Recent News & Accomplishments
2022
Targeted online advertising is now ubiquitous, with search engines and online social networks using powerful targeting technologies so that advertisers can deliver their sales pitch to specific end-users. While these technologies can help users see more relevant ads, they also raise privacy and equity concerns, with targeted ads often impacting employment, housing and credit opportunities that online users see. With funding from the National Science Foundation, a University of Maryland expert in cybersecurity and human-computer interaction is part of a multi-institutional team exploring this... read more
With today’s technology, it’s easier than ever to communicate, accomplish tasks, and work remotely. Yet this over-reliance on computers and smartphones can also have negative effects—contributing to information overload, social media addictions, and mental health issues. A new faculty member at the University of Maryland studies the relationship between technology and health, and how digital and physical tools can sustain and improve our well-being. Pablo E. Paredes Castro, who joined UMD this semester as an assistant professor of computer science, says his research is focused on the... read more
In 2021, when Jade LeSchack was a high school senior imagining herself at potential colleges, she was already entranced by physics—quantum physics in particular. After taking high school physics classes and an online course on quantum computing, she wanted to explore the world of physics more fully. “I loved that in class we talked about a lot of different topics that were not just mechanics related,” LeSchack said. “We were talking about waves, quantum mechanics a little bit here and there, about sound and things like that. That's where I really found a love for physics. And then taking the... read more
The department also ranks in the top 10 among the country’s public universities in five computer science specialties.
The University of Maryland’s computer science program ranks 8th among the country’s public undergraduate programs in the 2023 edition of U.S. News & World Report ’s “Best Colleges.” The program ranks 16th overall, climbing two spots this year. UMD also ranks in the Top 20 in five computer science specialties: Game Development: #4 public, #9 overall Cybersecurity : #5 public, #9 overall Artificial Intelligence : #8 public, #16 overall Software Engineering: #10 public, #13 overall UMD’s computer science graduate program ranks 17th in the nation according to the latest list from U.S. News... read more
On Wednesday, August 24, the department hosted its annual Orientation Day to welcome its Fall 2022 cohort of graduate students. The event was attended by more than 60 incoming PhD students and 20 new Master of Science students. Professor Matthias Zwicker , the Department Chair, welcomed the new students to UMD, and Professor Ramani Duraiswami , the Associate Chair for Graduate Education, provided the students with an overview of the graduate education program. Staff from the department and UMIACS introduced the incoming students to the logistics of using IT facilities, payroll, and other... read more
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