Welcome to a new year of AU!

Greetings artists, readers, writers and poets! It's us, AU: UW's Speculative Fiction Journal!

Firstly, welcome to the newcomers! It was great to meet so many of you at the RSO fair last week, we’re excited to see what creative accomplishments you will bring to AU this year!

Secondly, the fall quarter is well underway and so it’s time announce the theme for this quarter's journal!

Homeland!

Many of you will have left your homelands for pastures new recently, or perhaps you think of Seattle as your homeland. Either way it’s our hope that your experiences will engender your imagination and let your minds run wild. Homeland is a great and enduring sci-fi and fantasy theme, from a Hobbit venturing from his to go on an extraordinary journey, to a Battlestar leaving everything behind in search of a new beginning, a girl on fire retaking a nation for it's people, or a Time Lord forced to lay waste to his home in order save the universe. The potential is endless and we look forward to seeing what fantasies and fictions you bring to your prose and poetry for this issue.

The deadline for submissions is October 29th, 11:59p.m. The word limit is 3,000 words. We gladly accept submissions from UW students, staff, faculty, alumni, squirrels, seagulls and displaced souls but we do ask for a former or current affilication with the University.

Calling Artists

If you’re an artist and have a great idea for some Homeland art then get in touch, we’re looking for not only cover art submissions but also smaller pieces to compliment the prose and poetry in this edition!

Budding Editor?

As we transition into a new year of AU we’ve been handed the reins from last year’s editorial staff, but AU is a mighty beast indeed and we need some help!

If you would be interested in joining us as an editor this year then please send an email to strayingfromreality@gmail.com with the subject line EDITOR and tell us a little about why you want to work for AU, what prior experience you have and what you think you can bring to the job

Deadline for applications for the editorial position is October 12th, 11:59p.m.

For more info, check out our website: strayingfromreality.webs.com, find us on Facebook or email us at strayingfromreality@gmail.com.

Merry Fall to you all,

Dave & Wanda

Terra Blight film screening on e-waste, October 10, 5:30pm

Did you know that e-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world? More than 200,000 computers are discarded every day in America!

Join us on Wednesday October 10^th in the HUB room 145 at 5:30pm for a film screening of the new documentary Terra Blight.

Terra Blight traces the life cycle of computers from creation to disposal, and juxtaposes the disparate worlds with computers as their centers. From a 13-year-old Ghanaian who smashes obsolete monitors to salvage copper, to a 3,000-person video game party in Texas, Terra Blight examines the unseen realities of one of the most ubiquitous toxic wastes on our planet.

The producers of the film will be in attendance at the screening, and the hour long film will be followed by a Q&A where you will have an opportunity to chat with the producers about the making of the film and their experiences with electronic waste. Additional information on the film can be found on the attached flyer or on our website at: http://green.washington.edu/events.

The Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability office will also be showing the film on October 22^nd as part of our third annual Sustainability Summit at UW Seattle, and we will be hosting a free electronics recycling event on October 24^th during our Summit exhibitor fair on Red Square. UW faculty, staff and students will be able to recycle their personal electronic items for free thanks to our e-waste recycler Total Reclaim. More information on the Summit events can be found on our website: http://green.washington.edu/uw-sustainability-summit-2012

Seniors, alums & grad students - Webinar info session on NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

Open to both undergrads & grads, the Graduate School Office of Fellowships & Awards is offering a webinar for students interested in the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) on Monday, Oct. 8, 4:30pm. Registration and basic program information is below.

Graduating seniors and alumni who plan to apply to and begin graduate student by next fall, as well as graduate students in their first year of graduate study or at the beginning of their second year of graduate study (with some limitations) may be eligible to apply.

