technews kdtkaufhhqacmorg read technews online httptechnewsacmorg c 2008 information inc service may reproduced internal distribution acm technews friday february 15 2008 acm closed monday february 18th observance presidents day next edition technews publish wednesday february 20th headlines wintel fund parallel software lab berkeley grace hopper celebration women computing opens call participation bridging engineerings minority gap study web sites influence users even dont communicate directly edemocracy research requires allinclusive approach conference told nsf preparing demise moores law computer analysis 911 calls california wildfires offers potential early warning system future emergencies could smart traffic lights stop motorists fuming power shirt fiberbased nanotechnology clothing could generate electricity harvesting energy physical movement could ip address plan mean another ipv6 delay bandwidth demand web browsing search online ads grow risky google says roving eyes workplace autopilot threatens security risk perception researchers looking tiny robots big changes wearable tracking tags test privacy boundaries u washington atomic logic search shapeshifting circuits ics poised get skin new theory changes thinking behind creating robots smart machines news stories wintel fund parallel software lab berkeley ee times 021308 merritt rick new parallel computing lab university california berkeley receive 2 million year five years research parallel programming model nextgeneration multicore computer processors new lab running jan 21 grant intel microsoft make possible 14 faculty members work facility defining parallel programs based flexible sets standards similar way serial programs currently written allow software keep advances microprocessor design new approach needed schedule parallel tasks modules across available hardware complex heterogeneous multicore cpus make effective use multicore hardware today need phd computer science says advanced micro devices fellow chuck moore cant continue want enable heterogeneous cpus software systems already prototyped based discussions white paper issue berkeley researchers dating back 2005 2006 preliminary results could published months httpwwweetimescomrssshowarticlejhtmlarticleid206503988cidrssfeed_eetimes_newsrss grace hopper celebration women computing opens call participation business wire 021408 eighth annual grace hopper celebration women computing takes place october 14 2008 keystone resort keystone colo issued call participation theme build better world submissions technical professional topics reflect theme areas innovation within business world academia individual contribution social environmental entrepreneurship accepted march 16 2008 threeday technical conference feature presentations leaders various fields industrial academic government communities special sessions role women computer science information technology research engineering event also offers keynote addresses invited technical speakers panels workshops new investigator technical papers phd forums technical posters birdsofafeather sessions acm student research competition awards celebration 1436 people 23 countries attended last years event offered 250 presenters acm copresents grace hopper celebration sponsored anita borg institute women technology httpwwwbusinesswirecomportalsitegoogleindexjspndmviewidnews_viewnewsid20080214005274newslangen bridging engineerings minority gap business week 021508 kelly john e iii presidents day marks start national engineers week place special emphasis diversity year writes ibms john e kelly statistics 2007 national science foundation report titled women minorities persons disabilities science engineering show women minorities made progress science engineering fields still room improvement hispanics become better represented undergraduate engineering programs number engineering degrees awarded women steadily increased every year since 1966 moreover 42 percent science engineering graduate students women 2004 37 percent 1994 however 6 percent engineering undergraduate students african american 2004 womens share bachelors degrees computer science dropped 37 percent 25 percent 1985 2004 people physical disabilities also underrepresented private industry needs concerned shortage minorities women industry cultivating talent different backgrounds makes good business sense kelly writes number retiring workers science engineering expected drastically increase next 20 years 2010 united states need 20 percent engineers growth rate number engineering math science graduates expected 2 percent key filling gap create better cooperation academia private industry government establish programs encourage support enthusiasm skills sciences private industry needs sponsor community mentoring internships workshops women minorities physically challenged kelly says httpwwwbusinessweekcomtechnologycontentfeb2008tc20080214_560345htm study web sites influence users even dont communicate directly university illinois urbanachampaign 020708 dennis jan university illinois urbanachampaign professor mu xia says study shows mass endorsement musical genres videos online content influential many realize seemingly impersonal voting tagging ratings even music catalogs offered web 20 sites influence users new way communicate xia says could read one person wrote know everyone else thinks xia calls web technology tells users everyone else thinks ballot box technology popular web sites youtube digg example user ratings determine videos news stories given prominent position page could say human nature xia says know lot people chosen particular video also want experience xias study analyzed searches browsing commands popular web sites found demand certain content increased users began including content online inventories xia says findings show users swayed tastes others researchers explore evolving online communities better gauge influence users society whole research appear communications acm httpwwwnewsuiucedunews080207communicationshtml edemocracy research requires allinclusive approach conference told european science foundation 021408 lau thomas argument study technology influences democratic processes proceed without