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AI Courses & Academic Departments: Some of the entries may be outdated, but they nevertheless serve as good starting points. In other words, while the classroom may have been changed, you should still land on the right campus (and maybe even in the right building), and you will hopefully be able to find your way from there. And please keep in mind that there is no representation whatsoever as to either the quality of the individual resources referenced or that any of these lists are comprehensive or complete.

AI Academic Departments. Offered by dmoz, The Open Directory Project.

AI Research Laboratories and Groups. "AAAI is pleased to provide links to the following AI-related research laboratories and groups (listing does not indicate affiliation or endorsement by AAAI)."

AI, Cognitive Science & Robotics Research Groups & Resources. Started by Stephanie Warrick and currently maintained by Uwe R. Zimmer. A great way to find research groups from around the world that are working in these areas: 1) Artificial Intelligence; 2) Cognitive Science, Psychology and Linguistics; 30 Neural Networks, Neurosciences, Genetic Programming, Artificial Life; and 4) Robotics, Agent Modelling and Vision.

"Universities with AI programs exist in many countries throughout the world. This page provides links to educational institutions that offer advanced degrees in AI, sponsor substantial AI research efforts, or operate AI laboratories." From AI International.

Intro to AI Courses - provided by Chuck Dyer at the University of Wisconsin.

AI and Related Courses - other than those taught by  Russell Greiner at the University of Alberta.college building

AI in Australia and New Zealand. By the Australian Computer Society National Committee for AI. IEEE Intelligent Systems (July / August 2004). "To provide an overview of AI in Australia and New Zealand, we offer snapshots of AI research throughout the region’s institutes and universities and review its industry and conference activities."

Q&A - Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. By Gopakumar Karakonam. The Hindu (October 5, 2004). Q: am 12th standard student. I would like to know about IITs and other institutions that offer courses in robotics and cybertronics."

UK Undergraduate Courses in Artificial Intelligence. From The British Council.

Computer Vision Course Home Pages. Maintained by Qiang Ji, Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Index of Machine Learning Courses. Maintained by Vasant Honavar, Artificial Intelligence Research Group, Department of Computer Science, Iowa State University.

Natural Language Processing Course Listing, part of the 2004 NLP Course Survey conducted by ACL (Association for Computational Linguistics).

Robotics at Universities. A list of university programs from NASA's Robotics Education Project (REP).

UK undergraduate courses in robotics. From The British Council.

MIT OpenCourseWare: "a free and open educational resource for faculty, students, and self-learners around the world. OCW supports MIT's mission to advance knowledge and education, and serve the world in the 21st century." Courses are offered in areas such as Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and include, for example:

Computer Science - our overview page. That's where you'll find resources such as: Computer Science - What the Major is Like.

[W]hen asked by a student what field he might choose if he were a student today, Gates admitted he was intrigued by artificial intelligence and computational biology."
- Software-palooza College road show gives Gates a forum to attract students, trumpet advances. By Robert Weisman. The Boston Globe / available from Boston.com (February 27, 2004).

Two documents from Aaron Sloman [School of Computer Science, The University of Birmingham] pertaining to the academic study of AI:

  • "This is a vast, and misleadingly named, multi-disciplinary field of research and teaching which grew up in parallel with computer science and software engineering, while also building on and overlapping with other subjects like linguistics, philosophy, psychology, biology, mathematics, and logic. There are some who think it also needs advances in quantum physics in order to make progress. Not only is it multi-disciplinary in its origins and contents: courses in AI are taught not only in computer science departments, but also in others, e.g. psychology departments. Likewise degree courses in AI may include components that would often be found in other degrees, e.g. courses in philosophy of mind or philosophy of science, courses in linguistic theory, courses in human perception, or development or other aspects of human psychology." - from Artificial Intelligence - An Illustrative Overview
  • "Not all university teachers will agree with the view of AI presented here, and it is likely that AI degrees will differ considerably in their content because of different local expertise and different views of the subject. E.g. some will be more engineering oriented and some more science oriented. Some of the latter may be closely linked to psychology, others to philosophy, logic or mathematics. Applicants for university degree courses should therefore look carefully at what is on offer before choosing." - from What is Artificial Intelligence?

Stuart Russell on the Future of Artificial Intelligence. Ubiquity; Volume 4, Issue 43 (December 24 - January 6, 2004). One of the questions he's asked is: Is the AI community in the US pretty much the same as it is everywhere, or is there a European school and a US school and so forth?

Also see our FAQ -> Q: I am planning on entering a career in robotics and artificial intelligence and was unsure if my course selection for university next year is suitable.graduation cap & diploma

Be sure to check out the Resources section of the General Index to AI in the news for articles such as: Welsh uni to turn science fiction into fact. By David Williamson. The Western Mail / available from i c Wales (August 2, 2004). "Students at a Welsh university are to begin preparing for a world shared with intelligent robots. A new degree in robotics will teach students how to apply science fiction in science. The release of the big-screen adaptation of Isaac Asimov's I, Robot has fuelled speculation about whether robots designed as servants could attempt to become our masters. Dr Mike Reddy at the University of Glamorgan is determined to take these questions from the realm of science fiction and explore them in the new BSc Science (Robotics) degree. ... The science fiction of the 20th century, he argues, not only created the concept of the robot but demonstrated the complexity of the threats, opportunities and moral dilemmas their arrival would spark. ... The degree will be launched next year, but the areas involving the social and ethical concerns of scientists and the need for effective communication of scientific concepts with the public, can currently be studied in BSc (Hons) Science and Science Fiction."

...and for those of you considering graduate school, here are some additional resources:

Articles about Graduate School from ACM Crossroads, include:

  • Advice for Undergraduates Considering Graduate School. By Phil Agre. (1997). ACM Crossroads. "This document contains informal advice for undergraduates who are thinking about graduate school. Graduate school comes in three varieties: professional schools (law, medicine, education, etc.), master's programs, and doctoral programs. I know little about either professional schools or master's programs, so I will concentrate on doctoral programs. In particular, I will use the term "graduate school" to refer to doctoral programs."
  • How to Succeed in Graduate School: A Guide for Students and Advisors. By Marie desJardins. (1994). ACM Crossroads.

UK Postgraduate Courses in Artificial Intelligence. From The British Council.

A Brief Guide to Studying Artificial Intelligence in the UK. Provided by Felix Agakov. "This list is far from being complete, but may provide a starting point for recent graduates and last-year undergraduate students willing to study Artificial Intelligence in the UK."

Cognitive Science Graduate School Programs. Compiled by the Cognitive Science Society.

Graduate Programs in Robotics. FAQ 6.1 in Kevin Dowling's collection of Robotics FAQs.

UK Postgraduate Courses in Robotics. From The British Council.

FAQ: "I am applying for a Masters course in AI, but in the interim I would like to get a head start in AI programming. Can you suggest which programming language(s) I should learn ?"

FAQ: "I'll be applying this fall/winter to graduate school. I just want to find a few graduate schools with decently interesting Machine Learning/AI programs.... Where should I look?"

How to Choose A Grad School - Figure out what you want and who can give it to you. By Susan Karlin. IEEE Spectrum Online (September 2005).

Applying to Ph.D. Programs in Computer Science: an annual talk given by Mor Harchol-Balter. You can access it in different formats from her homepage. As stated in the Introduction: "This document is intended for people applying to Ph.D. programs in computer science or related areas. The document is informal in nature, and is meant to express only the opinions of the author. The author is currently an assistant professor of computer science at CMU, and has been involved in the Ph.D. admissions process at CMU, U.C. Berkeley, and MIT." The 5 topics covered in the 2003 update are: Do I really want a Ph.D.? & What does a Ph.D. entail?; The Application Process; Fellowship Information; Choosing the right Ph.D. program for you; and, Current 2002 Rankings of CS Ph.D. programs in the U.S.

