CS Talks -- Fall 2005

St. Olaf CS Talk Series, Fall 2005

Upcoming talks in the series

November 8: Close the Gate, Lock the Doors, Boot UNIX
Carl Albing '77, Cray Inc. and Always Computing.

Thirty years ago this month, three St. Olaf students first figured out how to install and run the UNIX operating system on the main campus computer. This was the first step in a two-decade journey during which St. Olaf occupied a unique role in midwest computing: the college became known both as a consumer of computing resources (such as networking) and as a producer of graduates who were both proficient in needed technologies (such as the C programming language) and educated in the liberal arts. This fertile era of creativity and energy was marked by two characteristics shared by that event 30 years ago: the use of the powerful UNIX operating system (nowadays represented by Linux); and the primary role of students in making the system work.

One of those three pioneering students, Carl Albing '77, will share what it was like then, how things have evolved since then, and how it all relates to getting an education at a place like St. Olaf. It's a one-of-a-kind presentation---don't miss it!

          TITLE: Close the Gate, Lock the Doors, Boot Unix:
              The "Middle Ages" of computing at St. Olaf, and how a bit of
              history can change your life.
          TIME:  7pm
          PLACE: SC 182
          Refreshments following the talk
      

Abstract:

Thirty years ago this month, three (3) St. Olaf students brought up a Unix system here on the St. Olaf campus - quite likely the first time anywhere in Minnesota. It revolutionized computing at St. Olaf, and the ripple effect of that event can still be felt today. (If you've ever used a Linux system or a supercomputer, then you've got a connection to those early days.)

Carl Albing ('77), one of those 3 pioneering students, will take us back in time and technology, describing conditions in "the Middle Ages" of computing at St. Olaf, and offering some thoughts on what the intervening 30 years might teach us about computing, the Liberal Arts, the current job market, and the possible future of computing.

Join us for a quick trip through computing history with some time for reflection on where we've been and where we are now. It may change your future - or at least the way you look at the past.

Biographical information:

Carl Albing ('77) is a software consultant, manager, analyst and programmer with an amazing breadth of software experience. He has worked with companies in the US, Canada and Europe, both large corporations and small startups, in technical as well as in managerial and marketing roles. He has written software for compilers, medical image processing, distributed computing and more. Carl's education includes graduate work in Computer Science as well as a St. Olaf degree in Mathematics and an International MBA. He currently works for Always Computing, Inc. and for the supercomputer company Cray, Inc. Carl is a co-author of "Java Application Development on Linux" from PrenticeHall PTR. (www.carlalbing.com)

Past talks

September 30: Silicon Valley Trends for Software Professionals
Jim Larson '90, A2Z Development, Inc., Dublin, CA

Are you interested in Google or Yahoo or Cisco?? If so, you may be interested in hearing a talk by alum Jim Larson speak on-campus. Jim has a diverse background in numerous Silicon Valley companies.

        TITLE:  Silicon Valley Trends for Software Professionals
        WHO:    Jim Larson '90, A2Z Development, Inc., Dublin, CA.
        WHEN:   Friday 9/30/05, 3:00 pm
        WHERE:  SC 186
      

Abstract: The 90's Silicon Valley dot-com bubble grew, burst, rebounded, and then packed its bags for India. Some fledgling companies perished, while others, such as Google, Yahoo, and Cisco have become multi-billion dollar powerhouses, and are rewriting the rules for telecommunications, retail commerce, and research. Groups of volunteers have produced rock-solid Operating Systems, titanic encyclopedias, and the world's largest collection of music, movies, and television content, and want to give it away for free. Add some Machiavellian monopolies, myopic regulators, legislators, and judges, and the Russian mafia's zombie army, and you see that the bubble was just the first act. A St. Olaf alum and Silicon Valley foot soldier talks about how a liberal arts graduate can survive in this wild world, and what to expect in coming years.

Three-Dimensions in the Mathematics Classroom

Abstract: Math teachers and students alike know how tricky it can be to draw three-dimensional pictures on a two-dimensional blackboard or sheet of paper. Computer programs such as Maple let us rotate three dimensional pictures, but many people still have trouble interpreting these images. Help may be on the way! New systems, such as the GeoWall installed in St. Olaf's Graphics Lab (Science Center 186), allow us to view images in true 3D.

In this talk I will present some possible uses for a GeoWall system in the mathematics classroom. We will look at a number of pictures and interactive examples used in classes at the University of Minnesota; these were originally intended for web pages, but using the Graphics Lab we'll view them in all of their new-and-improved three-dimensional glory. I will mainly use examples from the calculus sequence, but anybody interested in mathematics should be able to follow the talk. We'll mostly focus on what is technically feasible, and what would be useful for students, rather than try to cover all of calculus in one hour.

Brief Bio: Jonathan Rogness finished his PhD at the University of Minnesota in 2005. He is currently a visiting faculty member at the University, where he teaches for the math department and the U of M's Talented Youth in Mathematics Program (UMTYMP). Although he attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD, he spent a fair amount of time on the St. Olaf campus for ultimate frisbee tournaments. His two older siblings both graduated from Olaf, and have made sure that his four year old son can sing the "Um Yah Yah" fight song.

        TITLE:  Three-Dimensions in the Mathematics Classroom
        WHO:    Jonathan Rogness
        WHEN:   Tuesday 9/26/05, 1:30 pm
        WHERE:  SC 186