Welcome to the Spring 2015 edition of Student Quick Takes. ACM Student Quick Takes (SQT) is a quarterly email newsletter geared specifically toward the needs of ACM Student Members. Each issue highlights ACM activities, programs, and offerings of interest.

1. Welcome, New Student Chapters!
   
2. Start an ACM Student Chapter at Your School
   
3. The Application Round for the 3rd Annual Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF) is Now Closed
   
4. Complimentary Resources for ACM Student Members from Teradata University Network
   
5. New Morgan Kaufmann and Syngress Ebook Titles
   
6. 2015 ACM-ICPC
   
7. Student Research Competition (SRC)
   
8. Site Links Students to Grad School Application Info, Summer Research Opportunities in CS
   
9. Free ACM Student Materials
   
10. Did You Recently Graduate? Are You Graduating Soon?
    
11. Register to View Our Recent Learning Webinars Now Available On-Demand
    
12. Get Involved with XRDS!
    
13. Apply for N²Women Fellowship to Attend Conferences
    
14. 2014-2015 Ambassadors for ACM Program
    
15. Book a Distinguished Speaker for Your School
    
16. Recent Additions to Skillsoft IT and Desktop Video Library
    
17. Solar Powered Micro-Data Center Design Challenge
    

Welcome, New Student Chapters!
ACM is delighted to welcome these new chapters from all around the globe to the ACM family:

• Azerbaijan Technical University ACM-W Student Chapter
• Bethel University ACM Student Chapter
• Boun ACM Student Chapter
• Brown University ACM-W Student Chapter
• BV College of Engineering ACM-W Student Chapter
• CISC ACM Student Chapter
• City Tech ACM Student Chapter
• Connecticut College ACM-W Student Chapter
• CSE-IMSEC ACM Student Chapter
• EBONYI State University ACM Student Chapter
• Fahad Bin Sultan University ACM Student Chapter
• FI-UAC ACM Student Chapter
• HKUST ACM-W Student Chapter
• Hong Kong University of Sci. & Tech. ACM Student Chapter
• INTEGRAL UNIVERSITY ACM Student Chapter
• IoBM ACM Student Chapter
• Jayamukhi ACM-W Student Chapter
• JECRC University Jaipur ACM Student Chapter
• Keene State College ACM Student Chapter
• MARIBOR ACM Student Chapter
• MMCOE ACM Student Chapter
• N.M.I.E.T ACM STUDENT CHAPTER
• New Jersey Institute of Technology ACM-W Student Chapter
• PAF-KIET ACM Student Chapter
• PVPIT Pune ACM Student Chapter
• RPI ACM-W Student Chapter
• Sheridan CSS ACM Student Chapter
• Siksha 'O' Anusandhan University ACM Student Chapter
• Sri Aurobindo Institute of Technology ACM Student Chapter
• Sri Aurobindo Institute of Technology ACM-W Student Chapter
• Tecnologico de Monterrey ACM-W Student Chapter
• Tula's Institute ACM Student Chapter
• UC Berkeley ACM SIGGRAPH Student Chapter
• UCLA ACM-W Student Chapter
• UNCC ACM-W Student Chapter
• University of Hawaii at Manoa ACM Student Chapter
• University of Houston ACM-W Student Chapter
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln ACM-W Student Chapter
• University of Richmond ACM Student Chapter
• University of Washington ACM SIGCHI Student Chapter
• Villanova University ACM Student Chapter

Start an ACM Student Chapter at Your School
Take initiative and start an ACM Student Chapter at your school today! A Student chapter serves as a gateway to forums, panel discussions, and symposia that further your professional development. Preparation and presentation of technical reports and papers and cooperative efforts on research projects allow students to test their technical expertise. Benefits include scholarship and recognition programs as well as access to the ACM Distinguished Speakers Program, one of the premier technology outreach programs in the computing industry! Learn how you can start a Student Chapter in 4 easy steps and get more info at http://www.acm.org/chapters/students.

