[Oxford CompSoc banner graphic]   [6th Week]   Trinity Term Week 1 Newsletter Termcard, Competitive Programming, Socials, Talks and More!

Welcome Back, Underlings,

Welcome back! We're back in Week 1 with a swathe of new events, ranging from our usual Competitive Programming contests and Saturday Socials to brand new events for the calendar. To see the events we have planned for this term, check out our Trinity Term 2025 termcard below.

To kick this week off, we'll be in the Undergraduate Social Area on Monday for a spot of Competitive Programming! Come along at 7:30pm for our first contest of the term.

On Thursday, we'll be delving into the world of machine learning at 5pm for a talk from our former Competitive Programming Officer, Leo Lee! We'll also be enjoying some lunch beforehand – details are below.

Before we head into the weekend, we'll be joined by the Physics Society and the Invariants on Friday for our STEM social! Come along at 8pmat Oxo Bar, where we'll be enjoying free drinks and lively conversation.

To close off the week, we'll head back to the Undergraduate Social Area on Saturday at 7pm for our new Presentation Night – we'll be giving you a chance to speak about your interests, and hear other CompSoc members speak! If you'd like to give a presentation, you can sign up herehttps://forms.gle/2etPiJTstkGxsVwd8. Further details are below.

— Declan, CompSoc Secretary

Fun Computing Fact: Since the advent of Windows Subsystem for Linux, developers confined to Windows have had the luxury of being able to use Linux utilities in a Windows environment. This, however, wasn't Microsoft's first foray into implementing a POSIX-compliant environment on Windows – that honour instead goes to the POSIX subsystem in early versions of Windows NT, a feature implemented by Microsoft to bid for US federal government contracts with Windows.

Alongside the flagship Win32 subsystem, Windows NT 3.1 through Windows 7 contain a conformant implementation of POSIX.1, which largely covers the standardised C programming interfaces, allowing applications written for the POSIX standard to be built and run as Windows executables. Windows Services for UNIX later included Interix, a package containing common Unix userland utilities for Windows. Support, however, was dropped in Windows 8.1.

Still not a member? How?! Membership only costs £1 for LIFE, with tons of benefits - discounts on merch and tickets, free food at all socials, our exclusive Discord server and more - so it's definitely worth signing up!

[Be a member]https://ox.compsoc.net/product/lifetime-membership/

or, go to https://ox.compsoc.net/product/lifetime-membership/https://ox.compsoc.net/product/lifetime-membership/?fbclid=IwAR1Oe_vwCudNvUkML5zplEHDvpOyIL_KhItKI7tHImIpgXhiu33iofAQrdY

[Events]   Trinity Term 2025 Termcard

Say hello to our termcard for Trinity! We have a plethora of events new and old, with talks from experts and CompSoc members, a range of socials and the return of Competitive Programming. Most of our socials wrap up after Week 4, leaving you with some much needed time to revise! Stay tuned for the latest details on scheduled events.

[https://3f02beb114.imgdist.com/pub/bfra/jofz1jq9/1cm/zf4/r9p/TT25%20Termcard...]   Competitive Programming: First Week Contest [https://3f02beb114.imgdist.com/pub/bfra/jofz1jq9/7jh/608/5w7/PNG%20Competiti...]

This Monday, we're kicking off the new term in true CompSoc style with a brand new Competitive Programming contest! Come along at 7:30pm in the Undergraduate Social Area for a classic face-off against fellow members as we battle through tricky problems.

When: 7:30-9:30pm, Monday 28th April

Where: Undergraduate Social Area, Department of Computer Science 7 Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QG

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/cu1kmYE2U

Equality Saturation in a Real-World Machine Learning Compiler: A Talk from Leo Lee [https://3f02beb114.imgdist.com/pub/bfra/jofz1jq9/oka/fo8/3fi/PNG%20Leo%20Lee...]

