data and knowledge, among willing participants, makes it possible to envision declarative models for creating and evolving new Web technologies that would more open and distributed systems. Further, by explicating the social, not just the technical, protocols, new models of information control that encourage, rather than prohibit, sharing can be explored. In this talk we explore the potential for next-generation social machines, explore some of the challenges, and look at promising technologies for the future.

Link to his Paper:
http://www.cogsci.rpi.edu/files/4024

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=189601417746820

Once in a Lifetime Experience!

2011-04-15T09:16:00.001-07:00

It is tradition for the ITWS department to take their students to New York City on Grand Marshall Day. (GM Day is the day of GM Week where students get classes off. GM Week is the week when student elections are held. It's an RPI tradition!) Every year our plans are to go visit a couple companies, then meet up with Mike and Henry (2 RPI Alums) to give us a walking tour of NYC, and end the trip with a meet and greet with more alums at Red's. This year we followed tradition and visited Google and Goldman Sachs.

While at Google we had a Q & A session with about 10 employees. They were all from different departments and gave us an interesting view on what it is like working at Google. They also talked about what kinds of people Google were looking to hire. They provided very insightful answers. After the Q & A session we were given a tour of the Google's NYC headquarters. They have recently purchased the entire building and it seems as though Google is hiring so fast that they don't have to space to accommodate everyone. We then were invited to eat lunch in their cafeteria and all I have to say is, their risotto was pretty amazing!

After we headed over to Goldman Sachs. This provided the other spectrum of working environments. Compared to Google, Goldman Sachs had more of a corporate environment feeling. When we first entered, the security at the front desk immediately told us that photography inside the building is not allowed. The employees at Goldman Sachs then spoke with us about internal auditing and how it works. Goldman Sachs is one of the most reputable companies for internal auditing. They then invited former RPI alumni who work for the company to come and talk about what they do.

We then headed over to the Winter Garden to meet up with Mike and Henry. They are very nice alumni who take us on a walking tour of some part of NYC every year. This year, they talked about the World Trade Center and then we went to visit Linda's "lucky bull!" As we were walking around, we stumbled upon 70th Pine St. Mike, being the old fun guy he is, somehow talked his way into letting the security guard let us inside the building to see the old architecture. A little while later, the security guard then asked us if we wanted to see the top of the building. Little did we know that he actually meant the executive observatory. To get to the deck we had to take an elevator up to the 60th floor, then we had to take a 5-person elevator to the 66th floor. Once I got up there, the view was magnificent. No photos could possibly encapsulate the rushed air whipping against your face and magnificent aura of the frantic city buildings. I want to be able to return to relax with book in my hand and the view in the background. The word amazing is the only word that can and can't describe what the experience was like.

To end the day, we headed over to Red, a restaurant near the Brooklyn bridge. There, students and alumni were able to meet in a social environment, making connections or visiting old friends. I recommend any and all ITWS students to visit go on this trip at least once in their RPI career. It is very fun and worthwhile of your time. We get a day off, might as well use it right?

ITWS 2011 Trip to NYC - Photos!

2011-04-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

The ITWS department had a blast in NYC this past Tuesday! Special thanks to Pooja Daswani, Antonio Borges, Michael Wellner and Henry Scheuer for hosting our visit to New York City. You all made the trip truly memorable!

Our first stop of the day was Google for a Q&A Session.

Then we got a tour of the Google offices, scooters really are used to get around the building!

Lunch at Google was delicious. We had a huge selection from sandwiches to sushi.

Google gave us really nice T-shirts. Thank you!

Our second stop of the day was at Goldman Sachs. They have a beautiful new building but we were not allowed to take photographs there. They gave a very interesting presentation on the Internal Audit portion of the company and answered some great student questions. Thank you to everyone at Goldman Sachs for hosting our visit!

In the afternoon we meet up with RPI alumnus Michael Wellner and Henry Scheuer for some great advice, history and walking tour of the city.

Mike and Henry at the Wall Street Bull. Most of us got a little good luck from the bull!

Fifth year in a row for a group photo in this location.