The Application Round for the 3rd Annual Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF) is Now Closed
The second Heidelberg Laureate Forum that took place September 21-26, 2014 in Heidelberg, Germany provided a unique opportunity for luminaries in the fields of computer science and mathematics to meet with and inspire the best and brightest of young researchers from around the world. The laureates included recipients of the ACM A.M. Turing Award (computer science), the Abel Prize, the Nevanlinna Prize and the Fields Medal (mathematics). The week-long event focused on scientific inspiration and exchange through a series of presentations, workshops, panel discussions, and social events. Among the 16 laureates who participated in this year's event waslesl 2013 Turing Award recipient Leslie Lamport. ACM, in cooperation with the Klaus Tschira Foundation in Heidelberg, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and the International Mathematical Union, created the HLF in 2012 as an annual event, in part to raise the visibility of the Turing Award and ACM, but also to advance computer science and mathematics for the next generation. The 3rd HLF is taking place August 23-28, 2015.

Complimentary Resources for ACM Student Members from Teradata University Network
ACM's partnership with the Teradata University Network enables student members to access complimentary software from Teradata, MicroStrategy, SAS, Tableau, and other software tools, as well as datasets, case studies, free certification training, and other content. Currently present in 98 countries and accessed by students from over 1,700 universities, Teradata University Network (TUN) offers a unique learning and teaching experience that is supported by distinguished academics around the world. TUN provides hands-on training in combination with technical expertise. The goal of TUN is to challenge students to become innovative thinkers who know how to use data warehousing to create and enhance business value. TUN prepares its students for a competitive marketplace through offering corporate reality experience using Teradata data warehousing technology, and providing access to resources that would otherwise be overwhelmingly expensive for universities to develop and maintain. TUN is a free web-based portal for both faculty and the students, and supports students at undergraduate and graduate levels. To gain access to TUN resources visit http://learning.acm.org/courses/tun.cfm.

New Morgan Kaufmann and Syngress Ebook Titles
This winter, the Learning Center's collection of Morgan Kaufmann and Syngress books has expanded, with extended, updated coverage of hot topics areas such as cyber warfare, data mining and modeling, digital technology law, software defined networks, user experience design, and web hacking. Newly added titles include Applied Network Security Monitoring, Economics-Driven Software Architecture, Essential MATLAB for Engineers and Scientists, Object-Oriented Analysis and Design for Information Systems, Peter Norvig's classic textbook Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence Programming, Principles of Computer System Design, and the new edition of Visual Computing for Medicine.

Here are some additional titles you will find in the collection:

• The Basics of Web Hacking
• Bridging UX and Web Development
• Cloud Networking
• Data Modeling Essentials, Third Edition
• Hacking with Kali
• Plan, Activity, and Intent Recognition
• Principles of Computer System Design
• Python Forensics
• The UX Five-Second Rules
• Visual Thinking

2015 ACM-ICPC
Did your school participate in the 2014 ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ACM-ICPC)? The contest is a multitier, team-based programming competition that involves a global network of universities hosting regional competitions that advance teams to the ACM-ICPC World Finals. Participation has grown to several tens of thousands of the finest students and faculty in computing disciplines at almost 2,000 universities from over 80 countries on six continents. The contest fosters creativity, teamwork, and innovation in building new software programs, and enables students to test their ability to perform under pressure. It is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious programming contest in the world.

The next round of world finals will take place in Morocco May 16–21, 2015, and will be hosted by Mohamed the Fifth, Al Akhawayn and Mundiapolis Universities.

Student Research Competition (SRC)
The ACM Student Research Competition (SRC), sponsored by Microsoft, is an internationally recognized venue enabling undergraduate and graduate students to experience the research world—for many undergraduates this is a first! The SRC is a unique opportunity to:

• Share research results and exchange ideas with other students, judges, and conference attendees
• Rub shoulders with academic and industry luminaries
• Understand the practical applications of research
• Perfect your communication skills
• Win prizes and gain recognition from ACM and the greater computing community

Site Links Students to Grad School Application Info, Summer Research Opportunities in CS
The Computing Community Consortium (CCC), a committee of the Computing Research Association (CRA), offers a unique website for undergraduates in computing fields hoping to learn more about summer research opportunities as well as the process for applying to graduate school in computer science. Please visit the site at http://cra.org/ccc/, where you'll find:

• A section on what graduate school in computer science is all about (including frequently-asked-questions with answers by current graduate students and faculty).
• Information, advice, and insights on how to apply to graduate school in computer science (including another set of FAQs with answers by students who have just been through the process, as well as faculty).
• The URO Zone (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Zone), which provides guidance on finding undergraduate summer research positions nationwide, examples of recent undergraduates and their research projects, and details about the CRA and ACM undergraduate awards programs.