What's Google's Secret Weapon? An Army of Ph.D.'s. By Randall Stross. The New York Times (June 6, 2004). "Rajeev Motwani, a computer science professor at Stanford, says: 'Good Ph.D. students are extreme in their creativity and self-motivation. Master's students are equally smart but do not have the same drive to create something new.' The master's takes you where others have been; the doctorate, where no one has gone before."

Ranking Caution and Controversy. From the Education and Social Science Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Many people question the use and usefulness of rankings services such as those found at this site. Without a doubt, knowledge of how rankings are constructed, leavened with a dash of skepticism, can go a long way to ensuring they are used appropriately. In addition to the print articles listed in our rankings bibliography, many interesting Internet-based articles may be found concerning what one should make of rankings. ..."

Some helpful pages from US News & World Report:

Some of the many Associations & Organizations:

OVERVIEW: AI Matures and Flourishes in North America. By David Mike Hamilton, Tom M. Mitchell, and Carol M. Hamilton. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 18(4): 87-88, c3 (July/August 2003). "Separate artificial intelligence organizations in North America have existed for nearly 40 years. From humble beginnings, when a small interest group served the field, to today, when AI groups serve every niche, AI is flourishing.The oldest AI organization in the region is SIGART, the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence. SIGART began publishing a newsletter for its members in the mid 1960s...."

"Artificial intelligence societies exist in many countries throughout the world. This page provides links to scientific societies that further research activies in AI." From AI International.

The American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI): "The American Association for Artificial Intelligence is a nonprofit scientific society devoted to the promotion and advancement of artificial intelligence -- what constitutes intelligent thought and behavior and how it can be exhibited in computers. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in AI research and development."

  • membership brochures: (html) (pdf)

Artificial Intelligence Student Union (A.I.S.U.). One aspect of its mission is: "Arousing public and students' awareness and interest in Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) in Hong Kong."

The A.I. Honor Society, National Chapter at The George Washington University

Association for Computing Machinery Student Chapters (ACM).

  • Also see SIGART, the ACM Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence.

"The Association for Women in Computing (AWC) is a not-for-profit, professional organization for individuals with an interest in information technology." Some of the student chapters can be found at:

Associations - General AI, in a particular country (FAQ 3-1b). From AI FAQs, written by Ric Crabbe, Amit Dubey, and Mark Kantrowitz. See their index for other categories of associations such as Logic Programming, NLP, and Robotics.

Australian Computer Society National Committee for AI. AI in Australia and New Zealand. IEEE Intelligent Systems (July / August 2004). "To provide an overview of AI in Australia and New Zealand, we offer snapshots of AI research throughout the region’s institutes and universities and review its industry and conference activities."

British Computer Society (BCS) Specialist Group on Artificial Intelligence (SGAI), founded in 1980 as SGES (Specialist Group on Expert Systems).

Canadian Society for Computational Studies of Intelligence (CSCSI)

Coalition to Diversify Computing (CDC)

"Computing Research Association (CRA) is an association of more than 200 North American academic departments of computer science, computer engineering, and related fields; laboratories and centers in industry, government, and academia engaging in basic computing research; and affiliated professional societies. ... CRA's mission is to strengthen research and advanced education in the computing fields, expand opportunities for women and minorities, and improve public and policymaker understanding of the importance of computing and computing research in our society."

European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence (ECCAI) represents more than 20 member societies.

Florida AI Research Society (FLAIRS)

Japanese Society for AI. "Though almost all the content on this site is written in Japanese, the following information [on this page] will be useful for English speakers."

Oxford University Artificial Intelligence Society - started in 1979.

"The Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour (SSAISB) is the largest Artificial Intelligence Society in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1964, the society has an international membership drawn from both academia and industry. It is a member of the European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence."

"The Technology Student Association (TSA) is the only student organization devoted exclusively to the needs of technology education students. Open to students who are enrolled in or who have completed technology education courses, TSA is composed of over 100,000 elementary, middle, and high school students in 2,000 schools spanning 45 states. TSA is supported by educators, parents, and business leaders who believe in the need for a technologically literate society. Our members learn through exciting competitive events, leadership opportunities, and much more!"

And check out related news articles in our Resources news archive. That's where you'll find articles such as:

  • July 11, 2005: Five questions - Jason Kadarusman. Interview by Jonathan Sidener. The San Diego Union-Tribune & SignOnSanDiego.com. "Jason Kadarusman is a co-founder of the Intelligent Systems Society (www.IntelligentSys.org), an organization being set up to promote the study of robots and other intelligent systems. Kadarusman and co-founder Anuj Sehgal studied computer science and built robots as undergraduates at Brigham Young University-Hawaii. The two are seeking volunteers to serve on the group's board of directors as part of obtaining nonprofit status."

Careers in AI & Employment Opportunitiesroadsign: career outlook

Cool Careers in Science. From Scientific American Frontiers. Among the questions addressed are: What inspired you? - What do you do during a typical day at work? - If I'm a student thinking about a career designing and building robots, what can I do now to prepare?

  • "Meet Maja Mataric. Maja is working on developing the next generation of intelligent robots!"
  • "Meet Roger D. Quinn. He's teamed up with biologist Roy Ritzmann to design and build a robot that imitates the cockroach, an insect with superior locomotion."
  • "Meet Manuela Veloso. With her students at Carnegie Mellon University, Manuela designs soccer-playing robots that have won international RoboCup competitions."
    • Also see this interview from the Carnegie Mellon Look Who's Talking collection.

3 articles from Newsweek's September 23, 2002 report on Hot Tech Careers:

Two from New Scientist Graduate:

  • A Career in Artificial Intelligence. "Until Steven Spielberg's movie came along, the two things that spring to mind when most people heard the term AI were artificial insemination or very crude robot brains. But slowly artificial intelligence is making its way into the mainstream and the process is drawing in graduates from a many fields as its full potential begins to dawn."
  • Real Lives: A.I. Postdoc Researcher. Simon Colton: "In A.I. you get to feel like you're breaking new ground - you can get this feeling like you're a pioneer."

A Day In The Life. From ACM Crossroads. A collection of interviews which provide a peek into the lives of computer scientists, interface designers, and others.

The Princeton Review explores a career as a Robotics Engineer in a series of pages that include A Day in the Life, Past & Future, and Facts & Figures.

Dream Jobs 2005. IEEE Spectrum Online (February 2005) - Ayanna Howard: Robot Wrangler. By Stephen Cass."She's designing future generations of robotic explorers to bring back even more science for the buck. Her goal: a robot that can be dropped off on a planet and wander around on its own...."

"Like all creators, scientists and technologists must dream, must put forth a vision, or else they relegate their work to almost pointless incrementalism."
- Edward Feigenbaum

Information about a career in robotics. See our response to this student inquiry.

Majors & Careers. From the College Board. Here is just a sample of what you'll find:

"The high technology sector is where everybody from a computer programmer to a game designer, a chemist to a lab technician, and a telephone technician to a web designer works. ... Careers of the Future gives you a current snapshot of many of the jobs in those industries. The information is based on interviews with managers and employees in B.C. companies and post-secondary educational institutions." Gaming and Robotics are just two of the industries profiled in this resource from Future Works Training, Inc.

