Guest Speakers

Dr. Lenin Sivalingam is a Researcher in Microsoft Research where he has built several important and popular mobile computing and networked systems. Prior to joining Microsoft, he received his PhD degree in computer science from MIT. In this talk, he will share with the audience the joys of programming as he reveals his journey to becoming a top-notch world-class programmer. Joining him will be Dr. Aakanksha Chowdhery, a recent PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University. She is a Post Doctorate Researcher in Microsoft Research where she works with robots, drones, Kinect, and other fun hardware. She will build on Lenin’s talk and show how to combine a Kinect device with an asimo robot and program them to dance and play games.

ABSTRACT
Computer Science gives us the courage to go after problems that previously seemed unsolvable. Similar to reading, writing, and arithmetic, programming is a fundamental skill for everyone and not just for computer scientists. In this talk, we will argue that the ability to think like a programmer enables us to interact with the physical world around us in a fun and meaningful manner. We will show how computers can do better than humans in solving problems and how they can be used to automate our daily mundane tasks. With live demonstration of programming, we will show how computers are better at playing games like Wordament and Tic-Tac-Toe. You will learn how to turn on lights automatically and how to unlock the door when a camera at your front door recognizes you. We will also show how you can program a asimov robot to follow your dance movements in front of a Kinect!