Professor Shayan Oveis Gharan, a member of the Allen School’s Theory of Computation group, earned the 2021 Presburger Award for Young Scientists from the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science (EATCS) for his research on the Traveling Salesperson Problem (TSP). Each year, the EATCS bestows the Presburger Award on an early-career scientist who has made outstanding contributions in the field of theoretical computer science. In its unanimous selection of Oveis Gharan for this year’s honor, the award committee heralded… Read more →
Allen School and bioengineering senior Parker Ruth awarded College of Engineering Dean’s Medal
Parker Ruth, a senior who will graduate this spring with bachelor’s degrees in computer engineering and bioengineering, has been awarded the College of Engineering’s Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence. Each year, the college selects two students to receive this award in recognition of their academic achievement, leadership, and engagement in research and extra-curricular activities. Ruth exemplifies these qualities with departmental honors in both of his majors, his contributions to multiple research projects, his leadership roles and his work… Read more →
GeekWire recognizes Allen School’s Lauren Bricker as STEM Educator of the Year
Allen School teaching professor and alumna Lauren Bricker (Ph.D., ’98) received a STEM Educator of the Year Award from GeekWire for her leadership in advancing computer science education. Bricker is one of three local education leaders to be recognized with the award, which GeekWire created this year to honor innovative educators in the Pacific Northwest who are inspiring students to achieve more in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math.
“If Pacific Northwest computer science education was a solar… Read more →
Allen School professors Emina Torlak and Xi Wang receive Amazon Research Award for their advancements in critical infrastructure software
Professor Anna Karlin elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Professor Anna Karlin of the University of Washington’s Theory of Computation group recently became the first Allen School faculty member to be elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Karlin, who holds the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering and serves as Associate Director for Graduate Studies at the Allen School, was honored for her significant contributions to algorithms and algorithmic game theory. She joins a distinguished community of scholars elected by their… Read more →
Allen School students recognized for excellence in research by the National Science Foundation
Ten Allen School students earned recognition from the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of its latest round of Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) awards, which honor outstanding students who are pursuing full-time research-based degrees with the potential to produce innovative contributions in science and engineering.
Since 1952, this prestigious competition has provided support for graduate education in NSF-supported STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines. The Allen School honorees — eight Ph.D. students and two undergraduate students — were… Read more →
Allen School student Victor Zhong named an Apple Scholar for his efforts to teach machines to generalize by reading natural language specifications
Victor Zhong, a Ph.D. student working with Allen School professor Luke Zettlemoyer in the Natural Language Processing (NLP) group, has been selected as a recipient of the Apple Scholar in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning fellowship. Zhong, one of 15 student researchers recognized as Apple Scholars this year, was selected based on his innovative research, his contributions as an emerging leader in his area and his unique commitment to take risks and push the envelope in machine learning… Read more →
Allen School student Kuo-Hao Zeng named J.P. Morgan Ph.D. Fellow for his work in visual forecasting in artificial intelligence
Kuo-Hao Zeng, a Ph.D. student working with Allen School professor Ali Farhadi, has been named a 2021 J.P. Morgan Ph.D. Fellow for his research focused on the problem of forecasting for decision making in artificial intelligence (AI). While Zeng’s work is in the context of visual forecasting and action, his algorithms and findings can be extended well beyond pixels, for example, they can facilitate policy learning for robotics applications.
Zeng aims to use his Fellowship to help AI… Read more →
New Allen School major Alina Chandra intends to use computer science to reshape systems and improve peoples’ lives
Our latest undergraduate student spotlight features Olympia, Washington native Alina Chandra, who joined the Allen School community this spring quarter. Chandra was a biochemistry major with a minor in global health, but decided her talents would be more impactful in computer science. She recently was named the 2019-2020 Freshman Presidential Medalist at the University of Washington in recognition of her high GPA, rigor of classes and number of honors courses. Chandra is also a student in the university’s Honors … Read more →
Taskar Center researchers offer a roadmap for more robust modeling of pedestrian mobility on a city-wide scale
Many approaches to measuring and supporting city-wide mobility lack the level of detail required to truly understand how pedestrians navigate the urban landscape, not to mention the quality of their journey. Transit apps can direct someone to the nearest bus stop, but they may not account for obstacles or terrain on the way to their destination. Neighborhood walkability scores that measure proximity to amenities like grocery stores and restaurants “as the crow flies” are useful if traveling by jetpack, but… Read more →