The symposium will be a five-hour nationwide video telecast with active audience participation. The emphasis will be on multidisciplinary aspects of computing technology and applications covering the following areas: VLSI, design automation, software engineering, personal computing, office automation, machine intelligence, robotics, and test technology. The goal of the interdisciplinary satellite symposium is to: a. Present the state-of-the-art and future trends in rapidly evolving computer-based technologies; b. Suggest directions for fruitful interactions between computing technologies and resulting innovative applications; c. Provide a forum for dialogue and interaction between individuals (professionals, faculty, and students) in different segments of computer science, computer technology, and user communities. The National Science Foundation will sponsor the participation of approximately 10 minority colleges so that they may benefit from this highly leveraged technical initiative. As a companion submission to the IEEE request the Black College Satellite Network will evaluate the IEEE-sponsored satellite teleconference. In addition to providing downlink services to viewers, BCNS will develop and coordinate the implementation of a uniform evaluation instrument at the minority university receive sites. Evaluation coordinators will be identified by the deans or department chairs at each participating institution. Variables to be considered are teleconference logistics, format, thematic content and effectiveness in providing orientational information, outreach and enhanced curriculum offerings. Results will address the issues of faculty and student enrichment, student pipeline quality and quantity and institutional infrastructure impact.