While on our walking tour, Mike and Henry struck up a conversation with the doorman for the American International Building, the former home of AIG. Currently this beautiful art deco building is vacant so the doorman was kind enough to let us in to view the lobby. Much to our surprise we were asked if we would like to go to the observation deck on the 66th floor. Of course we wanted to! We rode up to the 60th floor and then took a 5 person elevator to the 66th floor for some incredible views of New York City. It was an unforgettable experience. Be sure to check out the rest of the photos here.

View from the 66th Floor of the American International Building! Amazing experience.

The day ended with a reception at RED. Many RPI almni were able to join us to discuss current jobs and gave the students a chance to practice their networking skills.

We are already planning next year's trip and can't wait!

View all the photos from the trip here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/105498377668939317246/ITWSNYCTripApril122011?authkey=Gv1sRgCKadv-S4sPPyGQ&feat=email#

Dreamkind Interested in Posting Jobs to RPI's ITWS Graduates

2011-04-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

Programmers/Game Developers Needed

Dreamkind is an award-winning entertainment studio specializing in apps, animations, video games, television content, web content and other forms of digital media. We are looking for talented programmers to join our growing team.

Projects include programming and developing mobile apps, online games, video games, websites, social media campaigns and other forms of digital entertainment. We are looking for someone who wants to use their creativity each and every day. The candidate must work well in a highly creative office environment. We are looking for someone to work in-house 5 days a week. We are located in Englewood, New Jersey, 5 miles from NYC and we are close to public transportation.

What we’re looking for:

• Motivated self-starter.

• Highly creative with strong programming skills.

• Strong organization and attention to detail.

• Excellent interpersonal communication techniques.

• Creative, proactive thinker with "can-do" attitude.

• Time management skills: ability to multi-task, prioritize and meet deadlines.

• Ability to be reactive and change directions quickly.

We have immediate openings for talented developers. The salary is negotiable based on experience.

To apply, please email a cover letter, resume and any relevant work to info@dreamkind.com.

ITWS Trip to New York City - Agenda!

2011-04-06T11:24:00.001-07:00

Agenda
April 12, 2011

RPI Information and Technology and Web Science Students
Visit to New York City with Company Visits and Reception

7:00 am - Leave Rensselaer Union Horseshoe by bus with box breakfast

10:00 am - Google

12:00 pm - Lunch with RPI alums in the Google office

2:00 pm - Goldman Sachs

3:15 pm - Winter Garden at World Financial Center and Tour of the City

5:00 pm - Reception at Red's with RPI Alums on South Street Sea

7:00 pm - Leave Manhattan for Troy

10:00 pm - Arrive at Rensselaer Union Horseshoe

Social Media Forum at RPI

2011-04-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

ITWS students Diego Regules and Travis Cano have been involved in an exciting new project. Check it out!

The Social Media Club @Rensselaer, and the Lally School of Management would like to invite you to the Social Media Forum entitled "Social Media Strategy: What's Yours?", taking place April 13th at 6:00-7:30pm in the Biotechnology Auditorium. Please pass this along with your peers and colleagues.

This has been the year of the Social Network. This event will be a great opportunity for the Rensselaer community as a whole to learn more about the managerial impacts of Social Media. The panel list includes:

Sibel Adali, Associate Director, Social and Cognitive Networks Academic Research Center, Rensselaer

Jeff Goronkin, CEO, Izoca.com

Ron Ladoucer, Executive VP/ Executive Creative Director, Media Logic

Matt Peters, Founder and Creative Director, Pandemic Labs

Heidi Reale, Director of Consumer Insights, Price Chopper

Please reserve your spot as seating is limited: Register here.

Thank you and we hope to see you there!

Social Media Club @Rensselaer
Visit our website!social media concerto2.jpg
Follow us on Twitter:@smcedurpi
Like us on Facebook!

Saving Data.gov

2011-04-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

The IT and Web Science program has provided a number of students who work with me on developing technologies for Open Government Data. Congressional budget cuts are now threatening to cut down or cut off many of the US efforts in Open Government Data Sharing and in general open government transparency.

To learn more about our work in this area you can visit our Linked Open Government Data website (and note that many of these demos were built by ITWS students, in fact all the demos about New York State government were built by students in the Web Science class).

