Alumni Issue

8/3/2019 Alumni Issue

1/12


2/12

conCePtS OPINION 2@23

EDITORIALALETHEIA GRACE

DEL ROSARIOEDITOR IN CHIEF

Since 1947, when Thom-

as Goldsmith, Jr. and Es-

tle Ray Mann simulated

aerial battle using cath-

ode ray tubes, the game

industry developed into

a very robust feld. Devel-opers, if not to simulate

reality, create games that

break out of it (or some-

times a mix of both).

Various innovations on

gaming shaped the indus-

try into its current state.

However, some believe that

these innovations do not

exist in the gaming indus-try, as some developers

release only copies of an

existing game, only with a

different interface.

Take for example Space

Invaders, in 1987, which

was the basis of Galax-

ian, Phoenix, GORF, As-

tro Blaster, Astro Fighter,

Moon Cresta, Pleiades, Gal-

aga, etc. Also, we must takenote of Tekken, Tekken 2,

Tekken 3, and Virtua Fight-

er. And Super Mario Broth-

ers and its brothers.

Innovation and inven-

tion are often confused as

a similar concept. These

two ideas are distinct, most

especially because their

meanings evolved through

time. Invention is the crea-

tion of an idea and innova-

tion is the implementation

of this idea.

In history, most often,the innovators are the one

who popularizes the ideas,

not the inventors. An excel-

lent example for this is the

iPhone. The touchscreen

technology already existed

in the 70s but the iPhone

made it popular.

As Charles Simic says,

Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a light-

house while all the others

are making ships.

For the developers out

there, other than the chal-

lenge of making ships and

lighthouses, it is worth to

identify whether your work

is a ship or a lighthouse.

We will be talking a lot

about ships and lighthous-es in the gaming industry in

this issue. We have our sta-

ple offers of what is new in

the Computer Science, Ap-

plied Physics and Statistics

elds, as well as updates on

the organization and UPLB.

I hope you enjoy this issue!

CONTENTS

News5OVPAA requires BracketB certifcation or newreshmen, transerees

Varsities removed romUPLB

CPS alumnus among

international studentambassadors o Brisbane,Australia

6Housing Divisionincorporate STFAPbracketing into dormaccomodation ees

Game Review: God o War

Features

4 Features

Gaming industry:Bumping money out o

bricks

CPS participates in CASNew Freshmen Party

ANNIVERSARY

ALUMNI ISSUE


3/12

To me, that something is

CPS.

One reason why I joined

CPS was that I wanted to

have friends from UPLB

to attend my debut. It

was successful! They were

there. In less than two

months, already there to

testify, give wishes, and

party with me.

Two years later, CPS isstill here (and I know for-

ever will be). It is like my

non-existent Ate or Kuya;

it has been my mentor. The

organization is 23 years

old but its wisdom is even

more than its age. CPS has

a proud history and con-

tinues to play a signicant

role in the lives of its mem-bers, the various constitu-

ents of the university, and

the whole Filipino people

as well.

Cleverness, passion and

synergy are the values very

dominant in the organiza-

tion, which are the three

points of the triangle.

Clever, that is how weall are (in whatever way).

Inside the triangle, there

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

will never be a dull mo-

ment. The jokes, asaran,

banatan, and kulitan

makes college life brighter

and lighter.

Passion. We are an aca-

demic organization and

academics is our priority.

But, despite that, CPS has

been kept alive by passion.

Inside the triangle, thereisnt such a thing as sac-

rice, instead, theres pas-

sion.

Synergy. It is the abil-

ity of our organization

to perform a task that is

hard or almost impossible

to work on alone. It is the

driving force to produce an

outcome when everyone is working toward the same

goal. CPS has served as a

leadership training ground

for all of us. It helps us

adopt helpful skills and ad-

just to different situations.

I see the circle as a

representation of all the

members of the organiza-

tion, helping to connect thethree points of the triangle.

CPS is more than clev-

To succeed... You need to fnd something to hold on to, something to moti-vate you, something to inspire you.

Tony Dorsett erness, passion and syn-

ergy but these values are

essential for achieving all

our goals. We cant wait

to showcase all what CPS

can do and what CPS can

become.

