Final Event

At the COSMOS final event, the students showed their posters to a packed room of faculty, parents, and friends. I got to meet and talk with some of the parents who I had met for the first time a month ago (seems like only yesterday); now it felt as if I knew them, after having interacted so much with their sons and daughters. I was able to tell them how well the students did, relate some personal stories, and that they were lucky to have such wonderful teen-agers. It was all very positive.

We then had the graduation ceremony, where all the students received their certificates. I was asked to say some words about COSMOS from a professor's perspective. Here is what I said:

For me, my interest in COSMOS is rooted in a deep admiration for high school teachers. I think we all have a strong memory of some teacher who was most influential to us, a teacher who made a lasting difference. This was probably a teacher you had in high school. I can remember in the planning days of COSMOS, having a conversation with Prof. Barney Rickett just about this. We thought, isn't it great that we, as professors, have the opportunity to teach high school students who are the cream of the crop, in a small class setting, on a topic of our choosing? Well, this is the genius of COSMOS. I've now had this privilege twice, and in all my 19 years at UCSD, it is these summer months that, I must say, are pure magic in getting to know and brainstorm with bright students as we have here.

To the students, I hope you will remember your COSMOS experience. In my cluster, in addition to learning about media computing, and abacuses and slide rules, we asked and discussed seemingly outlandish questions, such as "Can computation support consciousness," or "Will humans be able to outlive their physical brains by 'uploading' our knowledge as we do with computers?" For those of you in other clusters, I'm certain you explored equally profound ideas in your discipline. These are the kinds of things we as professors and researchers think about. These questions may not be answered by us or by anyone in our lifetimes, but perhaps they might be answered some day by you. You have experienced the research process that goes on in places like UCSD. You now know a bit of what it takes. It all begins with the simple act of asking these questions, and having the courage to do so. You are all bright enough to be the ones who can do it. You are not too young, and you have to begin somewhere. Keep in mind that there was a time when we, the professors, were students just like you.

In closing, I can tell you that, as your teachers, it would delight us to no end if some day you made such discoveries, and that perhaps it was something in your COSMOS experience that sparked your interest. You are all special, you can do it. And if you do, please ... send us an email! Let us know. And you don't have to wait for a great discovery to contact us. Even a simple "hello" out of the blue is always nice. We are now connected forever, and we want to hear from you. Good luck.

While it was a very happy event, marking the successful completion of COSMOS, it was sad in that we all knew this was the final time everyone would see each other, at least as part of COSMOS. We said our good byes, and then they were gone. I hope they will keep in touch.

Videos in the Cal-IT2 Digital Theater

Yesterday, the students presented their final projects. They gave their presentations, and showed their resulting videos. Today, they will show their posters and hand in final papers.

The video presentations were fun to watch, Paul was right in his prediction (and kudos to him and Nakul for staying up till 1am to generate all the DVDs). Seeing the videos on the big screen in the Cal-IT2 digital theater was a real treat. Some of the more memorable parts: Juan as the evil Kwanton spewing lightning at Billy's angels (Lucia, Melissa, and Mindi) and their final dance, Lara on the cell phone alerting the authorities about a late student, Jonathan as the guy from Outback Adventures ("You're on fire, you're on fire!"), Nestor's magic with the soccer ball, Lucia getting hit with the soccer ball, Forrest's tunnel, Tristan as the MGM lion, GQ's excellent special effects, Matt as the detective, Katie's wonderful Flash animations, and all the memorable scenes of COSMOS 06 life with editing and technical production by Brendan, Christina, Eric, Evelyn, Melanie, Mike, Sid, and Samantha.

I have to say this about our students, they are a very creative bunch. In addition to demonstrating technical sophistication, they have an artistic flair. They were given an outlet for creative expression (with few bounds), and they seized it with gusto. They all came through. I'm proud of each and every one of them.

The Final Stretch

Only a few days left of COSMOS - it has gone so fast! The students are hard at work on their projects. In this final week, they have the following items to complete: a 7-minute video, a slide presentation, a poster, and a paper. The video should capture their COSMOS experience, using the video, image, and audio content they have been collecting during the past month. It should include elements of video processing that they have learned. Finally, they must tell a coherent story. The videos will also allow the students to fully express their creativity, as we have placed very few bounds on what they can do (in fact the only real bound is, "keep it clean!"). The presentations should be 4 minutes in duration, and succinctly describe the processing and editing techniques they used to produce their videos. The poster should reflect the content of the presentation, but in poster form. The paper should explain more fully what they accomplished, with references to research they did. This is a tall order for the final week, but I am happy to see that all the groups are on track for successful completion.

Tomorrow is the big day. They will show their videos and make their presentations to the COSMOS community in the spectacular Cal-IT2 digital theater. It will be bittersweet, as we reach the climax of COSMOS and see what the students have accomplished, but it will also mark the coming-to-an-end of a fun experience.