Childs Leads New Quantum Leap Challenge Institute

Andrew Childs is principal investigator and director of a new institute focused on robust quantum simulation that is supported by a $25M award from NSF. MORE
UMIACS Announces Eight
New Faculty Appointments

Three faculty members began their appointments on July 1 and five more will start in 2022. MORE
Quantum Error Correction Theorist Returns to Maryland

After three decades of research, Daniel Gottesman returns to Maryland as a QuICS Fellow. MORE
How Tech Can Fill Gaps in Mental Health Care

Philip Resnik and John Dickerson are part of a $1.2M NSF award to address the "clinical white space" in mental health care. MORE
Roy Receives $150K NSF Award to Expand Wi-Fi in Local Parks

Nirupam Roy is leading the expansion of Wi-Fi infrastructure at parks in Montgomery and Prince George's counties. MORE
Fox5 Features Varshney's Research on Cybersickness

The D.C. affiliate interviewed Dean Amitabh Varshney on his study that links brainwaves to cybersickness in virtual reality. MORE
VOA Highlights Aloimonos and His Robotics Research

Yiannis Aloimonos and his Perception and Robotics Group were interviewed by Voice of America for developing small, autonomous drones. MORE
Alexander Studies Changes in Mammals’ Sleep Cycles
The CBCB doctoral student is investigating a specific type of neuronal cell that syncs mammals' circadian rhythm to the sun. MORE
Khan Wins Outstanding Paper Award for New Algorithm
The CBCB doctoral student developed an algorithm that builds the compacted de Bruijn graph for 100 human genomes two-and-a-half times faster while using less than a quarter of memory compared to other tools. MORE
Weaponizing Middleboxes for Large-Scale DDoS Attacks
Dave Levin and his students uncovered a new type of cyberattack used for internet censorship. Their study is one of seven that won a Distinguished Paper Award at the 2021 USENIX symposium. MORE
Mazurek Studies the Digital Safety of Sex Workers
Michelle Mazurek and her team examined how sex workers conceptualize and manage their digital safety. The study is one of seven that won a Distinguished Paper Award at the 2021 USENIX symposium. MORE
This Algorithm Lets You Walk Naturally in Virtual Reality
Niall Luke Williams—a graduate student in the GAMMA lab—is developing a novel algorithm that redirects VR users to avoid collisions with physical objects. MORE
Two CLIP Graduate Students Selected as CI Fellows
Funded by NSF, the Computing Innovation Fellows program supports graduates whose job search was hampered by COVID-19. MORE
How Can We Make Artificial Intelligence Safe? Independent Audits, says Shneiderman
His team proposes independent auditing methods as a mechanism to enable reliable, safe and trustworthy AI systems. MORE
Two Postdocs Join Maryland Cybersecurity Center
Ethan Cecchetti and Nathan Malkin are coming to MC2 with expertise in secure software development and usable security. MORE
Srinivasan Wins Distinguished Career Award from Washington Academy of Sciences
It's the organization’s highest honor, acknowledging scientists and scholars who have significantly impacted their fields of study. MORE
New Approach to Information Transfer Reaches Quantum Speed Limit
QuICS Fellow Alexey Gorshkov's quantum protocol provides new insight into designing optimal quantum algorithms. MORE
Director's Message

As we start the new semester, there is quite a bit of good news to share. Unfortunately, there are also words of caution as we continue to navigate the ongoing threat of COVID-19. MORE
Previous issues of UMIACS Interface can be read here.
Contact the Managing Editor Maria Herd at mherd@umd.edu to submit a story idea.