UW CSE’s Dave Bacon has the cover article in this month’s Communications of the ACM.
“It is impossible to imagine today’s technological world without algorithms: sorting, searching, calculating, and simulating are being used everywhere to make our everyday lives better. But what are the benefits of the more philosophical endeavor of studying the notion of an algorithm through the perspective of the physical laws of the universe? This simple idea, that we desire an understanding of the algorithm based upon… Read more →
Peter Lee on the future of DARPA, and the Transformational Convergence Technology Office
Five months ago, Peter Lee took a leave of absence as Head of the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University to begin a stint at DARPA as the Director of the new Transformational Convergence Technology Office (DARPA/TCTO). TCTO is re-establishing basic research programs in a broad range of rapidly emerging computing-enabled technology areas such as social media, synthetic biology, high-performance computing, and networking, as well as employing a diverse range of innovation strategies including broad community programs, competitions/challenges, and… Read more →
NSF and Microsoft announce “Azure for Science”
A New York Times article describes a new initiative by Microsoft and the National Science Foundation to assist scientists in utilizing cloud services to manage and analyze the tsunami of data that characterizes modern sensor-based science.
UW CSE’s Ed Lazowska is quoted in the article: “Simplicity of use is one Microsoft goal. So far, programming modern cloud systems for full efficiency has been difficult. The company is trying to overcome this difficulty in creating a variety of software tools for… Read more →
Jon Froehlich featured in UW “Report to Contributors”
UW CSE Ph.D. student Jon Froehlich was one of five students profiled in the University of Washington’s “Report to Contributors.” Jon, who works with UW CSE professors James Landay and Shwetak Patel on HCI problems related to environmental concerns, is the recipient of a Microsoft Research Graduate Fellowship.
Read Jon’s profile here. The full “Report to Contributors” is here.… Read more →
Google commits major research support to UW CSE
Today Google announced a new program of “Focused Research Awards” in four key areas of computer science.
Among the awards was a $1.5 million commitment to UW CSE professor Gaetano Borriello for his work involving the use of mobile phones as data collection devices for public health and environment monitoring.
In a separate initiative, Google has committed $1 million to support computer vision and computer graphics research in the UW CSE Graphics and Imaging Laboratory, led by… Read more →
“Smart Dust? Not Quite, but We’re Getting There”
A New York Times feature on sensor-based computing, featuring extensive commentary by UW CSE affiliate professor and Intel Labs Seattle engineer Josh Smith, as well as UW CSE collaborator and UCLA professor Deborah Estrin.
“… technology’s virtuous cycle of smaller, faster and cheaper has reached the point that experts say sensors may soon be powerful enough to be the equivalent of tiny computers. Some ambitious sensor research projects provide a glimpse of where things are headed …
“Microchip-equipped… Read more →
Intel Labs may help bring personal robots to your home… soon
“If you missed the Robotics Industry Forum presentation by UW CSE’s Dieter Fox (and Director of Intel Labs Seattle) last week, you missed what may have been the most humorous and provocative session of the week. He predicts that low-cost sensors will be commercially available in 2010 that will enable affordable robots that can operate in unstructured environments like your home and safely share space with humans.”
Fox also talked about the trend of algorithms replacing mechanics in robotics.
Read… Read more →
CSE’s Loren Carpenter, Tapan Parikh win UW College of Engineering “Diamond Awards”
The “Diamond Awards” recognize outstanding University of Washington College of Engineering alumni in five categories.
This year, UW CSE M.S. alumnus Loren Carpenter was recognized in the “Entrepreneurial Excellence” category. Anyone delighted by animated films such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Cars, or amazed, thrilled, or fascinated by Jurassic Park, Titanic, and The Matrix, can thank Loren Carpenter. This internationally recognized pioneer in computer graphics has exerted game-changing impact on the entire film industry and other digital media.
Also… Read more →
“Guiding lights: Yoky Matsuoka”
This month, KING-TV is spotlighting some extraordinary Northwest mentors making a real difference in the community. Evening Magazine profiles UW CSE’s Yoky Matsuoka.… Read more →
Infrastructure Sensing in IEEE Computer
UW CSE’s Shwetak Patel is developing a system to make it easier for individuals and companies monitor “home” activity by using strategically placed sensors on air, water, gas, and electrical infrastructure. Patel expects his approach, which he calls infrastructure-mediated sensing (IMS), to be more cost effective and less labor intensive than other activity-sensing platforms.
“IMS uses a single sensor in a strategic place to measure pressure signals in air vents and waterlines as well as electrical signals in power lines. … Read more →