EECS News for 2018 |
Faculty spotlight: Rada Mihalcea Rada Mihalcea is a rock star professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at U-M's College of Engineering and a champion for the growth and retention of women in that field. She sat down to talk with us about why she loves what she does and wants other women to love it, too. [Full Story] Jiyue Zhu awarded Wiesnet Medal for improved snow algorithms Jiyue Zhu was recognized for an award-winning method that will help us better understand how much snow is on the ground. [Full Story] Cafarella Receives VLDB Test of Time Award for Structured Web Data Search This award is given to the VLDB paper published ten years earlier that has had the most influence since its publication. In this paper, Cafarella and co-authors Alon Halevy, Zhe Daisy Wang, Eugene Wu, and Yang Zhang set out to determine how to provide search-engine-style access to huge volumes of structured web data. [Full Story] Connected cars can lie, posing a new threat to smart cities In the article in The Conversation, PhD candidate Qi Alfred Chen and Prof. Z. Morley Mao describe how vulnerabilities in intelligent infrastructure, such as the Intelligent Traffic Signal System being tested by the US Department of Transportation, can create opportunities for hackers to create chaos. [Full Story] Designing a flexible future for massive data centers The days of bulky, expensive servers filling up data centers may be numbered: a new approach recreates the power of a large server by linking up and pooling the resources of smaller computers with fast networking technology. [Full Story] The next medical markets of Collin Rich An expert health sciences entrepreneur, Rich solves critical problems and earns rewards for years of technical risk. He has almost two decades of start-up experience, including co-founding Accuri Cytometers, which Becton Dickinson acquired for $205 million. Now, he's ready to repeat that success. [Full Story] New Courses Offered by ECE in 2018 As technology changes and advances, so does the range of courses offered by our faculty. Here are the latest new course offerings in ECE. [Full Story] Paper award for training computer vision systems more accurately PhD student Jean Young Song earned a Best Student Paper Honorable Mention at the Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI 2018) conference in Tokyo. Her paper, "Two Tools are Better Than One: Tool Diversity as a Means of Improving Aggregate Crowd Performance," offers an improved solution to the problem of image segmentation in computer vision by introducing a new way to think about leveraging human effort. [Full Story] Mingyan Liu named 2018 Distinguished University Innovator Mingyan Liu helped develop a new approach to enhancing cybersecurity through technology that predicts with up to 90 percent accuracy the likelihood that a company will be exploited by cyber criminals within the next year, earning her the Distinguished University Innovator award. [Full Story] The sonic attack in China was probably clumsy ultrasonic eavesdropping In this Quartz article, the author talks about Prof. Kevin Fus research on why the "sonic attacks" that poisoned diplomats in Cuba may have been the accidental effect of eavesdropping. [Full Story] CSE researchers funded to connect music and big data Four U-M research teams, including two teams led by CSE researchers, will receive support for projects that apply data science tools like machine learning and data mining to the study of music theory, performance, social media-based music making, and the connection between words and music. [Full Story] Semyon Meerkov receives best paper award for improving manufacturing systems Semyon Meerkov received the 2018 Best Paper Award of the International Journal of Production Research (IJPR) for his research aimed at identifying and solving problems that arise in flexible manufacturing systems. [Full Story] US Employee Suffers Brain Injury After Sound Incident in China, Embassy Issues Alert Prof. Kevin Fu determined earlier this year that the sounds as described could have been created by two listening devices placed in close proximity to each other. In such a scenario, Fu and his team concluded that the question of whether this was an intentional attack remains unanswered. [Full Story] Laura Balzano partners with 3M to advance research in big data Prof. Laura Balzano received a 2018 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award to advance her research in Big Data, with a focus on challenges not typically addressed by traditional machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms. [Full Story] Nino A. Masnari (1935 - 2018): In Memoriam Nino Masnari, alumnus, friend, and former faculty member of Electrical and Computer Engineering, passed away May 19, 2018 at the age of 82. [Full Story] U.S. Spy Agencies Seek Tech to Identify Deadly Chemicals From 30 Meters Away Professor Mohammed Islam's research into a shoe-box sized chemical detector as part of the U.S. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity's SILMARILS program is highlighted as part of security agencies' efforts to stem chemical attacks. [Full Story] Fall 2018: Discover Computer ScienceCourse No.: EECS 198-001 Exoskeletons compete to boost strength of rescue workers U-M's STARX team hosted the first Applied Collegiate Exoskeleton (ACE) Competition, where teams from five schools gathered to tune-up, learn, and demonstrate their powered mechanical suits, which augment the wearers strength and abilities. [Full Story] Study maps careers of CS PhDs using decades of data Of the many burning questions in the world of computing research, the one most dear to a student's heart has typically been the least investigated: what happens after a PhD in computer science? Prof. Danai Koutra and CSE PhD student Tara Safavi set out to provide the world's first data-driven answer, analyzing several decades of post-PhD computing careers using a large new dataset rich with professional information. [Full Story] Startup Maps AI into Flash Array Mythic, founded by EECS aIumnus David Fick (CTO) and Mike Henry (CEO), is profiled in EE Times as they aims to put neural networks into flash memory. The company started in the Michigan Integrated Circuits Lab (MICL), where Fick was advised by, and Henry worked with as a postdoctoral researcher for, Profs. David Blaauw and Dennis Sylvester. [Full Story] Computer science and business school students team up to create "intention" skill for Alexa Inspired by a class on managing professional relationships, five