|
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6
Are we relying too much on the automation of software?
Just as the invention of the first steam engine powered the
industrial revolution, the invention of the first practical
computer 50 years ago has radically changed our society. We rely on
the use of computers and software to function in every aspect of
our lives, but do we really know the risks associated with that
enormous dependence?
Dr. Nancy Leveson, professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will present " The Limits
of Automation: How Far Should We Trust Software?" at a colloquium
at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, at NASA Langley's H.J.E. Reid Conference
Center.
Media Briefing: A media briefing will be held at 1:15
p.m. at the H.J.E. Reid Conference Center, 14 Langley Blvd., at
NASA Langley Research Center. Members of the media who wish to
attend should contact Kimberly W. Land (757) 864-9885 to arrange
for credentials and an escort to the Reid Center.
Leveson will discuss the role software plays in the new types of
potential accidents prone to the engineering designs of today. She
will also address the changes needed to prevent software-related
accidents and losses.
In addition to her current role at MIT, Leveson is an adjunct
professor at the University of British Columbia. After receiving
degrees in mathematics, operations research, and computer science,
Leveson worked in industry as a systems engineer and eventually
became Boeing Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the
University of Washington before moving to MIT.
In 1995, Leveson received an AIAA Information Systems Award for
"developing the field of software safety and for promoting
responsible software and system engineering practices where life
and property are at stake," and an ACM Allen Newell Award, in 1999,
for lifetime contributions to computer science and
interdisciplinary research.
The general public is invited to the Sigma Series lecture on the
same topic at the Virginia Air and Space Center at 7:30 p.m., that
evening.
- end -
|
