Media Coverage
A digest of Illinois Computer Science faculty, alumni, and students who are featured in the media.
Entering the Race for Tip-Top Tech Talent: Caterpillar
March 29, 2019Crain's Chicago Business -- Caterpillar Digital moved into new Chicago offices in September. Like other big companies, Cat is responding to the disruption created by Apple, Amazon and others, and competing with them for tech talent -- something students aren't always aware of. "It doesn't seem like (Caterpillar) would have as much need," said Anushka Bose, a freshman computer science major at the University of Illinois.
First 9 Recipients of Discovery Partners Institute Seed Grants Announced
March 28, 2019The News-Gazette -- Projects to help communities adopt sustainable development strategies and create a statewide pipeline to train computer-science teachers are among those funded in the Discovery Partners Institute's first round of seed grants. The teacher-training program is led in part by Illinois CS Associate Professor Craig Zilles.
Groundbreaking for U of I's $75M Campus Instructional Facility Set for April 12
March 28, 2019The News-Gazette -- With two dozen state-of-the-art classrooms, more than almost any campus building, the four-story building will be used for courses in engineering, math, statistics, computer science, and related courses, all high-demand programs that are in need of more space.
Gul Agha Shares Research on Wireless Sensors Used to Monitor Bridges and Civil Infrastructure
March 27, 2019Illinois Innovators podcast -- Gul Agha, professor of computer science and Director of the Open Systems Laboratory at the University of Illinois, joins the program. His widely cited work, "Actors: A Model of Concurrent Computing in Distributed Systems," provided a basis for a number of research projects in concurrent programming. Actor frameworks have been used to program Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook Chat, and more.
The Man Behind the Last Remaining Perfect NCAA Bracket
March 26, 2019The Columbus Dispatch -- Gregg Nigl almost didn’t fill out his March Madness bracket. But now, through 48 games of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, his remains perfect, the last of its kind. The odds of Nigl correctly predicting the final 15 games, though, are about 1 in 32,786, said Sheldon H. Jacobson, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois.
100 Trips Through an NCAA Women’s Bracket Simulator
March 25, 2019High Post Hoops -- University of Illinois computer science Professor Sheldon Jacobson has created a women’s tournament bracket simulator. So, want to know what’s likely to happen in the tournament? We ran 100 simulations to get a general sense. Here are the top questions that we can answer, thanks to the simulator.
Wired In: Rizky Wellyanto
March 24, 2019The News-Gazette -- The paper's regular Wired In feature focuses on PhD student Rizky Wellyanto. He is the CEO and co-founder of Virtision.com, which allows college students to virtually tour apartments they're considering. The article also mentions Assistant Professor Ranjitha Kumar, and his co-founder, CS alum Brandon Chen (BS CS ’18).
What Having the World's Fastest Supercomputer Means for Chicago
March 22, 2019Crain's Chicago Business -- Argonne National Laboratory will spend more than $500 million to build the world's fastest supercomputer. The new machine, Aurora, will be the first to operate at exascale. Supercomputers are innovation engines and talent magnets, says Bill Kramer, an Illinois CS professor and senior associate director of the Blue Waters Project at NCSA. NCSA Director Bill Gropp added that "We are confident that Illinois will continue to be a leader in applying advanced computing."
Illinois Professor Creates Women's NCAA Tournament Simulator
March 20, 2019USA Today/The Associated Press -- University of Illinois computer science Professor Sheldon Jacobson has always loved data. He's long had a men's NCAA Tournament bracket simulator. After getting many requests, Jacobson decided to put together the first for the women's tournament. Also published by The New York Times, the Washington Post, ESPN.com, and many others. Video also available at AP Sports' Twitter account.
Illinois Alum Axelrod Runs for Elected Office
March 19, 2019Chicago Tribune -- Alum and software engineer Jeff Axelrod (Math & CS '94) is running for a position on the Village Board in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette.
Celer Raises $4 Million in 17 Minutes and 35 Seconds
March 19, 2019Cryptonews -- Celer Network, a startup whose founders include Mo Dong (PhD CS ’17), raised $4 million in less than 18 minutes in a token sale. The company raised $7.46 million in a seed round in April 2018 and another $23.25 million during a private token sale in July 2018.
Q&A With Korean Lottery CTO and UIUC Alum James Kang
March 19, 2019KoreaBusiness -- Q&A with James Kang (Math & CS, '86), the CTO of the new operator of the Republic of Korea's lottery. "Dong Hang Lottery's newly introduced service in the lottery business utilizes block-chain technology for internet sales and electronic lottery system. Also, this technology has greatly increased the reliability of our system."
Can Analytics Help You Win Your NCAA Tournament Pool?
March 18, 2019Yardbarker -- When you fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket, you’re essentially engaging in educated guesswork. And this, says University of Illinois computer science Professor Sheldon Jacobson, is where analytics can make a difference.
Bracketology Isn't Just for March Madness. It Can Save Lives, Save Money, and Solve Problems
March 17, 2019FoxNews.com -- In an opinion piece that he authored, Illinois CS Professor Sheldon Jacobson says that the sophisticated mathematical modeling used to increase the odds of creating a solid NCAA Tournament bracket can also be used to solve the most complex challenges in both industry and government.
U of I to Hire Hundreds More Faculty Over Next 5 Years to Handle Rise in Enrollment
March 15, 2019The News-Gazette -- "Most of the new positions would be targeted at graduate and professional programs that have fueled enrollment growth. But other hires would aim to reduce high student-faculty ratios in undergraduate areas such as engineering and computer science." Also coverage from The Associated Press.
YouTube Founders to Get Emmys For Lifetime Achievement
March 14, 2019Deadline Hollywood -- YouTube co-founders Steve Chen, an Illinois CS alumnus, and Chad Hurley will receive the Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 70th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards in Las Vegas, Nev., in April. Chen and Hurley founded the company with another Illinois CS alum, Jawed Karim (BS CS '04).
Illinois CS Alum Named Chair of Duke Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Department
March 11, 2019The (Duke) Chronicle -- Illinois CS graduate C. David Page (PhD '93), who is now a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will take over in June as chair of Duke University's Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics.
Wired In: Sibin Mohan
March 10, 2019The News-Gazette -- Illinois CS Assistant Professor Sibin Mohan is the subject of the News-Gazette's regular feature. He talks about teaching computer science to middle school students, using a curriculum developed in part by Professor Lenny Pitt.
U of I Students Unveil Dog-Human 'Translator' at Engineering Open House
March 9, 2019News-Gazette -- Dug the Dog has nothing on Alma. Inspired by the character from the movie "Up," a team of University of Illinois engineering students created their own talking dog for this year's Engineering Open House. The group include Illinois CS student Bliss Chapman.
Amit Mathur Joins Sinclair as VP of Product Engineering
March 8, 2019TVTechnology -- Illinois Computer Science graduate Amit Mathur (BS CS '98) has joined Sinclair Broadcast Group as vice president of product engineering, where he will continue scaling the station group’s digital publishing as well as expanding its suite of digital products and services.