Recent News & Accomplishments
2023
UMD Alum and NASA Chief Scientist Kate Calvin Named IPCC Climate Change Co-Chair
Dr. Kate Calvin, UMD alum (B.S. '03, mathematics; B.S. '03, computer science), NASA ’s chief scientist and senior climate advisor, was recently selected as co-chair of a working group on climate change mitigation at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) , the United Nations body responsible for assessing the science related to climate change. Previously, Calvin has contributed to five reports by the IPCC. NASA scientists and researchers have also contributed to previous IPCC assessment reports, and NASA released a sea level projection tool which incorporates sea level... read more
Professor Goldstein Delves into Benefits and Drawbacks of Open-Source Language Models Amid Intensifying Industry Competition
There’s a new large language model in town that threatens to out-open OpenAI’s ChatGPT. LLaMa 2, from Facebook's parent company Meta, has capabilities roughly in line with big-name competitors. However, it’s also open source, meaning the model’s source code is available for anyone to study or build upon for free. OpenAI, Google and many other artificial intelligence innovators have opted to keep their latest models proprietary. A more open approach has obvious benefits for research and enterprise but can also be advantageous for the companies that put these tools out. Tom Goldstein , a... read more
The paper titled "A Watermark for Large Language Models," stood out as one of only six outstanding papers from 1,865 accepted papers at the International Conference on Machine Learning 2023.
The University of Maryland (UMD) showcased its strong and notable presence at the prestigious 40th International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML 2023) held in Honolulu, Hawaii from July 23 to 29, with a strong focus on machine learning research. UMD was well-represented by a diverse group of researchers, including faculty members, postdocs, and students, who collectively presented an impressive total of 24 papers and actively participated in 30 workshops. Among the standout contributions from UMD researchers was the paper titled " A Watermark for Large Language Models ," which received... read more
Startup Lingo AI transforms content creation through multilingual reach
In the fast-paced realm of content creation, University of Maryland alums Ian Costello (B.S. '22, computer science; B.S. '22, mathematics) and Pranav Shikarpur (B.S. ’23, computer science and mathematics) emerged as a lifeline to influencers with their innovative startup Lingo AI . Armed with a passion for technology and a vision to break language barriers, Costello and Shikarpur harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to propel content creators to new heights. Lingo AI's innovative video translation platform equips social media influencers with the tools they need to expand their... read more
Computer science major Oliver D'Esposito envisions a future where every lab is equipped with efficient power management systems, contributing to a significant reduction in energy waste
In a world increasingly focused on sustainable practices, University of Maryland student entrepreneurs are determined to make a difference with their startup Sustainabli. Oliver D'Esposito , a computer science major in the Gemstone program in the Honors College and the lead engineer at Sustainabli, is on a mission to transform research labs into greener and more environmentally conscious spaces. Through technology his team developed, lab administrators can now effectively manage and account for power usage, helping research institutions like UMD reach their sustainability goals. D'Esposito... read more
The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences is looking for student panelists who are actively involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, research or work. Panelists must be UMD undergraduate students. Involvement in DEI can look an number of ways: ● experience and involvement in student organizations that focus on DEI or have DEI initiatives ● DEI exploration through your major(s) or minor(s) ● DEI research with faculty or staff at UMD ● active participation in DEI opportunities provided by your academic college or department ● experience educating UMD community... read more
Using Emerging Tech, Students Create Innovative Art, Interactive Games in Incubator Program
Deep in the maze-like white corridors of the A.V. Williams Building, gentle tides wash up driftwood and crab shells; oppressed workers rise up against a surveillance state; and aspiring pop stars perfect their recordings in a studio. “This is pretty sick,” said Marilyn Ortega ’24—in the best sense of the word, of course—as she offered feedback to peers presenting their art installations and interactive games. They weren’t being created for a class or for an internship but for the Immersive Media Design (IMD) program’s New Works Incubator, an eight-week summer program that gives any University... read more
MIDA aims to change technology design research and practice so that it involves disability communities as equal partners from the beginning of the design process, and accessibility is proactively built-in.
Two faculty members of the Department of Computer Science, assistant professors Huaishu Peng and Abhinav Shrivastava , are a part of the new Maryland Initiative for Digital Accessibility (MIDA) that combines the expertise and passion of researchers, designers, developers and educators from multiple disciplines at the University of Maryland (UMD) with a united goal of making digital technologies accessible for all. The world of digital technologies and content (including software apps, websites, and digital documents) is often designed without considering the needs of people with disabilities... read more
Simply paraphrasing LLM-generated content can often deceive detection techniques used by leading market technologies in the field
To many, AI detection tools offer a glimpse of hope against the erosion of truth. They promise to identify the artifice, preserving the sanctity of human creativity. However, computer scientists at the University of Maryland put this claim to the test in their quest for veracity. The results? A sobering wake-up call for the industry. Soheil Feizi , an associate professor of computer science at UMD, revealed the vulnerabilities of these AI detectors, stating they are unreliable in practical scenarios. Simply paraphrasing LLM-generated content can often deceive detection techniques used by... read more
The funding supports efforts to provide a comprehensive and fundamental understanding of provable robustness in dynamic and adaptive learning setups, leading to practically useful methods with theoretical guarantees
Soheil Feizi , an associate professor at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, has been awarded $360,000 by the Army Research Office (ARO) to develop provable methods that can improve the robustness of dynamic AI systems. The funding comes from ARO’s prestigious Early Career Program Award, which incentivizes early career university faculty to pursue fundamental research. Feizi’s proposal, “ Provably Robust Dynamic Systems,” was funded for three years. Its goal is to provide a comprehensive and fundamental understanding of provable robustness in dynamic and adaptive... read more