January 2021 - Gradstudents - mailman.cs.vt.edu

Change of POS for those graduating this term
by Sara Hooshangi 24 Jan '21

24 Jan '21

This email is ONLY for students graduating in Spring 2021. Dear Spring 2021 graduating class, By now, all of you should have submitted your Plan of Study. If you have deviated from your approved Plan of Study and have taken courses that you intend to count towards your degree, but they are not listed on your current POS, follow the steps below: Check your current Plan of Study here: HokieSpa -> Degree Menu -> Graduate Student Degree Menu -> Plan Of Study If you need to make a change, fill the Plan Of Study Change <https://graduateschool.vt.edu/content/dam/graduateschool_vt_edu/GAAPforms/p…> form Send the form to your designated program coordinator as follows: Sharon —> MS/PhD Blacksburg Roxanne —> MS/PhD NCR Samantha—> All MEng If you have not submitted your POS, you must do so as soon as possible. You will not be able to apply for graduation without an graduate school approved POS. Contact your program coordinator if you have any questions or concerns. Best ---------------------------------- Sara Hooshangi, Ph.D. Collegiate Associate Professor Director, MEng Program Department of Computer Science Virginia Tech

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Smart City Challenge / Opening Event TOMORROW
by Sara Hooshangi 22 Jan '21

22 Jan '21

This just came from the Innovation Campus team. For any student interested in a smart city challenge. > > View this email in your browser <https://mailchi.mp/e73855004fcd/join-the-smart-city-challenge-jan-23-openin…> > > Join the Smart City Challenge! > > Refraction, Smart City Works, Girls in Tech, Fairfax County, Virginia Tech, and The Universities at Shady Grove are excited to launch the first-ever SMART CITY CHALLENGE <https://refractionpoint.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=db97e49c1a4b7d4af…>, a month-long virtual innovation competition for the best solutions to pressing urban challenges in transportation, housing, health, broadband, public safety, education, water, and more. > > Teams will compete to win more than $350,000 in cash / in-kind prizes, including Amazon Web Services credits, pilot projects with Fairfax and Arlington Counties, participation in the Smart City Works accelerator, membership / office at the Refraction innovation hub, and entrepreneurship programs at George Mason and Universities at Shady Grove. > > Join us for our opening event on Saturday, January 23 at 10am ET to hear from Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, US Senator (and former entrepreneur) Mark Warner, Virginia Tech Innovation Campus leader Lance Collins, MITRE Chief Futurist Charles Clancy, Dominion Virginia President Ed Baine, Cox VP Kathryn Falk, Fairfax County Deputy Executive Rachel Flynn, US Conference of Mayors President Greg Fischer, and Drexel University's Bruce Katz. > > All are welcome to join the opening event by registering at bit.ly/scc1-23 <https://refractionpoint.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=db97e49c1a4b7d4af…>. To compete in the Challenge or learn more, go to bit.ly/SCChallenge2021 <https://refractionpoint.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=db97e49c1a4b7d4af…>. > > Register for Opening Event > <https://refractionpoint.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=db97e49c1a4b7d4af…> > Register for Challenge > <https://refractionpoint.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=db97e49c1a4b7d4af…> > Look forward to seeing you on January 23! > > Esther Lee > CEO, Refraction > <https://refractionpoint.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=db97e49c1a4b7d4af…> > <https://refractionpoint.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=db97e49c1a4b7d4af…> > <https://refractionpoint.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=db97e49c1a4b7d4af…> > > Copyright © 2021 Refraction, All rights reserved. > You are receiving this email to keep you in the loop of what is happening in our community. > > Our mailing address is: > Refraction > 7950 Jones Branch Drive, 8th Floor North > McLean, VA 22102 > > Add us to your address book <https://refractionpoint.us3.list-manage.com/vcard?u=db97e49c1a4b7d4aff389c5…> > > Want to change how you receive these emails? > You can update your preferences <https://refractionpoint.us3.list-manage.com/profile?u=db97e49c1a4b7d4aff389…> or unsubscribe from this list <https://refractionpoint.us3.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=db97e49c1a4b7d4af…>. > > <http://www.mailchimp.com/email-referral/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…>

