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Earlier this morning the official opening of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) occurred amid dreams, hopes and disappointment. The watering down of the language to achieve greater levels of agreement has resulted in a many NGOs rejecting the document and declaring the conference a failure. Other have continued to point to the commitments that have been saved, particularly those that reaffirm previous environmental and human right declarations, as a sign of success.

With respect to the efforts of the higher education sustainability associations, here is a quote from Leanne Denby, President of the Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (who were the lead in the Aiming Higher side event): The side event went well, and we pulled a decent crowd despite the lateness of the evening. There appeared to be general consensus from the delegates that tertiary education does play a critical role in realising sustainable development, but needs to be supported with the active participation of business, government and youth. In particular, tertiary education needed to stop teaching 'unsustainability', and ensure the research it undertook went towards finding solutions to ongoing environmental and social issues. I just received the following comment from Harriet Sjerps Jones who serves on the Board of Directors of our UK partner, Environmental Association of Colleges and Universities (EAUC): In the released final outcome document draft, 229-235 sections are allocated to education and "higher educational institutions" are mentioned in section 235. I am sure that our concerted efforts definitely affected the final draft.

For those of you who would like to see where the discussions started today, the final draft can be found at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/19/rio-20-future-we-want-... .
Below is the excerpt that Harriet referenced:

Education

229. We reaffirm our commitments to the right to education and in this regard, we commit to strengthen international cooperation to achieve universal access to primary education, particularly for developing countries. We further reaffirm that full access to quality education at all levels is an essential condition for achieving sustainable development, poverty eradication, gender equality and women's empowerment as well as human development, for the attainment of the internationally agreed development goals including the Millennium Development Goals, as well as for the full participation of both women and men, in particular young people. In this regard, we stress the need for ensuring equal access to education for persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, local communities, ethnic minorities and people living in rural areas.
230. We recognize that the younger generations are the custodians of the future, as well as the need for better quality and access to education beyond the primary level. We therefore resolve to improve the capacity of our education systems to prepare people to pursue sustainable development, including through enhanced teacher training, the development of curricula around sustainability, the development of training programmes that prepare students for careers in fields related to sustainability, and more effective use of information and communication technologies to enhance learning outcomes. We call for enhanced cooperation among schools, communities and authorities in efforts to promote access to quality education at all levels.
231. We encourage Member States to promote Sustainable Development awareness among youth, inter alia, by promoting programmes for non-formal education in accordance with the goals of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
232. We emphasize the importance of greater international cooperation to improve access to education including through building and strengthening education infrastructure, increasing investment in education particularly investment to improve the quality of education for all in developing countries. We encourage international educational exchanges and partnerships, including the creation of fellowships and scholarships to help achieve global education goals.
233. We resolve to promote Education for Sustainable Development and to integrate sustainable development more actively into education beyond the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014).
234. We strongly encourage educational institutions to consider adopting good practises in sustainability management on their campuses and in their communities with the active participation of inter alia students, teachers, and local partners, and teaching sustainable development as an integrated component across disciplines.
235. We underscore the importance of supporting educational institutions, especially higher educational institutions in developing countries, to carry out research and innovation for sustainable development, including in the field of education, to develop quality and innovative programmes, including entrepreneurship and business skills training, professional, technical, vocational training and lifelong learning, geared to bridging skills gaps for advancing national sustainable development objectives.

News junkies will be pleased to see that there is a wealth of international coverage and some stories are starting to emerge here in the US and Canada. If you want a running commentary see the blog at http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/jun/20/rio-20-earth-summit-live-blog.

Pirates! The first promotional iNet for Involvement Fest - Fall 2012 

Originally from Almora, India, Yatish came to UMBC in 2009 to pursue his Master's in Computer Engineering. When he's not studying, Yatish likes to run, play disc golf, and read thriller novels.

About Yatish…

When did you know you wanted to study Computer Engineering?

I pursued a Bio/Math track in high school and wanted to be a doctor more than an engineer, but by 12^th grade, all the dissections in Biology turned me off and finalized my choice of Engineering.

Are you part of any labs, clubs or organizations on campus?

Yes I am part of the ESNET Lab run by Dr. Younis.

What are you researching for your thesis?

My research area is Wireless Sensor Networks, specifically algorithms and approaches to recover a network from multi node failures efficiently using distributed approaches.

