Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, The University of Melbourne
School of Computer Science and Information Technology, RMIT

Joint Seminar

Finding Needles in a 20 TB Haystack, 200 Million Times per Day

Craig Nevill-Manning

Google

Date and time: 11.00am-12.00pm, Friday 18th June, 2004

Venue: Theatre GM15, Law Building, University of Melbourne
(the Law Building is on Pelham Street, at the south end of University Square; Theatre GM15 is up a flight of stairs).

Abstract:

Google faces two large technical challenges: ensuring that our search results are as relevant as possible, and serving hundreds of millions of queries in a fraction of a second at a reasonable cost. To solve the first problem, we perform an offline matrix computation to produce PageRank, a query independent measure of page reputation, and combine it with more traditional query-specific scoring. To solve the distributed computing problem, we use tens of thousands of commodity PCs and highly fault-tolerant software. I will discuss some details of these solutions, and also share some interesting statistical tidbits about search and the web.

About the speaker:

Dr Craig Nevill-Manning is Director of Engineering at the New York Office of Google. Dr Wayne Rosing, Vice President of Engineering, and Dr Martin Kaszkiel, Software Engineer, will also be visiting.

Students should note that in addition a separate presentation will be made on the evening of 17 June covering employment possibilities at Google's San Francisco and New York offices.

Lunch:

A light lunch (pizza) will be provided in the foyer of the ICT Building (111 Barry Street) at the conclusion of the talk, courtesy of Google.

Google as an Employer:

A separate function will be held on the evening of 17 June at the Novotel Hotel (Level 6, 270 Collins Street, commencing 6pm) to discuss employment opportunities at Google. An RSVP for this presentation is required, please lodge your details prior to Monday 14 June via this form if you wish to attend.

Seminars are free and open to the general public. No booking is necessary.

If you are interested in giving a presentation in this seminar series, or to make suggestions for speakers, please contact James Harland, the seminar co-ordinator.