To learn about what you can do to help save this important government resource, or to learn more about the issue if you are interested in the interaction between IT, Government and Society, you can look at a longer blog entry that includes pointers to articles and more discussion. This also contains information about what you as a US voter can do to help.

To track discussion about this issue, you can search for the hashtag #savethedata on twitter.

Accepted Student Celebration - Saturday April 9, 2011

2011-04-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

Accepted Student Celebration is next Saturday April 9th, 2011. ITWS staff, faculty and students will be in Lally Hall Room 102 from 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM to welcome accepted students in person and to answer any questions they may have about RPI or our department. Current students will also be presenting projects they have created in their ITWS classes.

Assistant Dean of Information Technology and Web Science Jim Hendler will be giving a presentation about the ITWS program from 10:30 - 11:30 AM in the EMPAC auditorium. Afterwards he will be available for questions in Lally 102 during the ITWS department open house.

Photos below are from a previous recruiting event. A good time was had by all visiting students!

For those accepted students planning to attend this year's celebration, we look forward to meeting you soon!

Cisco "Meet and Greet" Event

2011-03-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight the ITWS department will be hosting an informal "Meet and Greet" for all Cisco bound students. Many of our students will be headed to Cisco this summer for full time employment, internships and co-ops in CA, TX and NC. This event will give students the opportunity to meet their future co-workers from ITWS and Computer Science.

David Kotfila, the Director of the Cisco Academy at RPI will be attending in order to get to know the students and answer any questions they might have regarding Cisco.

Welcome to the ITWS Blog!

2011-03-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

The Information Technology and Web Science Department at RPI is vibrant and very active. This blog will be used as a resource for current students, alumni, and prospective students and will include upcoming department event details and information, event photos, news articles, recorded lectures and talks, student projects, student leadership meeting updates, Gamma Gnu Eta meeting updates and other interesting news related to the ITWS field. We encourage you to browse past blog posts, leave comments and send requests for future blog posts. If you have photos or news that you would like posted to the blog email Lessa Shear.

How Women Are Changing the Web by Dominic Basulto

2011-03-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

Very interesting blog article!
http://bigthink.com/ideas/31550
Happy reading!

Gamma Nu Eta Induction Ceremony - Photos

2011-03-01T14:01:00.000-08:00

Gamma Nu Eta Honor Society held it's tenth annual induction ceremony on March 1, 2011. The Society inducted 29 new members. Attached are photos of the event. Email Lessa if you would like any of the full size photos to be emailed to you.

Nathaniel, Michelle, Lindsay, TJ and Guest Speaker Josh Hoffman

Josh Hoffman, a founding member of GNH speaks to GNH inductees

Current GNH officers Rebecca Camara, Julian Connor, and Angela Panfil

Inductees reading their pledge

2011 GNH Inductees

ITWS Hosts Chris Welty from IBM for a Talk "Watson vs. Jennings: How does a computer play Jeopardy!?"

2011-02-16T13:28:00.000-08:00

Watson vs. Jennings: How does a computer play Jeopardy!?
Chris Welty from IBM

Wednesday February 16, 2011 2:00PM Sage 5101

A talk and question/answer session by Chris Welty, one of the members of the IBM Watson Jeopardy! Team. Chris will discuss what Watson does, how it does it, and what this means for the future.

Chris Welty (RPI ’85) has an intimate knowledge of Watson, why it was built, how it works, and how IBM sees its value. He is a research staff member at IBM Watson Research Center, an Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Distinguished Lecturer and member of editorial boards for AI Magazine, The Journal of Applied Ontology, and The Journal of Web Semantics.

