Recent News & Accomplishments
2021
The paper argues that topic model developers should use a combination of artificial intelligence tools coupled with human input.
Topic modeling—a machine learning technique originally developed as a text mining tool for computer scientists—is now widely used by historians, journalists and analysts to make sense of large collections of text. These probabilistic models produce various lists of related words, and each list corresponds to a subject in the collection. But despite their popularity, there are flaws in the way that topic models are evaluated for their accuracy, which ultimately affects how useful they are to the people that rely on them. In a paper being presented this week at the Conference on Neural... read more
Lin is a noted innovator in virtual reality, computer graphics and robotics.
The University of Maryland’s Ming Lin has been elected Fellow by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), joining the ranks of some of the nation’s most prestigious and creative academic inventors. The NAI Fellows Program “highlights academic inventors who have demonstrated a spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society. Election to NAI Fellow is the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors.” “I am very honored to be elected as a... read more
The endowed professors in computer science and electrical and computer engineering will conduct research in robotics, autonomy, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The University of Maryland will receive $1.14 million from the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative (MEI) to fully match a private donation establishing the Brendan Iribe Endowed Professorship in Computer Science and the Brendan Iribe Endowed Professorship in Electrical and Computer Engineering . These new endowed professorships, made possible by the generosity of alum Brendan Iribe (ee-REEB’), will be held by experts in robotics, autonomy, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. “There has never been a more exciting time to be in computing than now,” Iribe said. “We’re at the forefront... read more
Being conferred Fellow status is the highest grade of IEEE membership, and one that is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.
Rance Cleaveland , a professor of computer science with an appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies , was just named a Fellow of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE), the world’s largest technical professional organization for the advancement of technology. Cleaveland joins 310 other researchers worldwide in receiving Fellow status, the highest grade of IEEE membership, and one that is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement. Each year, only 0.1%, at most, of the 400,000-... read more
The three-year project seeks to develop artificial intelligence-based multimodal sensor fusion algorithms that are fully self-supervised and do not require training data
A University of Maryland expert in computational imaging has received funding from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) to develop novel algorithms for fusing multimodal sensing data. Chris Metzler , an assistant professor of computer science with an appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), was one of 36 researchers in the U.S. to receive a $450,000 grant from AFOSR as part of its Young Investigator Program . The competitive program—175 proposals were submitted this year— was established to foster creative basic research in... read more
From creating a virtual avatar that performs human-like gestures, to detecting internet censorship, to exploring content moderation in online communities, undergraduate women and non-binary individuals focused on computer science are collaborating this week with leading experts on these topics—and more—at a three-day workshop at the University of Maryland. “ Tech + Research: Welcoming Women to Computing Research ,” which kicks off this Friday and runs through November 14, brings together more than 60 undergraduates from across the country interested in meaningful computing research. The... read more
Alumnus Sujal Patel makes his mark as a technology entrepreneur
Sujal Patel (B.S. ’96, computer science) still remembers the very first computer in his life. That was a long time ago, and technically it wasn’t even his , but for Patel, that computer changed everything. “My brother—he’s seven years older—took a computer class in middle school, so my parents bought an Apple II Plus computer. I was glued to that thing as a young kid and it sparked a love of computers,” Patel recalled. “From that point on, it was predestined: all I was going to do was be in computers.” That “predestiny” eventually led Patel to the computer science program at the University of... read more
VisiSonics , a University of Maryland startup focused on 3D spatial audio technologies, has partnered with a leading aviation communications company to provide military pilots with an advanced audio system designed to improve their performance. The company recently announced a partnership with Andrea Systems to develop a conversion kit that is based on VisiSonics’ RealSpace 3D spatial audio. Once installed, the kit will have the capability to significantly improve upon the sound in aviators' helmets, effectively turning the traditional mono sound into a physics-based, 3D sound. This... read more
AlphaLabs, Athenus, Mindgrasp and Shellter will be the first cohort of companies to join the student startup accelerator.
The Mokhtarzada Hatchery announced today the first four teams that will join the student startup accelerator. The 2021-22 teams—selected for their ideas that target interesting problems with focus and passion—are AlphaLabs, Athenus, Mindgrasp and Shellter. “The entire panel was very impressed with the applicants to our inaugural program,” said Idris Mokhtarzada. “It was very difficult to narrow down to just four companies, and we chose the companies who we thought would benefit most from the program.” The Mokhtarzada Hatchery was launched in 2021 to help University of Maryland students... read more
In addition to Varshney, the XRAC steering committee includes senior-level executives from tech giants Facebook, Microsoft, Accenture and Google.
A leading expert in immersive technologies from the University of Maryland has been selected to serve on a steering committee for a national advisory council dedicated to advancing policy and practical considerations involving virtual, augmented and mixed reality—collectively known as “extended reality” (XR) technologies. Amitabh Varshney , interim vice president for research and dean of the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences , joins former government officials and other specialists from academia and industry on a steering committee for the Future of XR Advisory Council (... read more