interdisciplinary comparative collaborative edemocracy research presented delegates recent european science foundation conference herbert kubicek germanys university bremen noting current stage edemocracy research one experimentation cited several challenges european edemocracy research including disproportionate number researchers drawn different areas need scientists combine conventional citizen interaction analysis techniques studies peoples engagement computers computer usability way move forward edemocracy research interdisciplinary sociotechnical cover call microlevel individual use well mesolevel institutions macrolevel societal conditions trends effects kubicek contended pointed one conferences conclusions comparisons multiple case studies rather individual case studies vital achieving needed insights differentiation edemocracy research director university oxfords oxford internet institute william dutton observed networking people well information services internet giving rise fifth estate superseding undercutting existing institutions thus generating new form social responsibility politics government areas ensure networks nurtured protected must identified better understood researchers said httpwwwesforgresearchareassocialsciencesnewsextnewssingleviewarticleedemocracyresearchrequiresallinclusiveapproachesfconferencetold397html nsf preparing demise moores law infoworld 021308 shah agam national science foundation wants spend 20 million researching replacements current silicon technology nsfs science engineering beyond moores law effort would fund academic research technologies carbon nanotubes quantum computing massively multicore computers could improve replace current transistor technology nsfs michael foster says human economic progress us past 20 years relied continued advancements computing information processing current technological basis ends weve got find way replace going stop moving forward foster says says radical new microprocessor structures needed push technology forward transistors based nanostructures carbon nanotubes could used interconnects circuits though would require new research improvements chip architectures quantum computing could also advance technology providing inherent parallelism would require improvements parallel programming foster says may ultimately difficult replace current transistors researchers may need develop better architectures chip designs use current transistor technology maintain growth rate httpwwwinfoworldcomarticle080213nsfpreparingforthedemiseofmooreslaw_1html computer analysis 911 calls california wildfires offers potential early warning system future emergencies university california san diego 021308 zverina jan researchers san diego supercomputer center university california san diego scripps institution oceanography developed method analyze visually display emergency 911 calls detect specific patterns goal assist developing early warning system coordinate responses wider scale eventually help save lives limit property damage timecritical element within firstresponder community research could assist emergency service providers organizations allocating appropriate levels human financial resources part overall planning says ucsd scientist chaitan baru one projects principal investigators researchers analyzed nearly three years 911 call data san francisco bay area 20 months similar data san diego county develop computer algorithm detects 911 call patters call data combined topographical images google earth conduct spatiotemporal analysis combines space time spatiotemporal analysis detect abnormally high call rates hotspots directly correlated specific events areas earthquakes explosions fire researchers say retrospective data collection analysis critical first step toward developing realtime visualization technique could complement available 911 systems httpucsdnewsucsdedunewsrelsupercomputer0208computeranalysis911asp could smart traffic lights stop motorists fuming new scientist 021208 glaskin max romanian us researchers recently demonstrated simulations traffic lights wirelessly track vehicles could speed trips reduce fuel consumption improve urban air quality smart traffic lights could reduce amount time drivers spend waiting intersections 28 percent rush hours researchers recorded peak traffic flow major intersection bucharest romania used distributed computing lab rutgers university model traffic flow simulations traffic lights given position speed vehicles nearby roads programmed calculate phase color changes optimize traffic flow addition reducing waiting times researchers calculate improved traffic pattern could reduce co2 emissions 65 percent rutgers university researcher liviu iftode says trip times fuel consumption emissions could improved traffic lights transmitted information back vehicles lights told drivers change drivers could adapt speed avoid useless accelerations react faster green lights invehicle software could also recommend appropriate speeds based current light setting change many cars already queued httptechnologynewscientistcomarticledn13306couldsmarttrafficlightsstopmotoristsfuminghtml power shirt fiberbased nanotechnology clothing could generate electricity harvesting energy physical movement georgia institute technology 021308 toon john georgia institute technology nanotechnology researchers developed prototype microfiber nanogenerator could built clothing capable producing small electrical current device could enable anyone moves harness convert physical motion electrical energy pairs textile fibers covered zinc oxide nanowires used create electrical current using piezoelectric effect combining energy generated numerous pairs fibers woven shirt jacket could allow wearers body movement power variety portable electronic devices fibers could also woven curtains tents structures capture energy wind motion sound vibration mechanical energy far researchers made 200 nanogenerators nanogenerator centimeter long capable producing current four nanoamperes output voltage four millivolts improved design georgia tech professor zhong lin wang estimates square meter fabric made fibers could theoretically generate much 80 milliwatts power one major obstacle