Newsletter for 12/20/2021

New Announcements

Announcements

Competitive Programming Club for UCSC

Hi everyone,

My name is Nhan Nguyen, and I'm a sophomore here at UCSC. My proposed major is Computer Science: Computer Game Design. I have been programming since I was in 9th grade, and I have a deep passion for this subject.

For the past 2 years, I have been very devoted to a field in Computer Science called Competitive Programming (CP for short). Throughout the course of 2 years, Competitive Programming help me explore many programming techniques and algorithms that catapult my programming skills to the next level (to name a few simple ones: Binary Search, Two Pointers, DP). As my skills steadily improve, I found myself in many different coding contest from large companies like Google, Facebook, etc (my most recent one being Facebook Hacker Cup). Being involved in the Competitive Programming community for a long time also exposes me to a very prestigious contest called ICPC ( https://icpc.global/), and from there I realized that one of my biggest dreams is to compete in the ICPC.

So I got to work looking for a UCSC club that covers the topic, and I was disappointed to find that our campus lacks such a club. Since UCSD and most UCs has such a club and we don’t, I have started and currently am running a new club that specializes in Competitive Programming here at UCSC. The end goal of this club is to improve fellow programmers personal coding skills with a variety of problems to participate in the once-in-a-lifetime ICPC contest, compete in other prestigious contests like Facebook Hacker Cup or Google Codejam, and also gearing them up with the necessary skills to ace coding interviews.

I am looking for advisors and executive members for this club. If you are interested in Competitive Programming and want to support what I'm doing or being an executive/advisor in general, please message me through my UCSC email: nhtrnguy@ucsc.edu, or you could join the clubs' discord here at: https://discord.gg/aw8EqPCbWy

P.S: If you don't know what Competitive Programming is you can see this video for reference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueNT-w7Oluw&t=1s

Promoting the new CSE newsletter!

In fall 2021, the Baskin School of Engineering welcomed a new weekly newsletter to its official communications. Introducing the CSE newsletter, a publication curated specifically for computer science and engineering majors! Issues are individually written each week and reviewed thoroughly by our team before send-off to provide an accurate, informative overview of what events and opportunities are being offered on campus. Key features of the newsletter include a greater focus on student body clubs and events, chronologically sorted announcements in a calendar format, and weekly original content from our writers.

For students that were not automatically subscribed, or non-BSOE majors that are interested, our Google Group [cse-news] can be visited and joined at this link. Email accounts from ucsc.edu can freely join [cse-news], while outside emails will need to request membership and be manually approved. The [cse-news] Google Group acts as our mailing list., so feel free to spread this link as an easy way to subscribe.

Past issues can be viewed at this public Google Drive.

We hope the CSE newsletter satisfies you. Thanks for your support, slugs!

Interested in AI or Natural Language Processing? Consider Applying to the UCSC NLP Master's Program!

Call for Applications: 1 year M.S. Program in NLP at UCSC Silicon Valley

Natural language processing (NLP) is a rapidly growing field with applications in many of the technologies we use every day, from virtual assistants and smart speakers to autocorrect. UCSC has created a unique Master’s program in NLP to provide students with the skills and in-depth knowledge of NLP algorithms, technologies, and applications that are in high demand in both industry and academia. Our program goes beyond the classroom by supplying students with industry-relevant projects for the kind of real-world experience that is essential for a successful career in NLP.

Please visit https://grad.soe.ucsc.edu/nlp/ for details.

Program Highlights:

- 1-year program, including a 3-quarter capstone project

- Core courses covering all aspects of NLP

- Instruction and capstone project collaborations with experts from industry giants like IBM, Microsoft, Amazon and Bloomberg

- State of the art facilities in the heart of Silicon Valley

Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, Amazon Employees and Interns answering common questions!!

We're building a community platform that will help students/young professionals explore different career paths within tech industry - https://pathfinder.fyi/

Here's an example for "Software Engineering": https://pathfinder.fyi/career/SoftwareEngineer/testimonials

This is just the Beta MVP, we're adding new features soon. If you have feedback for us, reach out to team@pathfinder.fyi

If you have recently done an internship or any job in Tech, PLEASE contribute to the community by clicking on the green button "contribute" in the link above.

