Beauty is in the "I"
of the Beholder
Intelligence, Information, Interaction

Speaker:

William Hargrove

Title:

Linking Computers to Solve Environmental Problems: Optimistic Clairvoyance from an Applied Perspective

(1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m., March 10, 2000, Lindley Hall 102)

Abstract:

One need not be psychic to foresee continued dramatic increases in raw computing power as the main driving force on the horizon of Computational Science. The challenge of the future will be to apply and efficiently exploit the tremendous potential of this new computational power. The ability to successfully cross over to other disciplines and imaginatively apply computational techniques to creatively solve real-world problems will be the measure of how successfully Computer Science in the 21st century realizes the great promise that it now holds. I predict that the greatest contributions will stem from the intersection of Computer Science with other fields. Computer Scientists can enhance and encourage this interaction by positioning themselves accessibly at such fertile interfaces. I will try to support these convictions using a variety of seemingly unrelated example applications which draw inspiration from disease spread, card games, sexual mating, and military tactics to solve problems in ecology, entomology, geographic analysis, climate change, pattern recognition, pattern simulation, and battlefield coordination. Our approaches to these problems involve parallel computation, multivariate clustering in abstract data space, and fractals, and entail the synthesis, analysis, and visualization of very large data sets. Computer Scientists should eagerly plunge into the ever-growing nexus at the center of the Venn diagram.