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URGENT!!! RE: Late fee
by Sharon KinderPotter 22 Jan '21

22 Jan '21

To all students that have received late fees on their account. Please send me an email and put in the subject late fee and let me know the amount of the late fee so I do not miss anyone's name when I submit the list today. Thanks, Sharon -- Sharon Kinder-Potter Graduate Program Coordinator Computer Science Virginia Tech 540-231-6932 skpotter(a)cs.vt.edu

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CS|Source Announcements
by Julia Costello 21 Jan '21

21 Jan '21

CS Students, Listed below is an employment opportunity and event. View all job listings on Handshake <https://career.vt.edu/job-search/Handshake.html> . Check out upcoming CS|Source <https://cs.vt.edu/cs-source/cs-source-events.html> events and info. Announcement #1 Click SAVE THE DATE! to go directly to the CS|Source website for a listing of upcoming events. Under "for students" view career fair info, including videos to help navigate a virtual career fair. Remember to update your resumes on Handshake. More career fair info coming soon. <https://cs.vt.edu/cs-source/cs-source-events.html> Announcement #2 Deloitte has full-time positions in their GPS Consulting and Advisory practices. Deadline to apply is January 25; send your resume to GPSrecruiting(a)deloitte.com <mailto:GPSrecruiting@deloitte.com> . Flyer attached has more info and does "refer a friend", but you can use this to apply as well. Julia Costello Strategic Partnership Coordinator Virginia Tech | College of Engineering | Department of Computer Science 2202 Kraft Drive | Blacksburg, VA 24060 Phone: 540.231.8945 | Email: <mailto:juliapc7@cs.vt.edu> juliapc7(a)cs.vt.edu CS|Source Website: https://cs.vt.edu/cs-source.html CS|Source Portal: <https://www.cs-source.cs.vt.edu> https://www.cs-source.cs.vt.edu CS|Source Portal Auto Emails From: <mailto:cs-source@cssource.cs.vt.edu> cs-source(a)cssource.cs.vt.edu

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Fwd: Postdoctoral position at NHGRI
by T. M. Murali 21 Jan '21