Subscribe at the top right of the page if you want to read more content directly from engineers from Tech Companies 

2022 Straus Scholarship Informational Webinar October 19th at 4:00 pm

BSOE students are TOP prospects for UC Berkeley's Professional MS in Chemical Engineering!

MBARI Summer Internship Program

June 6 – August 12, 2022

MBARI’s Summer Internship Program provides an opportunity for talented college students (undergraduate and graduate) and educators to work directly with MBARI  scientists, engineers and communicators. MBARI’s state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, including research vessels, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), offer educators and students unique opportunities to collaborate on advanced research and development projects. The program immerses interns in collaborative teams as they learn innovative research and engineering techniques and improve communication skills. Each intern will have an MBARI mentor who will supervise a specific project for a 10-week duration. Interns also serve as peer-mentors to each other.

Applications for the 2022 MBARI internship (June 6 – August 12) will be accepted through February 7, 2022 at 8 am (Pacific).

We are currently planning for an in-person internship but may have to switch to a virtual program if COVID issues are still prevalent. Summer interns are selected following a rigorous application procedure and merit review. Hailing from around the world, MBARI’s interns represent a variety of lived experiences and education levels. We encourage all students and educators interested in a STEM career to apply. 

How to apply: 

Suggestions for those applying can be found here. All applications must include:

• A cover letter describing:
  • general interests/goals as well as specific interests/goals relative to MBARI,
  • your project preference (please choose from this list),  
  • your relevant coursework and grades, and
  • how you hope to use your upbringing, and/or unique lived experiences to enhance your internship participation 
• Curriculum vitae
• One letter of recommendation 

Winter Opportunities in the Tech4Good Lab

The Tech4Good Lab has several positions open next quarter for undergraduate students from all majors. We are looking for people who are extremely responsible, love learning, and have a strong drive to apply technology for social good. For next quarter, we have positions doing the following types of work:

• User research: interviewing and analyzing interviews to understand user needs and context, 
• Usability evaluation: conducting evaluations of interfaces for usability,
• Interface design: designing and iterating on web interfaces in Figma,
• Web development: coding an app using an Angular/NgRx/Firebase stack,
• DevOps: building tools to support developers and operations across lab projects,
• AI & economics: modeling economic systems using multiagent reinforcement learning,
• NLP: build topics to identify similarity and create clusters of short text responses,

You would be contributing to a variety of projects in the lab related to designing systems to better support the future of education, work, and community engagement. Some of the platforms we are working on include:

• An app aimed at scaling apprenticeship learning, which supports people in learning through micro-roles while supporting non-profits as they learn,
• An app aimed at microlearning through small groups to create learning environments supporting curiosity, creativity, and relationships,
• An app containing short activities for team/group community building, and also creating "small group networks" that can facilitate interesting collective goals,
• An app aimed at supporting chat-based career mentorship between industry professionals and groups of students,

Joining requires a commitment of 10 hours/week for the quarter for independent study credits. If you are interested, fill out the Tech4Good Lab Interest Form and send an email to David Lee (dlee105@ucsc.edu).

P.S. Follow our Facebook or Instagram to hear about future student opportunities in Tech4Good!

CSE Directed Reading Program

The CSE Directed Reading Program is an opportunity for undergraduate students to work one on one with a graduate mentor for a quarter to help them study an advanced topic. The program requires a 5 hour weekly time commitment, consisting of a 1 hour weekly meeting with your graduate mentor and 4 hours of independent study. In your weekly meeting you should discuss the past week's readings, discuss and clarify concepts together, and pick a direction/readings for the next week. The program is not for credit and only for enrichment purposes. We are limited in capacity by the number of graduate mentors, but in future quarters we will prioritize applicants who were unable to participate in previous quarters.

For more information, please see this Google doc: Link

If you are an undergraduate interested in participating in the CSE Directed Reading Program in Winter 2022, please fill out the following form: Link

Please send me an email at evin@ucsc.edu if you have any questions, input or just want to discuss this further!

Seeking Readers for STAT 131 - 02 (Introduction to Probability) Winter 2022

Graders will be responsible for grading homework and assignments using Canvas and GradeScope.

We are looking for students who have already passed STAT 131, are detail-oriented, conscientious, punctual, and that are comfortable using R (https://www.r-project.org/). 

Steps for the Student Applicant

• Log in to the Reader Tutor Application (RTA) system using your CruzID and Blue password.
• Submit your application. You will receive an email confirming that you have applied. An application is not a guarantee of employment.
• If your application is approved, you will receive a formal offer of employment via email. You must accept the formal offer in the RTA system within two days.
• After accepting the offer, you will receive an acknowledgment notice with instructions to complete employment paperwork.
• You are not permitted to begin working before completing the required employment forms and work authorization documents.

LSS is Hiring Tutors!

Hello!

Are you interested in becoming a campus leader and deepening relationships with other students, faculty, and staff at UCSC, while getting paid to do it?

Apply to be a Tutor or Learning Assistant for Winter 2022! Tutors and Learning Assistants work with Learning Support Services (LSS) independently facilitating weekly collaborative learning sessions to deepen students’ knowledge and practice course skills.  

What positions is LSS hiring for?

• Small Group Tutor (SGT) 

• Modified Supplemental Instruction (MSI) Learning Assistant

• SI Leader 

What Courses is LSS Hiring Tutoring Support For? 

Biomolecular Engineering

BME 160 - Small Group Tutor 

Computer Science and Engineering

CSE 100 -Small Group Tutor 

CSE 12- SI Leader 

CSE 107 - Modified Supplemental Instruction 

CSE 111 - Modified Supplemental Instruction 

CSE 111 - Modified Supplemental Instruction 

CSE 120 - Modified Supplemental Instruction 

CSE 120 - Modified Supplemental Instruction 

CSE 13S - Modified Supplemental Instruction 

Electrical and Computer Engineering

ECE 101 - Small Group Tutor 

Mathematics  

MATH 100 - Small Group Tutor 

MATH 110 - Small Group Tutor 

MATH 111A - Small Group Tutor 

Statistics 

STAT 131 - Modified Supplemental Instruction 

STAT 7- Modified Supplemental Instruction 

How to Apply

1. Fill out the LSS Applicant Form 

2. After, go to the UCSC Career Center website, and fill out an application for job number 0527.

3. Upon submission of your application, you will receive an automated email to fill out another application form. Please ignore this email and do not fill out the form, since you have already filled out the Recruitment Application form.

Don't wait! Applications close on December 10th! 

Why should you work for LSS?

• Learn leadership and communication skills - become an on-campus leader!

• Learn about educational theory that works to dismantle inequities at UCSC 

• Learn how to become an equity-minded educator

• Be a role model for students in classes you took and feel confident in!

• Work with other students and staff with similar values as you 

• Work with faculty in your major

What type of qualities does LSS look for in a strong applicant? 

• Someone interested in offering representation for their community in academia 

• Someone who cares about giving back to their communities and wants to see them succeed 

• Someone who knows what it’s like to struggle in a class 

• Someone who understands that privilege affects what type of education folks have access to 

• Someone interested in making education accessible to everyone

• Someone with strong listening skills, values and respects diverse cultures, is growth-oriented, and has a willingness to reflect. 

If you have any questions about the positions, please feel free to contact Learning Support Services at (lss@ucsc.edu). You can also stop by our Front Desk Zoom with this link Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays 2-6 pm or in-person at ARC 221 M/W/F 9 am -12 pm and T/TH 11:30 am -1:30 pm.

Genomics Independent Studies Opportunity for Winter '22

JOIN THE COMPUTATIONAL GENOMICS LAB!
It's a fantastic way to learn new skills, contribute to the development of genome science, and prepare for grad school. We offer flexible schedules, and you can telecommute with any laptop! 

We're looking for undergraduate UC Santa Cruz students with a strong background in statistics, computer science, mathematics, physics, chemistry, or biology. 

2- or 5-unit course credit is available.

APPLY HERE (http://bit.ly/38Y0cbd) BY JANUARY 10TH FOR WINTER '22!

Jobs

2 Grader positions Available for Winter 2022 course AM 147 [Computational Methods and Applications]

There are 2 paid reader/grader positions available for the Winter 2022 undergraduate course AM 147 [Computational Methods and Applications]. For these positions, we would prefer students who have taken this class in the past and performed well. The responsibilities of the 2 graders will be grading the weekly MATLAB homework submissions of the students and to coordinate with the teaching assistants (TAs).

If you are interested, please apply here: https://rta.soe.ucsc.edu/