CS News Briefs

Georgios Bakirtzis Applies Research Fellowship to Make Cyber-Physical Systems More Safe and Secure

Congratulations to Georgios Bakirtzis, who has earned the James G. Simmonds Fellowship in Applied Mechanics and Applied Mathematics Research. Bakirtzis is a Ph.D. student in computer engineering at the University of Virginia.

Research Team’s Deep Learning Algorithms Facilitate Learning on Graph Data

Jundong Li, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Virginia, develops novel deep learning algorithms to glean more actionable patterns from graph-structured data sets. Li holds joint appointments in UVA’s Department of Computer Science and School of Data Science. Li and Shuiwang Ji, associate professor of computer science and engineering at Texas A&M, have earned a National Science Foundation grant to improve the essential building blocks of deep learning algorithms for graphs.

Team Manifold Conducts Virtual Research

This year’s team is the 14th Virginia iGEM team to compete in the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition, the Giant Jamboree, following a legacy of successful teams and their inventive synthetic biology solutions. Under the guidance of our advisors, Professor Papin and Professor Kozminski (Biomedical Engineering and Biology Departments, respectively), Virginia iGEM has consistently received recognition at the competition, as well as seeding biotech startups Agrospheres INC and Transfoam LLC. Along with a strong reputation to live up to, the 2020 Team has been incredibly resilient in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.   

Humans of Link Lab: Faria Tuz Zahura

Faria Tuz Zahura, class of 2022, when not working towards her PhD loves to paint nature scenes. She is a student resident at the Link Lab where she works on urban coastal flooding projects with the Associate Director of the Lab, Dr. Jon Goodall.

Humans of Link Lab: Josie Lamp

Josie Lamp, class of 2023, discovered her passion for computer science in high school when she wanted to program a tutu to change colors with music while she danced. This fostered a passion in engineering that led her to pursue a PhD with the Computer Science department in the University of Virginia School of Engineering and to become a student resident at the Link Lab who works with faculty member Dr. Lu Feng.  

Two Computer Science Faculty Members Awarded Global Infectious Disease Institute Grants

Congratulations to two of our faculty for being awarded Global Infectious Disease Institute Grants from The University of Virginia Global Infectious Disease Institute. The Institute brings UVA researchers together who are invested in combating infectious diseases worldwide.

Six Students Awarded During CS Research Symposium on June 5th

The Computer Science Department Graduate Student Group hosted the Summer Virtual Research Symposium 2020 on June 5 with six awardees for Best Presentations at the end of the event.

2020 CS Outstanding Graduate Service Award Winner: Jack Lanchantin

About Jack:

My research interests include sequence representation learning, and in particular learning the language of DNA and proteins.

What has kept Jack motivated:

I enjoy reading and walking around UVA.

2020 CS Outstanding Graduate Service Award Winner: Josephine Lamp

About Josie:

I am a second-year Computer Science PhD student, 2020 NSF Graduate Research Fellow and Olive B. and Franklin C. Mac Krell Jefferson Fellow in the Link Lab at the University of Virginia. I am advised by Dr. Lu Feng and Dr. Dave Evans. My research is at the intersection of Healthcare, Computer Science and Cybersecurity; specifically, I’m developing privacy-preserving machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for clinical decision support systems. My research is applied to improve outcomes for patients with Advanced Heart Failure and Type I Diabetes, among others. I received my B.S. in Biomedical Informatics (BMI) from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University, where I graduated Summa Cum Laude, as a distinguished Outstanding Graduate and in the first graduating cohort of BMI undergraduates. I am also involved in health-privacy policy efforts, Chair of the Computer Science Department Graduate Student Group (student council,) and Editor-in-Chief of the Jefferson Journal of Science and Culture, an interdisciplinary journal run by Jefferson Fellows.

What has kept Josie motivated:

In terms of motivation, I have found focusing on the good and recognizing the new opportunities afforded to me by being home all the time has really helped. I am an optimist by nature, and although I’ve had my share of trials and tribulations during this quarantine, there have also been able a variety of positives that I am grateful for. For example, my home office is set against our large patio windows, and I never noticed how many beautiful birds there are that live in my neighborhood! I have also been able to learn how to make some delicious new recipes (pre-pandemic Josie was a terrible cook) and talk/skype my family much more often than I normally do because I am too busy.

In addition, I have tried to make detailed schedules with what my weekly goals are and what I am going to do each day. This is something I usually do to stay productive; I have very detailed to do lists for each of my projects, extracurriculars, and even life stuff (i.e. go to grocery store) to keep track of everything. For the pandemic however, I have found it useful to be kind to myself and expect less each day. I still make weekly goals and daily tasks, but I give myself less to do each day than what I would normally expect. That way, I don’t feel discouraged if I am not as productive as I normally am, but I still have things I have to do to keep me focused each day.

2020 CS Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award Winner: Anastasia Lalamentik

About Anastasia:

I am originally from Jakarta, Indonesia. I went to UNC-Chapel Hill for my undergraduate degree and worked as a software developer for three years before joining UVA. My area of research is Human-Computer Interaction, specifically haptics and accessibility. Some of my hobbies include music, photography, aerial arts, and traveling. A fun fact about me is that I have been studying abroad ever since I was eleven years old.