Long live and more love

to The CPS Triangle! Happy

23rd Anniversary to us!

CHARMAINE

THERESE PASAGPRESIDENT

7 Sports

CPS places 4th inPalaCASan 2011

conCePtSOPINION3 @23

8 Features

Elbi Review: Top 10 oodcorners in Los Baos

Movie Review: A CrazyLittle Thing Called Love

9

Whats New in CMSC andAPHY?10

Whats New in STAT?

EDITORIAL STAFFNew Batches: Parameterand Paradigm Shit

11

EDITOR IN CHIEF

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

SPORTS EDITOR

GRAPHICS EDITOR

WRITERS

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Aletheia Grace del Rosario

Hazel Anne Mozo

Bart Acero

Glomark Lapay

Maritess Veraa

Charmaine Therese Pasag

Sheena Datingguinoo

Noel Franz Baylosis

Janelle Stephanie Dano

Irish Brecenio

Contact our editorial staf at

+63916.1733.236

[email protected]

3/F Black Tambayan, Physical

Sciences Bldg., UPLB


4/12

conCePtS FEATURES 4@23

The God of War series has

always posed as a chal-

lenge not only to gamers

but also to developers and

businessmen. It is a deadly

a mixture of hardcore ght-

ing combos, puzzle solving,

impressive 3D graphics,and Greek mythology; Sony

Computer Entertainment

created a masterpiece.

You can get your ll of

blood and gore from this

game; the brutality and

thrill never ceases, as ex-

pected from the protago-

nist, Kratos, once a leader

of a Spartan army. He is notexactly charming; his aura

seems to assure players

that it is indeed possible to

defeat Ares, the God of War

(well get there later).

In God of War I, he led

his army through many vic-

tories until they were over-

matched by a throng of bar-

barians. They were saved

by Ares and, in return, Kra-tos swore to serve him.

Kratos went on a spree

of bloodbath against all of

Greece, under his masters

name. To make Kratos a

perfect warrior, Ares inten-

tionally placed Kratos wife,

Lysandra, and daughter,

Calliope, in the village. He

abandoned his service after

murdering his family.

In an attempt to redeemhimself, he committed to

serve the gods of Olympus

for ten years. He eventually

grew tired and summoned

Athena to help him end

his misery. She sent him to

murder Ares.

Because of the games

popularity, Sony released

God of War II in 2009. It

received an aggregate score

of 93% from GameRatings

and MetaCritic. The IGN

entertainment even in-

cluded the game as one of

the top 25 games of all time

in the same year it was re-

leased.

Its story now focuses on

the search for the sisters of

faith who can bring Kratosback to the time Zeus killed

him because he joined an

army of Spartans, where he

ignored Athenas warning

about going against Zeus.

By the time he was killed,

Kratos was saved by theTitan Gaia from the under-

world for revenge. Kratos al-

most killed Zeus but Athe-

na shielded his sword and

got killed. From Athenas

last breathe, she revealed

that Kratos true father is

his immortal enemy, Zeus.

The 3rd installment was

released March of 2010.

Improving its gameplay and

graphics, it can now be only

played on Xbox and PS3.

Kratos allied with the Titans

and storms Mount Olym-

pus and nally killed Zeus

and the Olympian Gods.

I highly recommend the

God of War.

It is nearly perfect. So

if you want to see brutal,gore killings and experience

unique thrill, I suggest you

try it out.

BART ACEROSPORTS EDITOR

GAME REVIEW: God of War


5/12

conCePtSNEWS5 @23

Deiter Dizon was selectedas one of the 29 interna-

tional student ambassa-

dors last March. He grad-

uated from Southbank

Institute of Technology in

Brisbane, Australia last

June, with a diploma on

Screen and Media.

Apart from his selec-

tion, he was also namedas one of the Top 10 Most

Outstanding Youth of La-

guna by Gawad San Luis

Foundation in 2005. He

CPS alumnus among international student

ambassadors of Brisbane, AustraliaALETHEIA GRACE DEL ROSARIO graduated from UPLB

in 2006 with a degree in

Computer Science and isan alumnus of The CPS

Triangle.