Have you had any internships? 

I have interned in Samsung Electronics in 2010, working on managing Visual Display Projects related to the Hotel TV lineup.

What are your plans after graduation?

I plan to go back and work for a few years before returning to academia.

What is your dream job?

Setting up my own technical consulting firm.

On UMBC and CSEE…

What was your first impression of UMBC?

I liked the fact that everything was enclosed in a loop so it was easy to get around, and I was surprised to find that we had a nationally ranked chess team and no football team!

What was your first Computer Engineering Course?

My first Computer Engineering course at UMBC was CMSC611: Advanced Computer Architecture taught by Dr. Younis. It is one of the most fundamental classes and was one of my most favorite and enjoyable class to date.

What was your favorite Computer Engineering Course?

I would recommend CMSC611: Advanced Computer Architecture, and CMPE640: VLSI design to anyone in the CSEE program to build a solid foundation. People that enjoy playing with numbers should definitely take CMPE 645: Computer Arithmetic Algorithms.

What do you like about the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (CSEE) Department?

I love the fact that professors and staff are easily accessible and you can stop by to ask questions or just chat.

How would you describe the professors in the department?

They are friendly and willing to help you out outside class.

What advice would you give to incoming graduate students?

Don’t forget to have fun, despite the workload.

1 Peter 3:14-18 (NIV)

14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

Reflection:

There are many reasons why we may suffer. Peter is encouraging the church to take care in responding to trying times and opposition. If we are going to suffer, may it be for doing what is right and living for God. That is a blessed life. That kind of life is not shaken by fear of death or dying, but rather lives deeply in the faith and hope of Christ who “was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.”

Responding to the Transmission:

When we face troubles and opposition we can get discouraged and feel like giving up or giving in. It can become an avenue that leads to getting stuck on ourselves or acting out. Let’s ask that our response would be the opposite - that we would instead respond with greater love and greater devotion toward God. If we should suffer, let it be for living for the glory of God. This does not mean that suffering feels sweet. But it does mean that God is turning what was once bitter into something that sweetens His glory.

Constantine Vaporis, professor of history and director of the Asian studies program, will give a series of lectures onboard the Orion II, an Australian-operated cruise ship, during  a ten-day tour around the islands of Japan and Korea. The cruise will begin in Hokkaido in the far north, travel along the Sea of Japan to Busan, Korea, and then through the Inland Sea. The ship stops in a number of cities, including Otaru, Kanazawa, Matsue, Busan, Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Kobe.

During the cruise, Vaporis will deliver lectures entitled “A Maritime View of the Japanese Archipelago,” “The Samurai in History” and “Popular Culture and The Atomic Bombs in Japanese History and Popular Culture.”

This video is a short documentary about the LEGO Turing Machine built by Jeroen van den Bos and Davy Landman at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica in Amsterdam.  They built the device for CWI's exposition "Turings Erfenis" in honor of Alan Turings one hundredth birthday this year and to demonstrate how simple a "universal computing device" can be.

Alan Turing was a brilliant mathematician who helped define the theoretical model of the computer as we know it today. He also made many other significant contributions to cryptology, artificial intelligence and computer sceince. He was a visionary, one of the few people of his time who recognized the role the computer would play for humanity.

The Turing Machine was defined in 1936 as an abstract model for a simple device that manipulates symbols on a strip of tape according to a table of rules. Turing Machines are not intended to be practical, but can be used to simulate the logic of any computer algorithm and to define the limits of what can be computed by real computers. You can learn more about the abstraction and why it is important by taking CMSC 451, Automata Theory and Formal Languages.

There have been many physical models built in the past, but this one is interesting because it was built with a single Lego Mindstorms NXT set. One unfortunate limitation of this Turing Machine is that it has a finite 'tape'. See the Lego Turing Machine site for more information.

The Washington Post published an article by Steven Overly on June 11 detailing the recent partnership between the University of Maryland, College Park and the aerospace and defense technology corporation Northrop Grumman. The article noted the recent trend of corporations engaging more directly with universities via donations and partnerships, and cited specifically UMBC’s own collaboration with Northrop Grumman and other firms in the development of both a master’s program and an incubator program in cybersecurity.

Read Overly’s original article for Washington Post here.