In addition to his coursework in the Computer Science Department, Kendall is an undergraduate researcher in the department's Computational Biology Laboratory. Kendall, along with eight other students at BYU, is applying his unusual combination of skills in computer science and biology to understanding disease and making progress toward therapeutic intervention. Although researchers have long hypothesized that a point mutation in an individual’s DNA causes certain diseases, recent findings suggest that these aliments might actually be generated by a duplication of certain genes. Kendall and his fellow researchers have trained their attention on Down syndrome, one disease caused by gene duplication.

DAAD programs are meant to create goodwill and professional relationships that will help build a solid basis for relations between Germany and North America. DAAD scholarships are highly competitive and recipients are selected by independent selection committees on the basis of outstanding academic records and convincing project proposals or statements of purpose. As the German national agency for the support of international academic cooperation, the DAAD offers programs and funding for students, faculty, researchers and others in higher education providing financial support to over 50,000 individuals per year. DAAD also represents the German higher education system abroad, promoting Germany as an academic and research destination and establishes ties among institutions around the world.

DAAD New York, which is one of 14 international branch offices, was founded in 1971 to support academic exchange between the U.S., Canada and Germany. DAAD New York maintains three major missions: to act as a bridge between U.S., Canadian and German universities, higher education professionals and students by providing information and assistance; to administer fellowships and other programs for students and scholars in the U.S. and Canada; and to contribute to Germany's public diplomacy by promoting Germany's academic, scientific, and cultural achievements in the U.S. and Canada.

In the picture at right, Kendall (center) and fellow student, Nathaniel Gustafson, work with researchers to study mice afflicted with Down Syndrome

The emphasis is not an open-enrollment program. Students wishing to enroll must apply in the Computer Science Department Office by Friday, August 1, 2008.

Click here to download the application.

For more information, please contact Kiersten Nielsen, 3361 TMCB; 422-9439.

Computer Science Animation Emphasis MAP

Computer Science Animation Emphasis Prerequisite Chart

The creation of the Computer Science Animation Emphasis, in conjunctionwith BYU's newly created Center for Animation, will continue the trendof preparing BYU students to enter the workforce with the technologicalbackground and skills necessary to influence the growing animationindustry.

The 79-hour BYU Computer Science Animation Emphasis gives students astrong background in computer science fundamentals (38 hours) , whichis complemented by courses in visual arts (21).

Computer Science Animation students may also choose to augment theirstudies by participating in undergraduate research with one of the manygraphics-oriented research projects in the department

Advanced 3D Animation Laboratory, Dr.Parris Egbert

Computer-Generated Natural Phenomena Laboratory, Dr. Mike Jones

Computer Graphics, Vision, and Image Processing Laboratory, Dr. Robert Burton, Dr. Bryan Morse, Dr. Tom Sederberg, and Dr. Bill Barrett

The BYU Computer Science Department has a long history of contribution to the field of computer-generated animation. BYU Computer Science students have been instrumental in the production of each of BYU's celebrated animated shorts. These short films, including "Lemmings," "Petshop," "Faux Paw," "Turtles," "Noggin," "Las Piñatas," "Lion and the Mouse," and "Pajama Gladiators" have been widely heralded by the animation industry. They have garnered 7 "College Television Awards" or "Student Emmys" from the Acadmey of Television Arts and Sciences as well as 2 "Student Academy Awards" from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Upon entering the industry, BYU Computer Science students continue to excel. Each computer science student who has worked on one of BYU's animated films has gone on to graduate school or has accepted a position at an animation studio. BYU Computer Science Alumni are employed with some of the top studios in the industry, including Pixar, Disney Animation, Entertainment Arts, Industrial Light + Magic, Avalanche Studios, and LucasFilms Animation. BYU Computer Science students have contributed to a number of recent blockbuster films, including "Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Dead Man's Chest," "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe," "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," "Cars," "Ratatouille," "Shrek 3," and "Transformers." Recently, one computer science alumni, Jason Smith, who is currently employed as a technology lead at Industrial Light + Magic, was named by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the industry's "Brightest and Most Talented 35-and-Under Artisans."During a speech given at BYU in 2008, Ed Catmull, president and co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and president of Disney Animation, lauded the work in animation at BYU. He remarked, "over the years, Pixar has worked with a lot of different universities around the country and hired people. One of the interesting things is, all of a sudden, in the last few years, we found that BYU has risen to the top." Later that afternoon in a press conference, Dr. Catmull told journalists that BYU students hired as interns "come in and do production work right away and do a fantastic job." He continued, "it's amazing to suddenly see that BYU is producing the best in the industry. It's the perception not just at Pixar but also at the other studios that something pretty remarkable is happening here."

