News

Making Mobile Devices, Cellular Networks More Secure

<p>ATLANTA – November 10 2009 – Patrick Traynor and Jonathon Giffin, also an assistant professor in the School of Computer Science, recently received a three-year $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop tools that improve the security of mobile devices and the telecommunications networks on which they operate. These Georgia Tech faculty, together with a team of graduate students, are developing methods of identifying and remotely repairing mobile devices that may be infected with viruses or other malware. <i>Source: Office of Communications</i></p>

Randall Delivers AMS Lecture at NSC's Fort Discovery

<p>Professor Dana Randall of Computer Science delivered the American Mathematical Society's 2009 Arnold Ross Lecture, "Domino Tilings of the Chessboard: An Introduction to Sampling and Counting," Oct. 29 at the National Science Center's Fort Discovery in Augusta, Ga. Following her lecture, many high school students in attendance tested their math knowledge with a mock game show, "Who Wants to Be a Mathematician?" that paid out real cash prizes. <i>Source: AMS.org</i><br /></p>

Brubaker Nominated For ACM Ph.D. Award

<p>Charlie Brubaker, an August 2009 Ph.D. graduate in Computer Science, has won the College of Computing Doctoral Dissertation Award for his thesis, “Extensions of Principal Component Analysis,” and the College has voted to recommend the work for the ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award, which each year recognizes the best CS dissertation in the country. <i>Source: Office of Communications</i><br /></p>

IT Pros Head to the Classroom

<p>With a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the College of Computing has launched "Operation Reboot." The program pairs a laid-off IT professional with an existing high school teacher for at least one year, allowing the IT professional to learn the ins and outs of a classroom, and the teacher to get an education in IT. "We will transform these IT workers' identity into that of a computing teacher," said Barbara Ericson, director of computer-science outreach for the College. <i>Source: Computerworld</i><br /></p>

Biros Paper Earns Viewpoint on Physics Site

<p>A paper coauthored by Associate Professor George Biros (CSE) has been highlighted with a "Viewpoint" commentary on the American Physical Society website. The site selects certain papers published in the journals <i>Physics </i>and<i> Physical Letters</i>, and publishes Viewpoint pieces to explain the paper's impact to a wider audience. Biros' paper, "Why Do Red Blood Cells Have Asymmetric Shapes Even In a Symmetric Flow," was published in <i>Physics </i>in October. <i>Source: APS.org</i><br /></p>

Arkin, Conte Elected to IEEE Boards

<p>College of Computing professors Ron Arkin and Tom Conte have been elected to three-year terms on the Boards of Governors for two IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) societies. Arkin will serve on the board for the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT), and Conte was elected to the board of the IEEE Computer Society. <i>Source: Office of Communications</i><br /></p>

Tech's New (Augmented) Reality

<p>In many tech circles, augmented reality is the Next Big Thing. But for AR apps to move beyond "cute" and start living up to the hype, they need to ramp up their scale, says Associate Professor Blair MacIntyre of Interactive Computing. He envisions a world where all available AR information can be accessed through a single application. <i>Source: Montreal Gazette</i></p>

HP, NVidia Team Up In GT HPC Project

<p>Hewlett-Packard and NVidia are providing key technologies in the $12 million, NSF-funded project to deploy experimental high-performance computing systems that's being led by Jeffrey Vetter, joint professor in Computational Science &amp; Engineering and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. <i>Source: eWeek.com</i><br /></p>

GT Gets $12M To Build Supercomputer

<p>A $12 million NSF grant will help Georgia Tech turbocharge its research capabilities involving high-performance computing. "Our goal is to develop and deploy a novel, next-generation system for the computational science community," said Jeffrey Vetter, joint professor in Computational Science &amp; Engineering and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Vetter is the lead investigator for the grant, which also involves the University of Tennessee and corporate partners Hewlett-Packard and NVidia. <i>Source: Atlanta Business Chronicle</i><br /></p>

Georgia Tech Team Secures NSF Track 2 Award to Develop Future Generation High Performance Computing System

<p>ATLANTA – October 21 2009 – The Georgia Institute of Technology today announced its receipt of a five-year, $12 million Track 2 award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Office of Cyberinfrastructure to lead a partnership of academic, industry and government experts in the development and deployment of an innovative and experimental high-performance computing (HPC) system. <i>Source: Office of Communications</i></p>

