ICS 90: New Student Seminar

Fall 2021


Twice-Daily Checkin Link (see Recording Attendance below)

Click the Checkin link when you are told the appropriate word in class.
If you cannot check in, see Rich right after class. We have used this
system for a few years, and it works well; if you are having a problem,
check with your seat neighbor, possibly checking in on their device.

Instructor

Rich Pattis (pattis@ics.uci.edu)

Course Goals and Plans

The three main goals of ICS 90 are to help new students make a successful
transition to UCI; to build a sense of community in ICS, introducing new
undergrads to the school, some of the faculty, the majors we offer, and the
work we do.

In a typical class session, one faculty member will speak for 40 minutes
about their background and work (leaving 10 minutes for questions). On
other days, I will speak, addressing general issues about college life, the
field of computing, strategies for success in ICS and UCI, and generally
answering questions from students.

Student Expectations

ICS 90 is a one-unit course graded Pass/Not Pass. We have designed it
to require no work outside of the class meetings, but we do expect every
student to attend every class. If you cannot attend a class for any reason,
send an email explanation to Rich Pattis before class, as early as possible.

Learning happens in the class, so you should be present. Before the first
class we will send an email to all our students describing how we will
record attendance electronically (see Checkin link above).

Recording Attendance

Bring a phone, tablet, laptop, smart device to class that allows web browsing.

During the lecture we will ask you to navigate to the ICS-90 Home page
and record that you are attending class by following the Checkin link at the
top of this web page. There you will see a message with instructions about
how to continue; you will enter a special word that we will announce in
class. On some days there might be multiple checkin words; to be counted as
present, you are expected to checkin with all words within 10 minutes of when
we announce them. Do this immediately when you are shown the word!

It is academic misconduct to (a) check in for an absent student, (b) check
in and leave class early, unless you have arranged permission beforehand
with the instructor, or there is an emergency (in which case you should
email the instructor ASAP), (c) check in when you are not in the classroom.
But, you may allow other students present to use your device to run Checkin
(if they cannot use theirs). Generally unless there is an internet failure, there
are no excuses for not checking in within the appropriate time limits.

After you have successfully checked in, please turn off your device and
and pay full attention to the speakers.

Schedule of Speakers

Week Date Speaker Topic (and link to talk, if available)
Week #1 9/27 Rich Pattis Course Introduction and Attendance Taking Procedures
9/29 Rich Pattis A Day Answering Students Questions (come prepared)
Week #2 10/4 Constance Steinkuehler Squire Enriching ESports: Opportunities and Challenges
10/6 TBA  
Week #3 10/11 Alex Ihler Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
10/13 Marina Juarez (SAO Counselor) Academic Planning Workshop
Week #4 10/18 Elaheh Bozorgzadeh IoT (Internet of Things) and Embedded Computing Systems
10/20 Sergio Gago Mobile and Connected Health
Week #5 10/25 Melissa Mazmanian Informatics Research and Perspectives (Chair of Informatics Department)
10/27 TBA  
Week #6 11/1 Tony Givargis TBA (is Chair of Computer Science Department)
11/3 TBA  
Week #7 11/8 Sandy Irani
An Introduction to Quantum Computing
11/10 Ray Klefstad
The 3 Biggest Mistakes that Derail CS Students' Careers
Week #8 11/15 Movie The Paper Chase (Part I)
11/17 Movie The Paper Chase (Part I)  
Week #9 11/22 Wayne Hayes Doing Science with Computers
11/24 No Class  
Week #10 11/29 Amelia Regan Computation and Transportation
12/1 TBA