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Sometime in 2019, MIT PhD student Ajay Brahmakshatriya formulated a simple, though still quite challenging, goal. He wanted to make it possible for people who had expertise in a particular domain such as climate modeling, bioinformatics, or architecture to write their own programming languages, so-called domain-specific languages (or DSLs), even if they had little or no experience in creating programming languages. A member of the research group headed by MIT Professor Saman Amarasinghe in the Institutes Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Brahmakshatriya wanted these languages to come with all the auxiliary functions people would need to comfortably utilize them, including tools for debugging. This process for getting rid of errors in a piece of software is essential, he and Amarasinghe agreed, as they have called the lack of debugging support the Achilles heel for DSLs.

Its been a productive few years for both of them. In 2021, Brahmakshatriya and Amarasinghe introduced BuildIt, a software package that greatly simplifies the task of creating DSLs. And last month, at an international conference in Montreal co-sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery, the duo introduced D2X, a tool that makes it easy to add debugging to any DSL and has been shown to work particularly well with BuildIt. Their paper on the work even won one of two Distinguished Paper Awards given at the conference.

The main reason for producing a language in a specialized domain, Brahmakshatriya explains, is to promote ease of use. An image-processing DSL, for example, could have a function that says blur the entire image. Issuing that same command in a general-purpose language would require many more lines of code, notes Brahmakshatriya. Thats part of the reason to use a DSL. The other is performance. Because the operations are specific to that domain, they can be more readily optimized carried out in the proper order, and hence completed more efficiently and quickly.

Brahmakshatriya describes BuildIt as a DSL for creating DSLs. It facilitates a multistep procedure for taking an existing, all-purpose programming language and paring it down until it becomes specialized in just the right way. Suppose you have a problem, and you want to write a program to solve it, he says. You could write a program to solve it in its entirety, or you could write a smaller program to solve just the subclass of the problem youre interested in. The more specialized you make the program, the faster it runs. BuildIt is designed to construct DSLs with those guiding principles in mind.

Halide an image processing language invented in 2012, years before BuildIt was around is one of the first DSLs to come out of Amarasinghes group. Its development was led by then-graduate student Jonathan-Ragan Kelley and Andrew Adams, a CSAIL postdoc at the time. Halide is very popular now, and it is used in many Adobe applications, including Photoshop, but it still doesnt have a debugger, Amarasinghe says. The reason for that, he adds, is that debuggers are very complicated. Its very hard to write them, which is why most small DSLs dont have debugging support.

Thats not a desirable state of affairs, according to Brahmakshatriya, who insists that every DSL should have its own debugger. You cant directly use existing debuggers for your new language because they dont understand the domain. Its impossible, moreover, to write a program that is completely correct the first time around, he says. You always start with something that has errors in it, though they often dont show up until much later in the development cycle. If a bug crops up at that point, when you have 5,000 lines of code, it can be very hard to find it. Consequently, once a program is code complete deemed ready for testing by its developers software engineers may then have to devote more than half their time to the arduous chore of debugging.

But help is on the way in the form of D2X (pronounced detox because it relates to the notion of ridding your program of poisons or defects). D2X is not a program, per se, but is instead classified as a library a piece of computer code that can be reused by other programs. It is designed to work with existing debuggers (such as GDB or LLDB), serving as a bridge between those tools and a given DSL. A debugger needs information about the program, or programming language, that is to be cleaned up. Each debugger requires that information in its own particular format, which can be a 400-page document, Amarasinghe says. If you use D2X, you dont have to worry about that. Its taken care of for you.

With D2X serving as the interface, Brahmakshatriya says, your program can be debugged using popular debuggers without any modifications to the debuggers themselves. To his mind, that is the main advantage that comes from combining D2X with BuildIt: If you write a DSL using BuildIt, you dont have to do any extra work. You get a debugger for free, without writing a single extra line of code.

D2X addresses an inherent contradiction in high-performance software head-on, comments Adrian Sampson, an associate professor of computer science at Cornell University. On the one hand, domain-specific languages are our only hope for serious improvements in computing efficiency in the modern era.However, making a new debugger for a new language from scratch is hard, and the absence of a debugger is a rational reason that a programmer might reject a better language in favor of a worse one. The great thing about D2X is that it lowers the barrier to constructing a useful debugger for a DSL.

But thats not the end of the story, so far as Brahmakshatriya is concerned. Another feature hed like to merge with BuildIt, in addition to debugging, is editing, which makes it easier to write a program. Editors, for example, can highlight certain keywords in a document, which can improve its readability. They can perform other functions, such as autocomplete, which automatically fills in text after a small portion is entered.