The NSF GRFP is open to students in a wide variety of fields, including many social science fields as well as STEM. Eligible fields include:
Chemistry
Computer and Information Science and Engineering
Engineering
Geosciences
Life Sciences
Materials Research
Mathematical Sciences
Physics & Astronomy
Psycholoby
Social Sciences (many fields, including but not limited to Archaeology, Anthropology, Communications, Economics, Geography, International Relations, Linguistics, Political Science, Sociology, Urban Planning, etc.)
STEM Education & Learning Research

Thanks,

Robin Chang
Assistant Director
Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships & Awards
Center for Experiential Learning and Diversity
University of Washington
171 Mary Gates Hall, Box 352803
Seattle, WA 98195-2803
206-543-2603   FAX:  206-616-4389
http://www.washington.edu/students/ugrad/scholar/ 

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, UW webinar:   Monday, Oct. 8, 4:30-5:30 p.m.

TO REGISTER:

Join us for a Webinar on October 8 Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/500104526
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

Mobile attendees Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet

NSF’s GRFP is one of the premier opportunities to fund your graduate study.  It provides 3 years of funding that you can use in a 5 year time frame.  This includes a $30,000 annual stipend and full cost of tuition/fees covered.  For UW graduate students, GAIP health insurance is also covered.

The information session will cover the application process, strategies for successful applications and more details regarding how the fellowship operates.  Application deadlines range from November 13-19, 2012.  Students should start their applications now.

Full information on the NSF GRFP, including a link to the official program solicitation, is here:  http://www.nsfgrfp.org/

Basic eligibility criteria:

*research in an eligible NSF research area (includes several of the social sciences)

*US citizens or permanent residents by the application deadline

*students in their first year of graduate study or at the beginning of their second year of graduate study (with some limitations)

*students who have not earned a previous graduate degree

*graduating senior undergraduates who plan to apply to and begin graduate student by next fall

Full eligibility information is detailed in the program solicitation:  http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12599/nsf12599.htm 

If you can’t attend a session but are interested in applying and want further information, do not hesitate to contact us. (Undergraduate students can get application support from Robin Chang, robinc@uw.edu, in the Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships & Awards in 171 Mary Gates Hall.)

eScience Seminar, Wednesday, October 10 in EE303

Please join us October 10th, 4-5pm in EE303. Refreshments (drinks and pizza) will be provided.

*Francois Ribalet** (UW, Oceanography)*

Francois Ribalet received his Ph.D. from the Open University of London, UK, and the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Naples, IT, where he first began to study the microbial ecology of marine ecosystems. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Washington, where he examined how physical and chemical gradients influence the distribution, abundance and activity of microbial communities. He uses advanced technology for the automated measurement of microbial populations and their activity at the single cell level, and develops tools to facilitate the analysis of the high volume of flow cytometry data. His current research focuses on determining the selective forces that shapes the patterns of microbial communities across ocean basins.

*Unveiling the Dynamics of Microscopic Algae Populations Across Ocean Basins at Sub-kilometer-resolution.*

Microscopic algae anchor the oceanic food web and are responsible for the majority of our planet’s oxygen. About 50% of organic carbon production on Earth occurs within the ocean and the vast majority of this organic carbon is generated and recycled by these small microorganisms. Being able to readily detect and track these microorganisms is critical for understanding their impact in the oceans and global biogeochemical cycles. I will present SeaFlow, a new flow cytometer developed at the UW, that measures continuously the size and pigment composition of individual microorganisms present in a sample of seawater at the rate of thousands of cells per second. To date, SeaFlow has covered 60,000 km and characterized over 200 billions of cells collected in different parts of the oceans. I will explain how this high-resolution data set is allowing us to discover unexpected gradients of microbial cell diversity and to better understand the dynamics of microbial populations across ocean basins. I will also describe some of the tools we developed to automate the analysis of flow cytometry data and visualize the data in real-time. Finally, I will present how we are incorporating our existing cyberinfrastructure into eScience’s collaborative database system, known as SQLshare, to meet our long-term goal of managing, integrating, and sharing increasing oceanographic data.

*Upcoming Seminar:*

* November 14, 4 PM (EE303)

*Ian Gorton * (PNNL)

Velo: A Knowledge Management Framework for Modeling and Simulation

Dr Maria Klawe - The Harvey Mudd Story: From 10% to 40% female in CS in three years

CSE Distinguished Lecture Series
Tuesday, October 16, 2012, 3:30pm
Atrium, Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering

Abstract:
In 2006, much like at many other institutions, about 10% of HMC's CS majors were female. At that time only a third of HMC's students were female, but CS was an aberration. About 20% of the Physics majors and close to 30% of the engineering majors were female. Four years later 40% of HMC's CS majors were female, exactly the same percentage as the whole HMC student body. This talk describes how the CS department accomplished this change.

