Special invited paper. Large deviations

This paper is based on Wald Lectures given at the annual meeting of the IMS in Minneapolis during August 2005. It is a survey of the theory of large deviations.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/07-AOP348 the Annals of Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aop/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Certainty and Uncertainty in Quantum Information Processing

This survey, aimed at information processing researchers, highlights intriguing but lesser known results, corrects misconceptions, and suggests research areas. Themes include: certainty in quantum algorithms; the "fewer worlds" theory of quantum mechanics; quantum learning; probability theory versus quantum mechanics.Comment: Invited paper accompanying invited talk to AAAI Spring Symposium 2007. Comments, corrections, and suggestions would be most welcom

The 'what' and 'how' of learning in design, invited paper

Previous experiences hold a wealth of knowledge which we often take for granted and use unknowingly through our every day working lives. In design, those experiences can play a crucial role in the success or failure of a design project, having a great deal of influence on the quality, cost and development time of a product. But how can we empower computer based design systems to acquire this knowledge? How would we use such systems to support design? This paper outlines some of the work which has been carried out in applying and developing Machine Learning techniques to support the design activity; particularly in utilising previous designs and learning the design process

Invited Paper: Teaching Information Systems in the Age of Digital Disruption

The Information Systems discipline has long suffered an identity crisis. It has also been prone to program sustainability issues as a technology focus has waxed and waned over the last 50 years. This paper suggests a new approach to teaching Information Systems, utilizing the notion of “fundamental and powerful concepts.” Using digital disruption as a fundamental and powerful concept, the authors argue for the core IS course and the courses that make up the major to be developed and centered around the transformation of business models, products, and services caused by emerging digital technologies. The paper includes an outline for the core IS course and the other courses in the major and concludes with a suggestion that the fundamental and powerful concept of digital disruption be used as an approach to teaching Information Systems

Single molecule experiments in biophysics: exploring the thermal behavior of nonequilibrium small systems

Biomolecules carry out very specialized tasks inside the cell where energies involved are few tens of k_BT, small enough for thermal fluctuations to be relevant in many biomolecular processes. In this paper I discuss a few concepts and present some experimental results that show how the study of fluctuation theorems applied to biomolecules contributes to our understanding of the nonequilibrium thermal behavior of small systems.Comment: Proceedings of the 22nd Statphys Conference 2004 (Bangalore,India). Invited contributio

Development in Southern California after World War II: Architecture, Photography, & Design

The midcentury architecture and design phenomenon was born as California’s urban landscape exploded in the post-World War II era. It was driven by the arrival of millions of veterans as they returned from the war eager to begin new lives and families. The promise of great economic opportunity, as well as spectacular natural beauty and weather attracted many of these who moved to the Golden State. They attended colleges and universities and helped to build sprawling cities, freeway systems, and suburbs. This massive surge of development created a haven for a generation of architects, designers and photographers who introduced a new way of thinking about the way people lived. This paper explores midcentury modernity from its source in the Bauhaus to its heyday in Palm Springs, perhaps the world’s greatest mecca of midcentury architecture. This time of growth sparked the development of entirely new styles in furniture design and manufacture, technology, and fashion that complimented that era of prosperity and optimism. There were many unique professionals who contributed to the legacy of midcentury architecture and design that we pursue, such as; in architecture, Richard Neutra, in photography Julius Shulman and Charles and Ray Eames, each has contributed to the legacy of the era