He moved to Australia

in 2010 after receiving

a scholarship from the

Endeavor Awards, an

Australian government

scholarship program. He

was nominated as one

of the most outstanding

international students in

Queensland Educationand Training Internation-

al Awards in 2010.

The primary role of the

international student am-

bassadors is to promote

Brisbane as a destination

for students. His experi-

ences were documented

in his social media sites.

Source:http://specials.sunstar.com.ph/flipinoabroad/2011/03/29/flipino-selected-as-bris-bane-intl-student-ambassador/ht t p :// lo qal .ph/nat io n-and -wo rld /2010/06/08/ i l ip ino -named -amo ng-brisbane%E2%80%99s-international-student-ambassadors/

Dizon with Brisbanes Lord MayorLarry Campbell.

Varsities removed from UPLBALETHEIA GRACE DEL ROSARIO

The Ofce of the Chancel-

lor under the super visionof former Chancellor Luis

Rey Velasco released a

memorandum last [Insert

date here] that abolished

all varsities in UPLB.

This is to benet the

organizations that would

like to use Copeland

Gymnasium for their ac-

tivities. According to theadministration, the varsi-

ties monopolize the use of

these facilities.

Students staged nu-

merous protests but the

administration stood

ground on their memo.

Last July, the College of

Arts and Sciences - Stu-

dent Council (CAS-SC)

held a party for the new

freshmen from CAS at theSeniors Social Garden.

Apart from new fresh-

men, CAS-SC invited or-

ganizations to help in the

programme as ushers,

performers, or food givea-

ways. The CPS Triangle

participated as ushers.

CPS participates in CAS

New Freshmen PartyALETHEIA GRACE DEL ROSARIO

Last August, The CPS

Triangle joined the street

painting in front of the

Humanities Building,

hosted by Tau Gamma

Phi Fraternity and Tau

Gamma Sigma Sorority.

The theme is in linewith the challenge of the

students to the new ad-

ministration.

CPS joins Tau Gammas Street PaintingALETHEIA GRACE DEL ROSARIO

Please vote or the CPS sisses (Nadz, Marijka and Karen)

at the UPLB Hot 100!


6/12


OVPAA requires Bracket B certification for

new freshmen, transfereesMARITESS VERAA

The Ofce of the VicePresident for Academic

Affairs (OVPAA) released

a memorandum stating

that changes were made

to the Socialized Tuition

and Financial Assistance

Program (STFAP) brack-

eting system, the pro-

gram structured by the

university to discount the

tuition fee of student de-

pending on their econom-

ic status.

Students were alarmed

by the new scheme, with

the assumption that all

students were assigned

to Bracket A. Rumors cir-

culated about tuition fee

increase and full revision

of STFAP. Protests andonline campaigns were

held against the scheme.

The OVPAA released an-

other memorandum last

June 6 to clarify the revi-

sions.

OVPAA Memorandum

No. 2011-09 sets the de-fault bracket to A (P1,500

per unit) and requires

only freshmen and trans-

fer students to submit a

Bracket B (P1,000 per

unit) certication.

The certication is a

notarized document stat-

ing that they belong un-

der Bracket B. It must

be submitted along with

two other requirements:Income Tax Return or

overseas contract, and

residential map.

The changes were

made so that the le-

gitimate records on stu-

dents economic status

provide more opportuni-

ties to students who need

nancial assistance.

Former Chancellor Luis

Rey I. Velasco approved

the proposal of the UPLB

Housing Ofce upon the

recommendation of the

UPLB Fiscal Policies andOperations Committee.

The accomodation, appli-

ance and transient rates

were adjusted according

to the STFAP bracketing.

The new rates are ef-

fective starting First Se-

mester A.Y. 2011-2012.

Housing Division

incorporate STFAPbracketing into dorm

accomodation feesMARITESS VERAA

TABLE 1. Accomodation ees.

BRACKET FAMILY INCOME DORM FEE PER MONTH

E2

E1

D

C

B

A

Less 80, 000

80, 001 135, 000

135, 001 250, 000

250, 001 500, 000

500, 000 1 million

More than 1 million

400

400

500

Mens, Womens, Vet,

Foreha, Mareha, IH

New Dorm, ATI,

ACCI

600

600

600

650

650

650

TABLE 3. Gadgets.