In May, Microsoft's Live Search team invited 28 of the top PhD students from the United States and Canada to travel to Redmond for an on-site interview and Live Search event. The event and interview process was unique in that the Microsoft team searched out many of the 28 candidates itself--none of the 28 candidates had received telephone interviewes by the team, and many of the candidates, including Yihong, had not even submitted a resume to Microsoft in the first place. Yihong's invitation was extended because Live Search team members had become aware of his excellent scholarship and research in the field of computer science.

The focus of the event was to improve Microsoft search. Each of the 28 participants selected had a strong background in an area related to web search. Some of the areas of expertise included query optimization, distributed computing, image process, data mining, and natural language processing. Yihong was the only participant with a primary background in his area of expertise, semantic web. Yihong remarks, "I found it exciting to be in a group of young scientists of varied disciplinary areas while at the same time with a focused general theme."

During the event, Microsoft made sure that Yihong and his fellow candidates were treated to the very best, including lodgings in the luxurious Westin Bellevue and chauffeured limousines. Yihong was able to meet with program leaders from Live Search and leading web experts from Microsoft Research. He was also given the chance to contribute in a session where the participants, Yihong in particular, were asked to share all of their "crazy ideas." He was able to offer his suggestions and insights into the future of online searches.

Summing up his experience, Yihong remarks, "I appreciated this opportunity...it gave me a chance to hear the first-hand opinions about the future of Web search from the most frontier industrial developers and researchers, as well as from many of my peers--PhD candidates from all over the North America." And he doesn't forget to add that he "had a wonderful journey to Seattle."

by Caleb Warnock

Community leaders are warning that these days, tech-savvy Utah Valley teens are accessing porn in surprising ways.

At a recent conference at BYU, experts warned that teens can sometimes be several steps ahead of unwary parents.

"I have e-mails from parents whose child had managed to create an invisible user account," said Charles Knutson, who teaches computer science at BYU. "I'm a computer science professor but that doesn't mean I know everything. My first reaction was can you do that? I dove in and I was shocked. You can do that."

To get around filter software at home, "there are kids that are building a Linux boot disc, and they throw in a CD and you bypass everything," said Knutson. "There are bootable USB drives. There really is a subset of kids that are both tech savvy and committed to accessing inappropriate materials."

Those are just two ways to get around filters. In some instances, filters shut off Internet access after 10 p.m., so teens log in early and turn the computer monitor off. The computer looks shut down, but teens are sneaking back to surf porn after parents are asleep.

Crafting ways to overcome software filters can be part of the attraction for teens -- and teens have a tech-savvy social network, passing around information and educating each other on ways to access porn on the sly.

Even if your filter software is impenetrable, your neighbors may inadvertently be offering porn to your teens. Many families may not realize that a neighbor's unpassworded wireless Internet access spills over from one house to another, allowing teens to log into a neighbor's Internet to surf porn.

And many parents may not realize that game consoles such as Microsoft's Xbox can directly access the Internet, and youth who say they are up late playing computer games may in fact be doing something much different.

And if parents are monitoring all these avenues, teens may simply go to a friend's home to access these avenues, experts said. And with so many businesses now offering free wireless access, teens with laptops or hand-held Internet devices may need only go to the local park, or a business parking lot, to feed their craving.

In addition, Internet-capable cell phones are bringing porn to schools.

"I have clients looking at porn on their cell phones while sitting in math class," said Dan Gray, clinical director of LifeSTAR, a sex and pornography addiction treatment program.

And managing the natural curiosity of youth while they live at home is one thing, but graduating high school and moving in with college roommates can bring new levels of access and choices, experts said.

With teens facing so many avenues to porn, communicating with them regularly is key, said Knutson, who is also a father of ten. The sooner parents know what their children have seen online, and how they got to it, the better.

What is available to teens on the Internet is "very addictive and very corrosive" and youth can go from introductory porn to very dark material within minutes simply by clicking on links, he said.

Parents should have Internet filter software, but must also regularly track the "emotional and spiritual state" of their kids, he said. Withdrawal and changing habits could be signs that something is going on.

Youth must be taught that pornography is a drug addiction, and not figuratively, he said.

"That is literally because there are drugs released into your brain by your own body, and you literally become addicted to the drugs in your own body," he said. "Pornographers are drug peddlers, and it is powerfully addictive."

Parents should tell their children that if they have viewed porn, "you have been attacked by a drug dealer in a moral war and the reality is that because you are normal, it works," Knutson said. "The question is how did you feel spiritually? Did it make you feel more love toward girls or your mom? And I am LDS, so I can talk about the LDS perspective, about feeling the Holy Ghost.