Free ACM Student Materials
Faculty members can order complimentary ACM materials for distribution to students interested in the computing field. Items include ACM student membership brochures and posters, as well as flyers featuring ACM's Digital Library, Code of Ethics, and student chapters, among others. Place your order using our easy online form and we will fulfill your request promptly! To order free ACM student membership materials go to http://campus.acm.org/public/brochures/sb_control.cfm?refpg=f.

Did You Recently Graduate? Are You Graduating Soon?
Find a wealth of useful information at ACM's Online Resources for Graduating Students, including Resume tips, Job Board links, and more at: http://www.acm.org/membership/student/resources-for-grads.

If you are a Student Member transitioning to a Professional Member, we want to help—please take advantage of ACM's special discounted offer available to you by visiting: http://www.acm.org/membership/student-transition.

Register to View Our Recent Learning Webinars Now Available On-Demand

Register to view our most recent webinars of 2015:

The March 31 on-demand webinar is presented by Salman Habib, member of the High Energy Physics and Mathematics and Computer Science Divisions at Argonne National Laboratory, "Extreme Scaling and Performance across Diverse Architectures." Because future supercomputing architectures-leading up to exascale-will follow diverse paths, it is important to articulate principles for designing applications that can run at extreme scale and high performance on a variety of systems. It is unlikely that automated solutions can provide more than incremental improvements in the near term. It is therefore important, when developing new applications, to be cognizant of future hardware possibilities and to follow a design approach that allows for rapid deployment and optimization, including the use of multiple algorithms targeted to different architectures. This approach will be presented using the Hardware/Hybrid Accelerated Cosmology Code (HACC) framework. HACC runs efficiently on all current supercomputer architectures and scales to the largest of today's systems.

The February 18 on-demand webinar is presented by Bertrand Meyer, Professor of Software Engineering at ETH Zurich and an ACM Fellow, and Will Tracz, Lockheed Martin Fellow Emeritus and Chair of ACM SIGSOFT, "Agile Methods: The Good, the Hype and the Ugly." This webcast takes an objective look at agile methods by explaining the essentials and helping sort the wheat from the chaff. It presents agile methods in the broader perspective of software engineering methods and tools, showing how they complement, rather than contradict, the best practices in the field. Meyer also warns against exaggerated claims, enabling you to retain the truly unique agile contributions and make your projects agile in the best sense of the term. There is a Part II that was done on March 27. However, it is helpful to watch the February 18 webinar first, as a significant portion of this follow-up webcast is dedicated to answering audience questions from the original presentation.

The January 28 on-demand webinar is presented by Steve McConnell, CEO and Chief Software Engineer at Construx Software, "Stranger than Fiction: Case Studies in Software Engineering Judgment." High-profile software project disasters have been commonplace for decades. Failed projects are followed by hand-wringing and cries of, "Where did we go wrong?" In this talk, award-winning author Steve McConnell uses the "Four Core Influences" framework from his upcoming book, Software Engineering Essentials, to dissect published reports of software project outcomes. He demonstrates how to use sound software engineering judgment to vastly improve understanding of software project dynamics, which in turn leads to correct diagnosis of failure, more effective corrective actions for projects already underway, and a significantly improved chance of success on every project.

Get Involved with XRDS!
Don't miss out on the Spring issue of XRDS with contributions from the who's who of cryptography. Inside you will find a range of articles from the early beginnings of cryptography through present-day research. Discover modern cryptographic techniques like searchable encryption, read interviews with leading researchers in the field, and enjoy a wonderful look back at Bletchley Park, home of Colossus (the world's first electronic digital computer). You still have time to submit for the Fall Issue on virtual reality; email the editors at [email protected].