GADGET/APPLIANCE

Gadgets (Cellphone, MP3Player, iPod, etc.)Electric Fan 8Electric Fan 10Electric Fan 12Electric Fan 14

Electric Fan 16Electric Fan 18Electric Fan 20

Computer w/ MonitorComputer w/ Printer

LaptopRefrigerator

4 cu. ft.5 cu. ft.

Electric Iron

WATTAGE FEE

30405060

8012017522517565

7080

1000

50577695114

1522283332144262

428490

8.50/hr

TABLE 2. Transient.

RATE PER DAYDORMDorms except IH Guest House

Guest House, non-aircon, single

occupancy

Guest House, non-aircon, double

occupancy

Guest House, aircon, single or dou-

ble occupancy

90 per person

450 per person

500 per room

700 per room


7/12

conCePtSFEATURES7 @23

SHEENA DATINGGUINOO

NOEL FRANZ BAYLOSISCONTRIBUTORS

eLBi REVIEW:Top 10 ood corners in Los Baos

Because of stress, its goodto reward yourself every

now and then with food.

Food has been a source of

refreshment and inspira-

tion for ages. Weve listed

some of the must-try vict-

uals around UPLB.

BLACK AND BREWBlack and Brews is a coffee

shop located at 2nd Floor

Vega Center If youre look-

ing for a ne meal, then try

their all-day breakfast with

a yummy cheesy mush-

room omelette, your choice

of ham, hotdog, salami or

luncheon meat plus rice

or bread for only P55. Theyalso have pasta. Try their

best selling Mushroom Al-

fredo and surely, youll be

full.

MANG TOTOS BACOLODCHICKEN INASAL

It is the only restaurant

that sells grilled food in-

side the campus. Feast on

their tender juicy grilled

porkchop and tasty grilled

chicken. Freshness of the

food is assured because

they cook meals in front of

you. Combined with a P5

per serving extra rice, youll

get your ll without goingout of budget. It is located

beside One Silangan inside

the campus.

ELLENS FRIED CHICKEN

One of the oldest business-

es in Los Baos, Ellens

fried chicken still boasts its

crispy, juicy fried chicken.

Located in various places

in UPLB, you can enjoy

fried chicken for just P35.

If you like Chicken Skin,

they serve them at their

Raymundo branch every

thursday for only P20.

10

9

AUNTIE PEARLS

Auntie Pearls offer a newtaste of burger. Try their

delicious burgers and pas-

tas for student-friendly

prices. They also offer

pizzas, sandwiches and

corndogs. Auntie Pearls is

located at Oregano Street

Demarses Subdivision.

8

MICHAS

Michas serve pasta in a

ash. Drop by at Michas

located at Grove and grab

youre slice of lasagna for

only 40 pesos. Pair it with

any of their delicious sweets.

Silvanas? Cream Puffs?

Cheesecakes? They all have

it for you.

7

ILOREANS

A diverse mix of Korean

and Philippine culture lead

to the formation of Ilorean,

one of the cheapest but

stufng Tapsilogans in

LB. Try their spicy bulgogi

(will set your tongue on

re) or juicy burger steak.Their meals average at P50

each, including a free soft

drink or rice.

6

DANIELLAS EATERY

The sister business of Cels

Fastfood, Daniellas eatery

offers one of the best lu-

tong bahay viands. Sini-

gang, adobo, mechado, shllet-- name it, they have it.

Try their Lechong Kawali,

crispy and juicy combined

with a delicous sauce. Lo-

cated at Grove, near the

block of Demarses. They

offer affordable, scrump-

tious foods.

5

CELS FASTFOOD

You might mistake this

place for a 3 star restau-

rant. Located in Demarses

Subdivision and SEARCA

canteen, Cels Fastfood of-

fers you delicacies of high

quality. From mouth wa-

4

SIZZLING ZONE

Up for something super

heavy? Try the Ultimate

Double Decker which in-cludes 2 pieces of burger

patty with cheese in be-

tween, egg, java rice and

kernel corn. Available at

LB square for a friendly

price of P85. Bring 3 more

people and theyll give you

a pitcher of iced tea for free.