Bio:
Maria Klawe, a renowned computer scientist, became president of Harvey Mudd College in 2006. Before joining HMC she served as dean of engineering and professor of computer science at Princeton, held several positions at the University of British Columbia, and worked at IBM Research. Maria's current research interests include discrete mathematics, serious games, and assistive technologies. One of her lifelong passions is to increase the participation of women and other under-represented groups in science and engineering, especially in areas such as computer science. Maria is a past president of the Association of Computing Machinery, a trustee of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute at Berkeley, and a member of the board of Math for America. She serves on the boards of directors of Microsoft Corporation and Broadcom corporation.

http://www.cs.washington.edu/events/colloquia/details?id=1211

Domestic Violence Awareness Month events

It's time for a wake-up call about rape and sexual assault on campus. It is only a myth in our society that women incite men to rape or that men are not sexually assaulted. It's a myth that if the assailant, victim, or both are drunk, the assailant cannot be charged with rape. And it's a myth that sexual assaults are rare and only by strangers.

Learn the truth. Join the UW campus community for two impactful presentations about rape and sexual assault, and learn about your role in stopping these silent crimes.

·         She Asked for It! Why We Like to Judge Rape Victims

Monday, October 15

5:30-7:30 p.m.

Kane Hall, room 120

Rape is a crime that is no stranger to college campuses. Anne Munch will discuss commonly held beliefs about victims, offenders, and the meaning of consent, and the important roles these beliefs play in how rape cases are perceived and handled. 

·         Sexual Assault: Victim Rights & Support

Wednesday, October 17

7 p.m.

Kane Hall, room 140

Jennifer Storm will speak about the complexities of victimization, developing coping mechanisms, and how to heal as a survivor. She also will discuss the need for victim-centered practices and the cultural shift toward victim support.

Save the dates for both presentations, and bring your friends and fellow leaders. Be empowered to change perceptions about campus rape and sexual assault, and help make the UW campus safe for everyone.

Undergraduate Research Information Sessions

URP Information Sessions address how the Undergraduate Research Program can help the student pursue her/his research interests.

Primarily for undergraduates who have yet to begin research, the sessions provide research resources, information on funding, and suggestions for approaching faculty. Additionally, the sessions are highly student-driven, with an emphasis on student questions and concerns. Students interested in attending the UW, including community college transfer students, are welcome to the sessions.

Monday, October 8 - 2:00-3:00pm
Monday, October 15 - 3:30-4:30pm
Tuesday, October 16 - 1:30-2:30pm
Tuesday, October 23 - 2:00-3:00pm
Tuesday, November 13 - 2:30-3:30pm

All sessions will be held in Mary Gates Hall 171

Register now! (https://expo.uw.edu/expo/rsvp/event/308)

Dream Project Volunteer Experience and Writing credits

Calling all STEM majors!

·  Are you looking for an easy writing credit class? 

·  Are you looking to stand out on your resume for graduate school?

·  Are you looking to make an impact on someone’s life?

 If you answer YES to any of the questions, then you should join the Dream Project.

The Dream Project is a UW course and a social outreach program where UW undergrads mentor first-generation and low-income students in King County high schools as they navigate the complex college admissions process.

Overview of class:

2 credit lecture (EDUC 360)

·  Writing Credit (optional)

Weekly high school visit at one of 17 schools

·  Visit times are spread out through the week

·  Transportation time is included & transportation to the high school is provided

Attend additional events throughout the quarter

Write two 1-page reflection papers

It is not to late to sign up! We are in serious need of more mentors for Kent-Meridian high school and Renton high school. Breakfast is provided.

Join Access Projects for Students Pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM) Fields

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the AccessSTEM and AccessComputing projects are recruiting students in STEM fields such as biology, chemistry, physics, math, computing, engineering, aerospace, astronomy, geology, anthropology, horticulture, conservation, forensics, and many social science disciplines.