Our collection of AI Career & Employment Statisticsstudents looking at pie chart on computer screen

Internship Opportunities for Students, courtesy of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) --- and --- Internship Opportunity Links from ACM Crossroads.

How to find an internship. From CollegeBoard.com.

Here's a very small sample of the variety of interships that might be available:

  • Google Engineering Summer Internships
  • IBM Research Summer Intern Program
  • Microsoft Intern Programs: US and UK
  • Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL) Intern Program
  • Museum of Science, Boston - Technology Education Intern: "The staff, volunteers and exhibits of Cahners ComputerPlace provide a highly diverse group of visitors the opportunity to learn about computer science topics such as robotics, artificial intelligence, and programming and to explore computers as a tool for helping us understand and change our world."
  • "USC's Institute for Creative Technologies offers select interdisciplinary internships for creative and technical students wishing to pursue careers in simulation and virtual reality fields. ... Research and project work at ICT includes the following topics: * Artificial Intelligence * Emotional Models for Virtual Characters * Natural Language and Multi-modal Dialogue ...."

Occupational Outlook Handbook (2004-2005), from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Find out about the nature of the various jobs in the computer industry, the employment outlook, salary ranges, related careers, and much more.

Related Career Titles for Computer Science Majors. From The University of Toronto Computer Science Department. Starting with Accountant and ending with Web Programmer, there's lots to consider.

AI Job Opportunities from the AI Magazine Job Bank.

Agent Job Finder from AgentLink, the European Commission's IST-funded Network of Excellence for Agent-Based Computing coordinated by the University of Liverpool and the University of Southampton.

Career Opportunities from the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

Jobs in Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery. From the Machine Learning Online Information Service, a web site funded by the European Commission.

Check out our FAQ: How do I prepare for a job in AI?

Some related news articles from the AI in the news - Resources collection:

  • A few good women - Tech firms want more female computer whizzes. By Marci Mcdonald. U.S. News & World Report / USNews.com (August 16, 2004). "That sense of isolation and inadequacy is one reason the number of women earning computer science degrees in this country has plummeted over the past two decades -- with women dropping from 37 percent to 28 percent of graduates -- at the very moment their presence in other scientific and engineering disciplines has soared. 'You look at the national statistics,' says Rick Rashid, senior vice president of research at Microsoft, 'and you just have to be appalled.' Until recently, many in the high-tech industry shrugged off that female brain drain. They could fill top information-technology slots from abroad or American doctoral programs, where foreign nationals still snag half the Ph.D.'s. But suddenly homeland security issues and visa hurdles have clogged that foreign pipeline. And countries like India are luring their U.S.-educated citizens back home to their own burgeoning Silicon Valleys. ... Faced with forecasts of a looming brainpower shortage -- and the retirement of those baby boomers who are the industry's pioneers -- many leading U.S. players fear the country could lose its competitive edge. 'Over the next seven years, our hiring needs are going to be huge,' says Wayne Johnson, executive director of HP's university relations worldwide. 'If you don't have half the U.S. population participating, you have a tremendous gap in filling these needs. What we're doing here is creating a disadvantage for ourselves as a nation.'"
  • Talking to Bill. Interview by Gary Stix. Scientific American (May 24, 2004). "On the occasion of the fourth TechFest at Microsoft Research--an event at which researchers demonstrate their work to the company’s product developers--Bill Gates talked with Scientific American’s Gary Stix on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to cosmology to the innate immune system. A slightly edited version of the conversation follows. ... BG: ... it's not clear whether we're getting the best and brightest in the U.S. to go into these programs and contribute to solving these problems. SA: Why is that? BG: Oh, it's partly that the bubble burst. It's partly articulating the benefits of the field and the variety of jobs. People have to know that these are social jobs, not just sitting in cubicles programming at night. Our field is still not doing a good job drawing in minorities or women, so you're giving up over half the potential entrants just right there. ..."
  • Robots to the rescue. By Dave Scheiber. St. Petersburg Times (March 2, 2003) . "In the war on terror, University of South Florida engineering professor Robin Murphy finds herself a pioneer on the front line with a new kind of soldier: the search-and-rescue robot. ... Her father was a mechanical engineer, and growing up in Mobile, Ala., Murphy took notice: 'That's what I always wanted to be.' She immersed herself in science fiction, a passion that one day would lead her to name her robots after female science-fiction writers. 'I never really identified with the heroes, the ones who fought all the space wars,' she says. 'I always thought the scientists who built things for these guys to go and do great things were far more interesting.' ... 'I just want to be of use,' she says, as her bustling robot seminar winded down last week. 'You look at what these guys in fire and rescue service have to do. The technology is there to help them. And it's up to my community of scientists to get to where we can give the right technology to the right people at the right time.'"
  • The Software Developer as Movie Icon. Editorial by Warren Harrison. IEEE Software (January/February 2003; Vol. 20, No. 1, pages 5 - 7). "As a college professor, I often get an opportunity to speak with incoming freshmen who have decided to major in computer science. Virtually all these young people share a single attribute: they have no idea what a professional software developer does. This means that many students who pick this career will either be unsuccessful or, worse yet, successful at a career they'll hate until they retire. At the same time, many students who would find the profession enjoyable and be quite good at it might not give it a second thought."
  • In UT program, 'citizen-scholars' put knowledge to work. By Rich Cherwitz, Sarah Rodriguez and Julie Sievers. The Austin American-Statesman (December 1, 2002). "Ask computer science doctoral candidate Harold Chaput what artificial intelligence and digital technology, the subject of his dissertation, have to do with the lives of people, and you'll see the passion driving his research. 'Technology,' said Chaput, 'is a tool for doing important, fascinating, powerful, beautiful things."
  • The Next Hot Jobs. By Chris Taylor. SmartMoney.com (posted May 14, 2002: from the June 2002 issue of SmartMoney Magazine). "This being our 10th anniversary year, we thought it was a good time to look ahead to the next decade and figure out which fields are destined for growth. ... Though our list gives you a glimpse of the future, it is grounded in the real. ... Bioinformatician - The fusion of biology and computer science is the hottest of the hot in science right now, and it's going to heat up even more. ... Data Miner - You've no doubt heard by now that your personal info is just sitting out on the Web, waiting for marketers to capitalize on it. But how exactly do they sift through the info glut? Enter the data miner.... A.I. Programmer - Artificial intelligence used to be the stuff of sci-fi novels. Now it has spread from androids into all sorts of everyday fields, each of which is booming. ... Salaries start at $50,000 and climb to $70,000 to $80,000 after a few years."
  • Game Programmer/Developer: The name of this game is resumes -- and fun. New UW program on thinking inside the Xbox and GameCube fills fast. By Ruth Schubert. Seattle Post-Intelligencer (December 31, 2001). "And wages in the field average $61,403, according to an industry survey."
  • Things That Matter: A Technology Corps. By Michael Hawley. Technology Review (November 2001). "Why so few computer scientists and engineers join the Peace Corps is unclear. Perhaps it's because most technologists are trained in environments that require a lot of infrastructure and support in order to push through to the next discovery. ... There are, however, rays of hope. One fledgling approach ... is Geekcorps. Launched by Ethan Zuckerman, who cofounded the successful Web service company Tripod, Geekcorps sends SWAT teams of technologists into the field to give the world's poorest people access to the Internet. The Geekcorps folk work with local communities to build the infrastructure needed to bootstrap local businesses."
    • Also see: Geeks to the Corps. By Aleks Krotoski. Technology Review (February 16, 2005). "While the Peace Corps builds houses, lays pipes and teaches chemistry, the International Executive Service Corps/Geekcorps has a more high-tech raison d' etre.Since early 2000, the charitable organization has been sending programmers, network designers and technical support to cities in some of the most impoverished nations in the world."
  • CMU's push to put more females in computer science is paying off. By Bill Schackner, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Staff Writer. (August 20, 1999) "Experts say the shortage of women in computing is more than a problem of gender equity. It has made it harder to fill positions in some of the hottest technical fields. In programming alone, several hundred thousand jobs now go begging, according to some estimates. Women bring different perspectives that could help the discipline's evolution, and their absence means those ideas aren't being tapped, Martin and others say."

