Annual BOOM event showcases CU computing research projects

From video games to artificial intelligences that play games, from detecting computer break-ins to detecting the movements of the human eye, Cornell students are working on a vast array of uses for computing. Several dozen of their recent projects will be on display during the annual Bits On Our Minds (BOOM) show organized by the Department of Computer Science and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, in which students from all over the campus display their computing projects.

The event will occupy large sections of the top three floors of Upson Hall on campus from 4 to 6 p.m. March 3. Students will be on hand to explain their projects, many of which will include interactive and participatory displays.

"We have a fantastic lineup of about 60 projects," said Emin Gun Sirer, assistant professor of computer science, who is chair of this year's event. "We have the mainstays, the large projects from engineering that are here every year, like gaming, RoboCup and the unmanned vehicle teams, and then about 40 others that show how students are using digital computing in many different fields."

Along with Cornell students, students from Ithaca High School and local middle schools are expected to attend and show off a robot built with Cornell mentoring for the annual For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics competition and a Lego Mindstorms robot built as a project of the Ithaca Sciencenter.

Although the event takes place in the College of Engineering, it is open to students from any discipline.

Following the exhibit, BOOM 2004 will persist in two mediums -- the Web and a poster session. All projects will be showcased on the Web at http://www.cs.cornell.edu/boom/2004sp/, and a smaller set of outstanding projects chosen by the BOOM '04 committee will be displayed throughout the year in the Upson Hall third-floor display cases. Prizes, in the form of computer peripherals, will be awarded to the top three exhibitors chosen by the committee.

Irene Chung '04 will be honored with this year's Student Spotlight Award, typically given to a person who has contributed extensively to BOOM events. Chung, who is an Arts and Sciences Dean's Scholar and a College Scholar, has had exhibits in the last three events. All of her exhibits will be on display this year.

BOOM '04 is sponsored by Credit Suisse/First Boston and Bloomberg.