Natural language refers to the kinds of languages that people speak every day. Ringger’s work is to teach computers to understand these natural languages—English, French, Russian, German, and Japanese, etc.,—as easily as they understand C++, Java, Python, and PHP. Computers could then utilize the information housed in natural language documents to do more than just print. Potentially, this technology would automate how documents are used, cracking open the information inside and giving people more power to manage it. The future, for Ringger, includes the ability for a computer to look at a document written in Japanese, translate it into English, and then give the human user the chance to both read the document in English and receive the most pertinent information extracted out of the document by the computer. Read More

In a discipline that many see as focusing on machines rather than people, BYU Computer Science faculty heal the rifts and ease the contention between science and religion.  For these faculty, the link between their discipline and their testimonies lies in their desire to learn, grow, and serve the Lord. Read More

Dr. Dan Olsen, professor in the Computer Science Department and head of the Interactive Computing Everywhere (ICE) lab, shown right, has been named as an ACM Fellow in recognition of his tremendous accomplishments in computing and information technology and outstanding service to ACM and the larger computing community. Read More

BYU Computer Science Alumni working at Microsoft led the way in the campaign to raise money for scholarships for students studying computer science at BYU.  Their contributions were generously matched by Microsoft. Read More

Dr. David W. Embley, a 2006 recipient of the Karl G. Maeser Award in Research and Creative Arts, has focused his research on information extraction from webpages. His research makes it possible for users to have their computers answer specific questions, rather than just typing in a search and receiving lists of webpage references. This new technology has the potential to dramatically alter the ways in which humans interact with machines in everything from surfing the web to researching family history. Read More

Dallen Quass (BS ’86, MS ’88), a Computer Science alum and former president of the Computer Science Alumni Association, was honored Thursday, October 19 as the 2006 College Honored Alumni Speaker for the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. Dr. Quass spoke in room 1170 of the Talmage Building as part of the 2006 Homecoming festivities. His address, entitled “Trust in the Lord,” looked at his experiences and the journey he took through schooling and in the industry in light of the scripture Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

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