Brahmakshatriya would like to include profilers along with debuggers and editors as part of the BuildIt platform. Profilers are like debuggers, but instead of helping you find bugs, they let you assess the performance issues in your program, he says. If the program is running slower than expected, you can use a profiler to understand which part of the program is bogging things down. Other useful features could be added in the future, he says.

All of these efforts, Amarasinghe maintains, will make the prospect of creating specialized languages much more attractive. As I see it, theres a huge number of people who support traditional languages thousands of programmers building tools for C, C++, or Java, he says. On the other hand, If I am building a simple DSL, I dont have thousands of programmers to provide all that support. But now, with BuildIt and D2X, he adds, the small guys can get all the things the others get, including debuggers and eventually editors and profilers the same benefits that come with traditional languages. And you can get that without having teams of engineers writing all kinds of complicated code.

This work was supported by the Application Driving Architectures Research Center, the U.S. Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA), a Joint University Microelectronics Program Center co-sponsored by theSemiconductor Research Corporation and DARPA; the National Science Foundation (NSF); and an Intel/NSF award.

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An easier way to get bugs out of programming languages - MIT News

The intern selection process underscores longstanding inequities in Silicon Valley recruitment and hiring. This year, layoffs and cutbacks at leading tech companies have only narrowed intern opportunities, students say, exacerbating socioeconomic disparities. In response to a callout from The New York Times, nearly 300 people students, recent graduates and software engineers shared their experiences applying for tech internships and jobs, with some describing the process as brutal, unfair or disheartening.

To try to compete, dozens of students spent hours applying for more than 100 internships, practicing for internship coding tests or working on personal coding projects to try to impress recruiters, they said. More than half of the respondents said they had never heard back from the firms where they had applied for positions.

Some students at lesser-known public universities said they felt at a disadvantage compared with their peers at computer science powerhouses like Stanford, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley. A few students said they had quit part-time jobs or neglected their course assignments to devote themselves to applying for tech internships only to receive no offers.

Some college students at higher-ranked computing programs reported more successful outcomes. Kien Pham, a student at the University of Minnesota, said he had spent much of the summer and fall intensively applying to more than 300 internships.

That included preparing for an interview with Amazon, he said, by spending the better part of two weeks writing down episodes from his life that matched the companys guiding values, known internally as leadership principles. He later accepted a software engineering internship offer from Amazon for this summer.

Some students noted socioeconomic disparities throughout the application process.

Tech companies like Microsoft and Google have internal referral systems in which employees may recommend candidates. Those referrals can help distinguish certain students among tens of thousands of applicants. But students at lesser-known schools often lack the kind of industry, family or elite university connections that can lead to employee referrals.

Another concern, Ms. Farmer said: The intern selection process may overlook or underestimate collegestudents who have jobs.

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For Lower-Income Students, Big Tech Internships Can Be Hard to Get - The New York Times

Humans have a way of understandings others' goals, desires and beliefs, a crucial skill that allows us to anticipate people's actions. Taking bread out of the toaster? You'll need a plate. Sweeping up leaves? I'll grab the green trash can.

This skill, often referred to as "theory of mind," comes easily to us as humans, but is still challenging for robots. But, if robots are to become truly collaborative helpers in manufacturing and in everyday life, they need to learn the same abilities.

In a new paper, a best paper award finalist at the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), USC Viterbi computer science researchers aim to teach robots how to predict human preferences in assembly tasks, so they can one day help out on everything from building a satellite to setting a table.

"When working with people, a robot needs to constantly guess what the person will do next," said lead author Heramb Nemlekar, a USC computer science PhD student working under the supervision of Stefanos Nikolaidis, an assistant professor of computer science. "For example, if the robot thinks the person will need a screwdriver to assemble the next part, it can get the screwdriver ahead of time so that the person does not have to wait. This way the robot can help people finish the assembly much faster."

But, as anyone who has co-built furniture with a partner can attest, predicting what a person will do next is difficult: different people prefer to build the same product in different ways. While some people want to start with the most difficult parts to get them over with, others may want to start with the easiest parts to save energy.

Making predictions

Most of the current techniques require people to show the robot how they would like to perform the assembly, but this takes time and effort and can defeat the purpose, said Nemlekar. "Imagine having to assemble an entire airplane just to teach the robot your preferences," he said.

In this new study, however, the researchers found similarities in how an individual will assemble different products. For instance, if you start with the hardest part when building an Ikea sofa, you are likely to use the same tact when putting together a baby's crib.

So, instead of "showing" the robot their preferences in a complex task, they created a small assembly task (called a "canonical" task) that people can easily and quickly perform. In this case, putting together parts of a simple model airplane, such as the wings, tail and propeller.

The robot "watched" the human complete the task using a camera placed directly above the assembly area, looking down. To detect the parts operated by the human, the system used AprilTags, similar to QR codes, attached to the parts.

Then, the system used machine learning to learn a person's preference based on their sequence of actions in the canonical task.

"Based on how a person performs the small assembly, the robot predicts what that person will do in the larger assembly," said Nemlekar. "For example, if the robot sees that a person likes to start the small assembly with the easiest part, it will predict that they will start with the easiest part in the large assembly as well."

Building trust

In the researchers' user study, their system was able to predict the actions that humans will take with around 82% accuracy.

"We hope that our research can make it easier for people to show robots what they prefer," said Nemlekar. "By helping each person in their preferred way, robots can reduce their work, save time and even build trust with them."

For instance, imagine you're assembling a piece of furniture at home, but you're not particularly handy and struggle with the task. A robot that has been trained to predict your preferences could provide you with the necessary tools and parts ahead of time, making the assembly process easier.

This technology could also be useful in industrial settings where workers are tasked with assembling products on a mass scale, saving time and reducing the risk of injury or accidents. Additionally, it could help persons with disabilities or limited mobility to more easily assemble products and maintain independence.

Quickly learning preferences

The goal is not to replace humans on the factory floor, say the researchers. Instead, they hope this research will lead to significant improvements in the safety and productivity of assembly workers in human-robot hybrid factories. "Robots can perform the non-value-added or ergonomically challenging tasks that are currently being performed by workers.

As for the next steps, the researchers plan to develop a method to automatically design canonical tasks for different types of assembly task. They also aim to evaluate the benefit of learning human preferences from short tasks and predicting their actions in a complex task in different contexts, for instance, personal assistance in homes.

"While we observed that human preferences transfer from canonical to actual tasks in assembly manufacturing, I expect similar findings in other applications as well," said Nikolaidis. "A robot that can quickly learn our preferences can help us prepare a meal, rearrange furniture or do house repairs, having a significant impact in our daily lives."

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Robots predict human intention for faster builds: In a new paper ... - Science Daily

Courtesy photo

Ben Booth works at his ham radio station in this undated photo.

From monitoring volcano eruptions in Tonga or earthquakes in Haiti to helping with community events like parades, marathons and bike races, amateur radio is often the first and sometimes only means of communication to the world outside the affected area.

A typical amateur radio operator may be just about anybody, attracting people of all ages, persuasions and walks of life from teachers to entrepreneurs, electrical engineers to truckers, kids in high school, a Yale computer science professor, a wheat farmer and beyond.

Ben Booth, a former technology teacher, received a ham radio as a gift from his son. I began listening to a local ham operator group, Booth explained. They were doing a Net, which is where a Net Control Operator calls a roll of Hams (what they call ham radio operators) who have expressed interest to practice radio skills regularly. I was hooked.

On the other hand, Stan Merrill, a former Yale computer science professor who moved with his wife to Park City, joined for a different reason.

I wanted to protect my family by having good communications capabilities in the event of an earthquake, wild land fire, or other disaster, Stan said. I was told that ham radio was the best way to do that, so I got all three levels of license.

Courtesy photo

Don Wood sits in front of his Ham radio set up in this undated photo.

According to Noji Ratzlaff, a Lockheed electrical engineer and head of the 1,100-member Utah Valley Amateur Radio Club, there are really two kinds of ham radio operators.

The first is the hobby folks who look forward to weekends or special days when there are particular events where they can make as many contacts as they can. The other group is the utility folks who often get involved in preparedness fairs, emergency drills and the construction of their own antennas and solar stations, Ratzlaff said.

Ham radio operators not only talk to people around the world, but they also learn and teach the science of it. Stan was drawn to ham radio operation because of the science aspects. Ham radio operators have long been scientists in their own way and have made enormous impacts on the science. In fact, crew members on space stations have ham radios and talk with school children all over the world, Stan said.

Over the years, NASA and universities have investigated what happens when you bounce radio waves off the ionosphere, and the subsequent consequences, during solar eclipses. Ham radio operators were among the first to investigate the occurrences.

From the very beginning, ham radio operators loved to do wild and crazy things, said Don Wood, an electrical engineer turned manufacturer and developer of medical devices and the leader of the Wasatch Back Tri-County Amateur Radio Group. Over the years, ham operators advanced the art of radio transmission using the ionosphere and long-distance communication and in helping people in challenging situations.

Courtesy photo

Ben uses a computer program designed to parse out meaningful information from a noisy signal often chatting with scientists from around the world.Numerous opportunities exist for ham radio operators to become involved and make a difference.

Many hobbyists gravitate to volunteer organizations like ARES Amateur Radio Emergency Service, RACES Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, or SKYWARN, a storm watch organization, Ben said. But it is fun to learn new things so you can become a better ham operator.

Utah has a program called RACES that tests ham radio communications each month to assure that hams around the state can communicate in an emergency. Several counties and cities in Utah rely on ham radio operators to collect and forward information in the event of disasters so that county emergency managers are able to direct first responders.

Utah County utilizes ham radio operators as part of their Emergency Communications and Support Team according to Sgt. Quinn Fackrell from the Utah County Sheriffs Communication Office.

They work in various volunteer capacities, from training others, doing public safety fairs, setting up command centers, and providing communication and support in remote areas during emergency situations, Sgt. Fackrell said. Other cities are calling us all the time to see if they can come help them. My hat is off to them. These folks are willing to provide countless hours of service on their own time and their own dime.

For many ham radio operators, working with emergency response groups in their communities is a high priority. Often, when an emergency occurs, ham operators are the first ones called on to help. We have helped with many fires like the fire in Eagle Mountain or when someone was lost in Provo Canyon. When organizers asked for our help, we provide communication support, Noji said.

When COVID-19 hit, the activity on ham radio skyrocketed. Ham communication during COVID was significant, Don said. We helped people maintain their sanity throughout the world. The sociality of ham radio is phenomenal!

Utah has its share of ham radio operators who provide service and sociality throughout Utah. The Utah Amateur Radio Club has about 20,391 men and women with active licenses, including Nojis wife Lisa and Stans wife Helena!

Not only do ham radio operators have fun talking to people from all over the world, but they also watch potentially dangerous situations. Living near Rockport Reservoir, Ben makes sure to follow along with possible evacuation notices.

Amateur radio technology has changed over time but has not kept up with other fields where technology has surpassed it, such as Wi-Fi, cell phone, internet, and much more. Its old-school nature lends itself to simplicity, said Noji, which is one of the reasons its so reliableno dependence on the internet. Ham radio can be completely self-sufficient.

Even before the internet, ham radio operators were bouncing waves across the ionosphere, talking to people around the world, providing valuable communication help for communities during major disasters, keeping people safe, and helping communities during events where cell phones dont work.

Before social media, there was ham radio, quipped Don. It was the first social media.

If you want to become a ham radio operator, check out http://hamstudy.org or http://hamradioprep.com to take a multiple choice 35-question test until passing with a score of 74%. You also need to register at https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do and pay a $35 fee.

Once you pass, the Federal Communications Commission will email your license and call sign. Like other licensed groups, you will need to renew your license after 10 years.

If you have more questions, please contact Noji Ratzlaff at nojiratz@hotmail.com, Don Wood at don wooddo@me.com, or the Utah Valley Amateur Radio Club at https://uvarc.club.

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Making a Difference: Ham radio operators offer connection in good ... - Daily Herald

Syracuse, N.Y. -- One of the federal governments top science officials will be in Syracuse Monday to meet with U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and executives of Micron Technology to talk about training workers for Microns proposed semiconductor manufacturing plant in Clay.

Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the U.S. National Science Foundation, will come to Syracuse University for the event at the invitation of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer. Schumer said he wants Panchanathan to hear about workforce training plans to help fill up to 9,000 jobs Micron expects to create in the town of Clay.

Micron will send two top officials to the workforce summit: Manish Bhatia, executive vice president of global operations; and April Arnzen, senior vice president and chief people officer.

Also on hand will be local development officials and representatives of Syracuse Universitys College of Engineering and Computer Science, which plans to expand student enrollment by 50% over the next three to five years to help produce Micron engineers.

Micron, based in Boise, Idaho, plans to spend up to $100 billion over 20 years building the massive complex in Clay. That is expected to create an additional 40,000 supply-chain jobs in the region.

One of the big challenges facing Micron is finding enough trained engineers and technicians. The company has told Onondaga Community College officials it will need 1,000 technicians and 1,000 engineers to operate each of the four semiconductor fabrication facilities, or chip fabs, it plans to build at the 1,400-acre Clay complex. Substantial hiring is expected to start in 2025, with production beginning in 2026.

The National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency that distributes federal aid to support science and engineering, plans to award $200 million in competitive grants to help schools train and expand the nations semiconductor workforce.

Schumer, the Senate majority leader, pushed to include the money in the CHIPS and Science Act, the law that set aside $52 billion in incentives for chip makers to open new plants in the United States.

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Schumer, Micron, top science official to hold job-training summit in Syracuse - syracuse.com