recent University of Michigan graduates are developing an app that would mesh with Alexa to help nudge people when theyre out of sync with what they want. [Full Story] "Stitching" together a web user from scattered, messy data Modern internet users submit a massive trove of personal details to the web - but they scatter their data across dozens of websites, accounts, and devices with very little continuity. Prof. Danai Koutra will work to "stitch" these personal details together into a cohesive, useful whole, making a user's time online a more pleasant, continuous experience across devices with better product and service recommendations. [Full Story] Stephanie Crocker Ross receives Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship Stephanie Crocker Ross, a PhD candidate advised by Professor Johanna Mathieu, received a Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship, which supports outstanding doctoral students working on unusually creative, ambitious and impactful dissertations. [Full Story] Building a security standard for a post-quantum future Chris Peikert, with a team of eleven other researchers, has submitted a cryptographic scheme as a proposed standard to the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography project. Called FrodoKEM, this family of encryption algorithms is designed to be a conservative and practical implementation of one of the most-studied approaches in the post-quantum cryptography field. [Full Story] Reetuparna Das earns Borg Early Career Award Prof. Reetuparna Das has been chosen as one of two recipients of the 2018 Borg Early Career Award. This award is given annually to women in computer science or engineering who have made significant research contributions and made a positive impact on advancing women in the computing research community. [Full Story] ECE launches the ECE Innovator Program Electrical and Computer Engineering at Michigan has launched the ECE Innovator Program, which is aimed at inspiring and facilitating the commercialization of research conducted in ECE. The program will provide financial support to a team of entrepreneurs with both technical and product management skills. [Full Story] Mike Stander honored with CoE Staff Excellence Award Mike Stander received a 2018 College of Engineering Staff Excellence Award, recognizing 33 years of exceptional service to the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science as a Hardware and Electronics Technician. [Full Story] Mengqi Yao receives High Quality Paper Award at PowerTech Conference Mengqi Yao, a University of Michigan PhD student advised by Professor Johanna Mathieu, recently won a High Quality Paper Award at the PowerTech Conference for her paper, Using demand response to improve power system voltage stability margins. Yao researches power system stability and how demand response, as opposed to changing supply during a disruption, can improve this stability. [Full Story] Keki Irani (1924-2018): In Memoriam Keki Irani, professor emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, passed away on Wednesday, May 2, at the age of 93. He was a model faculty who made important contributions to the EECS department, was always supportive of students, and who supported the department at critical times throughout the years. [Full Story] Xiang Yin receives honorable mention for ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award Xiang Yin (MSE PhD EE:S 2013 2017) received an honorable mention for the ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award. Yin, now Associate Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, researched cyber-physical systems and discrete-event systems with Professor Stphane Lafortune. [Full Story] Students win prizes for improving image processing techniques for liver cancer detection and much more Students in EECS 556: Image Processing, explore methods to improve image processing in applications such as biomedical imaging and video and image compression. The techniques are fundamental to companies such as KLA-Tencor, which offered prizes to two teams of students. [Full Story] 15 of The Greatest Minds in Automobile Engineering Today Alumnus Andrew Farah is named one of Interesting Engineering's 15 of the greatest minds in automobile engineering today for his work with electric GM vehicles and autonomous driving. [Full Story] JPMorgan's latest hire proves the bank is serious about artificial intelligence This article on the importance of AI to banking giant JP Morgan Chase quotes Prof. Jason Mars, co-founder of the startup Clinc, which makes AI products for the banking industry. [Full Story] U-M programming team competes at highest level in ACM-ICPC competition The Victors, a U-M student programming team, competed in the prestigious 2018 ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) World Finals in Beijing, China, on April 15 - 20, 2018. The team was able to correctly solve four out of nine problems. [Full Story] Harvesting clean hydrogen fuel through artificial photosynthesis A new device can double the previous efficiency of using solar energy to break apart water and harvest hydrogen. This new device, developed by Professor Zetian Mi and researchers at McGill University, opens the path to commercial viability. [Full Story] Arthur Shi: Blogging about CS Computer science is known to be a rigorous area of study, and students need to put forth countless hours of work to succeed. Undergraduate student Arthur Shi communicates the highs and lows of CS via the blogging platform Medium. [Full Story] Light could make semiconductor computers a million times faster or even go quantum Professor Mackillo Kira is working on a technique to manipulate electrons with light that could bring quantum computing up to room temperature. [Full Story] Huanting Huang and the mathematical shape of trees Huang, a University of Michigan PhD candidate studying electrical engineering under Professor Leung Tsang, works in remote sensing. Because of her award-winning mathematical modeling, we will better understand our natural environment through knowing the shapes of trees. [Full Story] Bryan Stearns receives CoE Distinguished Leadership Award For the past year Stearns has served as President of the Computer Science and Engineering Graduate Student Organization (CSEG), whose membership comprises the entire body of over three hundred CSE graduate students. [Full Story] $6.25M project will decode worlds most complex networks A new $6.25 million project built on game theory and led by Professors Mingyan Liu and Michael Wellman will