In the News
Carnegie Mellon's David Brumley Receives Prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Cybersecurity Research
Carnegie Mellon University professor David Brumley has won a U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for his work on cybersecurity research. PECASE is the highest honor the government bestows on young scientists and engineers and was created to recognize strong leaders at the frontiers of knowledge early in their careers. The government recognized Brumley for his "innovation and vital research on malware [malicious software] analysis and for strong educational and outreach activities." "David Brumley has already made significant contributions in the area of computer malware and is clearly an emerging leader in the field of cybersecurity, both in terms of his research and educational contributions," says Ed Schlesinger with Carnegie Mellon's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. To read further, please visit http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2011/september/sept26_davidbrumley.html.
Research Feature
Carnegie Mellon, Disney Work to Improve Eye Blink Animation
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Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Disney are developing technology that brings animation closer to reality by modeling accurate eye blinks. The researchers found that during a blink, human eyelids go down quickly, while opening back up more slowly. This small detail is very important for animators trying to make movies look as real as possible. In a recent study, participants were asked to view 300 different types of blink animations and rate them on their realness. All of the participants rated the blinks resembling real data significantly higher than those with simple, symmetric algorithms. The researchers used tracking software to analyze human eye motions, generating a data set that described the motions that could be fed into a matrix. Principal component analysis, a way to highlight the important features of arbitrary input information, was then applied to the old data to generate new types of realistic blinking motions. To read further, please visit http://thetartan.org/2011/9/26/scitech/blinking.
University of Texas at Austin Researchers Develop Optimal Algorithm for Determining Focus Error in Eyes and Cameras
Information from an individual image can be extracted and used to determine how far objects are from the focus distance, according to researchers from the University of Texas at Austin. The team has used its research to develop a statistical algorithm that can determine focus error, and how much a lens needs to be refocused to make the image sharp, from a single image without trial and error. The study should help lead to a better understanding of human depth perception. "Our results could also improve auto-focusing in digital cameras," says study author Johannes Burge. "We used basic optical modeling and well-understood statistics to show that there is information lurking in images that cameras have yet to tap." To read further, please visit http://www.utexas.edu/news/2011/09/26/focus_error_algorithm/.
Purdue University’s New 'FeTRAM' Is Promising Computer Memory Technology
Purdue University researchers have developed FeTRAM, a type of computer memory that could be faster than conventional commercial memory and use far less power than flash memory devices. FeTRAM technology combines silicon nanowires with a ferroelectric polymer that could lead to a new type of ferroelectric transistor, which has a changing polarity that is read as zero or one and can be used to encode information in a binary system consisting of a sequence of ones and zeroes. "We've developed the theory and done the experiment and also showed how it works in a circuit," says Purdue doctoral student Saptarshi Das. The FeTRAM technology offers nonvolatile storage capability and has the potential to use 99 percent less energy than flash memory. To read further, please visit http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2011/110926AppenzellerMemory.html.
Rice University’s Low-Cost Electronic Tablet Proves Worth in Indian Classroom
Researchers at Rice and Nanyang Technological universities, working at the Institute for Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (ISAID), are preparing for full-scale production of the low-cost I-slate electronic tablet. The I-slate, an electronic version of the handheld blackboard slates used by millions of Indian children, will eventually be solar-powered for use in classrooms that lack electricity. It is expected to cost less than $50. "Our study clearly shows the I-slate is an effective learning tool for all students, regardless of their learning ability," says ISAID director Krishna Palem. "The first production I-slates will be pre-loaded with lessons for mathematics, science, and social studies." The researchers worked with India's Villages for Development and Learning Foundation to test the I-slate last summer. The ISAID analyzed each student's performance and improvement, and tests and surveys confirmed the I-slate was effective and provided the researchers with valuable information needed to finalize the I-slate's design, according to Palem. The hardware and graphic content will rely on a new low-power computer chip, which will cut the power requirements for the I-slate in half and allow the device to run on solar power from panels similar to those found on handheld calculators. To read further, please visit http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=16258&SnID=1142525090.
UC Berkeley Students Building Satellite That's Seen as Future of Space Research
University of California, Berkeley students and researchers are developing CubeSat for Ions, Neutrals, Electrons & MAgnetic fields (CINEMA), a small satellite that could be launched into space next June. CINEMA is being designed to spend a year in orbit, using new miniature instruments to measure ions, electrons, and neutral particles, and a magnetometer to measure currents generated during electrical storms. "This is probably the most complicated CubeSat anyone has ever fabricated," says Berkeley researcher Thomas Immel. CubeSat technology is based on miniaturization and standardization, and represents a breakthrough in affordable space science. CubeSats can be loaded in large groups onto rockets, and their open source design has enabled universities to use the CubeSat concept to teach students how to conduct research in space. Berkeley professor Robert Lin says CINEMA "will provide cutting-edge magnetospheric science and critical space-weather measurements." CINEMA is one of eight CubeSats expected to ride on a U.S. National Reconnaissance Office rocket next June. To read further, please visit http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/10/03/students-building-satellite-thats-seen-as-future-of-space-research/.
Student Engagement
TIDES Accepting Applications and Nominations for the Antonio Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest
Submission Deadline – October 31, 2011
The Pizzigati Prize welcomes applications from—and nominations for—single individuals. Those nominated for the prize should have developed a software product that is open source, as defined by the Open Source Initiative, and easily and widely available. This software must have already demonstrated its value to at least one nonprofit organization. Additionally, it should be a product that can be a value to multiple nonprofit organizations. Applicants will be evaluated on a range of criteria by an advisory panel that includes past winners of the Prize. For more information, including submission criteria, please visit http://www.tides.org/impact/awards-prizes/pizzigati-prize/.
NASA and NIA Announce the 2012 RASC-AL Competition – Call for Participation
Notice of Intent Deadline – November 11, 2011
Abstracts Deadline – January 20, 2012
The 2012 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts-Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) design competition is looking for innovative and creative ideas from undergraduate and graduate level engineering students. Student teams and their faculty advisors are invited to submit an abstract in response to the following themes:
• Near Earth Object (NEO) Flexible Mission Architecture Designs
• Earth-Orbit Debris Mitigation and Satellite Servicing Missions
• Human-Focused MARS Mission Systems and Technologies
• Lunar Outpost to Settlement Architectures
Based on review of the abstracts by the RASC-AL Steering Committee, up to ten (10) undergraduate and five (5) graduate level teams will be selected to participate and receive a $5,875 travel stipend per team to attend the RASC-AL forum to be held in Florida in June of 2012. For your convenience, here is a list of important dates:
November 11, 2011 Deadline for Notices of Intent (NOI) online submission
January 20, 2012 Deadline for abstract submission
February 15, 2012 Teams are notified of their selection status
May 11, 2012 Deadline for online registration and payment for 2012 Forum
June 1, 2012 Deadline for written and oral reports online submission
June 10, 2012 Faculty advisor and Steering Committee dinner - Cocoa Beach, FL
June 11-13, 2012 2012 RASC-AL Forum in Cocoa Beach, FL
