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Faculty

Using Machine Learning to Revolutionize the Future of Food Production

Basil plant in hydroponic growing lab.

04/19/2019 - Water, sunlight, nutrients—these ingredients are essential for plant growth. However, these basic ingredients don’t always yield the ideal plant. In fact, optimizing these variables is complicated, causing some plants to fall flat on flavor. Machine learning can help.

Working Toward a More Accessible Future: Teaching Computers to Imitate Human Perception

Alex Huth (left), assistant professor of Neuroscience and Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin. Shailee Jain (right), a Computer Science PhD student at the Huth Lab.

04/11/2019 - Imagine a world where accessing and interacting with technology doesn’t require keyboard or voice input—just a quick mental command. Imagine “speech prosthesis” technology that would allow people who are unable to communicate verbally to speak without expensive and highly customized interfaces. Imagine a device that could read a users’ mind, and automatically send a message, open a door, or buy a birthday present for a family member.

Changing the Future of Gene-Editing

Figure shows a merged multi-scale structurally valid visualization of the ribosome.

03/06/2019 - Gene-editing or genome engineering is the altering of DNA within a living organism. Once believed to be far-fetched and unthinkable, it is becoming more and more common due to scientific breakthrough techniques like CRISPR. What most people don’t know though is the use of computing tools in conjunction with CRISPR make gene-editing as efficient and mistake-free as possible—making it a viable cure to deadly genetic diseases.

The Implications of Quantum Computing: Internet Security, Random Bits, and More

Doctor Scott Aaronson, Texas Computer Science, Quantum Computing

01/25/2019 - Quantum computers are sophisticated machines that harness the strange laws of quantum physics to solve particular kinds of problems. These machines have been “trending” for quite some time now with popular media calling them “supercomputers” or “supermachines” and implying that they have the power to basically answer any and all currently unsolvable problems. These is, however, a misconception.

Professor Lili Qiu Named ACM Fellow

Portrait of Lili Qui in the Gates Dell Complex

12/10/2018 - Lili Qiu, Texas Computer Science Professor, was recently named an Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) fellow. Each year the ACM recognizes the top one percent of ACM members for their accomplishments in computing and information technology, as well as their service to the computing community.

UT Programming Club Wins ICPC South Central USA Regionals

The UT Programming Club won the ICPC South Central USA Regional Competition at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

11/12/2018 - On Sat, 10 Nov 2018, the UT Programming Club won the ICPC South Central USA Regional Competition at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. The winning team, consisting of Ethan Arnold ('19), Ryan Rice ('19), and Supawit Chockchowwat ('20), will compete in the ICPC World Finals this coming April in Porto, Portugal.   The competition consisted of 70+ teams from 25+ schools (approx.

Teaching Computers to Read with Machine Learning

Texas Computer Science Assistant Professor Greg Durrett

11/01/2018 - The internet is a vast network of knowledge, containing the sum of humanity’s greatest accomplishments, algorithms, and stories. However, accessing this information usually requires the critical eye of a human user. Greg Durrett, a Texas Computer Science Assistant Professor, is using statistical machine learning to change just that.

Computer Scientists Receive $1.7 Million Grant to Make Chip Design Easier

An "Asynchronous FPGA chip" built using the tools Keshav Pingali and his collaborators are developing for DARPA.

10/03/2018 - Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, Yale University and Texas State University have been awarded $5 million by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as part of a program designed to spark the next wave of semiconductor innovation and circuit design in the U.S.