Recent News & Accomplishments
2023
Elias Gonzalez, an alum and current computer science lecturer at UMD, leads inclusive teaching efforts in the department
When he was a first-generation Latino college student studying computer science at the University of Maryland, Elias Gonzalez didn't often see peers or mentors who looked like him or had similar lived experiences. Now, as a lecturer in computer science and curriculum innovation lead for Break Through Tech DC at UMD, Gonzalez (B.S. '17, computer science; M.Ed. ’18, curriculum and instruction) serves as that role model for students like him. And he is on a mission to ensure that the next generation of tech professionals is more diverse than it is today. “I loved the challenge and material, but... read more
Central to Asgari’s research is the concept of merging hardware and software in a manner reminiscent of the intricate processes of the human brain
Bahar Asgari , assistant professor at the University of Maryland’s Department of Computer Science, has been awarded the renowned Department of Energy (DOE) Early Career Award. Asgari was one of 93 early career recipients from across the country, representing 47 universities. The award will endow her research endeavors with roughly $875,000 over a five-year span. The accolade serves as a testament to her pioneering research in the field of computer science. Asgari’s awarded proposal, “ Developing Techniques to Enable Intelligent Dynamic Reconfigurable Computing for Sparse Scientific Problems... read more
Yang, an affiliate associate professor in the Department of Computer Science is paving the way for more dependable machine learning systems
From navigating with map apps and streaming new music, to virtual personal assistants like Alexa and Siri—machine learning is a valuable tool that has become an intrinsic part of our daily lives. Yet these systems are not always reliable because they sometimes provide inaccurate information. Haizhao Yang, an affiliate associate professor in the Department of Computer Science, who recently started a new affiliate appointment at the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), is paving the way for more dependable machine learning systems by advancing its subset of... read more
The UMD-lead team recently received a distinguished paper award for delving into the challenges faced by ethical hackers
A University of Maryland-led team recently received a distinguished paper award for delving into the challenges faced by bug bounty hunters—ethical hackers who discover and report vulnerabilities or bugs to a platform’s developer. Researchers from the Department of Computer Science, including a graduate student and a faculty member who also serves as the director of the Maryland Cybersecurity Center (MC2), earned honors at the 32nd USENIX Security Symposium. The symposium, held August 9–11 in Anaheim, California, gathered professionals from various fields to discuss recent breakthroughs in... read more
Pedro Sandoval-Segura received a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, which aims to increase U.S. citizens pursuing doctoral degrees in science and engineering
Pedro Sandoval-Segura, UMD alum (M.S. '21, computer science ) and current doctoral student in the Department of Computer Science at UMD, received a 2023 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. The fellowship, established by Congress in 1989, aims to bolster the number of U.S. citizens pursuing doctoral degrees in science and engineering disciplines relevant to the Department of Defense. Sandoval-Segura received the three-year fellowship, which provides funding for all tuition, mandatory fees, and health insurance; a monthly stipend; and a travel budget for... read more
According to researchers at UMD existing AI text-detectors are susceptible to errors that comprise their efficiency at the most crucial of moments
The explosion of open-sourced artificial intelligence (AI) tools that use deep learning techniques to generate text, also known as large language models, has raised alarms with government officials, content creators and educators in light of how easy the technology can be abused for plagiarism, deception and misinformation. A number of AI detectors have been released in response to these concerns, but none of them are sufficiently reliable in practical scenarios, says Soheil Feizi, an associate professor of computer science with a joint appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for... read more
UMD Computer Science Alum Kelsey Fulton Wins 2023 John Karat Award at the 19th Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security
A recent alum from the Department of Computer Science at UMD has been honored with the 2023 John Karat Usable Privacy and Security Student Research Award for their strong leadership and contributions to the field. Kelsey Fulton , who graduated earlier this year with their Ph.D. in computer science, was presented with the award at the 19th Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS) in Anaheim, California. The event brings together interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners in human-computer interaction, security and privacy. The award is given in honor of John Karat’s contributions... read more
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