Something for EVERYONE: Equality & Diversity in AI and the Computer Sciences

AAAI Grants and Scholarships. "Through its Women and Minority grants, AAAI supports programs that specialize in reaching out to these communities to encourage careers in computer science."

"The Ada Project (TAP), originally located at Yale, is a WWW site designed to serve as a clearinghouse for information and resources relating to women in computing." And for the younger crowd, there's TAP Junior.

CRA-W: "The goal of the CRA Committee on the Status of Women in Computing research (CRA-W) is to take positive action to increase the number of women participating in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) research and education at all levels."

"CS-Camp [Computer Science Computing and Mentorinng Partnership] is a support program designed to enhance the interest and persistence of female students in pre-college computer science." It is funded by the National Science Foundation and is one of the many programs at Rice University's Center for Excellence and Equity in Education (CEEE) which "seeks to promote greater participation of underrepresented groups in the sciences, and to encourage academic excellence for all." Other programs include: GirlTEC - " In response to a serious shortage of women in computer science and information technology, GirlTECH works to promote the participation of girls and women through K-12 student and teacher programs, university student admission and retention programs, and national outreach and awareness efforts."

  • Also see this related article: Gtech gives girls blueprint for success. By Cynthia Lescalleet. Examiner News.com (May 27, 2004). "The best way to increase girls’ interest in engineering professions is to expose them early to what the field is all about, which is problem solving. Fortunately, schools at many levels are doing just that through their curriculums, clubs and camps, plus a huge commitment by teachers tuned into technical mentoring. ... Attracting and retaining girls in technical fields is historically a complex issue, says Michael Sirois, program manager at Rice’s Center for Excellence and Equity in Education. Rice’s CEEE, sponsors a computer science camp for girls and their teachers from nine area schools, including Bellaire High School. The two-summer program is funded by the National Science Foundation. In it, 50 students spend two weeks embroiled in computer concepts and applications, such as programming, but also robotics and artificial intelligence."

CSE Colloquia - 2005, The University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering Colloquium Series, is available in video format from the ResearchChannel, and includes talks such as:

  • Computer Science Participation: "Despite decades of intervention, women and minorities remain significantly underrepresented in computer science and engineering at all levels of the academic pipeline. In this CSE Distinguished Lecture, Professor Jan Cuny, University of Oregon, reviews a number of existing efforts at the national level and calls for broad new alliances to solve this problem."
  • Gender, Lies and Video Games - Women and Computer Sciences: "Princeton University professor, Maria Klawe, explores how girls and women differ from boys and men in their uses of, and attitudes towards, computers and computing. From playing computer games to pursuing computing careers, the participation of females in the computer sciences tends to be very low compared to that of males. Klawe discusses research findings on this issue and initiatives designed to increase the participation of females in computing."

The Center for Women and Information Technology at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The Center has a three-fold mission:

  • to encourage more women and girls to study computer science and/or information systems and to pursue careers in IT
  • to enable more women and girls to use IT comfortably and knowledgeably and to understand its rapidly increasing importance in every field, not just in science and technology but also in the arts, the humanities, and the social sciences
  • to foster research concerning the relationship between gender and IT

Diversity in Computing. An interview with Valerie Taylor "associate professor in the Electrical and Computing Engineering Department at Northwestern University" from Ubiquity, an ACM IT Magazine & Forum (Issue 26: August 28 - September 3, 2001).

Ethical Considerations in Gender-Oriented Entertainment Technology. By Melissa Chaika. ACM Crossroads Student Magazine (2.2 / November 1995). "It is an established fact that women are not entering technical fields in anywhere near the proportions of men. What is often assumed, however incorrectly, is that this has always been the status quo."

The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences. An internet presentation from Mitchell C. Brown, Librarian, Princeton University. Be sure to scroll down to the entries for "Computer Scientists."woman at computer

Gender Equity Project at the Berkeley Expert Systems Technology Lab "is a series of research and deployment projects aimed at increasing the number of women who enter and persist in engineering. Our approach is to remove inequities and barriers that have been shown to discourage underrepresented students and develop equitable learning environments that improve engineering education for both men and woman."

Gender Equity Project. Berkeley Expert Systems Technology Lab, Department of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley. "The Gender Equity program is a series of research and deployment projects aimed at increasing the number of women who enter and persist in engineering. Our approach is to remove inequities and barriers that have been shown to discourage underrepresented students and develop equitable learning environments that improve engineering education for both men and women."

"Girls In Technology - a subcommittee of Women in Technology. "The mission of Girls in Technology is to support academic and community programs that engage school-age girls in technology and computer-related learning. This support can take many forms such as providing mentors and speakers, assisting with program and curriculum development, providing financial support, and collaborating with strategic partners to expose school-age girls to technology. ... Currently, GIT furthers its mission by supporting summer camps and after school computer clubs for girls that provide technology/math/science enrichment and promote leadership skills."

  • Also see Kathleen Melymuka's interview with Marla Ozarowski, Chair of the Girls in Technology Committee, in Computerworld (January 24, 2005)

MESA USA. "California MESA is a founding member of MESA USA, a partnership of MESA programs from eight states that have joined together to support disadvantaged and underrepresented students to achieve academically in math, science and engineering and go on to attain math-based degrees. Members include MESA programs in Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington. ... Pilot MESA pre-college programs have been established in Missouri, Nevada and New York. In 2004 a Diversity in Engineering grant from HP established MESA community college pilot programs in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey and New York."

  • HP-MESA Community College Diversity in Engineering Initiative (2004): "HP is committed to the success of African American, American Indian, Latino, and female community college students in their pursuit of computer science and engineering degrees. This Diversity in Engineering grant initiative will help to establish up to ten (10) Diversity in Engineering centers at community colleges across the U.S. to support educationally disadvantaged students, and provide equipment to pilot the innovative use of wireless mobile technology in related math/science classrooms. This initiative is offered in partnership with MESA...."

Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science.

  • About the Site. ""The pages themselves were created primarily by students, first at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and since 1997 at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU)."
  • The Diverse Workplace.

Online Resources For Women and Minorities in Science and Technology. Maintained by Bonnie Bracey.

UK Resource Centre for Women in SET [Science, Engineering and Technology]. As explained on the "About the Centre" page, it "is an innovative centre set up to complement the Government's new 10 year investment framework for Science and Innovation. It is the mission of the UKRC to establish a dynamic centre that provides accessible, high quality information and advisory services to industry, academia, professional institutes, education and Research Councils within the SET and built environment professions, whilst supporting women entering and progressing in SET careers."

WISE in Wales (Women Into Science and Engineering). Meet Dr. Lynne Moore who was featured in the article, Engineer keen to see more young people made aware of opportunities in her profession. (The Western Mail - August 16, 2002):

  • "Dr Carolynne Moore, one of Wales's leading engineers, says she is particularly eager to see more women in Wales considering careers in these hi-tech fields. ... Dr Moore, 36, the only person to win a Welsh Women of the Year category twice, dismisses the idea that boys are naturally more gifted at science and engineering, while girls are more likely to excel in the arts or caring professions. ... As chair of Wise in Wales (Women into Science and Engineering) she inspires and motivates women to consider entry into science-based careers. ... At the university her role includes both teaching students and conducting her own research. She has already published more than 80 papers and a book, mainly concentrating on the application of artificial intelligence to engineering disciplines."