Link for talk video: http://mediasite.itops.rpi.edu/Mediasite5/Viewer/?peid=e6b7eb31ccf64076acb408c8a9ffdedf1d

The New York Times Article - Sorting Through the Government Data Explosion

2010-11-15T12:59:00.000-08:00

Jim Hendler was interviewed by the New York Times. Follow the link below to read the article.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/sorting-through-the-government-data-explosion/

Web science - Science sees further | Royal Society

2010-11-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

Assistant Dean of Information Technology and Web Science Jim Hendler co-authored an article that was published in The Royal Society. Follow the link below for a great read!
Web science - Science sees further | Royal Society

Web Science Degree

2010-04-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Launches Nation’s First Undergraduate Web Science Degree

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has launched the nation’s first undergraduate degree program devoted to the emerging interdisciplinary field of Web Science. The new academic major expands the current Information Technology degree program to create both a bachelor’s degree, and a master’s concentration, in “Information Technology and Web Science.” The students in the interdisciplinary degree program will investigate issues on the Web related to security, trust, privacy, content value, and the development of the Web of the future.

“With these new degree programs, students and researchers here at Rensselaer will help to usher in a new era of understanding and study of the Web from its social and economic impacts to the evolution of data and the development of new Web-based artificial intelligence,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. “Led by professors within our Tetherless World Research Constellation, including one of the inventors of the Semantic Web, James Hendler, as well as a team of interdisciplinary scientists and engineers from across our campus, this new program in Web Science will allow Rensselaer students to once again lead the way in an emerging area of scientific discovery.”

The new programs will have a strong foundation in information technology with course work and research in computer science and programming as well as information management. However, they will also extend well beyond most traditional information technology curriculums and their traditional focus solely on the technical details in building Web applications, according to Hendler, who also serves as the assistant dean in charge of the Information Technology and Web Science program.

“The World Wide Web has drastically changed the way we live our lives, process data, and even make scientific discoveries. Despite this, we know very little about the overall structure and evolution of the Web,” Hendler said. “Through interdisciplinary study, students at Rensselaer will be among the first in the world to specifically explore the interactions between the complex technical, engineering, and social aspects of the Web. This will be bringing new and important perspectives on the most transformative technology in their world to their research and careers following graduation.”

“Rensselaer has been a strong proponent of this emerging interdisciplinary field of Web Science, and I congratulate them on creating this program,” said Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web and head of the United Kingdom’s recently announced $45 million Web Science Institute.

“We congratulate Rensselaer on creating an undergraduate Web Science program,” said Professor Dame Wendy Hall of Southampton University, president of the Association for Computing Machinery and trustee of the new Web Science Trust in the United Kingdom. “Rensselaer has been a strong contributor to the Web Science Trust’s curriculum efforts and is world-leading in this area. We look forward to the possibility of creating joint international programs between Rensselaer and the University of Southampton’s Doctoral Training Center in Web Science.”

The degree programs will include faculty from computer science, management, cognitive science, and the humanities, as well as faculty from the Tetherless World Research Constellation. The constellation comprises faculty who mentor up-and-coming faculty and graduate and undergraduate students in fields ranging from computer science to informatics. Their collective research and teaching efforts center on new ways to understand and harness the inner workings of the Web.

Students graduating on May 29, 2010, will be the first students to receive the new degrees.

Web 3.0: The Dawn of Semantic Search

2010-02-01T13:26:00.000-08:00

Jim Hendler's article in Computing Now regarding Web 3.0 The Dawn of Semantic Search.
Follow the link below to read the article.
Computing Now | February 2010 | What's New | Web 3.0: The Dawn of Semantic Search

Student Perspective: First Major IT Project

2009-12-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

Today, we presented our final project in Intro to IT. Our task was to choose a website and make it more usable. My group: Andrew, Henry, Steve, and I decided to choose the website we were required to use for another IT class called IT & Society.

Here is the link to the original: http://www.rpi.edu/~akeraa/IT-soc/

To come up with the design we evaluated the original design and usability using Nielsen's Heuristics. After going over the results we applied it to our design and this is what we came up with: http://www.akarnani.com/new_design/

We did some field testing and modified some things. In the end we received plenty of positive feedback and hope that our IT & Society professor will actually use the redesign.

Our presentation was pretty nerve wrecking, but in the end I believe we did a pretty good job. Not bad for first semester freshman, to say the least.

Web Science Emerges

2008-10-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

Interesting article in Scientific America by Nigel Shadbolt and Tim-Berners-Lee:
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/IT/articles/Web_Science_Emerges.pdf