Recent News & Accomplishments
2023
Hal Daumé III who is Heading the New $20M NSF-Backed Institute Says Systems Should Support Societal Good
At least in the movies, we love artificial intelligence, but is it trustworthy? Nah. Judging from “The Terminator’s” killer bot, the cloyingly malignant computer in “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the sunglasses-wearing agents in “The Matrix,” AIs are jerks. But the idea that AI can do good rather than evil is the force behind the multi-institutional Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law & Society (TRAILS) at UMD, backed by a $20 million National Science Foundation grant. TRAILS explores decidedly real-world AI problems: gender-biased recommendations from hiring systems, racist mortgage offers... read more
Mirani is spearheading a voter registration drive at UMD's farmer's market ahead of the College Park city election
University of Maryland student liaison Dhruvak Mirani and deputy student liaison Gannon Sprinkle held a voter registration drive Wednesday at this university’s Farmer’s Market to increase student turnout in this November’s College Park city election. Mirani, a sophomore government and politics and computer science major, and Sprinkle, a sophomore government and politics major, hoped Wednesday’s event would both increase voter turnout, and help them understand student concerns in the lead-up to November’s election. The pair held the voter registration drive for the second consecutive Wednesday... read more
The research center, funded by UMD and quantum computing company IonQ, is the nation’s first facility that allows researchers to use a commercial-grade quantum computer.
More than 100 people gathered at IonQ’s College Park headquarters Tuesday for the opening of the National Quantum Laboratory. The National Quantum Laboratory , located just off campus, was created in partnership with the University of Maryland and quantum computing company IonQ. The research center is the nation’s first facility that allows researchers to use a commercial-grade quantum computer. A nearly $20 million investment from this university helped furnish the research center with cutting-edge technology and workspaces, which will connect leaders in quantum computing research. The... read more
The Department of Computer Science’s Undergrad Program Shines in 2024 U.S. News Rankings; Top 10 Publicly in Cybersecurity, Data Science and AI.
The University of Maryland’s undergraduate computer science program ranks 9th among the country’s public institutions and 18th overall in the 2024 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges.” UMD also ranks in the top 10 among public institutions in three undergraduate computer science specialties: Cybersecurity: #7 public (11th overall) Data Analytics/Science: #7 public (13th overall) Artificial Intelligence: #9 public (15th overall) Undergraduate computer science programs have been ranked by U.S. News & World Report for the past four years and UMD has ranked in the top 10... read more
Computer science major Neil Sorkin teamed up with Assistant Professor Nirupam Roy to create a better way to locate people who need help after natural disasters.
It’s estimated that natural disasters cause an average of 45,000 deaths every year globally. The deadliest events are usually low-frequency yet high-impact events such as earthquakes and tsunamis, which can push fatalities to tens or hundreds of thousands. Often, these fatalities are compounded by missing people who are displaced or blocked by damaged infrastructure. While these disasters are not preventable, high losses in human life may be. University of Maryland Assistant Professor of Computer Science Nirupam Roy and senior computer science major Neil Sorkin teamed up to improve current... read more
Palm-sized Robot Navigates Touchscreens for Visually Impaired Users
Having to tap-tap-tap away to order a sandwich or check bags at a touchscreen kiosk can be annoying. For those who are blind or visually impaired, it can be excruciating. Soon, instead of friends, family or even strangers bridging this technological chasm, a palm-sized portable robot could help. Toucha11y , created by a team including doctoral student Jiasheng Li and computer science Assistant Professor Huaishu Pen g, can stick to and press buttons on a touchscreen, communicating with a user’s phone and allowing them to use accessibility features—like voiceover and zoom—to read the options... read more
Soheil Feizi discusses the questionable reliability of public AI detectors and the implications for educators
In the rapidly advancing world of artificial intelligence, the quest for reliable detection tools has garnered significant attention. Associate Professor Soheil Feizi , a faculty member at the University of Maryland’s Department of Computer Science, has been at the forefront of AI research and its implications. With a reputation for delving into intricate challenges of the digital age, Feizi’s expertise puts him in a unique position to assess the reliability and challenges of emerging AI detectors such as GPTZero, which is a leading AI detector for checking whether a document was written by a... read more
Asgari Earns Elite NSF Principles and Practice of Scalable Systems Award Securing $1M for Collaborative Research with Georgia Tech Team.
Bahar Asgari , assistant professor at the University of Maryland’s Department of Computer Science, has been honored with a prestigious Principles and Practice of Scalable Systems (PPoSS) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The funding comes from NSF's PPoSS Program, aimed at fostering interdisciplinary research covering the full spectrum of hardware and software interactions. This program also investigates the scalability and precision of contemporary applications, systems and toolchains developed for diverse architectures . The awarded proposal, titled “ Research into the Use... read more
Yizheng Chen Joins UMIACS and Pledges to Strengthen the Digital World Against Emerging Cyber Threats.
Malicious software, also known as malware, first appeared in the 1970s, mostly as a way to cause mischief. It subsequently evolved into more nefarious threats like profitable cybercrime, espionage, nation-state attacks, and more. Yizheng Chen, who joined the University of Maryland this semester as an assistant professor of computer science, says that there will always be new security threats in our increasingly interconnected world. Combatting those threats, she says, will take new knowledge, dedication and the latest technological tools, including artificial intelligence (AI). As a core... read more
Undergraduate Aveek Mishra's startup embodies innovation by scanning the web for millions of deals and coupons, offering users the most attractive discounts
Aveek Mishra, an undergrad at the University of Maryland’s Department of Computer Science, is redefining the art of the deal in the e-commerce landscape. As the technical founder and CEO of Frozen Software , Mishra and his co-founder Erik Stomp, an alum of the University of Texas at Austin, have launched a subscription service that transforms how e-commerce shoppers and resellers find the most enticing deals. The platform searches the web for millions of deals and coupons, identifying the best discounts for users, sometimes as much as 100% off. Its advanced auto-checkout technology finalizes... read more