Engaging the liberal arts and humanities

1. Engaging the liberal arts and humanities Denis L. Baggi Chairman, IEEE SA WG on P1599Chairman, IEEE CS TC on CGM T & C Board Meeting Las Vegas, May 15, 2008

2. The Computer Society: history Subcommittee on Large-Scale Computing of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, 1946 AIEE and IRE merge to become IEEE, 1963 50’s: 19 chapters US, 8,874 members 60’s: 41 chapters, 16,862 members 70’s: 100 chapters, 43,930 members 80’s: 33 TC’s, 65,200 periodical editorial pages, > 50 conferences annually, 56 standards, 125 working groups, Brussels, Tokyo, ~80,000 members Liberal Arts and Humanities Las Vegas, May 15, 2008

3. The Computer Society today 90,000 members, World's leading organization of computer professionals. largest of the 39 societies of the IEEE Computing haschanged:personal workstations,portable computers used for text, hypertext, image, video, sound, music, and network communication Example: entertainment and music second in economic importance only to oil New roles for the CS as a continuation of its past pioneering activity Liberal Arts and Humanities Las Vegas, May 15, 2008

4. New Credibility needed, to attract contributing professionals not of engineering background Vision.The CS represents and supports all those who contribute to computing in some activity: computer scientists and professionals, psychologists, sociologists, physicians, lawyers, musicians, artists, ... Mission.The CS is open to new proposals and new kinds of members, to quality beyond engineering and technology, with flexible models for Technical Committees, publications, conferences, ... Liberal Arts and Humanities Las Vegas, May 15, 2008

5. CS already interdisciplinary Explanation of next slide: TC’s and TF’s from the Web site Technical Councils in Bold and Italics TC’s in regular font Task Forces in Italics plus: number > 0 and < 1 representing the degree of interdisciplinarity (subjective and arguable) Liberal Arts and Humanities Las Vegas, May 15, 2008

6. Mathematical Foundations of Computing (TCMF) 0.6 Microprocessors and Microcomputers (TCMM) 0.1 Microprogr. & Microarchitecture (TCuARCH) 0.1 Multimedia Computing (TCMC) 0.9 Multiple-Valued Logic (TCMVL) 0.3 O S Applications and Environments (TCOS) 0.1 Parallel Processing (TCPP) 0.1 Pattern Analysis and Machine Int. (TCPAMI) 0.4 Real-Time Systems (TCRTS) 0.3 Scalable Computing (TCSC) 0.4 Security and Privacy (TCSP) 0.6 Services Computing (TCSVC) 0.6 Simulation (TCSIM) 0.5 Systems Packaging (TCCP) 0.2 Visualization and Graphics (vgTC) 0.6 VLSI (TCVLSI) 0.2 Wearable Information Systems (TCWIS) 0.7 Embedded System Codesign (TFESC) 0.4 Game Technology (TFGAM) 0.7 Haptics (TFHAP) 0.7 Human Centered Computing (TFHCC) 0.7 Information Assurance (TFIA) 0.4Nanoelectr., Nanoarch. & Nanocomp. (TFNANO) 0.3 Software Engineering (TCSE) 0.1 Test Technology Technical C. (TTTC) 0.1 Autonomous and Autonomic Sys. (TCAAS) 0.3 Bioinformatics (TCBI) 0.6 Complexity in Computing (TCCX) 0.2 Computational Medicine (TCCM) 0.6 Computer Architecture (TCCA) 0.1 Computer Communications (TCCC) 0.2 Computer Elements (TCCE) 0.4 Computer Languages (TCCL) 0.5 Computer Generated Music (TCCGM) 0.7 Data Engineering (TCDE) 0.1 Design Automation (TCDA) 0.1 Digital Libraries (TCDL) 0.6 Distributed Processing (TCDP) 0.1 Electronic Commerce (TCEC) 0.5 Electronics and the Environment (TCEE) 0.8 Eng. of Computer Based Systems (TCECBS) 0.4 Fault-Tolerant Computing (TCFT) 0.2 Intelligent Informatics (TCCI) 0.5 Internet (TCI) 0.7 Learning Technology (TFLT) 0.6Mass Storage Systems (TCMS) 0.1 Results: 18.3,or 40% Liberal Arts and Humanities Las Vegas, May 15, 2008

7. Existing examples: engineers and other specialists working together TC on Computer Generated Music: “between Signal Processing and Artistic Computer Music, including the extremes” perhaps also true forthe TC’s on Bioinformatics, Multimedia, Electr. and Environment, Wearable Info. Systems, TF's on Game Technology, Haptics Liberal Arts and Humanities Las Vegas, May 15, 2008

8. Examples from outside the CS ... what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians and poets and artists and zoologists and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world...” (Steve Jobs, “Triumph of the Nerds part 3”, PBS) Liberal Arts and Humanities Las Vegas, May 15, 2008

9. Conclusions (1) Continue with quality of publications, conferences, ... Continue with “traditional” engineering TC’s and activities but extend activities to capture, credibly, professionals not of engineering background, and make its quality available to everybody Recall: D.Baggi, Addressing the Evolving Profile of Computer Professionals, IEEE COMPUTER, October 1997, pp.84-85 (11 years ago!) Liberal Arts and Humanities Las Vegas, May 15, 2008

10. Conclusions (2) CS grows several times and enjoys contributions to computing of new types IEEE, and the technical part of the CS, become the supplier of technology and the technical reference for the whole CS Recall: D.Baggi, Addressing the Evolving Profile of Computer Professionals, IEEE COMPUTER, October 1997, pp.84-85 (11 years ago!) Liberal Arts and Humanities Las Vegas, May 15, 2008