Media Coverage
A digest of Illinois Computer Science faculty, alumni, and students who are featured in the media.
Unregulated Social Media 'Threatens The Very Roots Of Freedom'
September 28, 2018CNBC -- Tom Siebel, C3 IoT chairman and CEO and a graduate of Illinois Computer Science, discuss the prospects for regulation of tech and social media companies.
Study: Men Outnumber Women Nearly 2-to-1 In STEM Roles On TV, Movies, Which May Discourage Girls From Tech Careers
September 27, 2018Chicago Tribune -- Nancy Amato was in graduate school when “The X-Files” was a staple. Now Amato is set to become the first woman to head the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois. She says she was probably influenced by both real-life role models in science and those on TV and in movies. The story also was carried by Phys.org and The Virginian-Pilot.
Illinois College Road Trip: University of Illinois
September 26, 2018U.S. News & World Report -- "There are ample opportunities for cross-disciplinary study, such as with the programs in agricultural and consumer economics or interdisciplinary health sciences. In a recently developed set of degrees called CS + X, students explore computer science through the lens of another subject, such as chemistry, linguistics or music."
American Life Expectancy Vs. European: It's Not About 'Socialized Medicine'
September 25, 2018Mises Wire -- "When you are sitting in a car, you are doing nothing, so your body is burning the least amount of energy possible. And if you are eating food in your car, it becomes even worse." -- Professor Sheldon H. Jacobson, in a column that cites a paper he co-authored in 2011.
Millions In Federal Funding Awarded For Quantum Research
September 25, 2018Pasadena Now -- The National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy have announced new funding awards for quantum-related research. Co-PIs include Illinois CS Assistant Professor Edgar Solomonik.
The Ultimate Physician’s Assistant
September 21, 2018Forbes -- “Virtual nurses add value by allowing doctors and nurses to do their jobs more efficiently by handling workflow communications tasks [for them]. A lot of those tasks could be automated." -- Adam Odessky (BS CS '00), co-founder and CEO of Sense.ly.
No Suits, No Resumes: Chicago Companies Go Beyond Career Fairs To Woo Next Generation Of Tech Talent
September 20, 2018Chicago Tribune -- The interview process is not enough to sway Illinois CS junior Joseph Sieger to accept a job. Students like him are in high demand. In the search for tech talent, Chicago companies woo students with trips or even treats like coffee and doughnuts to compete with Google and Facebook. "They have to do multiple different things to get their branding in front of the students,” department Director of External Relations Cynthia J. Coleman said.
Chicago Inno’s 2018 50 On Fire
September 19, 2018Chicago Inno -- Incoming Department Head Nancy Amato and Farmers Fridge -- whose CTO is Rajesh Karmani (PhD CS '13) -- were both part of Chicago Inno's annual 50 on Fire list of people and companies influencing the direction of the Chicago-area tech scene.
On-Ramps and Off-Ramps: Alternative Credentials And Emerging Pathways Between Education And Work
September 19, 2018Inside Higher Ed -- Much of the action with alternative credentials and pathways is occurring with online graduate programs. The University of Illinois is at the forefront of this experimentation. Faculty members teach the online courses with equal rigor to the parallel campus-based version, according to Illinois CS Professor John C. Hart. (Report is behind a pay wall, key excerpts available here).
LinkedIn Top Startups 2018: The 50 Most Sought-After Startups In The U.S.
September 6, 2018LinkedIn -- Lending startup Affirm comes in at No. 24 on LinkedIn's list of Top 50 Startups. Illinois CS alum Max Levchin (BS CS '97) is the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Affirm.
Google Chrome Celebrates 10th Birthday With Major Redesign Up Its Sleeve
September 4, 2018Design Taxi -- In 10 years Google Chrome has risen to become the most popular web browser. In celebrating the milestone, Google teased a surprise slated to arrive soon. "I'm so excited to share the @googlechrome 10th birthday update... COMING THIS WEEK!," Illinois CS alum and Google Chrome Engineering Director Parisa Tabriz said via her Twitter account.
Facebook, Twitter Will Face GOP Questions of Political Bias at Congressional Hearings
September 4, 2018Variety -- Tech companies keep algorithms secret for competitive reasons, but that has led to alternative -- often incorrect -- explanations of how they work. A study by U. of Illinois researchers, including CS Professor Karrie Karahalios, found that Facebook users often develop their own “folk theories” about how it curates its newsfeed.
University Supercomputers Are Science's Unsung Heroes, And The Fastest Yet Is On The Way
August 30, 2018Popular Science -- “The machines are all over subscribed,” Bill Gropp, Illinois CS Professor and director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, says as work starts for what will be the next, fastest supercomputer, Frontera. Illinois' Blue Waters has been used to do things like model an enormous EF-5 tornado and to produce maps of Alaska.
Researchers Show Alexa “Skill Squatting” Could Hijack Voice Commands
August 30, 2018Ars Technica -- The success of Internet of Things devices such as Amazon's Echo and Google Home has created opportunities for developers, but, according to research by Profs. Adam Bates and Michael Bailey from the University of Illinois, also the potential to exploit some of the idiosyncrasies of voice-recognition machine-learning systems for malicious purposes.
Even With $500 Million, How Real Is U Of I Tech Campus?
August 29, 2018Crain's Chicago Business -- "The Department of Computer Science isn’t moving to Chicago. We’re not creating a fourth campus. We’re creating something new and innovative," said Bill Sanders, a University of Illinois Engineering professor and the new interim director of the Discovery Partners Institute.
Fitness Trackers Not The Safest Route
August 28, 2018The (Champaign) News-Gazette -- If you use a fitness tracker and post workouts online, you may be sharing the location of your home. University of Illinois computer science professor Adam Bates says, “Everyone is becoming much more aware of the privacy risks on social networks. But no one is talking about fitness networks."
This Student’s App Will Make You Happy
August 27, 2018Boston Magazine -- Asher Dale has good reasons to be happy. For one, he’s celebrating the release of his first app, based on the “Three Good Things” method (originally published in 2017).
Researchers, Police Caution Against Sharing Exercise Routes Online
August 27, 2018The Daily Illini -- Tens of millions of users post their running, walking or biking routes online through Strava, a fitness-tracking app, while using a privacy feature they believe would hide their home address. However, their locations could be revealed by a geometry problem so simple a high school freshman could solve it, said Adam Bates, professor in Computer Science.
The Security Risks Of Smart Contracts
August 24, 2018Computing -- Blockchain-based smart contracts present a unique risk, and companies should be wary of deploying them, according to CS Professor Grigore Rosu. "There are two big problems ... The code is public so you can work out how to attack it. Secondly, once you have a smart contract - that's it. It deploys and you cannot change it."
For This VC, Being An Investor Wasn’t An Obvious Career Choice
August 24, 2018TECH IN ASIA -- “I don’t know why, but I asked myself this question very early on: What is the purpose of my life? What can I do that will be meaningful? I realized that I’m a tech geek but I also like to work with people and build things like companies and teams," said Monk's Hill Ventures Managing Partner and Illinois CS graduate Peng Ong.