Recent News & Accomplishments
2023
The UMD-lead team recently received a distinguished paper award for delving into the challenges faced by ethical hackers
A University of Maryland-led team recently received a distinguished paper award for delving into the challenges faced by bug bounty hunters—ethical hackers who discover and report vulnerabilities or bugs to a platform’s developer. Researchers from the Department of Computer Science, including a graduate student and a faculty member who also serves as the director of the Maryland Cybersecurity Center (MC2), earned honors at the 32nd USENIX Security Symposium. The symposium, held August 9–11 in Anaheim, California, gathered professionals from various fields to discuss recent breakthroughs in... read more
Pedro Sandoval-Segura received a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, which aims to increase U.S. citizens pursuing doctoral degrees in science and engineering
Pedro Sandoval-Segura, UMD alum (M.S. '21, computer science ) and current doctoral student in the Department of Computer Science at UMD, received a 2023 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. The fellowship, established by Congress in 1989, aims to bolster the number of U.S. citizens pursuing doctoral degrees in science and engineering disciplines relevant to the Department of Defense. Sandoval-Segura was one of only 165 individuals from 68 institutions nationwide this year to receive one of the three-year fellowships, which provide the students with funding for... read more
According to researchers at UMD existing AI text-detectors are susceptible to errors that comprise their efficiency at the most crucial of moments
The explosion of open-sourced artificial intelligence (AI) tools that use deep learning techniques to generate text, also known as large language models, has raised alarms with government officials, content creators and educators in light of how easy the technology can be abused for plagiarism, deception and misinformation. A number of AI detectors have been released in response to these concerns, but none of them are sufficiently reliable in practical scenarios, says Soheil Feizi, an associate professor of computer science with a joint appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for... read more
UMD Computer Science Alum Kelsey Fulton Wins 2023 John Karat Award at the 19th Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security
A recent alum from the Department of Computer Science at UMD has been honored with the 2023 John Karat Usable Privacy and Security Student Research Award for their strong leadership and contributions to the field. Kelsey Fulton , who graduated earlier this year with their Ph.D. in computer science, was presented with the award at the 19th Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS) in Anaheim, California. The event brings together interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners in human-computer interaction, security and privacy. The award is given in honor of John Karat’s contributions... read more
UMD Alum and NASA Chief Scientist Kate Calvin Named IPCC Climate Change Co-Chair
Dr. Kate Calvin, UMD alum (B.S. '03, mathematics; B.S. '03, computer science), NASA ’s chief scientist and senior climate advisor, was recently selected as co-chair of a working group on climate change mitigation at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) , the United Nations body responsible for assessing the science related to climate change. Previously, Calvin has contributed to five reports by the IPCC. NASA scientists and researchers have also contributed to previous IPCC assessment reports, and NASA released a sea level projection tool which incorporates sea level... read more
Professor Goldstein Delves into Benefits and Drawbacks of Open-Source Language Models Amid Intensifying Industry Competition
There’s a new large language model in town that threatens to out-open OpenAI’s ChatGPT. LLaMa 2, from Facebook's parent company Meta, has capabilities roughly in line with big-name competitors. However, it’s also open source, meaning the model’s source code is available for anyone to study or build upon for free. OpenAI, Google and many other artificial intelligence innovators have opted to keep their latest models proprietary. A more open approach has obvious benefits for research and enterprise but can also be advantageous for the companies that put these tools out. Tom Goldstein , a... read more
The paper titled "A Watermark for Large Language Models," stood out as one of only six outstanding papers from 1,865 accepted papers at the International Conference on Machine Learning 2023.
The University of Maryland (UMD) showcased its strong and notable presence at the prestigious 40th International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML 2023) held in Honolulu, Hawaii from July 23 to 29, with a strong focus on machine learning research. UMD was well-represented by a diverse group of researchers, including faculty members, postdocs, and students, who collectively presented an impressive total of 24 papers and actively participated in 30 workshops. Among the standout contributions from UMD researchers was the paper titled " A Watermark for Large Language Models ," which received... read more
Startup Lingo AI transforms content creation through multilingual reach
In the fast-paced realm of content creation, University of Maryland alums Ian Costello (B.S. '22, computer science; B.S. '22, mathematics) and Pranav Shikarpur (B.S. ’23, computer science and mathematics) emerged as a lifeline to influencers with their innovative startup Lingo AI . Armed with a passion for technology and a vision to break language barriers, Costello and Shikarpur harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to propel content creators to new heights. Lingo AI's innovative video translation platform equips social media influencers with the tools they need to expand their... read more
Computer science major Oliver D'Esposito envisions a future where every lab is equipped with efficient power management systems, contributing to a significant reduction in energy waste
In a world increasingly focused on sustainable practices, University of Maryland student entrepreneurs are determined to make a difference with their startup Sustainabli. Oliver D'Esposito , a computer science major in the Gemstone program in the Honors College and the lead engineer at Sustainabli, is on a mission to transform research labs into greener and more environmentally conscious spaces. Through technology his team developed, lab administrators can now effectively manage and account for power usage, helping research institutions like UMD reach their sustainability goals. D'Esposito... read more
The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences is looking for student panelists who are actively involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, research or work. Panelists must be UMD undergraduate students. Involvement in DEI can look an number of ways: ● experience and involvement in student organizations that focus on DEI or have DEI initiatives ● DEI exploration through your major(s) or minor(s) ● DEI research with faculty or staff at UMD ● active participation in DEI opportunities provided by your academic college or department ● experience educating UMD community... read more