\documentclass [12pt]{article}
\begin{document}
\title{Education and Industry Outreach at DIMACS}
\author{Deborah Franzblau, Stephen Mahaney}
\date{April 30, 1995}
\maketitle
\begin{abstract}
DIMACS is a a
Science and Technology Center
of the National Science Foundation
and as an Advance Technology Center of the
New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology
both of which have specific goals for outreach to industry and
education sectors.
Many of DIMACS' special year and workshop organizers have sought
ideas for implementing this outreach mission in the context of
their programs which usually begin from scientific goals and
perspectives.
This hastily thrown together article suggest ways to implement
this outreach.
\end{abstract}
A number of DIMACS members are interested in having more impact
on industry,
on other scientific disciplines, and/or in education, but often lack the
contacts, funding, or time to develop effective activities.
Although there are members who
believe that such activity takes away from the research programs,
in fact, we have already begun to make such links successfully.
Our experience has been that well planned initiatives do not detract
from research programs; instead they enliven the research
environment with exciting new research questions from industry or
with interesting ideas for improving education.
Contrary to the assumed ``single-mindedness'' of researchers,
we find that most appreciate well planned introductions to other
endeavors that will use their expertise.
We are not alone in this outreach endeavor: all 25 of the NSF'sFriday, April 26, 1996
Science and Technology Centers share this goal and implement it
in a variety of ways.
Other prestigious research institutes, including the IAS and MSRI
are actively enlarging and publicizing their education programs.
And the NSF is increasingly attuned to the issues of human resources
for science and engineering (ie the results of the educational system)
as well as the shift from science oriented to defense to an
industry, economic-competitiveness basis.
This is not just a nice idea.
There is strong evidence that making a stronger, more visible outreach
effort is not only good publicity, but may be essential to our survival
as a research center.
For the last few years, everyone involved in evaluating DIMACS,
including our NSF program officer, site reviewers, and the external
advisory board, has recommended strongly
that we both improve our industrial outreach or "knowledge transfer" to other fields,
and better connect our educational and industrial/scientific outreach activities with
our ongoing research programs.
One of the reasons
that such outreach activities are not included in Special-Year
or workshop planning, is that no one suggests them in time.
For example, it need not cost much to
include an industry outreach or undergraduate education chair
to a Special-Year organizing committee (just as we now have
an Implementation Challenge chair, or publicity chair),
who would be responsible for developing such activity.
The purpose of this guide is to provide ideas for
relatively simple and inexpensive
ways to include education and/or outreach components in workshops
and special years, many based on past successful experiences.
Certainly not all of these are appropriate for every Special Year
or every workshop. However, we
strongly encourage organizers to consider such activities that do fit well
in their preliminary and ongoing plans. If the executive council approves,
we plan to make additional funding available for such activities.
Special Year and workshop organizers may
consult the education coordinator (Debbie Franzblau)
and the associate directors for education (Joe Rosenstein) and
research (Steve Mahaney who is also the industry outreach coordinator
for the center) for further ideas, contacts, and
suggestions for funding sources.
\section{Industry Focused Activities for Special Years}
In each case, additional funding can be provided to a SY visitor to organize
such industry outreach projects as those below that fit with the SY
(e.g. partial salary to extend a sabbatical).
\begin{enumerate}
\item Form an Industrial Advisory Board of industry scientists who
assist in identifying scientists who would be valuable as speakers or
organizers.
\item Advise and assist workshop organizers to include an industry person
on their committee; ask this person to organize an ``industry session'' or
recruit an industry speaker to present their perspective on the session topic.
\item Organize an industrial problem seminar or include an "industrial problem
day" in an appropriate workshop,
\item Organize an industrial problem seminar
recruiting industry scientists or engineers explain their
real problems, and have time to talk to those in DM/TCS.
Scientists who can give a long term view of challenging research issues
(instead of pressing problems {\em du jour} are especially valuable to
postdocs and younger scientists.
\item Co-sponsor a research/industry postdoc in an area related to the SY.
(More expensive)
%[For example, the Logic and Algorithms special year could
%have proposed such a postdoc in a company doing software
%or chip testing and verification.]
\item Interview or collaborate with CAIP or another research center
to investigate their industrial outreach program and how successful
it is, writing up the results as a report or article.