2

1

tering grilled chicken tosumptuous sweets, they

caters one of the most ne

dining meals for an average

price of P50~P80.

JOES

Joes is recommended for

romantic dinners. They of-

fer a variety of pasta and

sweets. Try their pasta in white sauce or red sauce

and a Blueberry Cheese-

cake on the side. They are

located near Los Baos Na-

tional High School.

3

Youll never trying any of

these. Enjoy and happy

eating, folks!


8/12


PalaCASan, the annual sports

est or College o Arts andSciences (CAS) based organi-zations, was hosted by theApplied Physics Society, alsoknown as Physika, with thetheme Equilibrium: Mind andBody. From August to October,12 organizations competedagainst each other.

BuCASan, the opening cer-emony o the sports est, washeld last July 16. The organiza-tions paraded around the cam-pus and competed in the CheerDance Competition and the Mr.and Ms. PalaCASan.

Representing The CPS Trian-gle in Mr. and Ms. PalaCASanwere Mart Gil Cuenca and Kim-

CPS places 4th in PalaCASan

2011, bags third Overall

Womens Basketball

championship titleBART ACERO

berly Lai. Cuenca received the

awards Mr. Photogenic andBest in Formal Wear while Laireceived the Heroine o thenight and Ms. Photogenic.

Sports events during thethree-month course were bas-ketball, volleyball, table tennis,swimming, badminton, chess,boggle, game o the generalsand damath.

CPS sisses scored their thirdoverall womens basketball

championship title. MarivicMercado was again awarded asthe Most Valuable Player in thewomens division. Members othe basketballs mythical fvewere Jay Edson Lopez, Mercadoand Co.

Nadine Co bagged 1st place

in the womens badmintonsingles, third place or mixeddoubles and the power smash-er award. The mixed doublesaward was shared by MeerenAguilar and Miguel Anton Pau-lo Cuenca.

Marian Bundalian andSheena Sandoval scored CPSthe third place in womens ta-ble tennis.

Carlo Martin Marori andHazel Anne Mozo brought CPSthe third place in boggle.

Co placed third or the 50mbreaststroke womens divisionand 1st place in 25m breast-stroke in the swimming com-petition.

The cutest player award wasawarded to Mr. Mart Gil Cuenca.

Overall, CPS placed ourthamong the 12 competing or-ganizations and received theHot na Hot award.

CPS is more motivated tobring home the championshiptrophy or next years PalaC-ASan. Go CPS! Fight CPS! WinCPS! CPS, the BEST!


9/12

conCePtSNEWS9 @23

GADGET REVIEW: Sony HDR-PJ50VaCHARMAINE

THERESE PASAGPRESIDENT

After pioneering the built-

in projector technology for

camera last 2009, Nikon

has a new competitor.

Released on the rst

quarter of 2011, Sonys

HDR-PJ50V allows HD re-

cording and playback of

captured memories any-

time. It boasts of its high-

contrast projector, which

is able to display up to 60

inches of image on any

dark, at surface from a

distance of 0.5m to 3m. Itcan record video at full HD

(19201080) and shoot still

images at 7.1-megapixels; it

can replace a dSLR.

It has a zoom micro-

phone, allowing sharp au-

dio close up; the Advanced

Wind Noise Reduction

system that can minimize

noise and wind distur-bance; and the Dolby Digi-

tal 5.1 Surround Sound in

stereo speakers so one can

enjoy an eargasmic audio

experience.

This product is perfect

for travellers. It cand record

and store up to 91 hours of

footage because of its built-

in 220GB hard disk drive.

It also has a built-in GPS

receiver, that is capable for

Geotagging (allows tagging

of shooting locations), and

NAVTEQ, which lets user

view the current location on

the 3.0 touch screen LCDmap display.

PJ50V features a num-

ber of shooting controls.

The 12x Optical Zoom

and additional 17x Extend-

ed Zoom feature provides

closer detailed images that

are still in HD quality per-

fect for all scenery.

The Optical SteadyShotis perfect for the image sta-

bilization for shaky hands.

