Recent News & Accomplishments
2024
For almost four decades, a powerful data center in the A.V. Williams Building has been an essential part of the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), supporting the institute’s mission of incentivizing cutting-edge research and staying at the forefront of technological innovation. As the institute’s research portfolio continues to expand, the infrastructure needed to support it—particularly in compute-heavy areas like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning—also needs to grow. In April, UMIACS data center staff began coordinating a three-month... read more
A well-designed building is more than just a structure—it’s also a catalyst for collaboration, fostering a dynamic environment where people come together to brainstorm ideas and create new technologies. The Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering is exactly such a place. Launched five years ago this month, the 215,000 square foot structure is home to the Department of Computer Science and the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS). A visit to the ground floor of Iribe offers multiple experiences. Computer science is the largest major on... read more
Computer science graduate student Sadia Nourin (B.S. ’23, computer science; B.S. ’23, finance) is among nine current students and recent alumni of the University of Maryland’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences who have been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. This fellowship honors outstanding graduate students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Across the university, 22 current students and recent alums were among the 2024 fellowship winners announced by the NSF. The college’s nine... read more
Pooja Guhan and Kyungyeon Lee receive the fellowship that will support their research activities.
The University of Maryland’s Graduate School has announced Department of Computer Science graduate students Pooja Guhan and Kyungyeon Lee as recipients of this year’s Summer Research Fellowship , an award designed to bolster doctoral students' research endeavors during the summer. Each student will receive a $5,000 stipend to support their projects, underscoring the university’s commitment to fostering academic research and innovation. The fellowship aims to advance doctoral students' progress toward their degrees. The research focuses of the awardees are: Pooja Guhan Pooja Guhan is a Ph.D... read more
Millions of people use language translation tools daily, even if the technology—known as machine translation—is sometimes unreliable and prone to errors. While garbled translations may seem like nothing more than a minor inconvenience at times, in high-stakes settings like a hospital emergency room, an incorrect translation for discharge instructions or medication protocols could have life-threatening consequences. Researchers from the University of Maryland’s Computational Linguistics and Information Processing (CLIP) Lab looked into this problem, studying data collected from English-to-... read more
Khandelwal aims to harness AI to humanize customer support interactions.
Reaching out to customer support has often been a test of patience, marked by daunting wait times and encounters with automated systems that feel more like hurdles than helpers. Now, imagine dialing customer support and, instead of bracing for a lengthy wait, being immediately greeted by an AI bot. Not just any bot, but one that understands your query precisely and offers solutions within seconds. This scenario isn’t a glimpse into a distant future but the present reality brought to life by SynTag , a pioneering student startup from the University of Maryland’s Department of Computer Science... read more
In a Q&A session at this year's AAAS Annual Meeting, Hal Daumé III spoke about AI's role in society.
The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) supported three scientific sessions at this year’s AAAS Annual Conference and a highlight of the event was the Q&A portion of the session, “Large Language Models: Helpful Assistants, Romantic Partners or Con Artists?” This panel, moderated by Professor Maria Gini , CCC Council Member and Computer Science & Engineering professor at the University of Minnesota, featured Managing Director of AI Frontiers at Microsoft Research Ece Kamar , University of Maryland Computer Science Professor Hal Daumé III and University of Southern California Professor... read more
University of Maryland Computer Science Professor Rance Cleaveland passed away on March 27, 2024. He was also associate dean for research in the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) and held joint appointments in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies and the Institute for Systems Research . Cleaveland joined UMD in 2005 and served as executive and scientific director of the Fraunhofer Center for Experimental Software Engineering from 2005 to 2014. From 2018 to 2022, he worked as director of the Division of Computing and Communication... read more
Formerly a psychology major, Addeh became a user researcher and UX team facilitator at Cambio Labs after an unexpected class redefined her academic and professional journey.
On weekends, University of Maryland alum Ogue Addeh (B.S. '16, psychology; B.S. '16, computer science) can be found gracefully moving to the rhythms of salsa, bachata and swing. But come Monday, Addeh's dance floor becomes a digital landscape where she combines her passion for psychology with the world of computer science. Addeh is a user researcher and UX team facilitator at Cambio Labs . However, her journey into the tech space was less conventional than most of her peers. Initially enrolled as a psychology major at UMD, an out-of-the-ordinary course redefined her academic and professional... read more
Katz shared insights into why these new security measures are needed and what to expect in the future.
Apple recently announced new security measures for its iMessage app that is used by more than a billion people worldwide. In unveiling its PQ3 post-quantum cryptographic protocol , Apple said it is taking action now—while quantum computing is still in its nascent stage—to prevent hackers from collecting current iMessage data, and then using that information in the future when quantum computers are more readily available. In the security world, this scenario is known as Harvest Now, Decrypt Later. We sat down with Jonathan Katz , a University of Maryland expert on quantum-secure cryptography,... read more