21 Jan '21

Hi, I am forwarding this position announcement in case it is of interest to some of you. Murali ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Ferrara, Tracey (NIH/NHGRI) [C] <tracey.ferrara(a)nih.gov> Date: Thu, Jan 21, 2021 at 3:01 PM Subject: Postdoctoral position at NHGRI To: murali(a)vt.edu <murali(a)vt.edu> Dear Dr. Murali, I am writing today to ask if you would be willing to share some information about an open postdoctoral position in the Precision Health & Informatics Section at the National Human Genome Research Institute at the NIH. This position would be a good fit for recent or impending graduates with expertise in complex dataset analysis, reuse of EHR data, statistical and machine learning algorithms, and/or genome-phenome association studies, as detailed more fully below. Thank you so much for your time. Best, Tracey *Tracey Ferrara, Ph.D. * Lab Manager-Denny Lab Precision Health Informatics Section Medical Genomics &Metabolic Genetics Branch National Human Genome Research Institute 50 South Drive, MS 8040 BLDG. 50 Rm. 4308 Bethesda, Md. 20892 * tracey.ferrara(a)nih.gov <tracey.ferrara(a)nih.gov> *| 301.480.2685 [image: cidimage001.png(a)01D69312.E7886B60] Official NIH Position Listing can be found at: https://www.training.nih.gov/postdoc_jobs_nih/view/_31/8082/Statistical_and… *Position Description:* An NIH-funded postdoctoral position is available in the Precision Health Informatics Section (PHIS), a new section in the Medical Genomics and Metabolic Genetics Branch (MGMGB) at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in Bethesda, Maryland under Dr. Josh Denny. As a physician scientist, Dr. Denny is deeply committed to improving patient care through the advancement of precision medicine. He came to the NIH in early 2020 to assume the role of Chief Executive Officer of the All of Us research program, which hopes to build one of the largest and most comprehensive precision medicine research platforms in the world. In his previous research group at Vanderbilt, and now at NHGRI, he has pioneered the field of electronic health record (EHR) phenomics/genomics, pioneering new methods such as EHR genome-wide analysis (GWAS), EHR pharmacogenomics (PGx), phenome-wide analysis (PheWAS), and phenotype risk scores (PheRS). A postdoc in this lab will be expected to learn*, *develop, and apply novel computational algorithms that can analyze, integrate, and discover clinically relevant associations from large cohorts while utilizing a breadth of large clinical and genomic datasets. This includes data from technologies such as GWAS, whole exome and genome sequencing, electronic health record data, laboratory data, and survey data. There is also opportunity to develop novel methods to model biologic and clinical processes using historical and molecular data. *To Apply:* Interested candidates should submit their *curriculum vitae*, a detailed statement of their research interests, and the names and contact information for three references to Dr. Denny’s lab manager Dr. Tracey Ferrara at tracey.ferrara(a)nih.gov. *Qualifications:* Candidates should have or be very close to obtaining a terminal biomedical degree (e.g., MD or Ph.D.) with expertise in biomedical informatics or bioinformatics, biostatistics, computer science, genetics, computational biology or closely related areas. Programming skill and statistical knowledge are required. Excellent communication skills and fluency in both spoken and written English are essential.

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Resources for finding a research advisor
by Cliff Shaffer 21 Jan '21

21 Jan '21

As we have new students looking for a research advisor, here are a couple resources that might be useful. Faculty associated with various research areas: https://cs.vt.edu/Research/Areas.html A spreadsheet indicating how actively various faculty members are looking for new students: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BD1zxg6qMXW01GLofcS1ny034B7aQVT9zju… -- Cliff Shaffer Professor and Associate Department Head for Graduate Studies Department of Computer Science Phone: (540) 231-4354 Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 WWW: www.cs.vt.edu/~shaffer

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Some start-of-semester announcements
by Cliff Shaffer 21 Jan '21

21 Jan '21

1) *This Listserv:* Many of you probably notice that we have reorganized the grad student listservs yet again. Instead of trying to break things into multiple lists (which a lot of students objected too since they feel a part of multiple communities), we now have all grad students on a single list. This will make it less likely that anyone slips entirely through the cracks on our notifications. We can't completely cut out unwanted messages to sub-populations, but at least we can put standard [] tags on the subject lines to help you know what needs your attention. 2) *New Grad Orientation:* New grad student orientation is Wednesday, January 13 at 2:00-4:00. This will be via Zoom: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/89403191052?pwd=ZGRKeTZncWNCMnorOGc2T3crWmVi… (Or: Meeting 894 0319 1052, passcode CSorient), 3) *Sources of information:* The primary source of information about things like CS degree requirements forms, and so on is: https://cs.vt.edu/Graduate.html. But another really important/useful site is: https://gpc.cs.vt.edu/. For example, this is where you go to find the annual Student Activity Reports system (for MS/PhD students). 4) *Faculty office hours:* One thing that you can find at https://gpc.cs.vt.edu/ is a link to the spreadsheet with information about CS faculty office hours. This includes in many cases the Zoom links where you can reach them (since otherwise you would probably have no way to know unless you were in their class). By the way, I hold office hours Mondays and Thursdays at 2-2:30, see the spreadsheet for the Zoom link. 5) *Open Presentation: How to succeed in a research-oriented graduate degree.* This is a presentation that I usually give each year. While geared for first or second year MS/PhD students, everyone is welcome to attend. This will be on Wednesday, January 20 at 4:00-5:15. Zoom link: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/81156456157?pwd=RUJJQlc2dHFuQTcvQlJCN2Y4QkQ3…, or meeting 811 5645 6157, passcode MSPHD. -- Cliff Shaffer Professor and Associate Department Head for Graduate Studies Department of Computer Science Phone: (540) 231-4354 Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 WWW: www.cs.vt.edu/~shaffer

