"How Can Your Work Be More Impactful?" Talk presented by Assistant Professor Tiffani L. Williams

Title: How Can Your Work Be More Impactful?
Date:  Tue July 12, 11am
Place: X836, ICCS/CS (CS Board Room)

Abstract:

Have you ever tried to reproduce the results presented in a research paper? Were you successful? My argument is that impactful work is reproducible, which is one of the main principles of the scientific method.  The increased use of computer software in science makes reproducing scientific results increasingly difficult since critical details such as data set features, initialization/termination procedures, and precise parameter values are often omitted. In sum, non-reproducible work impedes scientific progress.

In this talk, I'll begin by discussing the issues related to reproducibility and computation.  Next, I'll talk about Paper Mache, an approach we developed that uses virtual machines to enhance scientific reproducibility and impactfulness.  Finally, the talk will conclude with an open discussion on the current role of the scientific papers in disseminating research results.

Bio:

Tiffani L. Williams is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Texas A&M University.  She earned her B.S. in computer science from Marquette University and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Central Florida. Afterward, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of New Mexico.  Her honors include a Radcliffe Institute Fellowship, an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, and a McKnight Doctoral Fellowship.  Her research interests are in the areas of bioinformatics and high-performance computing.