Congratulations to Omar Shehab (CS Ph.D.), who has been awarded two NSF travel grants to attend research conferences this June.

First, Omar has received an NSF travel grant to attend the IEEE Conference on Computational Complexity. The conference celebrates research in all areas of computation complexity theory, taking a look at the absolute and relative power of computational models under resource constraints. Specific topics include probalistic and interactive proof systems, proof complexity, and descriptive complexity. The conference will be held in Palo Alto California, June 5-7.

Omar has also received an NSF travel grant to attend the 45^th ACM Symposium on the Theory of Computing (STOC 2013). Here, he will be presenting a poster entited: "Hamiltonian complexity of Trefoil knot transformations." The conference is sponsored by the ACM Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory (SIGACT). It will explore original research on the theory of computation. The conference will be held in Palo Alto California, June 1-4.

Omar started UMBC’s Computer Science Ph.D. program in 2010. He is currently pursuing research under the supervision of Dr. Samuel J. Lomonaco Jr. Omar’s doctoral work exlpores adiabatic quantum Hamiltonian complexity, quantum computational simulation of topology and use of quantum optics to understand device independent cryptography. He is currently a Teaching Assistant for CMSC 641: Design and Analysis of Algorithms.

Image By: Elen Nivrae

Next week  Ben Affleck and other celebrities including Sophia Bush, Josh Groban, Debi Mazar and Hunter Biden will take part in the Live Below the Line campaign by spending $1.50 on food and drink for a day.  They will tweet their experiences on Monday through Friday,  raising awareness for the 1.4 billion people around the world living at this level of extreme poverty. 

What do you think…?

Worthy social action or Hollywood publicity stunt?

As you may recall, last November the nation was shocked when Hostess announced it would be closing the doors of all 36 of its factories after labor disputes. 

The Twinkie snack cake, the iconic cream-filled vanilla pastry, had been the lunchtime sugar-buzz treat of children in America for generations.

But when people heard that the Twinkie was being cast into the junk-food junkyard, they went into a Twinkie frenzy. 

Hysteria around the snack cake mounted. Fears of shortage had people rushing to their local grocery stores and buying hundreds at a time. People, hoping to make a quick buck, started listing the tasty treats on eBay for thousands of dollars.

It seemed that to many in America, the loss of Hostess’ golden processed package of joy was a national tragedy, akin to if Ford Motors or Levi’s Clothing had gone bankrupt. It was a marker of America’s decline.

But now fake-cream connoisseurs everywhere can rejoice.

In a surprising twist, Hostess Brands LLC will be reopening their Kansas factory and resuming production of the Twinkie, expected to appear back on shelves by July.

No doubt, the valiant return of the Twinkie means snack time America is Back! (play patriotic music)

With business prospects rising and hope in the economy being slowly–but surely–restored, the pre-recession America that we all know and love, just might be on its way back. After all, what could be more American than bread, butter, and mountains of sugar?

Image By: Dennis Yang

Ever had one of those days where sitting in traffic is the last thing you want to do?

Well, entrepreneur and frustrated Los Angeles commuter Elon Musk was tired of LA gridlock and decided to act.

Instead of reaching for a gun and he reached for his wallet. He  has committed to donate $50,000 to speed up the widening of the 405 freeway.

He says this is a

“Contribution to the city and my own happiness.. If it can actually make a difference, I would gladly contribute funds and ideas. I’ve super had it.”

In another interview Musk suggested that it was easier to get rockets into orbit than navigate his journey to work and he questioned why people weren’t rioting in the streets. 

I am sure he is not the only one at his wits end, as this year Los Angeles was ranked yet again as having the worst traffic congestion of any city in America. Furthermore, the 405 project was already (surprise, surprise) over budget and behind schedule. 

With Musk’s contribution, the majority of the project should be done by June 2014, lets hope in the meantime he’ll restrain himself from starting a road rage revolution. 

Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD.

The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers.

These great cartoons are created by Jerry King, an award-winning cartoonist who’s one of the most published, prolific and versatile cartoonists in the world today.

So for a few moments, take a break from your daily routine, have a laugh and enjoy these funny cartoons.

Feel free to leave your comments and suggestions below as well as any related stories of your own…

Integrity… almost

Common startup mistake

Time for a change, make a sale

Can you relate to these situations? Please share your funny stories and comments below…

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Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD.

The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers.

These great cartoons are created by Jerry King, an award-winning cartoonist who’s one of the most published, prolific and versatile cartoonists in the world today.

So for a few moments, take a break from your daily routine, have a laugh and enjoy these funny cartoons.

Feel free to leave your comments and suggestions below as well as any related stories of your own…

Integrity… almost

Common startup mistake

Time for a change, make a sale

Can you relate to these situations? Please share your funny stories and comments below…

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