"There is a moral dialogue that parents have to be courageous enough to have with kids."

Experts agreed that it is essential that parents don't crush a teen with angry lectures. Teen must understand that their sexual desire and drive is normal, but must be managed.

"We really need as a society to learn to protect our kids," said Cindy Moreno, president of Communities for Decency. "Pornography is available and will always be available. It is invading the walls of our homes. It is a different time and age, and open dialogue is so important. You have to say the word pornography. They are going to hear it."

Parents must ask their children directly what they have seen and experienced, and how they got access, she said.

"Ask them when was the last time you have seen this," she said. "A lot of parents would be surprised by what they say."

Parents should begin early to make sure children are comfortable discussing their body with their parents, said Gray.

"Hopefully parents are talking to their children from a young age about sexuality and body image and healthy touch and bad touch, helping children feel comfortable in talking about their body parts," he said.

Parents should begin this process probably by age seven or eight, and make the discussion more focused as children approach puberty, discussing what body changes and sexual feelings mean and how they should be managed.

The subject of pornography should be broached early because children are exposed to provocative images, if not outright porn, at an early age, and those images can bring on sexual feelings.

When dealing with a child who has viewed pornography, "first of all, be careful not to shame them, not make them feel bad or evil," Gray said. "Some parents will get panicked and try to pull out the shame and guilt card and try to control the child with guilt."

Parents should not demonize sexuality because if teens "get the message that sexual thoughts and feelings are bad, and they feel them so strongly, the conclusion they draw is that they are bad and wrong and they are a hopeless case, unworthy of God's love, or the love of mom and dad. They come away with low self-worth and think 'Now I'm a lost cause.' "

Parents should find out how their teen viewed the porn and take action. If it was at a friend's home, speaking to the parents of the friend is essential.

And even if they think children are not listening, parents should explain, over and over as time goes on, the dangers of looking at pornography, that it is a "fake" sexual experience that can leave teens with an unrealistic view of human sexuality, that it encourages them to treat people as objects, and that it can have a lasting affect on their relationships, Gray said.

And while some youth may not immediately respond to the moral or religious aspects of pornography, "they are open to hearing that their brain is going through a process, and if they are not careful they can become addicted, just like drugs and alcohol," Gray said.

If a child continues to look at pornography despite intervention, professional help should be considered, he said.

Children leaving home for the first time must also be encouraged to check in with their parents regularly, and taught "what you are going to do if a roommate is looking at porn, how to handle it, how to set boundaries with others," Gray said. Parents should also help their children establish filters on their computers away from home.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

PROVO — Spammers and pornography peddlers don't have any qualms about having the "porn talk" with children — neither should parents, said speakers at a "Communities for Decency" conference Saturday.

"Many of you have never, ever seen as an adult what your children have already seen," said Charles Knutson, host of the nonprofit program Internet Safety Podcast. "You either are going to have the pornography conversation with your child, or your child is going to suffer."

The conference, titled the Technology Summit, focused on how parents can combat the risks of technology. Speakers said parents should be aware that children have almost constant access to pornographic material through the Internet, Internet-enabled cell phones and video-gaming systems.

Ninety percent of children between the ages of 8 and 16 have viewed pornography online, said Knutson, a computer science professor at Brigham Young University. Most of these stumbled upon pornography while doing homework.

"The benefits of the Internet to the world are unprecedented," said Knutson, who has 10 children. "As a computer scientist, I'm excited. As a father, I'm absolutely as terrified as you are."

Knutson gave conference attendees a quick tour of the different ways parents can monitor Internet use. On the basic level, he said, parents can make a habit of checking the browser history on their home computers. Some children are tech-savvy enough to selectively delete entries in the history, however, so parents should learn how to check the cache and cookies on their computers as well.

Other options include automatic filters that monitor the type of content Internet users can access. In extreme cases, Knutson said, parents can install software that will record their child's keystrokes.

"You've got to understand you have the right to manage your child's access to material on the computer," Knutson said. "The bottom line is you have to somehow seize control."

This advice also holds true for cell phones, which, in most cases, can take and receive photos as well as download Internet content, said Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings.

Rawlings was recently involved in prosecuting 19 teenagers for allegedly using cell phones to produce and distribute child pornography. The crimes were on par with felony misconduct, but because of the children's ages, 13 to 15, Rawlings reduced the charges to misdemeanors in all but one case.

Even if a child is not directly involved in taking nude photos, there is a chance they have or will receive such material, Rawlings said.

"If your children are armed with this type of technological capability, they're vulnerable," he said. "Don't be afraid to do something. Learn what you can and can't control through your cell-phone provider. Set rules. Have an open dialogue with children."

