Wednesday, August 25, 2010

***SORELLE*** PHD!!/Workshop on Boolean Threshold Functions/NSF program

Three annoucements (the last two I was asked to post)

ANNOUCEMENT 1: Congrads to fellow blogger ***SORELLE*** who got her PhD recently. I was on her committee. She did a masterful job of presenting it. It looked like theory that can be applied to stuff. At least Google, who hired her, might think so. Or they might think (correctly) that she is smart and knows things so she can help them. See her post about her PhD for more information and a pointer to her actual thesis.

ANNOUCEMENT 2: Rocco Servedio and Ryan O'Donell have requested that I post about upcoming workshop at the Center for Computational Intractability in Princeton.

The topic is Analysis and Geometry of Boolean Threshold Functions. It will take place the Thursday and Friday morning before FOCS, Oct. 21--22. For detailed information, please see: here There is also a poster here.

COMMENT FROM GASARCH: Its right before FOCS but its NOT close to FOCS. It is in Princeton NJ. FOCS is in Las Vegas. Not sure this makes sense but I suppose they will find out.

ANNOUCEMENT 3: Tracy Kimball at NSF has requested this annoucement be posted.

CISE has announced a new funding opportunity administered jointly with the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE). The new program is called ICES (Interface between Computer Science and Economics and Social Sciences). You'll find the all the details about ICES here. Be sure to read the whole solicitation and click through to the non-exhaustive list of example topics as well. ICES seeks to fund interdisciplinary work at one particular boundary between computer science and economics & social sciences. As always with anything new at NSF, there will be lots of questions. Email CISE/CCF Program Director Tracy Kimbrel (tkimbrel@nsf.gov), SBE/SES Program Director Nancy Lutz (nlutz@nsf.gov), CISE/IIS Program Director Sven Koenig (skoenig@nsf.gov), or CISE/CNS Program Director Darleen Fisher (dlfisher@nsf.gov) and we will do our best to answer the questions. If you're wondering Is my project suitable for ICES? be sure to include a one or two page description with your email because that will help us with the answer. The deadline for submitting proposals to ICES is October 5, 2010.

9 comments:

  1. It is Tracy Kimbrel not Kimball.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrat(ulation)s is [still] spelled with a 't'.

    ReplyDelete
  3. #2: I'm sure Bill is aware -- but the rules are different for graduations

    ReplyDelete
  4. I find the ***SORELLE*** nickname derogatory. Sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I find the ***SORELLE*** nickname derogatory.

    Why? It is her name. In what way is it derogatory?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Her name is Sorelle. Not ***SORELLE***. It is derogatory because it is childish. She is not a child.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Last three anonymous- you could have either joined bill in congratulating her or you could have complained about how he refers to her. You choose the low road.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Last three anonymous... You choose the low road.

    The anonymous in the middle is clearly asking an honest question of the first (and third) anonymous. There is nothing low-road in an open discussion once a seemingly foolish statement is made. The first/third anonymous seems they might have chosen the low-road. The second seems to be trying to see if there is something that does not make it low-road.

    You seem to be really low-road by bringing nothing into the conversation aside from an insult. However, to ask you a question, why should someone congratulate her here? She has a blog of her own. Shouldn't people who want to congratulate her go there to do so?

    ReplyDelete
  9. (I'm back from barriers)

    1) Why do I type her name as ***SORELLE***? One question I sometimes ask my class is
    `if you were a celebrity what would be your stage name' With Sorelle I realized
    that her first name alone is unusual enough that she could just be known by her first name (like CHER or MADONNA).
    Hence I type her name in as if she was a celeberity. Can't say its a GOOD reason, but thats the reason.

    2) Does she mind it? Good question and one I should have asked before using it all of the time. Someone else (not be,
    perhaps Anon 5?) asked her on her blog so hopefully we will know soon. I will also email her.

    3) To combine `low roader' and the anon comment after it, I suggest that we all
    go over to Sorelle's blog and congratulate
    or congradulate her, whichever you prefer.

    ReplyDelete