Women in Computer Science from the Computing Research Association Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research. "The field of computer science offers challenge, fun, and the chance to contribute to innovations that improve the quality of our lives. Traditionally, men have outnumbered women in computer science and engineering, but that trend has been changing. Increasingly, women are becoming successful computer scientists and engineers, reaping the career benefits, and telling their stories. Their successes are attracting more women to the field. This brochure tells the stories of a few of the many women in computing today." One of the women you can read about is Barbara Grosz, Professor of Computer Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

Women@SCS; School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University. "The Women@SCS mission is to create, encourage, and support women's academic, social, and professional opportunities in the computer sciences and to promote the breadth of the field and its diverse community."

Women and Minority grants. AAAI supports programs that specialize in reaching out to these communities to encourage careers in computer science. See Eligibility for AAAI Scholarships

Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering. A collection of resources from Ellen Spertus that includes: Women in AI. Researched and written by Dale Strok, Staff Editor, IEEE Expert. This article appeared in IEEE Expert, Vol. 7, No. 4, August 1992. Copyright 1992 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc..

Some related news articles from the AI in the news - Resources collection:

  • Who are the new computer whizzes? Not the guy with a pocket protector, but a middle-aged minority woman. By Sandra Lilley. NBC News & MSNBC.com (July 19, 2005). "Pop quiz: Which schools produced the most degrees in computer science in 2001? MIT? Carnegie Mellon? Georgia Tech? If you guessed any of these, you’re wrong: try Strayer University and DeVry Institute of Technology. And what kind of student is most likely to take up computer science at Strayer or DeVry? If you guessed a young geeky guy with a pocket saver, guess again: try a 35-year-old African American or Hispanic woman who already has a full-time job at a company where information technology (IT) skills are a key to advancement. ... 'We were so blown away by this,' remarked Dr. Shirley Malcom, director of Education and Human Resources at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and one of the authors of the report, 'Preparing Women and Minorities for the IT Workforce: The Role of Nontraditional Educational Pathways.' The researchers came up with an interesting -- yet disturbing -- conclusion. While adults, many of them women and minorities, are realizing they have to go out and obtain degrees in computer science to advance or just keep up at the workplace, the 'traditional' young students in four-year colleges are increasingly deciding not to major in computer science. ... At Strayer, over half the student body is comprised of women and minorities, and according to McCoy, the number of Latino students has been rising significantly."
  • Exploring new frontiers. By John Michael. Drayton Valley Western Review (June 28, 2005). "This summer, three local students will explore new frontiers as they spend time at the University of Alberta’s research labs in Edmonton as part of the U of A’s 21st annual Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology (WISEST) summer research program. ... [Emma] Rapati, who attends Warburg school, will spend the summer in the U of A’s computer science lab, developing software for interactive games. ... [Amanda] Brewer, who attends Frank Maddock high school, will study artificial intelligence this summer. She is not sure at this point in time if she would pursue robotics as a career choice, although she may decide otherwise by the end of the WISEST program."
  • What Women Want - Equality remains an ideal in science and technology. Experience and the numbers suggest it is still a dream. Red Herring (June 6, 2005). "More than a few of our readers will ask why we’re focusing on the status of women in technology at this particular time. Marissa Mayer’s story about looking for a job may help you better understand our reasons. Ms. Mayer, a computer science graduate of Stanford University, wanted what a lot of brand-new jobseekers want -- a welcoming environment and an intellectual challenge. But she saw something puzzling at many of the companies where she interviewed. ... "
  • Q&A; with Mark Dean - director of IBM's Almaden Research Center spoke about his research, his work on the original IBM personal computer and promoting African-Americans' interest in science. By Therese Poletti. The Mercury News (March 20, 2005; registration req'd.). "Q You are a rare African-American very high up in the engineering ranks in technology. Do you go out to try and get more blacks interested in science? A It's a big part of my time, spare and otherwise. IBM has a tremendous amount of effort in promoting and recruiting minorities in engineering and the sciences. We believe that the industry needs to mimic society. We need to mix, we need to match the mix that exists in society, or we won't be able to produce products that get to all of our constituency. We have a heavy push. I'm so serious that I'm looking for every minority Ph.D. graduate that is coming out of school, from computer science, electrical engineering, chemistry, physics, and maybe a few others. But I need to find every under-represented minority. We have blacks, Hispanics, American Indians. I want to hire every one of them. The good and the bad is that it's possible because there aren't that many. ..."
  • Opening doors for women in computing. By Ed Frauenheim and Alorie Gilbert. CNET News.com (February 7, 2005). "Data from the National Science Foundation shows that the female share of bachelor's degrees in computer science dropped from 37 percent in 1985 to 28 percent in 2001. And while women comprised 33 percent of information technology professionals in 1990, that figure was down to 26 percent in 2002, according to NSF. The drop is puzzling in part because women are making progress in related areas such as the natural sciences. On the other hand, some efforts to bring women back to computing appear to be paying off. That's seen as vital for reasons including fueling the nation's tech economy and preventing male bias in the way future technology is developed. ... One of the newest and most ambitious groups to emerge is the National Center for Women and Information Technology, a nonprofit based at the University of Colorado at Boulder that received a four-year, $3.25 million grant last year from the National Science Foundation. The group's goal is to increase the ranks of women in the U.S. computing and IT work force from about 25 percent today to 50 percent over the next 20 years. ... Another focus is reforming college computer science programs to make them less about weeding out weak students and more about encouraging all comers to succeed."
  • A few good women - Tech firms want more female computer whizzes. By Marci Mcdonald. U.S. News & World Report / USNews.com (August 16, 2004). "In her junior year studying computer science and electrical engineering, Brenda Liu was convinced she was a misfit -- an incompetent misfit, at that. One of only a handful of women in her classes at the University of California-Berkeley in 1998, she was overwhelmed by her workload and regarded any test scores that were less than stellar as proof she didn't belong in a department that seemed to be a de facto boys' club."
  • Talking to Bill. Interview by Gary Stix. Scientific American (May 24, 2004). "On the occasion of the fourth TechFest at Microsoft Research--an event at which researchers demonstrate their work to the company’s product developers--Bill Gates talked with Scientific American’s Gary Stix on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to cosmology to the innate immune system. A slightly edited version of the conversation follows. ... BG: ... it's not clear whether we're getting the best and brightest in the U.S. to go into these programs and contribute to solving these problems. SA: Why is that? BG: Oh, it's partly that the bubble burst. It's partly articulating the benefits of the field and the variety of jobs. People have to know that these are social jobs, not just sitting in cubicles programming at night. Our field is still not doing a good job drawing in minorities or women, so you're giving up over half the potential entrants just right there. ..."
  • AU computer program lures blacks, women - Foundation to study school's success at enrolling minorities. By Thomas Spencer. The Birmingham News / available from al.com (May 10, 2004). "Auburn University is the unlikely home of the nation's highest concentration of black computer science faculty and graduate students in the country. Additionally, it has a greater concentration of women in its graduate computer science program than just about anywhere else. ... According to the National Science Foundation, between 1991 and 2000, the nation's universities produced about 9,000 computer science graduates and only about 100 of them were black. Now, only about 150 blacks are enrolled in computer science doctoral programs nationwide. Less than 1 percent of the nation's computer science faculty is black, about 32 professors. 'And I think I know all of them,' [Juan] Gilbert said. Auburn now has eight black computer science doctoral students. 'We have 5 percent of the country's Ph.D. students in one place,' Gilbert said. Nationwide over the past five years, 57 blacks got doctorates in computer science. Five of them, almost 9 percent of the national total, graduated from Auburn. Women are similarly underrepresented. Though they account for more than 50 percent of the population, women make up less than 20 percent of computer science graduates and 14 percent of faculty. At Auburn, 43 percent of the computer science Ph.D. candidates are women."
  • All-girl team stars in student robotics competition. By Connie Skipitares. Mercury News / available from SiliconValley.com (April 13, 2004). "Who says girls don't excel in science and technology? ... The team -- the Super Nova Girls [Castillero Middle School] -- is the only all-girls team to take the top prize at a statewide robotics competition for middle school students in the five years contests have been held. ... [Kristen Petruzzelli, 12] says the more science and technology competitions girls join and win the more it will debunk the notion that girls can't be scientists and engineers. ... Experts say that girls are just as smart and as interested in science and technology as boys, but they often shy away from those subjects because they don't think they will be good at them or they feel intimidated by boys in classes."
  • The Computer World Could Use More IT Girls - The industry is still mostly a guy thing, and that's a major drawback for women and society. Commentary by Jane Margolis ["researcher of education at UCLA, is co-author of 'Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing' (MIT Press, 2002)]. Los Angeles Times (May 21, 2003; no fee reg. req'd.). "Though women accounted for 46.6% of the U.S. workforce in 2002, when administrative and support positions were excluded, women made up only 25% of the IT workforce. It matters greatly that the inventors, designers and creators of computer technology are mostly males. At the most basic and individual level, girls and women who do not become engaged in the technology are missing the educational and substantial economic opportunities that are falling into the laps of computer-savvy young men. In the long term, the absence of women at the design table will affect computing as a discipline and the direction of its influence in society. At the very least, products are being designed that do not meet the needs of women."
  • Robots and Girls - A Promising Alliance. By Monika Müllerburg and Ulrike Petersen. ERCIM News (No. 53, April 2003). "It is evident that engineering and computer science are key professions for the European economy. It is necessary that women should participate in the creation of future technologies, and our society must seriously consider the question of whether it can afford not to utilise the potential talents of women. ... Our experience shows that edutainment robotics meets with great interest, and that learning by doing is a promising way of raising the appeal of technical subjects, especially to girls and women. This is one of the main aims of the project 'Roberta - Girls Discover Robots'."
  • How to Start a Revolution - Women in Computing Descend on British Columbia. Canada NewsWire (October 10, 2002). "Six hundred women in computing sciences from all over the world will converged today for the start of the Institute for Women and Technology's 4th Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) conference scheduled for October 10th-12th, 2002 at the Hyatt Regency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ... With topics ranging from 'From Bits to Bots: Women Everywhere, Leading the Way' to 'Examining Artificial Intelligence and Computing Using the Lens of Gender' to 'How to Start a Revolution' the GHC conference continues to inspire, motivate, educate and encourage women in the field as it celebrates those who are creating, improving, researching, and studying computer-related technologies and sciences from around the world. For more information on conference see: www.gracehopper.org. The Institute for Women and Technology is the host of the Celebration."
    • A video archive of the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing is available from ResearchChannel. Among the many presentations you can watch is the panel discussion: Women in the History of Computer Science - "A panel of pioneers of the 1940s & 1950s discuss their experiences, which range from programming the world's first computing machines to developing biomedical and graphical applications for computers. This video provides an opportunity to hear and learn the hidden history of the period and to confirm that Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper were not the only female contributors to the rich history of computing!"
  • Women look to shape the future. By Emma Smith. BBC (July 25, 2002). "Women are using technology more than ever before. They do more online shopping than their male counterparts and are making up an increasing percentage of internet users around the world. But while the number of women who use computers is increasing, less and less are studying computer science at university. It seems that women are shying away from the very careers that would give them their best shot at gaining influence and making a difference in the 21st century. One of the most commonly cited reasons for not pursuing careers in technology is its image. Many women, particularly young women, think that technology careers are geeky, anti-social and even boring. The truth is somewhat different."
  • Local girls get scientific. By James Finlaw. The Herald News (July 13, 2002). "That spirit of learning and fun is exactly what Ted Boudria, the director of the Bristol Tech Prep Consortium, hoped the summer camp would instill in young women when his group launched the program. Begun eight years ago, the camp is designed to introduce young women to fields the nation's Department of Labor has identified as having a dearth of females -- technology and engineering. 'The federal government has indicated, through the Department of Labor, that less than 25 percent of the work force in engineering and related fields is composed of women,' said Boudria." [Also see our Summer Camps, Courses, Programs & more page.]
  • Lilith: Geek Music to Girls' Ears. By Katie Dean. Wired News (March 23, 2002). "It's a familiar story: A middle school girl stops going to the computer lab after school because boys hog the machines. That was Susannah Camic's experience. It bothered her enough that she wrote a 10th-grade essay about it. Her paper sparked the beginning of the Lilith Computer Group, a club designed to get girls more involved in computing in middle school."

