Recent News & Accomplishments
2022
The funding supports efforts to advance a randomized testing technique known as “fuzzing,” making it easier to write, debug, and reason about software and its specifications.
Software correctness is becoming increasingly important as our society grows more reliant on computer systems, with even the simplest software errors now having the capacity to inflict devastating financial or security losses. A University of Maryland expert in programming languages is addressing this issue, using funding from the National Science Foundation to advance a randomized testing technique known as “fuzzing,” making it easier to write, debug, and reason about software and its specifications. Leonidas Lampropoulos , an assistant professor of computer science and a core faculty member... read more
Former graduate student Soheil Behnezhad was recently announced as the winner of the Charles A. Caramello Distinguished Dissertation Award bestowed by the UMD Graduate School. The award recognizes outstanding original work that makes a significant contribution to the discipline. Behnezhad is the first student from the Department of Computer Science to win this prestigious award since it was established in 2011. His dissertation titled, “ Modern Large-Scale Algorithms for Classical Graph Problems ,” focused on studying modern computational models that capture the challenges of big data... read more
With $1.6M in funding from the National Science Foundation and Amazon, University of Maryland faculty are developing algorithms and protocols that can improve the efficiency, reliability and trustworthiness of artificial intelligence systems.
Fully ingrained into our daily lives, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can help us shop online, calculate credit scores, navigate vehicles, and for those that run afoul of the law, offer judges criminal sentencing guidelines. But as the use of AI increases exponentially, so does the concern that biased data can result in flawed decisions or prejudiced outcomes. At the University of Maryland, two teams of researchers are helping to eliminate those biases by developing new algorithms and protocols that can improve the efficiency, reliability and trustworthiness of AI systems... read more
Research explores navigational challenges for autonomous vehicles in dense urban environments.
The article is republished from ECE University of Maryland research into using machine learning to predict human driver behavior was featured in Tech Explore. The article, “ B-GAP: A simulation method for training autonomous vehicles to navigate complex urban scenes ,” highlighted work that was recently published in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters . The researchers, headed by Distinguished University Professor Dinesh Manocha (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Department of Computer Science), include computer science Ph.D. students Angelos Mavrogiannis and Rohan... read more
She was also recently elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
The University of Maryland’s Ming Lin has been inducted into the IEEE Virtual Reality Academy , which highlights the accomplishments of the leaders in the field. Criteria for selection include cumulative and momentous contributions to research and/or development; broader influence on the field, the community, and on the work of others; and significant service and/or active participation in the community. Also inducted into the inaugural class of 49 members are UMD alums Michael Antonov (B.S. ’03, computer science) and Brendan Iribe, who were recognized for turning headset virtual reality into... read more
For David Doggette (M.S. ’94, computer science), a National Security Agency scholarship, hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit came together in his Maryland tech company, 2HB Inc.
More than 30 years ago, when David Doggette (M.S. ’94, computer science) was a teenager, he agreed to play the piano at a local college scholarship event. He had no idea it would end up changing the trajectory of his life. “The people organizing the event knew I was a pretty accomplished pianist and asked me if I would play at an event where they were giving out college scholarships,” Doggette recalled. “When they asked me how much I would charge to perform, I told them I’d do it for free.” Although Doggette didn’t receive a scholarship at the event, the woman coordinating the event was so... read more
As an intern, Li developed an extension to help the news infrastructure team resolve bugs before news stories go live.
Last summer, Yong Li interned with Bloomberg Engineering ’s news infrastructure team—a dream position for this University of Maryland senior computer science major fascinated with fintech. Just a few months later, he accepted the company’s offer to join full-time as a software engineer. His not-so-secret weapon? Connecting with people. Li made the most of his time at Bloomberg by meeting as many employees and interns as possible to maximize his learning and networking potential. “ Yong was clearly excited to learn about Bloomberg Engineering and our culture,” said Lisa Ulker, a Bloomberg... read more
Graduate students Joshua Davis, James Mullen, Joel Rajakumar and Max Springer; senior Naveen Raman; and alum Ethan Cheng (B.S. ’21) received the prestigious awards.
Six current students and recent alumni of the University of Maryland’s Department of Computer Science received prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships, which recognize outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The awardees include: Ethan Cheng (B.S. ’21, biological sciences; B.S. ’21, computer science) Joshua Davis, computer science graduate student (advisor: Abhinav Bhatele) James Mullen, computer science graduate student (advisors: Aniket Bera, Ming Lin and Dinesh Manocha) Joel Rajakumar, computer science graduate... read more
Alexander Levine, Chahat Singh, Leonidas Tsepenekas and Weijia Xu each received the UMD’s Graduate School Semester Dissertation Fellowship for the academic year 2022–2023.
Four graduate students in the University of Maryland’s Department of Computer Science received prestigious Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowships for 2022-23: Alexander Levine, Chahat Singh, Leonidas Tsepenekas and Weijia Xu. The fellowship provides full-time support to UMD doctoral candidates who are in the latter stages of writing their dissertations. Levine, a graduate of Brown University who double majored in physics and computer Science, worked as a software engineer before joining UMD in 2018. His research interests center on robust machine learning, with a particular focus on providing... read more
Andreea Alexandru , a first-year postdoctoral researcher in the Maryland Cybersecurity Center (MC2), is proof that global wanderlust and a budding scientific career can coincide in harmony. Originally from Bucharest, Romania, Alexandru has visited 26 countries so far, keeping a scratch map of her travels in her home office. “Looking at places I’ve visited and plan to visit inspires a mental map of the goals I’ve achieved so far—and future goals as well,” says Alexandru, who earned her doctorate in electrical and systems engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2021. Her research is... read more