Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) Blog

by Office of the Vice President for Research

On behalf of the Associate Vice President for Research Development (AVPRD) Office, we invite scholars, creators and researchers to attend the upcoming Open House for Centers, Institutes and Shared Facilities on Sept. 10 from 1-5 p.m. in MUB Ballroom A.

The open house will immediately follow the President’s Welcome Back Picnic at the Rozsa Center. People are welcome to bring their lunches over from the picnic and finish them in the ballroom.

The event will feature two-minute “Tech Talks” from center, institute and shared facility directors, providing attendees with an opportunity to learn about the mission and research interests of Michigan Tech’s variety of research areas and facilities.

After the introductions, guests will have the opportunity to tour the centers, institutes or shared facilities that interest them; meet with other members and users; and learn more about how these organizations can support their work.

The afternoon will conclude with an informal reception at Rovano Plaza (the outdoor area next to the Library) from 4-5 p.m. where researchers and directors can continue conversations.

For more information or a calendar invitation, please contact Brent Burns at bburns@mtu.edu.

Thank you for considering attending this important event, which is intended to help you network with others on campus and assist you with gaining access to the resources and assistance that Michigan Tech’s centers, institutes and shared facilities provide.

College of Computing Social Media Assistant
This work-study student position will help the communications director increase social media engagement on College of Computing social media channels. Contact Karen Johnson with questions. Apply on Handshake.

INTERNAL POSITIONS

Hourly Paid Research Assistants
The Security and Privacy Lab has openings for hourly-paid research assistants. The student will eork on working on IoT security, mobile security, or cloud computing security. The student is expected to be eager to solve problems, and familiar with programming (C is preferred). Interested, please send resume to Dr. Bo Chen.

Undergraduate Paid Research Positions
Dr. Junqiao Qiu is seeking undergraduate research assistants who are 1) enrolled in CS or a closely related discipline at Michigan Tech, and 2) U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or permanent residents of the United States. RAs will work on a research project about GPU-accelerated FSM/graph computations with advanced speculation. For details and to apply, email your resume to Dr. Qiu (junqiaoq@mtu.edu). The positions run from September 2021 through mid-April 2022.

Graduate Research Position
Dr. Sidike Paheding, Applied Computing, is seeking a fall 2021 graduate student to assist with a research project. Pay rate: $15/hour, 10 hours/week, September 2021 through December 2021, with an extension possible. The research assistant will have  experience in the Unity development platform and Virtual/Augmented Reality; knowledge in machine learning/AI is a plus. To apply, email Dr. Paheding.

Research Assistant
The Aerosol-Biosphere-Climate Interaction (GMES) is looking for a student with Python programming background to work on a newly-funded NASA project. The student will lead the development of a scalable Python script to create a structured dataset by merging ground-based and satellite observations of air pollutants. The following libraries are expected to be used: numpy, pandas and others for reading/writing Hierarchical Data Format. The student will gain experience in applying NASA’s space and ground observation assets to address changes in the atmospheric composition and associated impacts on air quality and climate. Contact Dr. Xin Xi if you are interested.

EXTERNAL POSITIONS

Staff Writer, Computer Science (Quanta), Simons Foundation, full-time. Reporter to identify and cover newsworthy developments in machine learning, quantum computing, computational complexity, algorithms, cryptography and other areas of theoretical computer science. View the positio

The Institute of Computing and Cybersystems will present a Distinguished Lecture by Dr. Doina Caragea on Friday, October 29, 2021, at 3:00 p.m. Dr. Caragea is a professor and the Michelle Munson-Serban Simu Keystone Research Scholar in the Computer Science department at Kansas State University. Her talk is itiled, “Mining Social Media to Aid Disaster Response.”

Join the Zoom lecture here: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/81088119467

Dr. Caragea has expertise in machine learning and data mining, with applications to data intensive problems in recommender systems, text analytics, security informatics, and bioinformatics. In recent years, she has focused on semi-supervised and domain adaptation algorithms, under the assumption that labeled data for a domain of interest is limited, if available at all.