Rawlings argued that the sexualization of society, propelled by pornographic material, is affecting children's judgment and behavior. Most of the teenagers who were taking and passing along naked photos of themselves were "good kids," he said. "They are so bombarded with sexual material that this is somewhat normal to them," Rawlings said. "It may even be considered socially acceptable. This is the type of stuff they see."

Rawlings expressed concern that society's casual attitude about pornography may contribute to sex crimes.

"I can't remember being involved in a case dealing with a sexual offense against a child where porn wasn't a tie-in," he said. Fraser Bullock, founder of Citizens Against Pornography, agreed that pornography is one of the biggest dangers facing today's youth.

"We need to focus on the rising generation because we know how at risk they are," he said. "Let's protect those kids and those innocent minds."

To subscribe to Dr. Knutson's free Internet Safety Podcasts, please visit http://www.internetsafetypodcast.com/. Recent discussion topics include identity theft, online predators, chat rooms, and instant messaging.

Sambridi, originally from Kathmandu, Nepal, transferred to BYU after a semester at Southern Arkansas University. As a new BYU student, she was considering physics or astronomy. However, she took CS 142 her first semester and became interested in computer science. Within the field of computer science, Sambridi’s interests lie in the areas of software engineering and computer graphics.

Sambridi enjoys the fact that her computer science degree will allow her to enter nearly any field she chooses. The computer science field, she has found, is not limited to a certain area as computers and technology are required in all industries, a fact which will open many doors for her upon graduation. Computer science also allows Sambridi to pursue her love math and science.

GT-VMT is a well known and prestigious forum for researchers and practitioners interested in the use of graph-based techniques for analyzing complex systems. Rahul, whose research is in the field of formal methods, presented his paper entitled "Improving Live Sequence Chart to Automata Translation for Verification" at the conference. His paper discusses and presents results on using graphical languages such as charts and scenarios to perform automated verification of computer software and hardware systems.

Rahul's adviser in the Computer Science Department is Dr. Eric Mercer.

The Computer Science Department at BYU strongly encourages undergraduate mentored research. Mentored research experiences give you the opportunity to work one-on-one with faculty advisors to solve real-world problems. You will deepen your understanding of topics related to computer science, broaden your educational experience, and become better prepared for graduate school or careers in the computer science industry.

There are dozens of mentored research opportunities for undergraduates to be had among the 20 research labs in the Computer Science Department. If you are interested in researching with a professor, you can consult http://cs.byu.edu/research to learn more about the types of research being conducted and then contact the professors who have research that is of interest to you. Most professors are looking for students with a wide range of skills.

We've listed a few of the many openings below. This is just a sampling of what's available!

Computer-Generated Natural Phemonena Lab, Dr. Jones

Dr. Jones' research focusing on creating computer-generated images and animation of natural phenomena, such as trees, clouds, natural light, and geological formations. THe CGNP Lab is currently studying tree motion in the wind and sandstone erosion.

Hyperspace Research Group, Dr. Burton

The objective of the Hyperspace Research Group is the meaningful pictorial presentation of more than three simultaneous variables.

Human-Centered Machine Learning Laboratory, Dr. Goodrich

Dr. Goodrich is conducting research in designing user interfaces and AI algorithms for supporting humans interacting with robots.

Data Mining Laboratory, Dr. Giraud-Carrier

The Data Mining Lab's research touches a variety of areas: genealogical record linkage, social capital in online communities, meta-learning, applications of data mining in e-commerce, and health care.

Computational Sciences Laboratory, Dr. Clement and Dr. Snell

Drs. Clement and Snell are researchng gene regulatory network prediction and analysis. Through your work in this lab, you will learn the following skills: neural networks, Markov models, Eigenvector based prediction techniques, and statistical analysis of computational experiments.

3D Animation Laboratory, Dr. Parris Egbert

The 3D Animation Lab is currently conducting research in photorealistic 3D computer graphics, animation tools, and reconstruction of 3D objects from photographs.

If you are interested in conducting research with one of these professors, or with another professor in the department, send them and email or stop by their office to let them know. Paid, for-credit, and volunteer positions are available.

If you are interested in conducting research for credit, you may wish to consider joining a CS 598R/Capstone Demo Day project next Fall. CS 598R gives you the opportunity to work in a group or singly on a significant project with a professor. You may also be able to earn 500-level CS elective credit for the course. To sign up for the course, attend the CS 598R/Capstone Demo Day information meeting which will be held during the first week of the Fall 2008 Semester (exact date and time to be announced). At this short meeting, you will be introduced to participating professors, learn about the projects offered, and have the chance to join a group. Stay tuned for more information.