We kick off our term of talks this week with the Leo Lee Lecture! Join us this Thursday at 5pm in the Department of Computer Science for a talk from esteemed former Competitive Programming Officer Leo Lee, who'll be delving into the topic of machine learning. The talk will be beginner-friendly, so come along if you're interested!

We'll also be holding a Leo Lee Lunch in the afternoon before the talk – if you're interested in coming along, reach out to our Talks Officer, Asfur Malik!

Abstract: Machine learning (ML) compilers rely on graph-level transformations to enhance the runtime performance of ML models. However, many program transformations are often driven by manually-tuned compiler heuristics, which are quickly rendered obsolete by new hardware and model architectures. Instead of hand-written local heuristics, we propose the use of equality saturation. We replace such heuristics with a more robust global performance model, which accounts for downstream transformations.

This paper addresses challenges in applying equality saturation on real-world ML compute graphs and state-of-the-art hardware. By doing so, we present an improved method for discovering effective compositions of graph optimisations. We design an equality saturation pass for the XLA compiler and demonstrate a speedup across CPU and GPU.

Beginner friendly - I won't assume any prerequisite knowledge!

When: 5-6pm, Thursday 1st May

Where: Lecture Theatre A, Department of Computer Science 7 Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QG

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/8g6fIO8tW

STEM Social with PhysSoc and the Invariants [https://3f02beb114.imgdist.com/pub/bfra/jofz1jq9/c1z/1xh/l1q/PNG%20STEM%20So...]

On Friday, we'll be touching grass for the first event outside of the Department this term! This week, we'll be joined by the Physics Society and the Invariants for a night of intrigue. If free drinks and chatter are your thing, join us between 8-11pm for our STEM social at Oxo Bar!

When: 8-11pm, Friday 2nd May

Where: Oxo Bar 48 George St, Oxford OX1 2AQ

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/5hw4LHI29

Saturday Social: Members' Presentation Night [https://3f02beb114.imgdist.com/pub/bfra/jofz1jq9/843/41i/r9s/PNG%20Presentat...]

This term, we're doing something new – we're letting you talk about your interests! This Saturday, we'll be holding a presentation night for our weekly Saturday Social! Join us between 7-9pm to listen to members' presentations and maybe even give a presentation of your own! If you're interested in giving a presentation, make sure to fill out the short form below.

When: 7-9pm, Saturday 3rd May

Where: Undergraduate Social Area, Department of Computer Science 7 Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QG

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/4U5zyqJjH

Sign up to present here: https://forms.gle/2etPiJTstkGxsVwd8

[And More...]   Check Out OxWoCS!

Make sure to join OxWoCS (Oxford Women in CS), a society we're working closely with, if you identify as a woman or woman-adjacent person in CS! They have a host of wonderful events on, including talks, panels and socials. Computer Science is unfortunately a subject with one of the biggest gender gaps in Oxford and worldwide, and addressing this is at the core of OxWoCS.

[Follow Us] [Web Site]https://ox.compsoc.net/ [Facebook] https://www.facebook.com/oxcompsoc/ [Instagram] https://www.instagram.com/ox.compsoc/ [Discord] https://discord.com/invite/cUZFPG5WZ6 [YouTube] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwdzpxzUZ2i84x5WyVR36Cg [TikTok] https://www.tiktok.com/@ox.compsoc.net

or, contact us at committee@ox.compsoc.net

[Our Sponsors] [Jane Street] [https://3f02beb114.imgdist.com/pub/bfra/jofz1jq9/kh5/aqi/rap/g330.png] [Citadel] [https://3f02beb114.imgdist.com/pub/bfra/jofz1jq9/b5r/5u0/t1h/Untitled%2029.p...] [TPP]

Manage your email preferences or unsubscribe herehttps://lists.ox.compsoc.net/mailman/listinfo.

[Designed with BEE]https://www.designedwithbee.com/?utm_source=editor&utm_medium=bee_pro&utm_campaign=free_footer_link Designed with BEEhttps://www.designedwithbee.com/?utm_source=editor&utm_medium=bee_pro&utm_campaign=free_footer_link