Competitions, Conferences & Events

AAAI Awards, including the AAAI Intel Science and Engineering Awards.

AI Conferences and Meetings. From AAAI. "Each year, AAAI sponsors, cosponsors, and cooperates with a number of conferences, workshops, symposia, and meetings."

Calendar of Events. From AI Magazine students looking at message board

DARPA Grand Challenge. "The second DARPA Grand Challenge, a field test designed to accelerate research and development in autonomous ground vehicles that someday will help save lives on the battlefield, will be held on October 8, 2005."

Data Mining Competitions. From KDnuggets.

"The 'EURON/erf Technology Transfer Award' was created in 2003 in order to improve the quality of robotics research and to raise the profile of technology transfer between science and industry. Now to be presented annually, the Award is intended for outstanding innovations in robot technology and automation arising from the cooperation between research and industry."

Events on Artificial Intelligence. From Georg Thimm at the Design Research Centre, a research group in the School of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Events & Conferences. A collection of links from the Open Directory Project.

General Game Playing Competition. "The AAAI General Game Playing Competition is designed to test the abilities of general game playing systems by comparing their performance on a variety of games."

High School Programming Contests. From ACM's collection of Student Competitions.

"The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) is the world's largest pre-college science competition that provides an opportunity for the world's best young scientists and inventors to come together to share ideas, showcase cutting-edge science projects, and compete for more than U.S. $3 million in awards and scholarships."

RoboNexus - "the international business development, educational and consumer event for personal, service and mobile robotics."

Robot Competition Links. From Robot Books.com.

"Sodarace [a joint venture between Soda and Queen Mary, University of London] is the online olympics pitting human creativity against machine learning in a competition to construct virtual racing robots. ... Sodarace is not just for fun. It is a shared competition for Artificial Intelligence researchers to test their learning algorithms while also being a play space in which to communicate the benefits of Artificial Intelligence research with a wide audience and promote a creative exploration of physics and engineering."

  • When Virtual Robots Race, Science Wins. By Danna Voth & Rebecca L. Deuel. IEEE Intelligent Systems (March / April 2004). "Sodarace, an asynchronous, interactive Web game that pits human-created virtual robots against artificial intelligence-based, machine-created virtual robots, has a clear winner: science."

The Turing Test. Check out the various events mentioned on our Turing Test page and in the related news collection.

