Patrick Carlson - Iowa State University
carlsonp@cs.iastate.eduA train ride through New Mexico.
A train ride through New Mexico.
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I will be starting a PhD program in Computer Science at Iowa State University in the Fall of 2008. My undergraduate education was at Simpson College in Indianola Iowa where I studied Computer Science and Psychology.
Many of my research interests revolve around trying to combine Computer Science and Psychology.
My undergraduate Psychology capstone involved two semesters of work. The first semester was spent creating an experiment, gathering the required materials, and making sure the design was solid. The second semester I actually implemented the experiment and analyzed the data. For my experiment, I looked at differences in usability and appeal between a 2D versus 3D Linux desktop. I expected that the 3D desktop would be more appealing as well as more usable. The data collection involved participants taking surveys about their prior technology experience and desktop usage and then performing a variety of tasks while being timed. Additional surveys were used to examine their thoughts on the differences between the two desktops. No usability difference was found between the 2D and 3D desktops, however, participants thought the 3D desktop was more visually appealing. The interesting result was that participants preferred the 3D desktop over the 2D desktop but only if they experienced the 2D desktop first. I was able to explain this result using cognitive load theory from my cognitive Psychology class. I presented a poster of my results at the Midwest Psychology Association conference in May of 2008.
Paper: Usability and Appeal of a 2D versus 3D Linux Operating System (.pdf) - 2007
The beautiful New Mexico landscape.
I spent two summers researching machine learning in New Mexico at the University of New Mexico under the direction of Terran Lane. The first summer I learned the basics of machine learning and made some simple programs to make sure I understood the algorithm. One involved creating a program that had an agent traversing a grid world in order to get to a destination. I also got the chance to attend the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence conference in Boston. This conference was important because it showed me just how statistically oriented current AI research really is. I believe the current paradigm of statistical AI research has brought many advances but is hindering future development and breakthroughs. Cross-discipline work with Psychologists is also extremely important. This has an impact not only on AI research, but Human Computer Interaction (HCI) as well. Being able to understand how humans effectively use computer systems and what exactly is going through their mind as they use these systems is incredibly important.
After attending the conference, I chose a research problem to focus on. I was interested in networking technology and found a paper by Justin Boyan and Michael Littman explaining how machine learning could be used to optimize packet routing in a computer network. After spending time programming and research the subsequent summer, I was able to replicate their results. I also had the opportunity to attend the AAAI conference again, this time in Vancouver.
The file listed below is a presentation I gave at Simpson regarding the computer networking optimization work.
REU Presentation: Can the Internet learn? (.pdf) - 2007
The last three years as an undergrad, I participated in the annual Mathematical Contest in Modeling competition. Teams of three receive three problems and must pick one and model that problem in only four days. All three years the team I was on achieved honorable mention. The following is the problem we picked for 2007 and the paper we submitted.
PROBLEM B: The Airplane Seating Problem
Airlines are free to seat passengers waiting to board an aircraft in any order whatsoever. It has become customary to seat passengers with special needs first, followed by first-class passengers (who sit at the front of the plane). Then coach and business-class passengers are seated by groups of rows, beginning with the row at the back of the plane and proceeding forward. Apart from consideration of the passengers' wait time, from the airline's point of view, time is money, and boarding time is best minimized. The plane makes money for the airline only when it is in motion, and long boarding times limit the number of trips that a plane can make in a day. The development of larger planes, such as the Airbus A380 (800 passengers), accentuate the problem of minimizing boarding (and deboarding) time. Devise and compare procedures for boarding and deboarding planes with varying numbers of passengers: small (85-210), midsize (210-330), and large (450-800). Prepare an executive summary, not to exceed two single-spaced pages, in which you set out your conclusions to an audience of airline executives, gate agents, and flight crews. Note: The 2 page executive summary is to be included IN ADDITION to the reports required by the contest guidelines. An article appeared in the NY Times Nov 14, 2006 addressing procedures currently being followed and the importance to the airline of finding better solutions. The article can be seen at: http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/11/14/business/14boarding.html
Here is the description of the problem and our solution:
"Too Much Personal Baggage" And Other Variables Affecting Airplane Boarding Times (.pdf) - MCM 2007
I enjoy PC computer games, movies, following up on Open Source software, web development, and much more.