A digest of Illinois Computer Science faculty, alumni, and students who are featured in the media.
CIproud.com -- University of Illinois students now have a new way to track crime on campus. The idea came from students themselves. Aaron Yu heard a lot about Asian American hate during the pandemic. The mathematics and computer science student decided he could do something to help, using data already available from U of I Police.
The Pantagraph -- COVID-19 wasn’t the only reason the death rate spiked in 2020. A pair of researchers in Central Illinois say their newly-published study indicates that pandemic-related restrictions led to “more deaths which … could have been avoided.”
The News-Gazette -- Not a week seems to go by anymore without news of another U.S. agency or business falling victim to a cyberattack. For perspective on the problem, (The News-Gazette) rounded up a panel of experts- including Illinois CS professor Klara Nahrstedt and alumna Parisa Tabriz - to answer 10 questions.
YourStory -- Computer science graduates Rohan Gupta, Anil Jason, and David Silin launched QuillBot in 2017 to make writing effortless. They created a writing and research platform to help students and professionals cut their writing time and ensure error-free writing.
The News-Gazette -- When in-person classes at University of Illinois were called off for the remainder of the year in March 2020, Harsh Deep contemplated whether to stay in Champaign-Urbana or return to his family’s home in Bangalore, India.
Forbes -- Bathroom renovation company Made Renovation, which aims to offer an ecommerce quality to bathroom renovations, announced today that it has raised $23 million in a Series A. According to cofounder and CEO Roger Dickey (BS '05), the problem that existed was that homeowners were afraid of renovations and that it was also hard to find small projects that contractors would want to work on, given that the margins are low and customers can be difficult.
The Hill -- Determining who is eligible to vote has become a political lightning rod. The general trend is that Republicans want to make the voter registration process as stringent as possible, while Democrats want to make the process as accessible as possible. Both these activities transform the voting process into a political issue. Upon closer examination, it should be a data issue, writes Illinois CS professor Sheldon Jacobson.
Puget Sound Business Journal -- Rajeev Rajan says new technology will usher in a fundamental shift over the next decade.
EIN Presswire -- "DeepTech incubators are essential if we want to achieve tangible industry transformations, smart funding, new partnerships and distribution, and viable product roadmap outcomes," said professor Marianne Winslett.
Business Insider -- Ananya Cleetus graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in computer science. Next step: Cleetus will work at Microsoft starting in August and she plans to relocate to the Seattle area, where Microsoft is based. Priorities: Cleetus said she looked for flexibility in the work environment and work schedule and that location was also important: She wanted to work on the West Coast.