Recent News & Accomplishments
2022
With the rise of artificial intelligence in commercial products, advanced watermarking methods can ward off copycats
Companies spend vast amounts of time and millions of dollars on the development of neural network models that are used in facial recognition, artificial intelligence (AI) art generators and other cutting-edge technologies. These pricey, proprietary models could be prime targets for theft in the future, which prompted a team of University of Maryland researchers to create an improved watermark to protect them. Watermarks are a way for organizations to claim authorship of the models they create, akin to a painter signing their name in the corner of a painting. However, current watermarking... read more
92 Students Explored User Experience Design in Break Through Tech’s Summer Guild
When it comes to solving a problem, it can be easy to jump straight to the solution and forget about brainstorming and forming ideas. In August 2022, 92 students learned about creative idea development and expanded their digital and design thinking skills during the second annual Break Through Tech Summer Guild program at the University of Maryland. A national initiative with a site at UMD, Break Through Tech aims to propel more students who identify as women and nonbinary into tech education and, ultimately, tech careers. Guild participants gain hands-on experience in designing and coding... read more
The computer vision expert will hold a Capital One Professorship and a joint appointment in UMIACS.
Computer vision—the science that allows computers to establish “visual” contact with their physical or digital environment, interpret what they see, and then take action based on that information—is rapidly progressing. But the technology still has a way to go before it can begin to mirror the level of sensory perception in humans, which has taken millions of years to evolve. Jia-Bin Huang is a leading researcher working to close that gap. Huang joined the University of Maryland this month as an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science with a joint appointment in the... read more
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