develop tools to understand and shape online and on-the-ground networks that drive human decision making. [Full Story] Yongjoo Park is runner-up for Jim Gray dissertation award CSE alumnus and postdoctoral researcher Yongjoo Park (CSE PhD 2017) has been selected as a runner-up for the ACM SIGMOD Jim Gray Doctoral Dissertation Award for his dissertation, "Fast Data Analytics by Learning." [Full Story] CSE researchers win Best of SELSE award have won the the best paper award at the 14th Workshop on Silicon Errors in Logic - System Effects (SELSE) for their paper entitled "Low Cost Transient Fault Protection Using Loop Output Prediction." [Full Story] Awards for outstanding graduate student instructors and instructional aides of 2018 We honored the GSIs and IAs who students ranked as the best, sometimes better than the professer, the day before commencement. [Full Story] Bring Your Child to Work Day features robots, games, and more CSE faculty and staff got to show their kids how we have fun in Beyster. Bring Your Child to Work Day 2018 gave kids the run of the building, on a mission to find all the exciting activities the department had to offer. [Full Story] Video Friday: Cassie on Fire Cassie's fire walk is featured in IEEE Spectrum's round up of robot videos. Professor Grizzle's previous generation robot, MARLO, is also mentioned. [Full Story] Fawwaz Ulaby Voted 2018 HKN ECE Professor of the Year Students voted, and named Professor Fawwaz Ulaby the 2017-2018 HKN Professor of the Year in ECE by the Beta-Epsilon chapter of Eta Kappa Nu (HKN), the national honor society for electrical and computer engineers. This is the third time Ulaby has received this honor. [Full Story] The Lab Making Robots Walk Through Fire and Ride Segways Professor Jessy Grizzle's team are featured in a WIRED article for putting Cassie, their bipedal robot, in some precarious situations including in a controlled fire and on top of a two-wheeled scooter. [Full Story] Organic solar cells reach record efficiency, benchmark for commercialization The team led by Professor Stephen Forrest built record efficient, multi-layered organic solar cells that will be able to curve in clothing or be transparently built into windows. [Full Story] Andrew DeOrio voted HKN Professor of the Year for CSE EECS students voted, and lecturer Andrew DeOrio was named the 2017-2018 HKN Professor of the Year in CSE by the Beta-Epsilon chapter of Eta Kappa Nu (HKN), the national honor society for electrical and computer engineers. [Full Story] Andrew Wagenmaker awarded NSF Fellowship for machine learning Andrew Wagenmaker (BSE MSE EE 16 17) was recently awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to continue research on machine learning. Wagenmaker will utilize the award as he pursues his doctoral degree at the University of Washington this fall in Seattle. [Full Story] Fall 2018: Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Surface InteractionsCourse No.: EECS 598-007 Kyle Min awarded Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement Kyle Min, a master's student soon to be a PhD in electrical engineering, works on using computer vision to analyze body camera footage from law enforcement officers with Professor Jason Corso. [Full Story] Professor Stephen Forrest elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences In recognition of Professor Forrest's accomplishments, including numerous other awards, more than 550 papers, and 267 patents, the AAAS welcomed him as one of the "exceptional scholars, leaders, artists, and innovators." [Full Story] Sijia Geng awarded Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement Sijia Geng, PhD student in electrical engineering, researches trajectory sensitivity and adding renewable energy to microgrids with Professor Ian Hiskens. [Full Story] A Role Model at Raytheon: Katherine Herrick Alumna Katherine Herrick, Senior Fellow and Chief Engineer at Raytheon, learned both engineering principles and life skills from her mentors. Now, she looks forward to giving back in similar ways. [Full Story] Zakaria Aldeneh selected for IBM Ph.D. Fellowship Zakaria Aldeneh, CSE graduate student, has been selected to receive a prestigious IBM Ph.D. Fellowship. Aldeneh is working with Prof. Emily Mower Provost in the area of social signal processing. Aldeneh's research focuses on identifying the features of speech that make human interaction feel natural. [Full Story] University of Michigan breaks ground on $75M Ford Robotics Building Jessy Grizzle, professor and Director of Robotics, helps break ground on the new Ford Motor Company Robotics Building with Governor Snyder and Dean Alec Gallimore. The building is scheduled to open early 2020. [Full Story] Michigan engineers develop solar-powered imaging sensor Sung-Yun Park, Kyuseok Lee, Hyunsoo Song and Euisik Yoon are featured in SPIE Optics on their device that can simultaneously capture an image and harvest energy. [Full Story] Installing an alternative on spring break The GRID Alternatives Students for Sustainable Energy traveled to the La Jolla Indian Reservation outside of San Diego, California, to perform a solar installation of over 10kW on three homes during spring break, with plans for much greater in the future. [Full Story] Three CSE faculty selected for Google Faculty Research Award Profs. Jia Deng, Roya Ensfari, and Manos Kapritsos have been selected to receive the Google Faculty Research Award. The Google Faculty Research Awards Program aims to recognize and support world-class, permanent faculty pursuing cutting-edge research. [Full Story] I hacked an election. So can the Russians. Professor Alex Halderman and the New York Times staged a mock election to demonstrate voting machine vulnerability. [Full Story] Alum startup SambaNova collects $56m in funding for AI chip research Startup SambaNova Systems, co-founded by alumnus Kunle Olukotun (BSE EE MSE PhD CSE ), earned $56M in its series A funding round to develop a computing platform that may reimagine how we power machine learning and data analytics. [Full Story] Tara Safavi earns NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for research on data mining CSE graduate student Tara Safavi has been awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for her research in data mining on graphs, time series, and sequences. [Full Story] CSE alum earns IEEE award for pioneering work in CPU design Alumnus Kunle Olukotun (PhD CSE ) received the IEEE Computer Society's 2018 Harry H. Goode Memorial Award for his innovative work in multi-core processor design. Olukotun is