|
BOOM:
An explosion of Cornell’s technological creativity
by Siavash Dejgosha
Cornell students are a busy lot who juggle extracurricular activities,
jobs, and intellectual pursuits, not to mention the more mundane classes
and prelims. Out of all these activities, their intellectual pursuits
may prove to be the least visible. One venue for Cornellians to showcase
their technological savvy and work is through the annual Bits On Our Mind
(BOOM) exposition.
Students exhibit their efforts in technology and its applications through
poster presentations and computer demonstrations. Curious onlookers browse
the displays and ask questions. For those who missed BOOM or are interested
in further information, the website lists all the projects along with
their descriptions. [1]
With over 50 projects present, this year’s BOOM took place on March
5th over three floors of Upson Hall. Projects originated from a variety
of sources including summer internships, independent study, research groups,
or from simple diversions in students’ spare time with their applications
comprising diverse areas from computer networks, robotics, theoretical
computer science to games and graphics.
It is a great way for those with an interest in technology or a keen desire
to learn more about a specific topic to find out what makes those crazy
CS majors spend hours in the computer labs. People were very amiable and
willing to explain the basics of their projects to audiences of various
background knowledge levels. A sampling of some the projects shows the
wide range of talents Cornellians have.
Interdisciplinary engineering groups like Robocup: the soccer-playing
robots, Hybrid Electric Vehicle, and the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
all had representatives present. These groups combine the skills of various
engineering disciplines to make a product that plays soccer or runs underwater
missions. Mechanical engineers design the structure, electrical engineers
design the controlling systems, and computer science majors can program
the AI.
Some projects were products of courses like CS130, the introductory web
site design course or under supervised study in CS490. Links to sleek
web designs advertising a fictitious cardboard box company are listed
on the BOOM web site. Computer games created in the Game Design course
were on display so that onlookers could stop and play a few games or talk
to the programmer about the actual design process. [2]
Projects concerned with more theoretical aspects and advanced technology
also reflected students’ diverse interests. One exhibit involved
simulating quantum computers on classical computers. Of course, a simulator
on current computers cannot be as fast as a quantum computer but it helps
in developing and testing algorithms. A few projects also focused on computer
security and networks, which can protect your computer from malicious
programmers.
Quite a few projects involved computer graphics, yet even these were varied.
One project implemented photon mapping to make realistic graphics, [3]
while another sought to “unroll” 3D images into 2D representations.
Yet another one modeled a spider’s movements. There are more projects
than can be mentioned in this article and those who are interested are
highly encouraged to check out the web site.
The one thing that struck anyone attending BOOM was the wide spectrum
of projects Cornellians are pursuing. Not only does it allow students
to show their passion for technology, but also a chance to see what amazing
things their classmates have been developing. And if you missed BOOM this
year, make sure to check out the fascinating projects at next year’s
BOOM!
Sources for the article and for further reading:
1. ‘Bits on Our Mind’ 2003 Official Site:
www.cs.cornell.edu/boom/2003sp
2. Computer Game Design (CS 490): http://www.cs.cornell.edu/~rch8/courses/game490/Gallery/game-gallery.htm
3. AFTGames Idiosyncrasy -Tachyonic: Photon Mapping http://och.phpwebhosting.com/tachyonic.htm
http://www.cs.cornell.edu/boom/2003sp/images/logonew.jpg
|
