September 26, 2007 School of Information Theory A proposal to pay it forward to our society’s future generations Aylin Yener, Penn State Gerhard Kramer, Bell Labs-Alcatel

Outline Motivation and Objective Plan Envisioned format Logistics Preliminary preparations Dedication

Motivation and Objective Information Theory is attracting new young researchers, now more than ever. Many of these are students in US and Canadian institutions. We would like to provide students exposure to the latest and greatest in IT in a ‘school’ format. Based on European “Winter School”-like tradition

Proposal We propose an annual “School of Information Theory” to be held in the US and/or Canada. Students interact with their peers. Students interact with senior scientists and get feedback on their work. Students get exposed to context and “big picture” early on. Foster friendships and collaboration for future academic and industrial scientists. Promote IT.

Format Plan as a 4 day event. Days 1-2: Day long lectures by 2 or 3 instructors. Days 3 and 4: Short (e.g. 10 minute) student talks Day 4: Keynote, panel, and student posters

Time/place Campus environment. A separate event than the rest of the society events. Location rotates between Eastern, Central, West US, and Canada. Locations with low costs for accommodations, housing, cafeteria, e.g., university campus. March to May time frame.

Cost Instructor/invited panelist travel & lodging expenses, fees Organizational costs: meeting rooms, breaks, meals Publicity, web design Student travel & lodging Miscellaneous Lower costs by taking advantage of campus infrastructure, e.g., classrooms and/or dorms.

Funding Sources IT Society (we hope) External funding pays for students travel and perhaps more. Potential external sources: NSF, DARPA, local industry NSF proposal- 5 year

Potential for success Instructor recruitment essential (suggestions welcome!) We need to advertise (Short-term) Measure for success? –Number of attendees –Exit survey –Balanced budget

Preliminary Preparations Suggested location for 2008: Penn State Campus, State College, PA Alternatives: Poly, NY, Princeton, NJ 2009 Central US 2010 West US 2011 Eastern Canada

6h 3.5h

2008 Plans For a total of 60 attendees: 50 students, instructors, keynote speaker, organizers, student committee coordinators 4 days: (topics tentative only, suggestions welcome, unified theme with both Theory & Coding/Algorithms) Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4 Lecture 1 Network IT Lecture 2 Network Coding & Algorithms - Student talks & posters - Panel - Student talks & posters - Keynote - Student talks & posters Q&A, Open Problems

Budget Instructors + keynote$ 2,500 (2 x $1k + $500) Student travel grants$20,000 (50 x $400) Food (meals, breaks)$12,000 (4 x 60 x $50) Misc. (e.g. advertise)$ 1,500 Contingency$ 4,000 $40,000 Notes: Classrooms are free of charge Using a hotel for meeting rooms and catering adds another $10k.

Date Use classrooms to lower cost, but (at least at PSU) this limits the dates. A classroom has been reserved during the spring break, March Later dates also possible. Is this a desirable date? May/Summer?

External Funding DARPA: We requested $10-15k for the 2008 event. NSF: Preliminary discussions with the TF program have taken place. A proposal will be submitted to TF and NSF-wide and/or CISE-wide educational initiatives, e.g. REESE, Expeditions in Science and Engineering Education, for long term (5-year) support. For 2008, we may be able to get a modest amount for student travel.

Support We request a $15-20k level support from the IT Society for the 2008 event. We ask also a commitment for the long term (3 years) for continued support, at a level of $15k, conditioned on the success of the school.

Dedication We would like to dedicate the First School of Information Theory to our late colleague Sergio Servetto.

Feedback on … The concept/format Dates Location(s) Budget