What AI competitions exist ? FAQ 1-23 from Ric Crabbe and Amit Dubney.

The Droids of Sport - Robotic competitions are popping up around the world. A new book, 'Gearheads,' examines their universe. By Brad Stone. Newsweek / available from MSNBC (March 24, 2003).

Robots make a clean sweep. swissinfo SRI (October 1, 2002). "Robots which dust, wipe, clean and scrub are being put through their paces this week at the first international cleaning robot competition in Lausanne. The event is one of the highlights of a week-long international conference on intelligent robots."

More articles about competitions can be found in the general index to AI in the news -> Resources

Exhibits & Collections (also see our Reference Shelf)

ThinkQuest Library of Entries- Artificial Intelligence. An amazing collection of high school AI projects. [ThinkQuest is an international competition where student teams engage in collaborative, project-based learning to create educational websites. The winning entries form the ThinkQuest online library.]

Computer History Collection at The Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Computer History Exhibits. "A coalition of Stanford computer scientists and the Computer Museum History Center (CMCH), formerly a part of The Computer Museum (TCM) in Boston has installed exhibits within the Gates Computer Science building to contain historical equipment and documents focusing on Stanford's role in the history of computing. The exhibits will be changed and updated as time permits." Don't miss the phototour and the collection of photographs.

Computer History Museum - Where computing history lives. "The Computer History Museum is the world's largest and most significant history museum for preserving and presenting the computing revolution and its impact on the human experience. It allows you to discover how computing became the amplifier for our minds and changed the way we work, live and play." Why not begin by exploring Mastering the Game: A History of Computer Chess.

Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature. "Frankenstein will visit 80 libraries across the country between October 2002 and December 2005. In addition to the exhibition, participating libraries will host interpretive and educational programs that help audiences examine Mary Shelley's novel and how it uses scientific experimentation as metaphor to comment on cultural values, especially the importance of exercising responsibility toward individuals and the community in all areas of human activity, including science. ... The exhibition and related materials were developed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) of the National Institutes of Health and the ALA Public Programs Office and funded by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)." One of the main topics of the exhibition is: "3. Passages from the novel and how they illuminate the dilemmas raised by Dr. Frankenstein's ability to create life and his failure to take responsibility for what he has created."

The On-Line Books Page. "The On-Line Books Page is a directory of books that can be freely read right on the Internet. It includes: An index of thousands of on-line books on the Internet; Pointers to significant directories and archives of on-line texts; Special exhibits ...and more! The On-Line Books Page was founded in 1993 by John Mark Ockerbloom ... He remains the editor of the pages...."

Portable AI Laboratory. "The Portable AI Lab is a computing environment containing a collection of state-of-the-art AI tools, examples, and documentation. It is aimed at those involved in AI courses (i.e. in both teaching and learning) at university level or equivalent. It has been developed under Swiss National Research Programme PNR 23 on AI and Robotics by IDSIA Lugano in collaboration with IFI, University of Zurich and the Laboratoire d'IA at the EPFL, Lausanne. The system is available free of charge."

"The Robot Hall of Fame recognizes excellence in robotics technology worldwide and honors the fictional and real robots that have inspired scientific accomplishments. It was created by Carnegie Mellon University in April 2003 to call attention to the increasing contributions of robots to human endeavors."

Robotics: Sensing, Thinking, Acting. An exhibition from The Tech Museum of Innovation.

Wired NextFest.

How To . . .

Avoiding Rejection. A Letter from the Editor, James Hendler. IEEE Intelligent Systems, September/October 2005 (Volume 20, Number 5, pages 2 - 4). "I realized recently that I was repeating the same advice to multiple authors,so I thought that putting it in this column might be of use to those writing for this magazine (and other technical publications). This advice might also be useful to share with your graduate students or the junior colleagues you mentor -- I learned it through a lot of reviews of a lot of rejected papers,and I sure wish someone had shared more of this with me earlier in my career!"

Help on how to conduct a computer science research project. From Michael Schillo. Very thorough.St. Bernard dog to the rescue

"A collection of advice about how to do research and how to communicate effectively (primarily for computer scientists)." From Mark Leone. There's even a section lisiting humorous how-to's !!!

How to Cite Electronic Sources. A Learning Page from the Library of Congress. "Materials available on the Library of Congress web site include: films; legal; maps; recorded sound; photographs and drawings; special presentations; and texts. Selections from the digitized historical collections are used to illustrate the citation examples that follow." (Also see the related resources in the Responsible Scholarship section below.)

How to Conduct an Informational Interview. Created and maintained by S. Marques, Kentridge High School Library Online. (Also see the related resources mentioned in our response to student letter #7.)

How to design a poster for the AAAI Student Abstract and Poster Program (with examples). From Sven Koenig, associate professor in computer science at the University of Southern California and former chair of the program. "A good poster allows someone to grasp quickly what your research is all about, and allows you to explain your ideas to them in more detail in case they are interested. It works like this: ... "

How to do Research At the MIT AI Lab. "By a whole bunch of current, former, and honorary MIT AI Lab graduate students. David Chapman, Editor. (A 1988 Working Paper.) "This document presumptuously purports to explain how to do research. We give heuristics that may be useful in picking up the specific skills needed for research (reading, writing, programming) and for understanding and enjoying the process itself (methodology, topic and advisor selection, and emotional factors)."

How to get that first grant: A young scientist's guide to (AI) funding in America. Jim Hendler's slides from a tutorial presented at the Fifteenth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI98), Madison, Wisconsin, July, 1998.

How to give a talk. By Bruce Randall Donald, Professor of Computer Science at Dartmouth College. "So you've been asked to give a talk in front of a seminar--or possibly in front of a much larger audience. Or maybe you've been giving lots of talks, but you wonder about how you can make your talks more effective? The purpose of this page is to present some ideas about presentation style."

How to Find an Internship. From CollegeBoard.com. "Internships come in all shapes and sizes. Some are paid and some are unpaid. Some last for a summer while others continue through the school year. ... Many people think internships are for college students, but opportunities for high school students exist as well."

How to start Exploring AI on the Web - Web sites to visit to learn the latest about AI. By Mary Kroening. PC AI Magazine (January/February 2002), 16.1.

How to Write a Research Paper. From LibrarySpot. Covers the basics from grammar to how to evaluate what you find on the Web.

How to Succeed in Graduate School: A Guide for Students and Advisors. By Marie desJardins. (1994). ACM Crossroads. "The goals of this article are to raise awareness of the need for a healthy and interactive graduate student-advisor relationship, to provide pointers and guidance for both advisors and graduate students in navigating the maze of a doctoral degree, and to give references and resources for those who hope to learn more."

Online Forums & Groups

AI-related Newsgroups and News Sources. From Artificial Intelligence FAQ's, maintained by Amit Dubey and Ric Crabbe; written by Ric Crabbe, Amit Dubey, and Mark Kantrowitz.

AIWiki. Maintained by the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Department of Information Technology, University of Zürich. "This is a collaboratively created and edited area dedicated to all facets of Artificial Intelligence. We hope that AIWiki will become a valuable resource and meeting point for minds interested in Artificial Intelligence and related topics. The project is just getting started; we aim for a level of detail much greater than what is currently on most of the pages." ("Anyone can edit any page and is encouraged to do so." - from About Wiki.)

aboutAI.net Forum. "Welcome to the aboutAI.net general discussion forum! Here you can post all questions and comments related to Artificial Intelligence and similar topics. Please note that we are also listing all new threads from related forums around the Web. Hope that this resource will prove valuable to all AI researchers and enthisiasts. Best regards, Denis Susac aboutAI.net Webmaster."going "online"

Artificial Intelligence Community at msn. Chat room, message boards, and much more.