technology ability washed httpwwwgtresearchnewsgatechedunewsreleasepowershirthtm could ip address plan mean another ipv6 delay network world 021308 marsan carolyn duffy transition ipv6 could perhaps delayed internet policymakers approve changes ip address distribution could enable network operators reap profits transferring idle blocks ipv4 address space others need industry demand ipv4 addresses stop current supply channel namely unallocated ipv4 address pool run says asia pacific network information center scientist geoff huston commodity trading pricing gets included distribution function permitting isps transfer ipv4 address registrations proposal american registry internet numbers expected soon post web site scenario agency would supply list ipv4 address blocks available transfer proposal would create economic incentive organizations make ipv4 addresses available although one knows exact profit potential huston says internet longer avoid developing ipv4 transfer protocol isps available pool ipv4 addresses depleted ipv6 switchover complete however practice ipv4 address trading surrounded unresolved issues whether move establish financial market ipv4 address space whether postpone ipv6 transition whether internets core routers inundated routing table announcements isps ipv4 address trading would probably yield biggest advantages companies universities us federal agencies assigned many ipv4 address blocks internets infancy consensus among experts transition ipv6 would pushed back several years ipv4 address transfer allowed httpwwwnetworkworldcomnews2008021308ipv6delayhtml bandwidth demand technology review 021408 naone erica internet2 consortium designing dynamic circuit network intended provide ondemand bandwidth specific uses researcher testing telesurgery technologies example would able use network temporarily create dedicated path experiment although new networks immediate applications academic underlying technologies could applied commercial internet could used example carry highdefinition video consumers idea basically look network different way says internet2 cto rick summerhill current internet large data transfers cause traffic jams routers cause data packets get delayed turn causes user final destination experience interruptions data stream overall jittery performance summerhill says dynamic circuit network would allow researcher establish temporary connection another location would work like phone call users data would carried directly location without interruptions caused traffic users dynamic circuit network essentially enhancement traditional network replacement makes network different uses circuitswitched network set data packets follow path circuits permanently place httpwwwtechnologyreviewcominfotech20277af web browsing search online ads grow risky google says informationweek 021208 claburn thomas google security engineer niels provos found web browsing searching increasingly becoming channels distribution malware provos says 1 percent search results past months contained least one result believed point malicious content says 18 months google tracking malicious web pages company found 3 million unique urls 180000 web sites attempt install malware users computers recent paper provos coauthored google colleague panayiotis mavrommatis johns hopkins university computer scientists moheeb abu rajab fabian monrose blamed problem part internet advertising googles main source revenue provos found average 2 percent malicious web sites delivering malware via internet advertising based analysis 2000 known advertising networks since internet ads target popular sites search engine users likely find statistic suggests report noted average 12 percent overall search results returned landing pages associated malicious content due unsafe ads provos says readilyapparent solutions problem httpwwwinformationweekcomnewsshowarticlejhtmlarticleid206501894 roving eyes engineer online 021308 surrey space centre scientists working twoyear project make space rovers fully autonomous efficient developing brain uses visionbased navigation techniques focusing cameras laserbased equipment team wants develop software utilizes lowcost components surrey space autonomy specialist dr yang gao says researchers exploring different vision sensors utilize information sensors enable totally autonomous navigation rover involves sensing technology planning navigation techniques lot artificial intelligence techniques involved planning trajectory autonomous vehicles gao says one work packages focus could make use image cameras combination sensors make data fusion work space applications camera could used see things distance lasers could used complement vision help avoid obstacles quickly detect respond obstacles within smaller ranges previous rover missions rovers automatic control little autonomy currently takes least day send new commands rovers overcome obstacles goal create rover capable planning route automatically adjusting obstacles httpwwwtheengineercoukarticles304493planetaryrovercanseeforitselfhtm workplace autopilot threatens security risk perception university leeds 020808 human psychology way perceive risk make impossible organizations completely secure data matter preventative steps take concludes research conducted britains leeds university business school study people regularly used systems work asked list examples possible data security risks either imaginative ones seen personal experiences another group asked comment probability underlying causes likely consequences impacts scenarios commonly listed study found many risk examples listed participants matched recent security breaches despite fact survey data collected twoyear period professor gerard hodgkinson director center organizational strategy learning change says research shows organizations never able remove latent risks protection security data stored systems peoples brains naturally run automatic pilot routine situations dr robert coles studys coauthor says results study show employees exhibit highlysophisticated perception categorization risk well insight consequences risk scenarios asked focus potential problems since perception always translated practice errors still happening continue