IlliGAL Blogging

Physics-envy passes along a link to Kandid, an interactive genetic algorithm that evolves art in response to user evaluations. Go here to download.

This entry is merely to say hello to those new GE 531 students (Genetic Algorithms) who are taking the course with me in class and online.

The first lecture is in the can, and the course is up an running. Still time to register for those interested.

Michael O'Neill writes to help plug next year's EuroGP and Evo* Conferences and Workshops:

We are drumming up some interest for EuroGP 2007 at the moment, and of course the two other associated conferences (EvoCOP and EvoBIO) and EvoWorkshops. It would be great if perhaps you might consider highlighting the events on your groups Blog?

I'm happy to put in the plug. The EuroGP wiki is here and the general Evo* website is here. The conferences are 11-13 April 2007 in Valencia, Spain. Tough duty.

Michael also notes his move to University College Dublin (tough duty) and the creation of the Natural Computing Research and Applications Group therein (see here). Please join me in wishing him the best of luck with this venture.

See my comments on the current problems in hiring and retaining faculty at the IITs in India here.

My original reply was a little longer:

Indeed, the faculty manpower shortage in India would be harmful to international collaborations. Collaboration takes time, both in visits broad and in working at a distance. Increased teaching loads would reduce the ability of Indian faculty to collaborate effectively with international colleagues. At a time of increased globalization and international cooperation, this would be a step backward.

Worse, however, is the idea that faculty shortages will be countered with exactly that act guaranteed to lead to even more shortages. An evil demonic figure desiring to destroy this crown jewel of India's educational system could do no better than to increase faculty teaching loads. Young Indian researchers finishing PhDs in the US and elsewhere have options to work
in other countries or in the private sector; they know the score internationally when it comes to teaching loads, research funding, and graduate student quality. Why would they choose to return to their home country when government and university adminstrators are signaling a decline in the status of research?

India has had great success of late by paying better attention to free markets,at least in its private sector. Markets for faculty talent also respond to supply and demand. If India wants to attract faculty for the IIT system it needs to pay competitively, provide named and endowed professorships, increase the pool and quality of graduate student talent through competitive fellowships and research support, and generally improve the condition of its professoriate. Such enhancements are not cheap, and new methods of public and private funding must be sought, but eating the seed corn of India's national strength in science and technology is a fairly sure prescription for decline in a sector of growth, promise, and pride.

My genetic algorithms class, GE 531, is available for students on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (see here) and for students off campus who would like to take it on line (see here).

This semester, I will record the online lectures again for the first time since 2000, and the new lectures will incorporate innovations in the teaching sequence as well as new examples in the parade of applications. These modifications will form the basis for the rewrite of my 1989 book, Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization, and Machine Learning.