Four student representatives of Special Pilot CS Class of Year 2004 were sent by ITCS to pay a visit for academic exchanges to a host of prestigious US universities. The week trip began from April 23, 2008. The four seniors—Hao Song, Jing He, Yiming Liu, and Rong Ge were chosen by Prof. Andrew Yao for their excellent academic performances and strong research aspiration. Undergraduates as they were, they had already started the exploration in research work and developed their own research interests. It was the very aim of Pilot CS Class to help students develop a sense of scientific research at an early stage of education. Led by Prof. Xiaoming Sun, the four students were to visit the computer science departments of Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), and Stanford University.

Picture 1: Four students and Prof. Xiaoming Sun.

The brilliant four took three major activities during the visit.

1. Giving presentations on their innovative researches in US universities. As arranged by Prof. Andrew Yao, the four students met world-renowned scientists, including Prof. Zhigang Suo(Harvard University), Prof. Victor Zue (MIT), and Prof. Monica Lam (Stanford University). The professors talked to ITCS students about the research work of their universities and latest development, and they were also interested in the students’ efforts and had discussions with them. The professors spoke highly of the students, and said they had done pretty well with their innovative research.

2. Attending lectures in the US universities. The Pilot Class representatives seized the opportunity to listen to the best brains, with a lot of homework done in advance to prepare themselves for background information. Prof. Zhigang Suo, Prof. Madhu Sudan (MIT), and Prof. Monica Lam, had a high opinion of the talented young people. They shared with the students their academic experience, and encouraged them to make contribution to the development of computer science.

Picture 2: Pilot Class students’ presentation.

3. Joining the US graduate students and research project groups in their discussions. The Pilot Class representatives had discussions with the graduate students from CSAIL lab and the Department of Computer Science of Stanford University on a wide range of topITCS. 

Picture 3: Pilot Class representatives with US graduate students.