The Golf Shot technique

is perfect for capturing thefast-phased actions and

gives detailed Smooth Slow

Record from the 22 still im-

ages per second it took.

The Intelligent Auto

mode analyzes and auto-

matically selects settings

from ten modes (Land-

scape, Backlight, Twilight,

Spotlight, Low light, Macro,Portrait, Baby, Walk, Tri-

pod) and can come up with

90 different scene combina-

tions!

The Tracking Focus

feature is somewhat an ex-

tension of Face Detection

because object can be eas-

ily focused by touching the

LCD screen.HDR-PJ50V is available

at around 54,000Php.

MOVIEREVIEW:

A Crazy LittleThing Called LoveKIMBERLY LAI

CONTRIBUTOR

A Crazy Little Thing Called

Love (CLTCL) is about Nam,

a high school student, crush-

ing on her senior, Shone, the

school heartthrob. She is not

the regulation hottie; shes

dark-skinned, wears eye-

glasses and is very skinny.

Its your typical high

school story. Its notalgic. It

will remind you of your undy-

ing crush to an upperclass-man; the strolls along his

classroom to snatch a glance

of him; how you get giddy

whenever you see him smile

even if it is not intended to

you. Although I never con-

fessed, I must say that I really

could relate to Nams story.

I loved the simplicity and

innocence of the movie. The

pureness of rst love is

something to cherish. No

wonder, it grabbed the top

awards on the 2010 TOP

Awards in Thailand. It was

not something grandiose or

boasting of beauty. It is real.

CLTCL was indeed a hit

to Pinoy teenagers and young

adults. There is a Philippinefacebook fanpage of CLTCL,

run by Filipino fans, and is

very active. Maybe, CLTCLs

plot is the typical Pinoy teen-

agers high school life.

Also, Nam and Shone

have chemistry; they look

good together. Actually, they

are a good-looking couple.

Even if they didnt have a

kissing scene in the movie,

they still managed to keep

the adoration of the audience.

How I wish they are a true

couple (they are still young

so there is still time for that to

happen).

However, I didnt like

the ending. It frustrates me;

what happened with Namand Shone is not clear. I

know theyll be together, but

I want an assurance! Give me

a much sweeter and clearer

one, director! But neverthe-

less, this movie is still good.

It will have a special place in

my heart.


10/12


WHATS

NEWCOMPUTERSCIENCE

The Travelling Salesman

must nd the shortest

route that allows him to vis-it all locations on his route,

explained co-author Dr Ni-

gel Raine,

Computers solve it by

comparing the length of all

possible routes and choos-

ing the shortest. However,

bees solve simple versions

of it without computer as-

sistance using a brain the

size of grass seed.

The team set up a bee

nest-box, marking each

bumblebee with numbered

tags to follow their behav-

iour when allowed to visit

ve articial owers which

were arranged in a regular

pentagon.

When the owers all

contain the same amountof nectar bees learned to y

the shortest route to visit

them all, said Dr Lihoreau.

However, by making one

ower much more reward-

ing than the rest we forced

the bees to decide between

following the shortest route

or visiting the most reward-

ing ower rst.In a feat of spatial judge-

ment the bees decided that

if visiting the high reward

How Bumblebees Tackle theTravelling Salesman Problem

ower added only a small

increase in travel distance,

they switched to visiting itrst. However, when visit-

ing the high reward added

a substantial increase in

travel distance they did not

visit it rst.

The results revealed a

trade-off between either

prioritising visits to high

reward owers or ying

the shortest possible route.

Individual bees attempted

to optimise both travel dis-

tance and nectar intake as

they gained experience of

the owers.

We have demonstrated

that bumblebees make

a clear trade-off between

minimising travel distance

and prioritising high re-

wards when consideringroutes with multiple loca-

tions, concluded co-author

Professor Lars Chittka.

These results provide the

rst evidence that animals

use a combined memory of

both the location and prof-

itability of locations when

making complex routing

decisions, giving us a newinsight into the spatial

strategies of trap-lining ani-

mals.

