January 9, 2023

Left to right, from top: James Allen, Marvin Doyley, Ehsan Hoque, Jiebo Luo, Benjamin Miller, and Srinivasan Parthasarathy.

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

Happy New Year and welcome back for the spring semester!

We have lots of exciting awards to announce.

James Allen, emeritus professor of computer science and an internationally renowned AI researcher, has been named a fellow of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) for his “significant contributions to natural language dialogue research, planning and plan recognition.”
Marvin Doyley, the Wilson Professor of Electronic Imaging and chair of electrical and computer engineering, has been named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) for his advancement of novel imaging techniques to detect and track diseases, including ultrasound elastography using inverse methods.
Computer science alumnus Srinivasan Parthasarathy ‘96(MS) ’99(PhD) has also been named a fellow of IEEE for contributions to high performance data mining and network analysis. He is a professor of computer science and engineering and of biomedical informatics at Ohio State University.
Ehsan Hoque, an associate professor of computer science who works in the intersection between artificial intelligence (AI) and human-centered computing (HCC), has been named a Distinguished Member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for his outstanding scientific contributions to computing.
Jiebo Luo, the Albert Arendt Hopeman Professor of Engineering and a professor of computer science, has been selected as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). A leading expert in artificial intelligence, Jiebo conducts research in multimedia and computer vision that includes investigating computational inference of sentiment and emotion in images and multimedia and also bridging images and video with language. Jiebo has been issued 95 US patents.
Benjamin Miller, the Dean’s Professor of Dermatology who also holds appointments in biomedical engineering, optics, and materials science, has also been selected as a fellow of the NAI. Ben is a pioneer in developing compact chips and biosensors for disease detection and personalized medicine. His name appears on 30 issued US and international patents and 23 patents pending.

Learn more about their awards.

AN EXTRAORDINARY COLLEAGUE

Left to right, Beth Olivares, James Alkins, and Danielle Daniels.

Jim Alkins, manager of the Fabrication Shop in Rettner Hall, was among the faculty and staff who received awards from the David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity for their outstanding support of the center and its first generation, low income, and underrepresented minority students. Jim, who received an Extraordinary Colleague Award, was recognized for hosting courses for pre-college students, and helping them build devices for projects.

“Words are not adequate to explain how important Jim’s actions are to making an inclusive environment for Kearns Center pre-college students on campus . . . he provides a space for students to satisfy their curiosity, explore new things, make mistakes and then welcomes them back to do it again!” says Danielle Daniels, director of diversity in STEM.

STUDENT AWARDS

Left to right, top to bottom: Adira Blumenthal, Danielle Getz, Sizhe Li, Draco Xu, and Quinn Yu.

Congratulations to three students from the Department of Computer Science who were recognized through the Computing Research Association’s (CRA) Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award program for 2023. The program recognizes undergraduate students in North American colleges and universities who show outstanding potential in an area of computing research. Sizhe Li was selected as a finalist, while Adira Blumenthal and Draco Xu each received an honorable mention.

Congratulations as well to seniors Danielle Getz and Quinn Yu in the Department of Chemical Engineering for winning the Fall 2022 Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Award. The award recognizes undergraduate students whose service as teaching assistants in a chemical engineering course has been outstanding during that semester.

FACULTY: LEARN ABOUT ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot with a simple interface that can generate written responses to a variety of prompts. It has garnered significant attention during its period of free access, and it is already being used by students and instructors in higher education.

A workshop, offered twice, will provide faculty members a brief look at ChatGPT, explore some relevant teaching and learning principles, and devote the majority of the time to Q&A. Sponsored by the Teaching Center, Academic Honesty, Computer Science, Philosophy, River Campus Libraries, and the Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program. Register here for 3-4 pm on Tuesday, January 17. Register here for 3-4 pm on Wednesday, January 18.

REMINDER: ART OF SCIENCE!

Winning Art of Science submissions from recent years.

Currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to enter submissions through March 19 for our annual Art of Science Competition. You can use this online form to submit photographs, illustrations, visualizations, renderings, or posters showing an artistic representation of science, technology, engineering, math, and sustainability themes. Creativity and uniqueness are favored in the judging, as well as the ability of artists to convey the meaning of their work in terms understandable to a general audience.

Entries should be high resolution jpegs (300 dpi, at least 3,000 pixels wide on the longest edge). Cash prizes of $1,000, $500, and $250 will be awarded to winning student entries. All entries will be eligible for a People’s Choice Award of $250. For inquiries, contact Michelle Dunn and the Art of Science team at artofsciencecontest@gmail.com.

Click here to learn about last year’s winning entries.

RESEARCH UPDATES

The Office of the Vice President for Research will host a webinar tomorrow, January 10, from 3 to 4 p.m. EST to present and answer questions on the new NIH data management and sharing policy taking effect January 25. Representatives from the Office of Research and Project Administration, the Office for Human Subject Protection, the University Libraries including both the River Campus Libraries and the Edward G. Miner Library, and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, will provide a brief overview of the new policy, how it will affect research, how to write and budget for a data management and sharing plan, and resources available at the institution to help with compliance. Register here.

Reminder: The request for proposals and online application for University Research Awards are now available. The award provides seed money on a competitive basis for innovative research projects. Funding is awarded to recipients who demonstrate projects that are likely to attract external support. Applications for planning grants are also encouraged. Applications must be received by 11:59 pm EST on January 31.

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman