Recent News & Accomplishments
2022
New infrastructure at the University of Maryland is expanding computing access to undergraduate students while allowing machine learning researchers to model more data than ever before. A computing cluster consisting of 330 Nvidia GPUs—graphical processing units that can perform multiple, simultaneous computations—has nearly doubled the infrastructure’s capacity. These GPUs will be used to solve complex problems in computer vision, cybersecurity and more. This added computational power has democratized access for undergraduate students, who previously could not use machine learning clusters... read more
Michael Hicks , a professor of computer science with an appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies , was recently recognized for his work in improving fuzz testing—a quality assurance technique used to discover coding errors and security loopholes in software. Hicks was part of a team honored with a Distinguished Paper Award at the 31st USENIX Security Symposium , held from August 10–12 in Boston. The paper, “ FIXREVERTER: A Realistic Bug Injection Methodology for Benchmarking Fuzz Testing ,” offers a tool and new protocols to help assess rapidly... read more
Associate Professor of Computer Science Thomas Goldstein has been named interim director of the University of Maryland Center for Machine Learning (CML) for one year, effective July 1, 2022. The multidisciplinary center uses powerful computing tools to address challenges in big data, computer vision, health care, financial transactions and more. In addition to numerous external research awards, the center is supported by financial and technology leader Capital One and the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), where Goldstein has an appointment. “Tom is a... read more
Alyssa Ryan , assistant director of the Immersive Media Design (IMD) program, has been recognized for her commitment and accessibility to students with the Provost’s Academic Adviser of the Year award. Three individuals are selected for the annual award—a faculty member, staff member and graduate student. Ryan and the other recipients were formally recognized on August 10 at the Undergraduate Studies Annual Academic Advising Conference with a $1K prize and engraved plaque. Marilyn Ortega, a sophomore in IMD, says she appreciates Ryan’s approachability and consistent support helping her... read more
The department is thrilled to announce our newest professors of computer science who are slated to join us in 2023. The new faculty will contribute to the department's research in the areas of Cybersecurity, AI and Machine Learning, Immersive Media Design, and Quantum Computing. Yizheng Chen Chen’s research is at the intersection of AI and Cybersecurity. She is interested in designing robust AI techniques to solve security problems, such as detecting malware, vulnerability, attacks and fraud. Chen holds a PhD in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to joining UMD, she... read more
Michelle Mazurek, an associate professor of computer science and director of the Maryland Cybersecurity Center , has been honored by Carnegie Mellon University’s Security and Privacy Institute ( CyLab ) with its 2022 CyLab Distinguished Alumni Award. The award recognizes CyLab alumni from any CMU department that have had impactful achievements in security and/or privacy. After receiving notification of the award, Mazurek says that she was flattered. “I wasn’t expecting this, and it means so much because of my immense respect for everyone at CyLab,” she says. Mazurek was nominated for the... read more
Computer science alum Vinay Shet is on a mission driven by computer vision
Imagine a typical construction site—bulldozers, excavators and other heavy equipment all buzzing with activity. But when you take a closer look, you realize something’s missing—none of these mega-machines have anyone in the operator’s seat. They’re all being controlled remotely by a single human operator miles away from the job site. It’s not science fiction. It’s Teleo , a groundbreaking startup co-founded by University of Maryland alum Vinay Shet (M.S. ’03, Ph.D. ’07, computer science). “We are on a mission to revolutionize how we build the world,” Shet explained. “We are converting our... read more
Iribe Initiative’s Kate Atchison Wins Board of Regents Staff Award
Throughout her career, Kate Atchison has made a commitment to making a difference. The thread of community service is woven throughout her life—and her work. “All I’ve ever wanted to do is serve my community and give back. When I was growing up, I was always the one taking on leadership roles at church and finding ways to volunteer in my community,” Atchison said. “That mentality has really guided my career decisions, and that’s why I’m here in this role at the University of Maryland.” As associate director of the Iribe Initiative for Inclusion and Diversity in Computing (I4C) and the... read more
Michael Hicks , a professor of computer science with an appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies , was recently recognized by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for his longtime contributions to the programming languages community. Hicks received the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN) Distinguished Service Award at the 43 rd ACM SIGPLAN Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation ( PLDI 2022 ) , held from June 13–17 in San Diego. The award, which includes a prize of $2,500, recognizes exemplary service... read more
The award—the highest honor given by the SMA—recognizes stellar contributions of a technical and leadership nature made to solid, geometric or physical modeling and its applications.
Hanan Samet (left in photo), a Distinguished University Professor of computer science with an appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), has just been honored by the Solid Modeling Association (SMA) with its prestigious Bézier Award. The award—the highest honor given by the SMA—is named for the late Pierre Bézier, a French engineer and one of the founders of the fields of solid, geometric and physical modeling. It is given to an individual or group for stellar contributions of a technical and leadership nature made to solid, geometric or... read more