News

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.

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. Read More

UT Programming Team Claims Victory at ICPC World Finals

ICPC competitors from UT stand together as a group at the competition

04/10/2019 - On Thu, 4 Apr 2019, the UT Programming Contest (UTPC) team competed at the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) World Finals at the University of Porto in Porto, Portugal. The competition consisted of teams from 135 regions (approx. 405 students) trying to solve 11 problems in 5 hrs. The first-place team, Moscow State University, solved 10 problems. Read More

Changing the Future of Gene-Editing

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

A merged multi-scale structurally valid visualization of the ribosome; the green volume occupying model and the tertiary and secondary structural model is obtained from reconstructed single particle cryo-electron microscopy, while the atomic-resolution structures is from X-ray crystallography resolved models.

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. Read More

Future Gaming Professionals Have New Academic Track at UT Austin

Illustration featuring a wooden, fantasy-building and natural landscape by Alex Iveroth

03/05/2019 - In response to the growing demand for video game designers throughout Texas, The University of Texas at Austin is launching a new gaming curriculum, The University of Texas Game Development and Design Program. The program is a partnership between the departments of Arts and Entertainment Technologies (AET) and Computer Science (CS) intended for undergraduates with career interests in the gaming industry. Texas is home to almost 20,000 video game specific jobs, second to California, with 10 percent growth expected during the next eight years. Read More

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. Read More

World's Largest General Scientific Society Selects Computer Scientist as Fellow

12/13/2018 - The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society, has named computer scientist Peter Stone and two other University of Texas at Austin faculty members as fellows. This year’s AAAS fellows – members of the College of Natural Sciences, the Cockrell School of Engineering and the College of Liberal Arts – will be inducted at a February ceremony during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Read More

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. Read More

Texas Computer Science Launches HornRaiser Campaign to Promote Diversity

12/05/2018 - In 2016, Google reported that only six out of ten schools (K-12) offered at least one computer science class. While there continues to be an upward trend in the number of schools offering these classes, many students still lack exposure to programming. Texas Computer Science is changing that. Read More

Changing the Texas Computer Science Experience: the Building-Wide Intelligence Project

12/04/2018 - When we think of robots, we envision the future. Intelligent mobile robots that can answer questions, give directions, complete tasks, and walk us through an ever-changing world—these robots could one day make more static technologies like Alexa, Siri, and GoogleHome look outdated. Read More

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. Read More

Alumni in the News: Farnam Jahanian Becomes New President of Carnegie Mellon

11/08/2018 - Texas alumnus Farnam Jahanian became Carnegie Mellon University’s new president this past month on October 26th. He is a nationally recognized computer scientist, successful entrepreneur, and leader in higher education. Jahanian received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently a fellow of a number of prestigious academic groups including the Association for Computing Machinery, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Read More

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. Read More

Voting App “BeVote” Programmed by UT Students

10/18/2018 - Students at The University of Texas at Austin have a new tool to help them become better informed as voters. BeVote is a free cellphone app designed exclusively for UT students that provides accurate, nonpartisan information and was programmed by UT students. Read More

Computer Science to Launch Online Master's Degree

UT Tower and south mall with gradient overlay

10/09/2018 - The University of Texas at Austin is making plans to bring its top-ranked computer science graduate program to students and professionals beyond campus through a new online master’s degree program. Read More

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.

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. Read More

Lo, Zhang, and Stone Win Best Paper Award for Task Planning in Robots

Researchers stand by their poster at conference in Stockholm

09/13/2018 - Shih-Yun Lo, Shiqi Zhang, and Peter Stone are recipients of the 2018 Best Robotics Track Paper Award at the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS). They received this award for their research on planning efficiently for task-level navigation in robots. Their group, led by Texas Computer Science professor Peter Stone, includes Shih-Yun Lo, a Texas Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, and Shiqi Zhang, a former Texas postdoc student and current Assistant Professor at SUNY Binghamton. Read More

Kristen Grauman Awarded J.K. Aggarwal Prize for Image Matching Research

08/31/2018 - Texas Computer science professor Kristen Grauman is the recipient of the 2018 J.K. Aggarwal Prize from the International Association for Pattern Recognition (IAPR) for her contributions to the field of image matching and retrieval. Read More

Scott Aaronson Awarded Tomassoni-Chisesi Physics Prize for Quantum Computing Research

08/31/2018 - UT computer science professor Scott Aaronson is a recipient of the prestigious 2018 Tomassoni-Chisesi Award from the Sapienza University of Rome Physics Department for his research in quantum computation. Read More

Professor Kristen Grauman Trains Computers to Understand What They’re Seeing

08/06/2018 - In order for a robot to be able to navigate the world, it must be able to “see” its environment and be able to process what it sees. However, since computers don’t naturally know how to understand images, this is a task easier said than done. Computer vision researchers are up to the task of training these programs. Read More

Major Quantum Computing Advance Made Obsolete by UT Grad

07/31/2018 - Ewin Tang, a 2018 University of Texas at Austin graduate in computer science and mathematics, is receiving national attention for a feat accomplished at the age of 18 by disproving, as part of an honors thesis, a widely held assumption about the hottest next-thing in technology, quantum computing. Read More

First Bytes Creates Community and Career Opportunities for Women in Tech

Former campers, Texas Computer Science alumnae and HomeAway software engineers, Tiffany Tsai (left) and Cassie Schwendiman (right), credit First Bytes with helping lead them on their path to computer science.Texas Computer Science

Former campers, Texas Computer Science alumnae and HomeAway software engineers, Tiffany Tsai (left) and Cassie Schwendiman (right), credit First Bytes with helping lead them on their path to computer science.

07/30/2018 - More than just a summer camp for creating memories and making new friends, First Bytes opens up a wide variety of opportunities in computer science for high school girls and helps build a community of women in the tech industry. Read More

Could Robots Compete in the 2050 World Cup? This UT Team Thinks It’s Possible

Photograph courtesy of JT Genter.

07/26/2018 - By Rachel Cooper, The Alcalde For the past month, the world has been watching national soccer teams from across the globe compete in a surprising and nail-biting World Cup. Although the U.S. didn’t make the cut for the 2018 version of the quadrennial tournament, there’s an unorthodox soccer team close to home that did pretty well on the international stage—a group of Longhorns and their goal-scoring robots. Read More

Researchers Win Best Paper Award at USENIX Annual Technical Conference 2018

07/24/2018 - This month, a group of UTCS researchers won a best paper award at the USENIX Annual Technical Conference 2018 for their paper, "TxFS: Leveraging File-System Crash Consistency to Provide ACID Transactions." Read More

Professor Scott Niekum Teaches Robots to Help Humans with Dreaded Tasks

07/18/2018 - Robots are everywhere, from the Roomba cleaning your floor to the first self-driving cars traveling the roads. As robots advance and help with more and more tedious or dangerous tasks, they need an easy and efficient way to learn and adapt to their surroundings. Read More

New Dual Degree Honors Program at The University of Texas at Austin Combines Computer Science, Business

Texas CSB The University of Texas at Austin

06/27/2018 - A new, highly selective integrated honors degree program in computer science and business at The University of Texas at Austin will offer a rigorous four-year undergraduate curriculum aimed at preparing students for top technology careers. Read More

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