often called "the father of multi-core processors" for his early contributions to this now commonplace technology. [Full Story] Solar cells enable self-powered camera Prof. Euisik Yoon and post-doc Sung-Yun Park developed a self-powered image sensor by placing a photovoltaic diode behind the photodetector diode, collecting the photons that pass through and converting them into electricity. [Full Story] Possession of ransomware is now a crime in Michigan There were more than 1,300 reported cases of ransomware attacks in Michigan in 2017, according to FBI statistics. New legislation signed by the governor closes a loophole that hindered the pursuit of suspected cybercriminals. Professor Kang Shin weighs in on the usefulness of these laws and headaches that may arise. [Full Story] Xinchen Yan Selected for Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship and Google PhD Fellowship CSE PhD candidate Xinchen Yan has been selected for a Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship and a Google PhD Fellowship to support his research in machine learning and its application in computer vision, graphics and robotics. In his thesis, Xinchen investigates the conditional generation problem that synthesizes structured sensory data from a given conditioning variable. [Full Story] Alumnus Garlin Gilchrist II serves as inaugural director of U-M Center for Social Media Responsibility To address the growing concern of fake news, U-M has formed the School of Information Center for Social Media Responsibility, and hired one of President Barack Obama's former social media managers as its director, EECS alumnus Garlin Gilchrist II (BSE CE/CS 05). Gilchrist will ensure that people are connected, informed, empowered, and free to share their ideas on the internet. [Full Story] Fall 2018: Analysis of Societal NetworksCourse No.: EECS 444 2017-18 Undergraduate Student Awards Students, parents, and faculty gathered on Friday, March 16, 2017 to celebrate the achievements of EECS students who earned a special award for academic achievement, research, service, or entrepreneurial activities. Dave Neuhoff, Senior Associate Chair for Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Brian Noble, Chair for Computer Science and Engineering, presented the awards. [Full Story] ECE Expeditions Travels to Seattle On the fourth trip of ECE Expeditions, students took a journey around Seattle to meet with alumni and get an insiders view of several companies, coming away with new opportunities, a better understanding of their future, and a stronger community. [Full Story] Improving communication between humans and robots in 20 noisy questions A team of information scientists led by Prof. Alfred Hero have discovered a better way to facilitate communication between humans and robots, using a twist on the classic game of 20 Questions. [Full Story] Dmitry Berenson receives NSF CAREER Award to advance a robot's ability to handle soft objects Prof. Dmitry Berenson was awarded an NSF CAREER award to improve the ability of autonomous robots to handle soft, deformable objects. The project is entitled Towards General-Purpose Manipulation of Deformable Objects through Control and Motion Planning with Distance Constraints." [Full Story] SMAP Update: A mission to manage water globally Three Miichigan faculty (Prof. Kamal Sarabandi, Prof. Leung Tsang, and Dr. Leland Pierce) are working to improve the information about global soil moisture in the NASA mission called Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP). [Full Story] Preventing deadly hospital infections with machine learning New machine learning models tailored to individual hospitals could give them a much earlier prediction of which patients are most likely to develop C. difficile, potentially helping them stave off infection before it starts. The models are detailed in a paper published today in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. [Full Story] Fall 2018: Electromagnetic MetamaterialsCourse No.: EECS 598-008 Fall 2018: Infrastructure for Vehicle ElectrificationCourse No.: EECS 598-001 Girls Encoded hosts panel to connect students with successful women in CS On Tuesday, March 20th, around 25 undergraduate computer science students attended Sharing Perspectives Panel: Women in Computing, an event hosted by Girls Encoded that highlighted women software engineers and researchers in industry. [Full Story] Michigan researchers discover vulnerabilities in next-generation connected vehicle technology The US Department of Transportation has started implementing I-SIG, a vehicle-to-infrastructure technology that uses real-time vehicle trajectory data to intelligently control the duration and sequence of traffic signals. With the use of this system, comes vulnerabilities, and Michigan researchers have demonstrated that even one single cyberattack can greatly manipulate the intelligent traffic control algorithm in the current I-SIG system and cause severe traffic jams. [Full Story] Anonymous alumnus endows award in recognition of EECS professors The Wise-Najafi Prize for Engineering Excellence in the Miniature World will recognize and incentivize outstanding research and scholarship related to engineering at the meso-scale, micron-scale, nano-scale and beyond. [Full Story] CSE PhD student Matt Bernhard on the Facebook data breach In this video, CSE PhD Student Matt Bernhard weighs in on the matter Facebook data harvesting, such as that done by Cambridge Analytica. [Full Story] Inaugural ECE Willie Hobbs Moore Alumni Lecture: Dr. Isaac R. Porche III Dr. Porche (PhD EE:S 1998) was the inaugural speaker for the ECE Willie Hobbs Moore Alumni Lecture. A senior engineer at the RAND Corporation, Porche talks on "Information-Age Conflict" as an expert in cybersecurity. [Full Story] Mythic snags $40 million to advance AI chips Mythic, founded by EECS aIumnus David Fick (CTO) and Mike Henry (CEO), raised $40M in investment to produce custom chips created to power AI applications. The company had its start in the Michigan Integrated Circuits Lab (MICL), where Fick was advised by, and Henry worked with as a postdoctoral researcher for, Profs. David Blaauw and Dennis Sylvester. Among the first employees are alumni Laura Fick and Skylar Skrzyniarz, both also MICL students advised by Blaauw and Sylvester. [Full Story] Fall 2018: Quantum NanotechnologyCourse No.: EECS 498-003 How May Mobility Is Spearheading Autonomous Driving In The Form Of Shuttle Services This article describes how the startup May Mobility, cofounded by Prof. Edwin Olson, to getting to market first by focusing on autonomous shuttle service. [Full Story] Igor Markov's duplicate text detection system now integrated with conference management software Prof. Igor Markov's duplicate text detection system, called DUDE, is now integrated with Softconf's conference management software. Softconf is an internet company dedicated to organizing conferences, workshops and other software development events. DUDE is now integrated with their signature product, START V2, which is a web-based solution for managing peer-reviewed conferences and workshops. [Full Story] Security of State Voter Rolls a Concern as Primaries Begin This article describes steps being taken in Illinois, the lone state known to have its state election system breached in a hacking effort, regarding its election systems. It quotes Prof. J. Alex Halderman, who points out that many of the same weaknesses present in 2016 remain. [Full Story] Fall 2018: Reinforcement Learning (RL)Course No.: EECS 498-006 and EECS 598-006 Fall 2018: Power Semiconductor DevicesCourse No.: EECS 598-002 Fall 2018: Data MiningCourse No.: EECS 498-001 Fall 2018: Green PhotonicsCourse No.: EECS 598-004 Fall 2018: Computational Data ScienceCourse No.: EECS 598-003 Fall 2018: Computer Hardware Design for Machine LearningCourse No.: EECS 598-005 Fall 2018: Introduction to Algorithmic RoboticsCourse No.: EECS 498-005 Election audits to debut in Mich. 2018 race This article describes new measures to bolster security for Michigans 2018 midterm elections. Prof. J. Alex Halderman points out that additional progress can occur in the stat's process for auditing of paper ballots. [Full Story] Charles and Patricia Krumm Endow the George I. Haddad Graduate Fellowship Fund Alumni Charles and Patricia Krumm have established the George I. Haddad Graduate Fellowship Fund to support graduate students in Electrical and Computer Engineering. The endowment fund honors Charles Krumms former doctoral advisor and mentor, Prof. George Haddad, and his contributions to the field of electrical and computer engineering. [Full Story] Free electrical engineering textbooks for students A new textbook initiative spearheaded by faculty at University of Michigan, UC-Berkeley, and The University of Utah aims to ease the financial burden of college students in engineering courses by offering newly-published books for free online. [Full Story] Hottest Major In this article, the Ann Arbor Observer reports on the pressures that have emerged due to the exploding enrollments in computer science classes. According to CSE Chair Brian Noble, CSE is constantly recruiting in an attempt to hire more faculty to handle the load. [Full Story] Igor Markov named a top Quora writer for fifth year in a row Prof. Igor Markov has been named a top writer for 2018 on Quora, the question-and-answer site where questions are asked, answered, edited, and organized by its community of users. This is the fifth straight year that he has been ranked as a top writer on the site. [Full Story] Marlin P. Ristenbatt: In Memoriam Marlin P. Ristenbatt, research scientist emeritus in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, passed away March 2, 2018, at the age of 89. Since retiring in 1998, following a long and productive career as a teacher and researcher, he has remained closely affiliated with the Department. The Department salutes Marlin Ristenbatt and thanks him for all that he contributed to the department and the discipline. [Full Story] U of M computer scientists might have solved mystery behind Cuba 'sonic attacks' In this local news segment, Prof. Kevin Fu explains why the "sonic attacks" that poisoned diplomats in Cuba may have been the accidental effect of eavesdropping. [Full Story] Duncan Steel Co-Editor-in-Chief of Encyclopedia of Modern Optics, 2nd edition Duncan Steel, Robert J. Hiller Professor of Engineering, is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Modern Optics, published by Elsevier. Topics covered include classical and quantum optics, lasers, optical fibers and optical fiber systems, optical materials and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). [Full Story] Ali Mostajeran earns IEEE-SSCS Predoctoral Achievement Award Ali Mostajeran, visiting scholar from Cornell University, received a 2018 IEEE-SSCS Predoctoral Achievement Award award. Mostajeran works with Prof. Ehsan Afshari researching novel millimeter-wave and terahertz electronics for imaging, biomedical hydration sensing, and communication applications. [Full Story] Louise Willingale Receives NSF CAREER Award to Advance Scientific Knowledge of Plasmas Louise Willingale has received an NSF CAREER Award for her research project Relativistic Electron Driven Magnetic Reconnection." Magnetic reconnection occurs during high-energy-density phenomena such as solar flares and auroras, and is also relevant to the process of nuclear fusion. Willingale plans to conduct high-energy-density laboratory experiments at the University of Michigan T-cubed laser facility and with the HERCULES laser, both housed in the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, to shed light onto the little understood process of magnetic reconnection and test the accuracy of existing theories. [Full Story] Necmiye Ozay Receives ONR Young Investigator Award to Advance Research in Autonomous System Necmiye Ozay received a 2018 Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) for her research project "Correct-by-construction Control with Non-asymptotic Learning, Estimation and Detection in-the-Loop." Her research will incorporate the latest advances in learning and estimation by developing new theory and algorithms that seamlessly blend adaptability, safety and correctness. The award comes from the Science of Autonomy Program, which emphasizes a multi-disciplinary approach to the development of future autonomous systems. [Full Story] Cuba "sonic attacks" - a covert accident? The purported "sonic attacks" that sickened U.S. and Canadian government workers in Cuba last year could have been an accidental side effect of attempted eavesdropping, says Prof. Kevin Fu, who with his colleagues reverse-engineered the attacks in a lab. [Full Story] Can sound be used as a weapon? 4 questions answered Were foreign diplomats and tourists in Cuba attacked with a "sonic weapon" or was it something else? Prof. Kevin Fu and his collaborators demonstrate a rational, evidence-based explanation. [Full Story] New computing system to enable deep space missions A new radiation-hardened, multi-processor, Arm-based spacecraft processor is being developed at Michigan in a project led by Boeing and funded by NASA. Prof. Ron Dreslinski is leading the research at Michigan. [Full Story] Comcast offers 1-gigabit service in SE Mich. In this news report, Prof. Mosharaf Chowdhury comments on the potential impact of Comcast's forthcoming 1-gigabit residential and business service. [Full Story] BMW, Toyota invest in U-M startup May Mobility May Mobility, the autonomous vehicle microtransit company co-founded by Prof. Edwin Olson to replace existing transportation systems with fleets of self-driving micro-shuttles, has announced that BMW i Ventures and Toyota AI Ventures have joined its investor-base. [Full Story] How Can We Trust a Robot? This article by Prof. Benjamin Kuipers is featured in the March 2018 Communications of the ACM. Prof. Kuipers discusses how advances in artificial intelligence and robotics have raised concerns about the impact on our society of intelligent robots, unconstrained by morality or ethics. Includes a video interview with Prof. Kuipers. [Full Story] BMW and Toyota are investing in a start-up that makes self-driving shuttles May Mobility, cofounded by Prof. Edwin Olson, has received additional funding from BMW and Toyota for their autonomous shuttle technology. May hopes to get to market quickly by deploying shuttles on campuses and in other smaller-scale environments. [Full Story] How Artificial Intelligence Is Going To Affect The Financial Industry In 2018 Prof. Jason Mars, cofounder (with Prof. Lingjia Tang and others) of the AI startup firm Clinc, is interviewed in this article on the AI-driven conversational interface Clinc has developed for the banking industry. Clinc had sales of $4.5M in 2017 and his partnering with USAA to roll out their technology. [Full Story] Prof. Michael Wellman participates in Asimov Memorial Debate Michael Wellman, the Lynn A. Conway Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, participated in the recent Issac Asimov Memorial Debate on Artificial Intelligence, which was hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson. You can see the entire debate in this video. [Full Story] The Myth of the Hacker-Proof Voting Machine This article describes the security holes that exist in today's electronic voting machines, including both the shortcomings of voting systems that do not provide paper backup and those of the systems that transmit electronic votes to counting centers. It quotes Prof. J. Alex Halderman, who points to flaws in the protections for vote transmission systems put forth by vendors of paperless systems. [Full Story] Pacemakers, defibrillators are potentially hackable This article on the security of cardiac implants quotes Prof. Kevin Fu, who notes that limiting remote interactions would also address scenarios such as an old computer virus that unintentionally shuts down global operations of remote cardiac telemetry for hundreds of thousands of patients at once. [Full Story] Prof. John Laird and CSE Alumna Shiwali Mohan receive award for research on learning in autonomous intelligent agents Prof. John Laird and CSE alum Shiwali Mohan have received the Blue Sky Award at the 2018 Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence conference for their paper, Learning Fast and Slow: Levels of Learning in General Autonomous Intelligent Agents. [Full Story] Kim Michelle Lewis Appointed Associate Dean at Howard University Previously at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Kim Michelle Lewis, Ph.D., has been appointed as associate dean for Research and Graduate Programs and full professor in the Department of Physics at Howard University. [Full Story] Chat tool simplifies tricky online privacy policies Kang G. Shin, the Kevin and Nancy O'Connor Professor of Computer Science, and his collaborators have created an automated chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to weed through the fine print of privacy policies so that you will know what you're agreeing to. [Full Story] Heath Hofmann discusses transistors in troubled Toyota Prius Prof. Heath Hofmann lends his expertise to the LA Times to describe current troubles with Toyota Prius software and hardware. Specifically, a fix made to the Prius is being blamed for reduced fuel efficiency. [Full Story] The Training Of Dr. Robot: Data Wave Hits Medical Care This article reports on how machine learning is revolutionizing the process of making medical diagnoses. It opens by highlighting the work of Prof. Jenna Wiens and her collaborators in predicting a hospital patient's likelihood of developing a problematic C-diff infection. [Full Story] Prof. Wei Lu and What's Next In Neuromorphic Computing Prof. Wei Lu and his team's work presented at IEDM 2016 was referenced in Semiconductor Engineering detailing how the commercialization of neuromorphic computing will require improved devices and architectures. [Full Story] Alfred Hero Illustrates Common Threads of Complex Networks in Distinguished University Professor Lecture Alfred Hero explained how we can infer the intricate, hidden properties of a network in his Distinguished University Professor lecture, Locating the Nodes: From Sensor Arrays to Genomic Networks," held in the Rackham Amphitheatre. [Full Story] Jia Deng selected for Sloan Research Fellowship Assistant Professor Jia Deng has been selected for a 2018 Sloan Research Fellowship by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for his work in computer vision and machine learning. He directs the Michigan Vision & Learning Lab and his research seeks to enable computers to see and think like humans. [Full Story] Shai Revzen Receives Inaugural Robotics Institute Teaching Award for his Hands-on Approach to Robotics Education Prof. Shai Revzen was presented with the inaugural Robotics Institute Teaching Award for blazing a new pedagogical path in the teaching of robotics. Since coming to Michigan in 2012, Revzen established an active learning class at the senior undergraduate level, Hands on Robotics; added key components to the graduate course, Robotics Systems Lab; and created a new graduate course, "Comparative Biomechanics Seminar." [Full Story] Michigan researchers predict emotions by examining the correlation between tweets and environmental factors Research fellow Carmen Banea, alumna Vicki Liu, and Prof. Rada Mihalcea explored the concept of grounded emotions, focusing on how external factors, ranging from weather, news exposure, social network emotion charge, timing, and mood predisposition may have a bearing on ones emotion level throughout the day. [Full Story] Risk Aware Autonomy - Moving Artificial Intelligence Forward This short video highlights the work of CSE PhD student Dhanvin Mehta, who is working on an algorithm to help guide robots in uncertain environments with constantly changing variables, such as for autonomous vehicles driving among pedestrians who can suddenly change direction or speed without signaling. [Full Story] To Fight Fatal Infections, Hospitals May Turn to Algorithms This article in Scientific American describes how machine learning is revolutionizing the process of making medical diagnoses. It opens by highlighting the work of Prof. Jenna Wiens and her collaborators in predicting a hospital patient's likelihood of developing a problematic C-diff infection. [Full Story] Battling Drone Ships with Anthony Uytingco Anthony Uytingco, a junior in Electrical Engineering, leads UM::Autonomy, Michigans RoboBoat team for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems Internationals (AUVSI) RoboBoat Competition. Challenges for the boats include speeding around buoys, navigating a field of obstacles, staying in a precise formation, and docking based on an underwater pinger. [Full Story] Transducer Sensors Suffer Security Risks Based on Physics, Not Malware This article references the work of Prof. Kevin, Fu, who has demonstrated that physical manipulation can be used to trick transducers into reporting environmental data that is inaccurate. [Full Story] As cell phones proliferate in K-12, schools search for smart policies This article includes a focus on the work of Thurnau Prof. Elliot Soloway, who is a proponent for the use of mobile tech in education. [Full Story] Persevering through the unknown: my conversation on emotion AI and problem solving with Emily Mower Provost Prof. Emily Mower Provost was recently interviewed by the non-profit Iridescent - a company that brings science and engineering to underserved communities. [Full Story] Alumnus Rob Rutenbar receives Phil Kaufman Award for distinguished contributions to electronic system design Dr. Rob A. Rutenbar (MSE, PhD CICE 1979, 1984), senior vice chancellor for Research at the University of Pittsburgh, has been honored with the Phil Kaufman Award for Distinguished Contributions to Electronic System Design. While at Michigan, we was co-advised by Profs. Daniel E. Atkins and Trevor Mudge. [Full Story] Prof. Hofmann adds expertise on defect that can cause Prius to overheat Prof. Heath Hofmann helps inform LA Times readers on 2016 Toyota recall to fix a key electronic component on its Priuses. One of California's largest dealers said the cars were still coming in after overheating, however. [Full Story] Prof. Chad Jenkins Receives CoE Trudy Huebner Service Excellence Award Chad Jenkins, associate professor in Computer Science and Engineering, received the 2017 2018 Trudy Huebner Service Excellence Award from the College of Engineering. This award recognizes his significant and consequential contributions in service to the academy and his professional communities. [Full Story] Collaborative master's program in data science announced Developed and taught collaboratively by the faculty of the CSE Division of EECS in the College of Engineering, the Department of Statistics in the College of LSA, the Department of Biostatistics in the School of Public Health, and the School of Information, the Data Science master's program is now accepting applications for Fall 2018. [Full Story] Michigan researchers awarded 2018 Applied Networking Research Prize for their work on speeding up the mobile web A team of researchers, including Prof. Harsha Madhyastha and CSE graduate students Vaspol Ruamviboonsuk and Muhammed Uluyol have received the Applied Networking Research Prize (ANRP) for their paper, "Vroom: Accelerating the Mobile Web with Server-Aided Dependency Resolution. [Full Story] Herbert Winful receives Outreach and Diversity Award from the College of Engineering Herbert Winful, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, received the Raymond J. and Monica E. Schultz Outreach and Diversity Award from the College of Engineering. This award honors his efforts in organizing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, offering mentorship, and championing improvements in local and global communities. [Full Story] Necmiye Ozay receives 1938E Award from College of Engineering Necmiye Ozay, assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the 1938E Award from the College of Engineering, which recognizes "an outstanding teacher in both elementary and advanced courses, an understanding counselor of students who seek guidance in their choice of a career, a contributor to the educational growth of his/her College, and a teacher whose scholarly integrity pervades his/her service and the profession of Engineering." [Full Story] Raj Nadakuditi receives Excellence in Teaching Award from College of Engineering Raj Nadakuditi, associate professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, received the Jon R. and Beverly S. Holt Award for Excellence in Teaching from the College of Engineering. This award honors faculty "with a demonstrated sustained excellence in curricular development, instruction, and guidance at both the undergraduate and graduate levels." [Full Story] Stephane Lafortune receives Research Excellence Award from College of Engineering Stephane Lafortune, professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, received the David E. Liddle Research Excellence Award from the College of Engineering honoring his contributions to system and control theory, and especially discrete event systems. [Full Story] Mark J. Kushner receives Stephen S. Attwood Award from College of Engineering Professor Mark J. Kushner received the Stephen S. Attwood Award, the most prestigious award that the College of Engineering bestows, in recognition of his extraordinary achievement in teaching, research, service, and other activities that have brought distinction to the College and University. [Full Story] Alfred Hero Receives CoE Professional Leadership and Service Award Alfred O. Hero, John H. Holland Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and R. Jamison and Betty Williams Professor of Engineering, received the 2018 H. Scott Fogler Award for Professional Leadership and Service from the College of Engineering. [Full Story] ECE Team behind COMBAT Receives Ted Kennedy Family Faculty Team Excellence Award Eight core researchers who contributed to the Center for Objective Microelectronics and Biomimetic Advanced Technology (COMBAT) received the 2018 Ted Kennedy Family Faculty Team Excellence Award from the College of Engineering. These members include Dr. Jack East, Prof. Stephen Forrest, Dr. Leland Pierce (Deputy Director of COMBAT), Prof. Amir Mortazawi, Prof. Khalil Najafi, Prof. Kamal Sarabandi (Director of COMBAT), Prof. Dennis Sylvester, and Prof. Euisik Yoon. [Full Story] Professor Leung Tsang Receives 2018 Van de Hulst Award Prof. Leung Tsang has been selected to receive the 2018 Van de Hulst Light-Scattering Award in recognition of his lifetime achievements in the area of electromagnetics. Prof. Tsang is a world-renowned expert in the field of theoretical and computational electromagnetics, and in particular microwave remote sensing of the earth. His research has laid the foundation for the analysis of radar and radiometer remote sensing data and for the development of airborne and spaceborne systems aimed at monitoring the environment, including monitoring climate change, improving hydrological predictions, and managing water and agricultural resources. [Full Story] Ann Arbor's Duo Security announces record-breaking year Duo Security, the Ann Arbor-based security firm founded by CSE alumni Dug Song and Jon Oberheide, has grown spectacularly. The firm not only met, but exceeded, their 2017 goals. Since 2016, Duo has tripled its staff from 200 to nearly 600. It is now considered a "unicorn" with a valuation of over $1B. [Full Story] 2018 EECS Outstanding Achievement Awards The EECS Outstanding Achievement Awards are presented annually to faculty members for their outstanding accomplishments in teaching, research, and service. The recipients of the 2018 EECS Outstanding Achievement Award are Peter Chen, Jason Corso, Jason Flinn, and PC Ku. [Full Story] Off-Roading in Sand and Snow with Shivani Shah Shivani Shah (BSE 2017, MSE 2018) is a key member of the Michigan Baja Racing team. Shahs expertise in electrical engineering allowed her to lead the development of an electronically controlled variable transmission (eCVT), a project she launched in EECS 473. [Full Story] Quantum Computers Threaten Data Encryption Prof. Duncan Steel adds to the discussion around quantum computing's potential threat to our current encryption methods. Prof. Steel uses optics to study, control, and manipulate the quantum properties of semiconductor structures. [Full Story] Internet-scanning U-M startup pioneers new approach to cybersecurity Ann Arbor-based Censys has launched based on work done over the past 5 years in Prof. J. Alex Halderman's lab. Censys is the first commercially available internet-wide scanning tool. It helps IT experts working to secure large networks, which are composed of a constantly changing array of devices ranging from servers to smartphones and internet-of-things devices. [Full Story] Prof. Amir Mortazawi Introduces Robust Wireless Power Transfer In this video, Prof. Mortazawi introduces his work in improving wireless charging. Compared to conventional methods of wireless power, which require a specific distance and alignment, Prof. Mortazawi's version operates over a range of distances and orientations without a drop in power. [Full Story] CS alum travels Africa by motorcycle, planting the seeds of programming Levi Weintraub (BSE CS 2006) left his job at Google to travel the world. He has ended up in Tanzania, where he has set up an IT training program. [Full Story] DARPA funds six centers working on computer design alternatives This article reports on the six centers that DARPA has funded to jumpstart the computer computer architecture development. The $32M Applications Driving Architectures center, based at U-M and led by Prof. Valeria Bertacco, is one of them. [Full Story] PhD Candidate Michael Benson Wins Another Year Leading Honor Society HKN Michael Benson, a PhD candidate in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, was reelected student governor for Eta Kappa Nu (HKN), the electrical and computer engineering honor society and the honor society of the IEEE. [Full Story] Semiconductor Breakthrough May Be Game-changer for Organic Solar Cells In an advance that could push cheap, ubiquitous solar power closer to reality, Prof. Stephen Forrest and his team have found a way to coax electrons to travel much further than was previously thought possible in the materials often used for organic solar cells and other organic semiconductors. [Full Story] Raymond Fok selected as finalist for CRA UG research award; two others receive honorable mention CS undergraduate student Raymond Fok was selected as a finalist for CRA's Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award. The award program recognizes undergraduate students in North American colleges and universities who show outstanding potential in an area of computing research. [Full Story] Reimagining how computers are designed: University of Michigan leads new $32M center The Center for Applications Driving Architectures, or ADA, at the University of Michigan will develop a transformative, "plug-and-play" ecosystem to encourage a flood of fresh ideas in computing frontiers such as autonomous control, robotics and machine-learning. [Full Story] U-M startup May Mobility blazes toward autonomous fleet market May Mobility, co-founded and led by Prof. Edwin Olson, has tested its autonomous vehicles on the streets of Downtown Detroit. The startup recently licensed five autonomous driving related technologies from U-M, and outside of the life sciences, is the most successful UM startup in raising first round of funding so quickly. [Full Story] Professor Emeritus Ribbens Publishes 8th Edition of Understanding Automotive Electronics William Ribbens, professor emeritus of electrical engineering and computer science, recently published an 8th edition of his textbook Understanding Automotive Electronics, which adds information on the latest in automotive technology, including autonomous vehicles, camera systems, hybrid control, and software networks [Full Story] CSE Researchers Funded to Enhance Online Communication Profs. Danai Koutra and Walter Lasecki have been awarded two grants from Trove.ai, an Ann-Arbor based artificial intelligence startup, to develop novel methods and tools that will unleash the power of online communication. [Full Story] New bill could finally get rid of paperless voting machines Prof. J. Alex Halderman is quoted on the the vulnerabilities that exist in voting machines, why paper backup is a practical solution, and the approaches that should be taken in auditing election results. 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