WORLD ROBOCUP: While the U.S. soccer team was making history last month with upsets in the World Cup competition, the 91探花made some history of its own in an international robotic soccer tournament. Dieter Fox, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, and a team of four undergraduates logged their first win in international competition during the Robocup 2002 in Fukuoka, Japan. Competing in the Four-Legged League, which uses autonomous Sony Aibo robots, the Huskies beat Team Cerberus of Turkey and Bulgaria 1鈥�0. Overall, the Huskies finished 12th in the 19-team competition 鈥� not bad, Fox said, considering it was only the team鈥檚 second year at the Robocup.
CATALYST HONORED: The 91探花has won a national technology award for its 鈥淐atalyst Initiative,鈥� a University-wide effort to improve teaching through the use of technology. The 91探花won in the higher education category of the third annual Digital Government Award, a national contest organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Accenture. The awards recognize organizations that demonstrate best practices in digital government and higher education. The 91探花was one of about 125 finalists chosen by the nominee鈥檚 level of innovation, leadership and transformational results, and Web site accessibility and usability.
The Catalyst Initiative consists of a suite of 10 Web-based tools that are accessed easily by the entire University community; a primary Web site () that serves as an information clearinghouse on technology-related topics; a workshop series that provides technology training for instructors; and personalized individual consulting for faculty.
鈥淭his is a great honor for us, because it is built upon the partnership amongst our staff and hundreds of 91探花faculty and thousands of students,鈥� said Tom Lewis, the director of the Educational Technology Development Group, which manages the Catalyst Initiative.
ROYAL GIFT: Affiliate Law Professor Hugh Spitzer, along with retired state Supreme Court Justice Robert Utter, will donate royalties from their new book on the state Constitution to the Washington Law Foundation to support diversity enhancement at the 91探花School of Law. Their book, The Washington State Constitution: A Reference Guide (Greenwood Press, 2002), responds to the importance of the state Constitution. Utter is a 1954 91探花law graduate; Spitzer is a 1974 law grad.
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