happen future coles says httpreporterleedsacukpress_releasescurrentdata_securityhtm researchers looking tiny robots big changes 9news co 021308 lucas ward dr rahmat shoureshi dean school engineering computer science university denver says nanotechnology researchers close building tiny machines capable everything curing cancer warning bridge collapse going take get fda approval terms technology readiness machines ready five years shoureshi says du researchers developing shoe insole capable calculating biological balance problems elderly warning people fall du professor corinne lengsfeld says nanotechnology enormous impact medicine expects tiny robots play important role fighting diseases researchers determine teach machines attack certain cells youre going see cures diseases didnt think curable think evolve rather quickly lengsfeld says httpwww9newscomnewslocalarticleaspxstoryid86378 wearable tracking tags test privacy boundaries u washington chronicle higher education 021508 vol 54 23 p a15 dotinga randy determining effectiveness well appropriateness tracking people radiofrequency identification rfid tags goal university washingtons rfid ecosystem project researchers installed 140 antennas 35 rfid readers monitor areas paul g allen center computer science engineering 100 150 computerscience students faculty staff members eventually track peopleand trackedon project web site objective effort create future world rfids everywhere says computer science professor gaetano borriello idea analyze choices participants make terms frequently monitor peoples activities information wish acquire monitoring allowed certain areas buildingsuch restroomsin order prevent rfid surveillance becoming intrusive participants allowed control view data movements even instantly exit network university washington graduate student evan welbourne says point exercise ascertain whether people tend opt opt says far project concluded technology inherent risk privacy least way cant eventually fixed earlier experiment university california san diego involved students tracking others whereabouts via wifienabled pdas professor william g griswold notes students elected monitored others broadened level access locations httpchroniclecomweeklyv54i2323a01501htm web link may require paid subscription atomic logic search shapeshifting circuits new scientist 020908 2642 p 44 jamieson valerie murray holland joint institute laboratory astrophysics boulder colo envisions technology fashioned atomic current field calls atomtronics atoms theoretically trapped within optical lattice chessboardlike arrangement laser beams produce dark patches interference wherever intersect atoms corralled within patches making concept workable involves cooling atoms whose kinetic energy room temperature thwarts capture optical lattice holland conceives atomtronic negative terminal composed dense cloud ultracold atoms contained laser beams identical beams employed positive end battery optical lattice serves wire positive negative terminals point repulsive interactions among atoms cloud would cause atoms tunnel along optical lattice wire empty trap last year hollands team disclosed plan easytofabricate atomtronic diode generates oneway flow atoms linked atomtronic battery although doubtful atomtronics ever supplant silicon chips could conceivably lead faster pcs aid development quantum computers httptechnologynewscientistcomchanneltechmg19726422000atomiclogicinsearchofshapeshiftingcircuitshtml web link may require paid subscription ics poised get skin ee times 021108 1513 p 1 merritt rick mokhoff nicolas papers presented international solid state circuits conference proposed innovations marry electronics biology brain implants wireless wearable health monitor powered custom chip implantable chip combined wearable controller could function commercial artificial retina described conference university ulm professor albrecht rothermel prototype chip recording deepbrain signals detailed medtronic researchers another medtronic research effort revolves around development artificial pancreas capable automatically checking blood sugar levels supplying insulin needed sessions focused chips enhance medical test equipment also reducing size cost one example small module devised harvard university team nuclear magneticresonanceimaging system could run however samsung advanced institute technology ceo kyu lim said keynote system complexity implementation future health care services costly due high level machine intelligence required httpwwweetonlinecom web link publication homepage new theory changes thinking behind creating robots smart machines knowledgewp carey 021308 school connectionism postulates human brain learns neurons link experiences understandings development artificial intelligence hinges emulating capability computers wp carey school business professor asim roy challenged longcherished notions academic paper argues connections neurons necessary system still requires organization controller roy presents theory elements brain controlled elements partly validated demonstrating connectionist brainlike learning systems guided higherlevel controllers defiance connectionist view employ local controllers neuron level structurally analyze connectionist algorithms prove actually use control theoretic notions even though deny says roy adding used neuroscientific evidence support argument design various types robots eventually affected rethinking human learning brain function roys paper engendered roy cautions however theory may effectively change computer operations decades httpknowledgewpcareyasueduarticlecfmjsessionidf030f12eee7034c01efb37673b226a726637articleid1554cfid859656cftoken41248980jsessionidf030f12eee7034c01efb37673b226a726637 submit feedback acm technews contact kdtkaufhhqacmorg removed future issues technews please submit email address receiving technews alerts httpoptoutacmorglistserv_indexcfmlntechnews resubscribe future enter email address httpsignupacmorglistserv_indexcfmlntechnews alternative log wwwmyacmorg acm web account username password follow listservs link unsubscribe change email send future issues subscribed technews email address 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