~~~ Η «ελληνική πραγματικότητα» υπάρχει μόνο στο μυαλό εκείνων που δεν μπόρεσαν (ή δεν ήθελαν;) ποτέ να ξεφύγουν από αυτήν ~~~
Friday, December 01, 2006
Berkeley vs Stanford,
Computer Science Departments
The following article in the Dec 1st
issue of the Daily Californian (http://dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=22478),
is indicative of the strength of these two institutions that have achieved a
marvelous mix of competition and cooperation. And one of them is public, the
other is private.
Sibling Rivalry, Battle of the Brains
Despite Universities’ Rift, Computer Science
Departments Find Common Ground
BY
Andrea Lu,
Contributing Writer
Friday, December 1, 2006
Tomorrow’s 109th Big Game is another reminder of
the rivalry that runs deep between Stanford University and UC Berkeley.
Nothing better exemplifies the
cooperative-competitive relationship between UC Berkeley and Stanford than the
ties between the computer science programs at the two universities. “There is a
rivalry of course, but also lots of collaboration and good will,” said UC
Berkeley computer science professor Christos Papadimitriou. Faculty members and
graduate students at both schools often work together on research projects,
committees and journal editorial boards. In addition, UC Berkeley and Stanford
faculty will sometimes teach graduate courses together. “We compete for
students—undergraduate and graduate—we compete for faculty and we compete for
funding,” said Stanford computer science professor Marc Levoy in an e-mail.
“However, since most universities don’t hire their own graduates as faculty,
many Stanford computer science faculty graduated from Berkeley, and vice versa.
The ties that bind us are very strong.” The result of such “crossbreeding”—the
exchange of students and faculty members—has led to many research collaboration
projects between the two schools.
Papadimitriou is currently working with Tim
Roughgarden, an assistant professor at Stanford, to create an interface between
algorithms, economics and the Internet. Roughgarden was once a post-doctoral
fellow in Papadimitriou’s group. Another joint effort is the Recovery-Oriented
Computing Project. Researchers from Stanford and UC Berkeley are working to
build computers that are more reliable by significantly decreasing the time it
takes for a computer to start back up after crashing, said project group member
and UC Berkeley computer science professor David Patterson. The collaboration
between the two universities not only serves to produce more innovation, but
also gives the West Coast an upper hand in a rivalry against the East Coast.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UC
Berkeley and Stanford are among the top computer science programs in the nation,
according to the US News & World Report. “The cross-town rivalry is naturally
stronger than the cross-country rivalry in some respects, such as when we
compete for students looking for a school in California, but weaker in other
respects,” Levoy said. One of the stiffest areas of competition between the two
departments is graduate student recruitment. Both schools are eager to draw the
brightest students to their own individual program.
However, cooperation between the two schools can
serve as an effective strategy to lure students to California. For instance, the
UC Berkeley and Stanford computer science departments will approve advisers for
doctoral students from the other school, giving graduate students more choices
and flexibility. “The effect of all this is both Stanford and Berkeley now look
a little better when somebody decides between East Coast and West Coast graduate
schools ... because of the collaboration,” Papadimitriou said. Distance has been
an influential factor in facilitating cooperation between the two institutions.
Patterson wrote two textbooks with Stanford
professor John Hennessy, who is currently Stanford’s president. It would have
been more difficult to work together had the schools not been so close,
Patterson said. “The fact that arguably the two best computer science
departments in the world are just 40 miles apart is a tremendous asset to
California,” Patterson said. “If we look at the top 10 computer science
departments just in the United States, the next two closest are about 500 miles
apart.” Still, a rivalry is a rivalry, and the computer science departments are
no exception. “I enjoy poking fun at Stanford more than at MIT,” Patterson said.
During the last lecture of every undergraduate class Patterson teaches, he
presents an evaluation of a UC Berkeley computer science education versus a
Stanford one. He also takes the time to discuss The Play, which Patterson
considers the most important piece of cultural heritage for Cal alumni. “A lot
of students are familiar with the ... Nobel scholars and all the great things
that happened intellectually, but instead I talk about football,” Patterson
said. “The Play is an inspirational example of never giving up. ... You’re
Berkeley alumni, and you have a tradition of overcoming big odds like football
players and band members.”
But while the Bears and the Cardinal have long detested each other, UC Berkeley
and Stanford also have a well-established academic relationship.
. . . back to the Blog!