Lecture Title: Mining Social Media to Aid Disaster Response

Lecture Abstract: Disaster-affected communities are increasingly becoming the source of big (crisis) data during and following major disasters. At the same time, big data have the potential to become an integral source of information for response organizations, as they can help enhance the situational awareness and facilitate faster response where it is most needed. Despite such benefits, the challenges presented by big data preclude organizations from using them routinely. Manually sifting through voluminous streaming data to filter useful information in real time is inherently impossible. We study machine learning solutions to help emergency response organizations deal with the overload of relevant information, and improve situational awareness and crisis response. Our proposed machine learning solutions have the potential to transform the way in which crisis response organizations operate and, in turn, to provide better support to the victims of disasters in a timely fashion.

Speaker Bio: Doina Caragea, Ph.D., is a Professor at Kansas State University. Her research and teaching interests are in the areas of machine learning and data science, with applications to crisis informatics, security informatics, and bioinformatics. Her projects build upon close collaborations with social scientists, security experts and life scientists, and aim to provide practical computational approaches to address real-world challenges. Dr. Caragea received her PhD in Computer Science from Iowa State University in August 2004, and was honored with the Iowa State University Research Excellence Award for her work. She has published more than 150 refereed conference and journal articles. She has a strong track record of extramural funding, with $12M+ total funding as PI, co-PI or senior personnel from NSF and industry.

Please note that this lecture was originally scheduled for October 22, 2021.

Dr. Snehamoy Chatterjee (GMES/ICC-DataS) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $288,343 research and development contract from the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

The project is titled “Mine Health and Safety Big Data Analysis and Text Mining by Machine Learning Algorithms.”

Aref Majdara (ECE/ICC) is a co-PI on this potential two-year project.

Timothy Schulz (ECE/ICC-DataS) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $30,000 research and development grant from the University of Arizona.

The project is titled “Multiscale Phase Retrieval.”

Starting Monday, August 30, 2021, and during the fall semester Michigan Tech will offer free, walk-in COVID-19 testing on campus for students and employees. Testing takes place from 9:00 a.m. to noon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in the Datolite Room at the MUB. 

No appointments are needed for walk-in testing, and tests are available to any student or employee, whether they have COVID-19 symptoms or not.

If you would like to be tested, come to the Datolite Room during testing hours and ask for a test. Your results should be available in approximately 24 hours, and will be emailed to you.

If you have a question about COVID-19 testing at Michigan Tech, check the MTU Flex Testing web page for up-to-date information and answers to frequently asked questions, or email mtuflex@mtu.edu. 

Dr. Sidike Paheding, Applied Computing, is seeking a fall 2021 graduate student to assist with a research project. Details are below.

• Pay rate: $15/hour, 10 hours/week
• Employment dates: September 2021 through December 2021. An extension is possible.
• Basic requirements: Experience in Unity development platform and Virtual/Augmented Reality.
• Desired: Knowledge in machine learning/AI is a plus.

Sidike Paheding, Ph.D.
spahedin@mtu.edu
EERC 417

Assistant Professor, Dept. of Applied Computing
Affiliated Assistant Professor, Dept. of Computer Science
Affiliated Faculty, Center for Data Sciences, and Computational Science & Engineering
College of Computing, Michigan Technological University

by Office of Innovation and Commercialization

For several years, Michigan Tech has partnered with the State of Michigan and other stakeholders to create an entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. Members of the community at large can participate in this process at an event on the Michigan Tech campus.

Michigan Tech hosts one of five hubs that make up the Michigan Translational and Research Commercialization (MTRAC), funded by the state’s Michigan 21st Century Jobs fund through the Michigan Strategic Fund. MTRAC-supported projects have secured more than $315 million in follow-on funding.

Join us at noon on September 10, 2021 in GLRC 202 to hear directly from the program directors of each hub to learn about program requirements and what makes for a competitive proposal. Directors will have a few appointments on a first come, first serve availability following the seminar for one-on-one meetings with prospective principal investigators.

MTRAC provides matching funds for researchers to accelerate the transfer of new technologies from universities, hospital systems, and nonprofit research centers into the commercial market. Funding is available under any of the five statewide hub programs organized around the following technology areas:

• Ag Bio Innovation Hub (managed by Michigan State University)
• Life Sciences Innovation Hub (managed by the University of Michigan)
• Advanced Transportation Innovation Hub (managed by University of Michigan)
• Advanced Materials Innovation Hub (managed by Michigan Tech)
• Advanced Computing Innovation Hub (managed by Wayne State University)

Prospective entrepreneurs will learn about moving technology from lab to market. Program objectives, goals and scope will be discussed by representatives from the five MTRAC hubs and representatives from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).

Please RSVP to the event.