\item Host a "career fair" featuring presentations by graduate
students and postdocs, focused on the SY area, and inviting representatives
of relevant industries to sponsor it.
\item Evaluate (with the center) the results of these outreach activities
and adjust plans.
\end{enumerate}
\section{Industry Focused Activities for Workshops}
\begin{enumerate}
\item Incorporate an industry problems session (or a talk into each
session) at a workshop.
Seek speakers who will pose large, long-range research problems.
\item Invite industry participants who are likely to be actively
interested in using research in their work.
\item Provide support for industrial use of Implementation Challenge Results,
for example:
\begin{itemize}
\item assist companies with using and adapting challenge codes;[ how do
you figure out who would use the code?]
\item clean up ftp code and problem libraries and taking charge
of explaining it for publication. [not sure what this means]
\item contact and work with industry participants to find interesting and
difficult problem instances for the challenges.
\end{itemize}
These might be valuable projects for graduate students or postdocs
who are interested in careers in industry.
\end{enumerate}
\section{Education Focused Activities}
\begin{enumerate}
\item Sponsor a workshop or symposium (preferably at a major
conference) on an important educational issue related to the SY.
For the Logic and Algorithms SY, there are now preliminary
plans for a symposium on the teaching of logic in
high school and college at the Federated Logic Conference in 1996.
[Suggestion: Teachers of grades 4-12 want to know how to include
probability and statistics in their curriculum;
a Special Year or Focus Year on discrete probability
could sponsor a special workshop at the AMS-MAA-SIAM joint meetings
to develop or discuss recommendations.]
\item Include someone prominent with strong educational
interests on the organizing committee, and ask them to organize such
a workshop or symposium.
\item Invite interested SY participants, including postdocs
and long term visitors to give a summer
or weekend workshop, aimed at HS and/or college
teachers. Or, invite them to speak at a leadership program or young
scholars followup meeting.
[Example: In 1994, R. Ravi taught a 3-day summer workshop on algorithms
and biology to group of HS teachers in the summer; both Ravi and
Dannie Durand gave talks on biology problems for the leadership program;
Muthu volunteered to talk to HS students.]
\item Invite SY participants to work with undergraduates or HS students
on summer research projects.
[Example: Vineet Bafna will lead a small research project for HS students,
and Martin Farach will work with an undergraduate
on computational biology, in summer, 1995.]
\item Sponsor a Distinguished Lecturer series
with SY visitors or workshop speakers
aimed at a broader audience: undergraduates, teachers, or
faculty in other sciences.
\item Develop an undergraduate and/or
graduate student summer school (2-4 weeks)
related to the SY topic. The Special Year on Molecular Biology
had a three week tutorial program to introduce postdoctoral level
attendees to molecular biology and mathematical problems related to
it. The Special Year on Logic and Algorithms plans a three week
tutorial for graduate students and researchers to introduce
their research areas.
\item Sponsor an undergraduate implementation challenge related to the SY or
the "senior" implementation challenge.
[Suggestion: Data Structures might be a good topic to start with.]
\item Incorporate an REU (undergraduate research) program on the SY topic.
[This might be very appropriate for a networks year.]
\item Connect the SY to a RIMS (Regional Institute in the Mathematical
Sciences) program.
[Example: Discussions are underway to sponsor a RIMS
on computational biology in '97-98, in effect extending and broadening
SY activities to a 3rd year. This might also make a lot of sense for
the proposed special years on networks or discrete probability.]
\item Partially fund a sabbatical for a visitor
(or released time for a local faculty member),
who is involved in the SY (preferably on the organizing committee)
to develop a course or text related to the SY.
[Example:. perhaps someone should develop a new graduate course on CAV,
or applied logic.]
\item Include a Saturday or evening event with (truly) expository talks
for college and/or HS teachers and/or students, and/or hands-on
activities, linked to a SY workshop.
[Example--During the Combinatorial Optimization year, the workshop on
"Solving hard optimization problems" could have been followed
by a "Traveling Sales-Rep Day" for high school and college teachers.]
[Suggestion:
For the network SY: a Saturday workshop on "how the internet works"
(looking at protocols, routing ...) for undergraduates;
a "Cryptography Day" for high school students. ]
\end{enumerate}
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