BBC's 16+ School talk about forums. Topics include Information Technology and Choices.

Generation5 Forums. Categories include: "Beginner/Novice - We all start somewhere, why not start in this forum! All questions will gladly be answered in this forum," "Philosophy - Discuss philosophy and artificial intelligence, what it means to be conscious, self-aware and anything else interesting," and "Robotics - Discuss the ins-and-outs of various robots, their hardware, software, operation or engineering."

Game AI discussion forum. International Game Developers Association. "The main purpose of the Game AI SIG is to talk about Artificial Intelligence in games -- its implementation, problems, purpose, technology, etc. We want to talk about what developers are doing, what technical problems they face, what games they think have great AI, what tools they're using to build the AIs for their next games."

Google comp.ai Groups. "Google Groups contains the entire archive of Usenet discussion groups dating back to 1981. These discussions cover the full range of human discourse and provide a fascinating look at evolving viewpoints, debate and advice on every subject from politics to technology." AI groups include: .edu; .fuzzy; .games; .nat-lang; .neural-nets; .philosophy; and .vision.

machines and man: ethics and robotics in the 21st century. From the Tech Museum of Innovation. "This section contains four questions examining robotics and ethics. Each question contains audio responses collected from researchers, scientists, labor leaders, artists, and others. In addition, an online discussion area is provided to allow you to post your own comments or respond to the questions."

Serendip's Forum: Brain Matters. "This is the beginning of a site where pre-college students can post questions about the brain and we will respond to the best of our ability. Please feel free to use it at any time." Be sure to check out the other forums and resources at the Bryn Mawr College based Serendip site.

Ubiquity Forums. Hosted by Ubiquity, an ACM Magazine & Forum.

Responsible Scholarship

Evaluating Information Found on the Internet. By Elizabeth E. Kirk, The Sheridan Libraries of the John Hopkins University.

Evaluating Resources and Evaluating Web Pages, by Kelley Lawton and Steve Cramer, respectively, of the Duke University Libraries.

"There's also an ongoing debate about the reliability of data found on the Internet; kids need to be taught how to evaluate it." Encyclopedias gather dust as research moves online. By May Wong. Associated Press / available from CNN.com (March 11, 2004).

Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask. UC Berkeley - Teaching Library Internet Workshops.

Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools. From Michael Engle, Olin and Uris Libraries, Cornell University.

ICYouSee: T is for Thinking. A Guide to Critical Thinking About What You See on the Web. By John R. Henderson, Ithaca College Library.

Citing Electronic Resources. From The Internet Public Library (IPL), a public service organization and learning/teaching environment at the University of Michigan School of Information. "Many people want to know how to cite information that they find on the Internet in school papers, theses, reports, etc. There is no definitive answer, but many people have made suggestions. Here are some places to go for recommended electronic information citation guides."

Citing Electronic Resources. From The Roger Williams University Library. "It can be challenging to identify the information you need to cite a Web page properly and completely. More often than not, you cannot identify the author or creator or the date of page creation. The general rule is to include as much information as you can that will help others identify and get to the Web page. There are more types of Web pages than can be covered in this overview, but we'll provide the forms and examples for three common types: Professional, Scholarly Project, and Personal." Some of the other resource collections you'll find here are: Links to Citation Style Sheets on the Web, Avoiding Plagiarism, and Copyright Information.

Citing Internet Sources. Prepared by Patti S. Caravello, Reference & Instructional Services, UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library. "These sources provide formats and examples for citing Internet sources, articles on the Web, Web sites, etc. in a bibliography or footnote. It is best to be consistent with the bibliographic style you are using to cite books and journals."

How to Cite Electronic Sources. A Learning Page from the Library of Congress. "Materials available on the Library of Congress web site include: films; legal; maps; recorded sound; photographs and drawings; special presentations; and texts. Selections from the digitized historical collections are used to illustrate the citation examples that follow."

Internet Citation Guides - Citing Electronic Sources in Research Papers and Bibliographies. Compiled by Susan Barribeau, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Memorial Library. "Many research resources are available from the Internet in various electronic formats. Formally citing such resources, as with any research resource, is a necessary part of the completed work. Citation formats for Internet resources are still in development but there are many Internet sites that offer acceptable interpretations of guidelines in several styles such as APA, CBE, Chicago, MLA, and Turabian. A selection of these sites is listed below, organized by style. Most (but not all) of the sites include formats and/or examples of citations." (Updated: April 2, 2004)

FAQ: I'm doing a report for school. What is the correct way to cite AI TOPICS as an electronic resource, internet source, or WWW page? See our response.

Plagiarism and the internet. By Robert Jaques. vnunet.com (October 17, 2003). "The vast amount of information on offer at the click of a mouse button is a tempting prospect for some schoolchildren. Our feature on the use of computers in schools set out the many benefits that technology brings to teachers and pupils. Now we speak to some teachers and pupils to discover what is being done to make sure that students get the credit only for work they have done themselves. Plagiarism isn't just unethical, it's an infringement of copyright law too, although most people don't consider this when they copy someone else's work."

Research Resources "developed by Turnitin and Plagiarism.org to teach pre-emptive plagiarism education and help students develop quality writing and research skills."

With rampant Internet plagiarism and file sharing, is technology making students less ethical?  I don't think technology makes people less ethical. It does remove people one step from their personal world. When they come across places to trade schoolwork, they see it as interacting with a machine, something not human. They don't always see that the ethics that they have in their personal world apply to technology. We need to educate students that the ethics they would use when interacting with a person still apply.
- Beth Simon, assistant professor in computer science at the University of San Diego. From: Five questions: Beth Simon. Interview by Jonathan Sidener. Union-Tribune / available from SignOnSanDiego (November 15, 2004).

Responsible Research Conduct from TheOnline Ethics Center for Engineering and Science "The mission of the Ethics Center is to provide engineers, scientists and science and engineering students with resources useful for understanding and addressing ethically significant problems that arise in their work life."

Why Copyright Web Documents? by Peter Suber, Philosophy Department, Earlham College, in which he states: "I apologize for this copyright notice. I wish it were not necessary. I relied entirely on trust when I started putting documents on the web, and was forced to attach this copyright notice by hard experience with a handful of plagiarists. I hope this notice suffices to protect me so that I can return as far as possible to the attitude of trust."

On Being A Scientist: Responsible Conduct In Research. The National Academy of Sciences (1994). "The scientific research enterprise, like other human activities, is built on a foundation of trust. ... In the past, young scientists learned the ethics of research largely through informal means -- by working with senior scientists and watching how they dealt with ethical questions. That tradition is still vitally important. But science has become so complex and so closely intertwined with society's needs that a more formal introduction to research ethics and the responsibilities that these commitments imply is also needed -- an introduction that can supplement the informal lessons provided by research supervisors and mentors." - from the Preface.

Ethical and Legal Use of Software from Copyright at Purdue University North Central: "Unauthorized copying of software is illegal. Copyright law protects software authors and publishers, just as patent law protects inventors. ..."

Using Software: A Guide to the Ethical and Legal Use of Software for Members of the Academic Community from The Pennsylvania State University computer-related policies, guidelines, and laws.

Examples of Plagiarism . . . The second set of examples demonstrates plagiarism of a computer program. From the online booklet, Academic Integrity at Princeton University.

United States Copyright Office Homepage. Be sure to check out Copyright Basics.

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