There are also currently several opportunities to get involved with the XRDS: Crossroads team. Whether your strengths lie in writing, editing, photography, or you want to list an event in the calendar-there is a place for you to make good use of your talents.

For more information, visit: http://xrds.acm.org/get-involved.cfm.

Apply for N²Women Fellowship to Attend Conferences
Networking Networking Women (N² Women) is a discipline-specific community for researchers in the communications and networking research fields, fostering connections among under-represented women in computer networking and related research fields. The group offers fellowships covering travel costs for female graduate students planning to attend premier technical conferences in networking and communications. In exchange, the students help organize the N² Women meeting at the conferences. Funding is provided by Microsoft Research, HP Labs and IEEE CS TCCC, and will partially cover a student's travel cost (up to $500) to an event where an N² Women meeting is held. SIGMOBILE is also supporting the N2 Women Young Researcher Fellowship awards by covering all the costs associated with the processing of the funds. Please click on the Fellowships link of the website for a complete listing of opportunities and deadlines.

2014-2015 Ambassadors for ACM Program
The Ambassadors for ACM program rewards ACM members like you for encouraging new members to join. Your first-hand experience with ACM's valuable career development and continuous learning programs makes you a perfect envoy to share your ACM experiences with prospective members. Please consider becoming an Ambassador for ACM. The 2014-2015 Ambassadors for ACM program is underway, with opportunities for you to earn new prizes, rewards and bonus gifts with each referral. The top two recruiters will receive a Grand Prize.

With access to Communications of the ACM, eBooks and videos, a new streamlined courses program for online learning, and the Digital Library, ACM offers more tools than ever to empower members to succeed in their chosen fields. Please share this news with friends and colleagues.

For more information, as well as recruitment membership applications, visit the Ambassadors for ACM site: http://campus.acm.org/public/mgm/index.html.

Book a Distinguished Speaker for Your School
ACM provides colleges and universities with direct access to top technology leaders and innovators from nearly every sector of the computing industry. Book the speaker for your next event through the ACM Distinguished Speaker Program (DSP) and deliver compelling and insightful content to your audience. Our program features renowned thought leaders in academia, industry and government, speaking about the most important topics in the computing and IT world today, especially those relevant to your student chapter. (However, you don't have to be a student chapter to request a speaker.) Visit http://dsp.acm.org/ for more information. Site info is now available in French, German, Russian, and Spanish!

Recent Additions to Skillsoft IT and Desktop Video Library
Did you know that ACM members have access to thousands of IT and productivity videos from Skillsoft in the ACM Learning Center? Covering a variety of today's hottest topics, these videos offer "on-the-job" support and solutions for busy practitioners.

Recently, Skillsoft added significant video content in the following knowledge areas: Advanced Scrum, ANSI C, ASP.NET MVC 4, CompTIA Linux+ 2014 CompTIA Mobility+, Data Science Fundamentals in R, Hadoop and MapReduce, Implementing Cisco Secure Mobility Solutions (SIMOS) 1.0, Java SE 8 Programming, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013, Microsoft Entity Framework, Microsoft Security Fundamentals, Microsoft SQL Server 2014, MongoDB, OpenStack Fundamentals, Responsive Web Design, Software Testing Fundamentals, UX Foundations, and Windows 8. To access these and other videos, visit the Learning Center, log into Skillsoft and Books 24x7 with your ACM member credentials, then browse by IT and Technical Video Topics. See the video page for more video listings.

Solar Powered Micro-Data Center Design Challenge
Inveneo is seeking students, engineers, researchers, and innovators to submit their design of a solar powered micro-data center. Given the harsh environments present in much of the developing world, designers will need to create a functional micro-data center that can be powered with a solar photovoltaic system, withstand intense heat and humidity, and run completely without access to standard air conditioning.

The contest is open to applicants who are at least 18 years of age, in teams that range from three to seven members. The contest's panel of judges includes industry experts from Inveneo, ARM, and LeMaker, among others. The signup deadline is June 10, 2015 at midnight PDT. More information at http://www.inveneo.org/designchallenge/.