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Data Science Practitioner Study Survey Invitation
by Jesse Harden 21 Jan '21

21 Jan '21

Greetings, My name is Jesse Harden, a Ph.D. student working under Dr. Chris North, who is a faculty member in Computer Science at Virginia Tech. I invite you to participate in the Data Science Ethnographic Study that I am working on. If you decide to participate in this study, you will complete a 10 - 25 minute survey. As part of the study, you will answer questions about your experience in data science endeavors, how you organize your screen when performing different data science tasks, your experience using computational notebooks for data science, and other related questions. These questions will mainly be open-ended questions; I encourage you to provide as much detail as you feel comfortable with. Participation in this study is voluntary, and any data you provide will be kept confidential. If you choose to participate in this survey, you will be entered into a drawing for 1 of 5 gift cards from Amazon worth to $50. If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to reach out to me at north(a)vt.edu. You are not waiving any legal claims, rights or remedies because of your participation in this research study. If you have questions regarding your rights as a research participant, contact the Virginia Tech HRPP Office at 540-231-3732 (irb(a)vt.edu). Here is the link to the survey: https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1RGx4ZfdW9eK5HD I hope you will choose to participate in this research. Thank you for your time, Jesse Harden

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welcome back + seminars yet this week
by Cal Ribbens 20 Jan '21

20 Jan '21

Dear CS Gradstudents, Welcome to the Spring 2021 semester. We are all hopeful for better days ahead on many levels. I hope that our department will more and more be a positive and encouraging place for every one of you, as you grow as people and as computing professionals. And a special welcome to the more than 70 students who are beginning their graduate studies with us this semester! One of the things that dominates the calendar for the faculty during the early spring each year is new faculty recruiting. You will see many, many seminars announced over the next 6-8 weeks. (Some are job talks, others are simply visitors to the department.) Some of you will join a subset of those seminars because you are registered for CS 5944. But all are welcome and encouraged to join the zoom for any of the talks. You will see a wide range of topics and speakers. So just out of intellectual curiosity, or as a way to be inspired for your own research, or as a way to watch people give the kind of job talk you may give in a few years --- feel free to join! We have two seminars scheduled yet this week. Thursday, 9:30 am, Chris Brown (NCSU) "Digital Nudges for Encouraging Developer Behaviors" abstract: https://cs.vt.edu/News/Seminars/cbrown.html zoom: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/82669359155?pwd=SzZ0THZuS2RHTEtsa1dEWEFGTENT… Friday, 9:30 am, Liting Hu (FIU) "Stream Processing Systems for Emerging Trends" abstract: https://cs.vt.edu/News/Seminars/LitingHu.html zoom: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/89356124886?pwd=eXhSZ2wvQU5kdXovdGVkcXZNWHVz… Regards, Dr. R. -- Head, Department of Computer Science Virginia Tech https://cs.vt.edu/People/Faculty/cal-ribbens.html https://twitter.com/CalRibbens_VTCS

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Social Media links
by Cliff Shaffer 19 Jan '21

19 Jan '21

I was asked during our orientation session for information about ways to connect to the CS Department community via social media. Sorry to take so long responding! Here are a few things that I know about. Others feel free to add to this list. Slack: cs-vt.slack.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VT.ComputerScience/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vt_cs?lang=en Instagram: https://instagram.com/vt_cs?lang=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/virginia-tech-department-of-computer-scien… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9mOIH2cYsLEYX4nMuVRLVQ -- Cliff Shaffer Professor and Associate Department Head for Graduate Studies Department of Computer Science Phone: (540) 231-4354 Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 WWW: www.cs.vt.edu/~shaffer

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