The Mathematics of Passion

<p>In the October 2009 issue of Verge, an arts and events magazine in Augusta, Ga., Professor Dana Randall of Computer Science says she wants to change the perception of mathematics. Far from simply crunching numbers, Randall talks about her work as solving--even "study[ing] the aesthetics" of--patterns and puzzles. On Oct. 29 in Augusta's Fort Discovery, she will deliver the American Mathematical Society's annual Arnold Ross Lecture, titled "Domino Tilings of the Chessboard: An Introduction to Sampling and Counting." <i>Source: Verge Magazine</i></p>

Hot New Musical Instrument: Your Phone

<p>Cool new apps that turn an iPhone into a guitar, synthesizer, drums or all of the above might inject some life into the music industry by engaging more people in music. At least, that's the hope of Gil Weinberg, director of the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology and adjunct professor in the College of Computing. <i>Source: CNN.com</i><br /></p>

Beware of Phishing Scams

<p>After a recent phishing scam left thousands of Hotmail account holders' passwords vulnerable, Assistant Professor Jon Giffin of Computer Science says the first thing people who have Hotmail, Google, Yahoo! or other Web email accounts should do is change their passwords. <i>Source: WAGA-TV</i><br /></p>

GT Expands Computer Science Recruiting Program

<p>Now that the National Science Foundation has awarded Georgia Computes! an additional $1.4 million to extend the program for two years, its directors in the College of Computing say the program's next phase will expand its teacher-education efforts in computer science. <i>Source: AJC.com</i><br /></p>

Another Use For Your Phone: Augmented Reality

<p>Computer-enhanced views of the world are not just available to cyborgs in science-fiction movies. Increasingly they can be found on cell phones, for free or on the cheap, through augmented reality applications that take advantage of the phones' GPS and compass features and access to high-speed wireless networks to mash up super-local Web content with the world that surrounds you. Associate Professor Blair MacIntyre of the Augmented Environments lab hopes the AR reality can live up to the hype. <i>Source: Associated Press</i><br /></p>

Computing Surge in Georgia

<p>One sign of a successful pilot program is when it gets extended beyond its initial timeframe. Another is when it gets additional funding. A third is when it inspires copycats. Georgia Computes!, led since 2006 by the College of Computing, is meeting all criteria. <i>Source: Inside Higher Ed</i><br /></p>

Georgia Tech Broadens, Diversifies Computing Education

<p>ATLANTA (October 6, 2009) — Georgia Computes!, a statewide program aimed at expanding the pipeline of computer science students and teachers at all education levels in Georgia, received a $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to extend the program for two more years. <i>Source: Office of Communications</i></p>

New Technology Tracks Movement On the Ground

<p>What if you could take Google Earth, combine it with the many cameras out there watching us, and end up with a technology that lets you watch live movement from above? Traffic, football games, what’s going on at the park… all at your fingertips, thanks to a project led by Ph.D. student Kihwan Kim and Professor Irfan Essa of the College of Computing. But is it cool? Or Big Brother? <i>Source: CNN.com</i><br /></p>

A Simpler, Gentler Robotic Grip

<p>Researchers at Harvard and Yale have developed a robotic hand that can grasp delicate objects while relying on a minimal number of sensors and a simple algorithm. "It will make things work better, without having to have a lot of sensing and computation," says Adjunct Assistant Professor Charlie Kemp of Interactive Computing. "That's exactly the type of thing we want right now, because we want robots in human environments." <i>Source: TechnologyReview.com</i></p>

Live Video Makes Google Earth Cities Bustle

<p>Virtual globes such as Google Earth or Microsoft Visual Earth provide great bird's-eye views of urban landscapes. But those streets are empty, transforming the world's cities into ghost towns. Now a system, designed by a team led by Ph.D. student Kihwan Kim and Professor Irfan Essa of the College of Computing, can change that by drawing on real-time video from traffic and surveillance cameras, or weather sensors. It populates virtual towns with cars, people and realistic skies. <i>Source: NewScientist.com</i><br /></p>