New app would monitor mental health through “selfie” videos, social media
In a paper to be presented this week at the American Association for Artificial Intelligence conference in Austin, Texas, computer science professor Jiebo Luo and his colleagues describe a computer program that can analyze “selfie” videos recorded by a webcam as the person engages with social media.
(en)Gendered exhibit marks tenth anniversary
For ten years, this annual competition has showcased the artwork of undergraduate students exploring ideas of gender and sexuality. From January 23 through February 27, an exhibition in Rush Rhees Library features the 2015 jury’s top selections.
Gigantic ring system around J1407b much larger, heavier than Saturn’s
Rochester astronomers, along with colleagues at the Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands have discovered that the ring system that they see eclipse the very young Sun-like star J1407 is of enormous proportions, much larger and heavier than the ring system of Saturn.
Daniel Weix to receive a Novartis Early Career Award
Novartis, a multi-national pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland, honors two scientists each year who are “within 10 years of having established an independent academic research career in the areas of organic or bioorganic chemistry in the broadest sense.” The Novartis Early Career Award comes with a $150,000 grant over three years to continue the recipient’s research.
A tribute to the Rolling Stones: celebrating 50 years of Satisfaction
The Institute for Popular Music (IPM) celebrates the 50th year of the Rolling Stone’s breakthrough hit, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” with a special concert January 24. This musical tribute coincides with the launch of a free online course on “The Music of The Rolling Stones.”
Researchers show neutrinos can deliver not only full-on hits but also ‘glancing blows’
In what they call a “weird little corner” of the already weird world of neutrinos, physicists have found evidence that these tiny particles might be involved in a surprising reaction. In an experiment conducted with the international MINERvA collaboration at Fermilab, physics professor Kevin McFarland and his students and colleagues provide evidence that neutrinos can sometimes interact with a nucleus but leave it basically untouched, resulting in a new particle being created out of a vacuum.
Researchers explain how our minds make sense through order
Rochester scientists say they have an alternative to the standard explanation for why order matters when the human mind processes information. Ting Qian and Richard Aslin explain that our tendency to detect patterns is built into our cognitive processes, even when it’s at the risk of overestimating the importance of such patterns. (photo by Flickr user redwoodphotography made available under CC BY-ND 2.0)
Digital Humanities Project turns a lens on prewar Japan
For the last 15 years, professor Joanne Bernardi has collected more than 1,100 postcards, film prints, brochures and other visual representations of early 20th century Japan. But how can this collection continue to grow while allowing other scholars to register and contribute content? Enter the Digital Humanities Center.
New imaging technique helps predict how vision recovers after brain tumor removal
An interdisciplinary team of University neuroscientists and neurosurgeons has used a new imaging technique to show how the human brain heals itself in just a few weeks following surgical removal of a brain tumor.
Allan Greenleaf named a fellow of American Mathematical Society
The AMS awards fellowships to recognize “members who have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication, and utilization of mathematics.” Greenleaf is being singled out for his “contributions to inverse problems with applications to cloaking, as well as for service to AMS.”