Tutors - Get help finding STEM tutors when struggling in a class.
Internships - Receive assistance finding and applying for great internships.
Academic Coaching - Receive individualized academic coaching services.
Career Building - Learn about careers, resumes, job fairs, and networking.
Mentoring - Get support from other students, faculty, staff, & professionals.
Free USB Flash Drive - Given to new AccessSTEM students. Get yours today!
Visit the “AccessSTEM Events” website: www.uw.edu/doit/Stem/stem_events.html


Supporting Students through Academic Coaching
Hi! My name is Penny Hinke. As the AccessSTEM academic coach, I help college students develop strategies that enable them to achieve their academic goals and succeed at college. Since every student is different, coaching sessions are tailored to each student’s needs and challenges. Many students benefit from working on study skills such as time management, organization, academic writing, exam preparation, and stress management. I also work with students on building confidence, motivation and self-advocacy. Typically, sessions are about an hour and occur weekly during the academic year. To find out more or to schedule an appointment, contact me at hinkep@uw.edu, 206-543-9150. I’d love to hear from you!

$100 for REFERRING A FRIEND: AccessSTEM is currently offering $100 for UW students that successfully recruit someone into the program. On the application, have them write your name in the blank “Where did you hear about AccessSTEM?"

For more information about AccessSTEM and AccessComputing, contact Scott Bellman at 206-685-3648 (voice/TTY) or swb3@uw.edu. Student applications are at www.uw.edu/doit/Stem/team_app.html, and www.uw.edu/accesscomputing/team_app.html, respectively.

Co-op student discussion 10/4 3:30 MEB 259

All engineering students are welcome to join us for a roundtable discussion about engineering internships and co-ops.

WHO:  Engineering students who have just completed their co-op or internship

WHAT:  Learn about how students got their job, what it was like, tips for you to get your internship or co-op job

WHEN:  Thursday, October 4, 2012; 3:30-4:20pm

WHERE:  Mechanical Engineering Building, Room 259

Questions?  Ask me:  wieman@uw.edu

CIE Open House & Lavin Program Application Due Oct 10

Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Lavin Entre Program – Open House!

 

CIE Open House
Herbold Innovation Lab, BHQ 211

Oct 3, Wednesday 12:30-1:30a

Business Hall (BHQ) 227

 

Interested in Entrepreneurship?

The UW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) combines curriculum with hands-on learning to give students the experience, skills, and know-how that will be a foundation for future business ventures whether at a start-up or a larger established firm.

 

Find out about CIE entrepreneurship programs, including the accelerated Lavin Program for serious undergrad entrepreneurs. You are invited to attend one of the Open Houses - parents are welcome and invite your friends! 

 

Lavin Application Deadline Oct 10!

The Lavin Application for undergrads is for incoming students from all majors across the UW Campus.

Questions?  Pam Tufts, ptufts@uw.edu

www.startup.washington.edu

Fall 2012 Campus Events with Intel

Hello from your friends at Intel®!

It’s that time of year again.  You head back to school, and so do Intel’s recruiting teams!  We are excited to connect with many students on campus this season and have some fabulous events planned.  Make sure you don’t miss your chance to chat with Intel’s hiring teams.  Visit our Recruiting Events Calendar to find out when we’ll be in your neck of the woods! (If we are not able to visit your particular school, don’t worry.  We offer multiple ways for you to get connected with us virtually)

At Intel, we offer a broad range of BS, MS and PhD opportunities in the following technical disciplines:

-    Electrical Engineering
-    Computer Engineering
-    Computer Science
-    Chemical Engineering
-    Chemistry
-    Physics
-    Mechanical Engineering
-    Materials Science  

For more information on our openings visit the following links:

College Graduate Opportunities apply here

2013 Internship Opportunities apply here

Thanks, and we look forward to connecting with you soon.  Best of luck in the 2012 - 2013 School Year!

Intel Corporation, US College Recruiting Organization

Got Twitter? Follow us. More of a Facebook fanatic? Like us.

Seattle Sounders FC Soccer Game - Sponsored by HKN

Dear EE Faculty, Students and Staff:

Do you need a break from research or course planning? Need to cool your circuits and get away from grading/writing lab reports for a few hours? Staff – do you want to relax and enjoy life a bit? HKN has the solution for you! HKN has purchased a block of tickets for the Sunday, October 7^th Seattle Sounders game against the Portland Timbers! Game starts at 6 pm, and we will be seated in the Hawks Nest, which has a great view of the entire field.

Tickets are $25 apiece, and you can purchase by emailing Mike Schetter, HKN President, by Wednesday, October 3rd, at schettmc@uw.edu.

Go Sounders!

Free MATLAB Training Sessions for Students, Faculty and Staff

Free MATLAB training sessions at University of Washington on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 in the New HUB (Husky Union Building).  Faculty, staff and students are all welcome to attend. 

--Register now--
Register at: mathworks.com/seminars/UW2012

--Agenda--
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Session 1: Data Analysis and Visualization with MATLAB for Non-Programmers
MATLAB is a programming environment for algorithm development, data analysis, visualization, and numerical computation. Using MATLAB, you can solve technical computing problems faster than with traditional programming languages, such as C, C++, and Fortran.
 During this introductory technical seminar, we will provide an overview of MATLAB and introduce you to the powerful statistical analysis and visualization capabilities available in the MATLAB product family. We will demonstrate how to acquire, analyze and visualize data, introduce desktop tools for editing and debugging code, and show you how to publish your results.
 Highlights include:

·         Accessing data from files, spreadsheets and other sources

·         Performing statistical analysis, curve and surface fitting routines

·         Developing algorithms and applications to automate your workflow

·         Generating reports in HTML and other file formats to share your work

 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Session 2: Optimizing Your MATLAB Code For Performance
In this session, we will discuss and demonstrate simple ways to improve and optimize your code that can boost the execution speed of your application.  We will also introduce you to high-level programming constructs that allow you to parallelize MATLAB applications and run them on multiple processors. 
 Highlights include:

·         Understanding memory usage and vectorization in MATLAB

·         Addressing bottlenecks and optimizing file I/O to streamline your code

·         Creating parallel applications to speed up independent tasks

AngelHack Seattle @ The Hub on Dec 1-2

Get excited guys! AngelHack's global hackathon competition is coming to town. Join us on Dec 1-2 for AngelHack Seattle, where you can meet new friends, hack startup concepts, and take a crack at the over $650,000 in prizes we have. Top teams will be flown to Silicon Valley to present their hacks to a lineup of allstar judges including: Robert Scoble, Naval Ravikant, and Wesley Chan.

Use code HackMeIn for 50% off tickets.

www.angelhack.com

First General Meeting of the 3D Printing Club at UW

To fellow Huskies who are interested in the amazing world of 3D printing,

We are the Washington Open Object Fabricators (WOOF) and we are the on campus 3D printing club. We help our members build their own printers, conduct 3D printing related research, and promote this rapidly growing technology. If you aren't familiar with what 3D printing is check out some of the links at the end of this email. 

Our first general meeting will be Tuesday, October 2nd at 4:00 pm, located in room MEB 238. At the meeting we will talk about what we will be doing this upcoming year and how you can get involved. 

 Membership dues are $20 annually, which gives you access to our club workroom, tools, and other resources. Not only that, but your first print through the club is free! At the meeting we will be prepared to collect dues if you've already decided you want to join (cash or check made out to Washington Open Object Fabricators).

If you cannot make the first meeting but still want to join do not worry! Our workroom is currently set up in MEB 252 and one (or more) of our club officers is usually around during weekdays (we guarantee someone there on Fridays noon-5). Drop on by and we can let you know more of what we're about and sign you up. Or if email is more convenient, our club email iswoof3d@uw.edu.

We hope to see you at the meeting. We're excited to welcome former and new members into our amazing club. If you have any questions you can email us or better yet ask them at the meeting.

Yours in 3D printing,

WOOF Officers

woof3d@uw.edu