Founders of Coding Club for Kids in Homeless Shelters Grateful for UCI’s Support

While volunteering at local homeless shelters, University High School students Katherine McPhie and Milan Narula witnessed the struggles of poverty firsthand. Yet they didn’t just feel sorry for the children they met; they found a way to empower them. In part by applying knowledge gained through UCI programs and leveraging UCI student volunteers, they have built a service to help prepare these children for future success.

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CPRI Hosts Workforce 2020 Panel Discussion and Networking Reception for ICS 90 Students

The Cybersecurity Policy & Research Institute (CPRI) introduced students to the opportunities and realities of working in cybersecurity by hosting a private panel discussion during ICS 90 — the seminar class for new students in UCI’s Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS). For the Nov. 14 seminar, Informatics Professor Hadar Ziv handed the course over to CPRI Executive Director Bryan Cunningham, who moderated the Cybersecurity Workforce 2020 discussion featuring cybersecurity leaders from three Orange County companies. Even students not interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity might have reconsidered after Cunningham mentioned projections for the field. “In about three years,” he said, “there will be 500,000 open jobs in cybersecurity just in the United States.”

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Professor Franz Honored with Humboldt Research Award

Chancellor’s Professor of Computer Science Michael Franz has been named a recipient of the 2019 Humboldt Research Award, also known as the “Humboldt Prize.”

The award, given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany and funded by the German federal government, recognizes renowned researchers outside of Germany whose “fundamental discoveries, new theories or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future.”

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Multidepartmental Collaboration on Detecting Code Clones Leads to Distinguished Paper Award

Faculty and graduate students representing all three departments of the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS) received a Distinguished Paper Award at the 26th ACM Joint European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering (ESEC/FSE 18). At the internationally renowned forum for software engineering researchers, practitioners and educators, software engineering Ph.D. students Vaibhav Saini and Farima Farmahinifarahani, along with their adviser, Informatics Professor Crista Lopes, and statistics Ph.D. student Yadong Lu and his advisor, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science Pierre Baldi, were recognized for their paper, “Oreo: Detection of Clones in the Twilight Zone.”

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UCI Feels Like Home for Navy Veteran and Computer Science Major Timothy Tomas

UCI’s Veteran Services Center (VSC) aims to provide veterans with the “world-class benefits and services they have earned — and to do so by adhering to the highest standards of compassion, commitment, excellence, professionalism, integrity, accountability, and stewardship.” According to VSC director Adelí Durón, who works to support UCI’s 167 veteran students (including both active duty and reservists) and their families, 33 veterans are in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS).

One such veteran is computer science major Timothy Tomas, who served in the United States Navy as a Fire Controlman for close to six years, traveling all over the East Pacific Region. “I worked on the ships’ self-defense system networks, along with other top-secret equipment that helped our fleet carry out missions through our deployments.”

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Professor Levorato’s DARPA Project Aims to Strengthen Autonomous Drone Systems

Back in January, a swarm of drones carrying explosives attacked a Russian base in Syria. The Russians thwarted the attack by firing anti-aircraft missiles, but as Associate Professor of Computer Science Marco Levorato points out, “sending million-dollar missiles to attack cheap drones” isn’t a very cost-effective strategy. “That was part of the motivation behind HYDRA,” he explains, referring to the system he aims to develop with USC Professor Bhaskar Krishnamachari for their new DARPA grant.

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Multidisciplinary Collaborators Awarded $2.1M to Improve Maternal Care in Underserved Communities

Computer Science Professors Nikil Dutt and Marco Levorato, together with Yuqing Guo, a professor in the Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing, have just embarked on a four-year, multidisciplinary journey. The trio will explore the intersection of technology and healthcare in a community-focused setting with their $2.1 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, “UNITE: Smart, Connected, and Coordinated Maternal Care for Underserved Communities.” Joining them in this collaborative effort is Amir Rahmani, a Marie Curie Global Fellow; Stephanie Reich from the School of Education; and Margaret Schneider from the School of Social Ecology. Partnering with a number of nonprofits, most notably MOMS Orange County (MOMS OC), the UCI team aims to use technology to help underserved expectant mothers better monitor their health.

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Distinguished Professor Alex Nicolau Elected into Academia Europaea

Alex NicolauDepartment Chair and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science Alex Nicolau has been elected into the Academia Europaea, Europe’s academy of humanities, letters and sciences. Founded in 1988, the academy comprises esteemed scientists and scholars who collectively aim to promote learning, education and research. Nominated by their peers, members are selected after a rigorous review process that is based on sustained academic excellence in their field. AE members include 73 Nobel Laureates and six Turing winners.

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