CS 4944: Senior Seminar
Fall 2009

Task 1.

• Read "Entrepreneurship during a slump" by Draper, which appeared in the August 2009 issue of CACM [URL]
• Read "Engineering rural development" by Parikh, which appeared in the January 2009 issue of CACM [URL]
• Attend class on September 22 or 29 and participate in a discussion of these articles.
• One outcome that the CS program wants to see its graduates achieve is "recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in continuing professional development." Reflecting on these articles, your experience in CS at VT, and this program outcome, write a thoughtful two-paragraph response to these questions [email your response to Dr. Ribbens by October 2]:
  • Are you motivated to pursue professional development as a computer scientist?
  • Are you prepared/equipped to pursue professional development as a computer scientist?

Task 2.

• Read "The public is the priority: making decisions using the software engineering code of ethics" by Gotterbarn and Miller, which appeared in the June 2009 issue of IEEE Computer [pdf]
• Attend class on October 27 or November 3 and participate in a discussion of this article.
• Two more outcomes that the CS program wants to see its graduates achieve are
  • an understanding of professional, ethical, legal, security and social issues and responsibilities; and
  • an ability to analyze the local and global impact of computing on individuals, organizations, and society.
  Reflecting on this article, your experience in CS at VT, and these two program outcomes, write a thoughtful one-paragraph response to this question [email your response to Dr. Ribbens by November 6]: "Do you believe achieving these two outcomes is more difficult in computer science than it is for most other science and engineering fields? Why or why not?"

Task 3. Attend class on September 15 to participate in a discussion with representatives from industry.

Task 4. Write a 4-5 paragraph essay on the topic described here. The quality of your writing will be assessed for this assignment. [Email your essay to Dr. Ribbens by November 30.]

Task 5. Attend one technical talk or seminar. Write a two-paragraph response to the presentation---one paragraph summarizing the content and one paragraph politely critiquing the presentation. The quality of your writing will be assessed for this assignment. [Email your response to Dr. Ribbens by December 10].

Task 6. Prepare and give an exit presentation, as described here. These presentations will be scheduled in 15 minute slots shown here. Please contact Dr. Ribbens as soon as possible to reserve a slot. The quality of your oral presentation will be assessed for this assignment. Presentations will be held in McBryde 114.