Excerpts o the article rom http://www.sciencedaily.com/releas-es/2011/06/110628191339.htm

APPLIED

PHYSICS

A High-Bandwidth Interplan-etary ConnectionIf your slow Internet con-nection has you frustrated,

just be glad you dont have

to communicate with a

probe on Mars. A new study

suggests that by twisting

laser light, scientists could

pack enough information

into interplanetary beams

to speed up extraterres-trial communications to the

multi-gigabit level.

At the moment, laser-

based communication be-

tween Earth and satellites

uses so-called pulse-posi-

tion modulation (PPM).

But the faster, more


11/12

conCePtSFEATURES11 @23

On an interview last No-

vember 25, Ms. Nancy A. Tandang, Coordinator for

Instruction at the Insti-

tute of Statistics, said that

changes in the curriculum

was made due to small

changes in the GE courses.

Some GE courses were re-

quired and have to be ac-

commodated into the cur-

riculum. The changes were as

follows: the new curricu-

lum is made to adapt to

the new GE University rule

that entails for English 1

and 2 as well as the newly

made PI 10 be required

GE courses, PI 100 is now

replaced by a new theory

course (STAT 147) enti-

tled Introduction to the Theory of Non-Parametric

Statistics, STAT 146 was

revised (non-parametric

parts were removed), STAT

182 was revised (it is no

longer software based),

only 9 units will be re-

quired in the MST domain,

complex electronics needed

to do that would make for

an expensive and power-

hungry system, says Ivan

Djordjevic, an optical com-

munications expert at the

University of Arizona, Tuc-son. Instead, he says, we

should scrap time encod-

ing and harness a different

property of light: its orbital

angular momentum (OAM),

a twisting pattern in the

beam.

The combination of dif-

ferent shapes and intensi-

ties can encode more infor-

mation into a single pulse

than is practical through

pulse-position modulation,

Djordjevic says. He argues

that the equipment needed

to encode and decode OAM

waves can be built by low-

cost upgrades to current

technologies. The pulses

would be sent by a laser

and passed through a holo-

gram or multimode opticalber, which twists the light.

On the other side, a tele-

scope would focus the light

and a second hologram, or

ber would decode the sig-

nal.

Djordjevic suggests that

OAM could also provide In-

ternet links of 100 gigabits

per second through the air.

Data rates between satel-

lites and Earth, between

satellites, and even between

satellites and aircraft could

get a boost from harness-

ing twisted light. Standard

telescopes are sufcient for

these short distances, he

says.

Experts are cautious

about the advance. It is

one of those things thatworks well in theory, says

Hamid Hemmati, a laser

communications expert

at NASAs Jet Propulsion

Laboratory in Pasadena,

California. However, he and

others point out a practi-

cal hurdle: The trouble is

that beams spread out as

they travel. Hemmati and

his colleagues estimate that

receiving OAM data from a

transmitter as distant as

the sun would require a

kilometer-wide telescope.

STATISTICSthe new curriculum nowhas 153 units, and, fromthe 20-series of Calculus,

BS Statistics students now

take the 30-series.

Before the 2002 cur-

riculum revision, BS Sta-

tistics students took the

30 series. They observed

that students were getting

held back by it, but when

they nally get to takeSTAT courses, these stu-

dents didnt seem to have

problems. To help students

avoid graduation delays,

they changed into the

Math20-series. Though the

students were no longer

held up on Math courses,

students now have prob-

lems with STAT courses,

specically the theories. Training students got in

tackling the harder Calcu-

lus series worked better in

preparing students for fu-

ture theory classes.

Since the move of PI100

to a required GE course

called PI10, the old curric-

ulum, along with its sub-

jects, would then be short

one subject or three units

of course work. Though

other courses opted for

an additional elective, the

Institute of Statistics pre-

ferred an additional course.

Ms. Tandang assuredthat the changes in the

curriculum does not nec-

essarily imply that the old

curriculum is not good.

It is just for strengthen-

ing the curriculum. The

students wont really uses

the new course if they get

jobs that focus on the ap-

plications of Statistics. This

course was really useful forthose intending to take on

graduate studies. Those

that will not take them

need not worry.

Upon approval, these

changes would then be im-

plemented to the students

of Batch 2011.

The New BS Statistics Curriculum


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