by offering a taste of the graduate-school experience. “The program offers two valuable experiences: 1) first-hand


SUMMER 2011 Volume 10, No. 3


The HMC Bulletin is produced three times per year by the Office of Communications


Vice President for College Advancement Dan Macaluso


Senior Director of


Advancement, Communications Judy Augsburger


Director of Communications, Senior Editor


Stephanie L. Graham


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Editorial Contributors Linley Erin Hall ’01, Rich Smith, Christine Vasquez, Koren Wetmore


The Harvey Mudd College Magazine (SSN 0276-0797) is published by Harvey Mudd College, Office of Com- munications, 301 Platt Boulevard, Claremont, CA 91711 www.hmc.edu


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Copyright © 2011 Harvey Mudd College. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in the HMC Bulletin are those of the in- dividual authors and subjects and do not necessarily reflect the views of the College administration, faculty or stu- dents. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without the express writ- ten consent of the editor.


Find the Bulletin online at www.hmc.edu/hmcmagazine


FEEDBACK Dear Editor,


knowledge of the enjoyment brought by the challenges and prac- tice of computer science research and 2) the intense experience of pursuing a problem further than others have done before,” said Zach Dodds, computer science professor and REU mentor. “The satisfaction in making progress on a difficult problem can inspire a student to pursue graduate work not because it’s ‘the next thing to do,’ but because it’s something they find worth- while and rewarding.” Students work alongside faculty mentors conducting re-


Letters to the Editor


search in computer systems, artificial intelligence, and compu- tational biology. Those who complete the program receive on- campus housing and meals, plus a $5,000 summer stipend. This year’s program runs from June 6 through August 12 and features the following research projects:


What a nice surprise to see the Lego “holonomic base” I constructed in Prof. Dodds’ 2001 robotics class make an appearance in the spring 2011 Bulletin (photo, right). Building it is one of my fond memories from my time at HMC, and the original assignment page our team turned in is still online at www.cs.hmc.edu/~dodds/projects/ RobS01/Assignment4/holo.htm. “Holonomic,” in case you were wondering, means that the device is able to move in any or all of its degrees of freedom simultaneously—in this case, it can simultaneously rotate and translate in any direction in the plane. A movie of the base in action can be found at www.cs.hmc.edu/courses/2001/spring/cs154/projects/ Movies/holo.mpg (although the eagle-eyed will notice that the movements in this video don’t require true holonomicity). Prof. Dodds and I still keep in touch occasionally, usually to discuss a new example of a maxim of his: “If it can be done, it can be done in Lego.” He always tells me that he still keeps that old project and proudly shows it off to visitors. Makes me wish I’d spent more time on it!


Garbage Collection Project Creates efficient algorithms for memory management within garbage-collected computer languages such as Java. Students study the basics of garbage collection (reclaiming memory oc- cupied by objects no longer in use), examine recent research, and produce original research that enhances the state-of-the-art in memory management.


Monocular Robot Mapping Tests machine-learning and computer-vision–based algorithms to address the difficulties involved in “low-level” visual process- ing. Using a mobile robotic platform—ARDrone quad-rotor helicopters equipped with web cameras—students will create and compare autonomous approaches for mapping and naviga- tion.


Zach Dodds, computer science professor, will mentor students this summer as part of the Research Experience for Undergraduates program.


10 Har vey Mudd College SPRING 2011


Cheers to Prof. Dodds and the rest of the CS Department faculty. Peter Kasting ’01, computer science


The Harvey Mudd College Bulletin staff welcomes your input: communications@hmc.edu or HMC Bulletin Harvey Mudd College 301 Platt Boulevard Claremont, CA 91711 Find issues online at www.hmc.edu/hmcmagazine


Dear Editor, We are gratified to read Richard Silver’s response to the article on Mudders in Kenya in the fall/winter 2010 Bulletin. Like Mr. Silver, we have seen too many good intentions go awry in Africa and agree that without partnership, economic sustainability and adequate on-going oversight, even the best ideas can fail. With those concepts in mind, Project Education began with a partnership. Our agree- ment was that the village would provide the labor and we would provide materials and ex- pertise. Later, the success of micro-enterprises and a micro-lending program enabled village participation in funding both the school and agriculture. Our director is from the village, but we have assisted in training and oversight. The impact of the ESW/MOSS students from Harvey Mudd College has done much for the people of Ngomano. Young people no longer leave the village in search of a better future. They are actively pursuing ideas for sustainable entrepreneurship. The Mudders who came to the village didn’t just install a solar system for delivering wa-


ter. They taught the people how to use it and keep it going. Their involvement has made a huge difference in how students in Ngomano think about both science and their own pos- sible futures. Mudders also gave those of us who worked with them pride in how a Harvey Mudd education is impacting the future.


Andrea Leebron-Clay P99


Designs and tests algorithms, using them in software tools that help biologists analyze real-world data to determine how two species may have co-evolved. Students will work with the “Jane” software, which applies computational techniques to analyze and reconcile the evolutionary histories of ecologically linked species to determine if and how they may have impacted each other’s development. The Summer 2010 REU project collabo- rated with more than 30 biologists and computer scientists to determine the co-evolution of 200 fig species and the wasp spe- cies that pollinate them. To date, it is the largest co-speciation hypothesis validated computationally, and its computations were made feasible by the algorithms that grew from the HMC REU.


This magazine was printed in the USA by an FSC-certified printer that emits 0% VOC emissions, using 30% post-consumer recycled paper and soy based inks. By sustainably printing in this method we have saved…


21 trees preserved for the future.


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® Back cover photo: JEREMIE FREMAUX


KEVIN MAPP


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