computer science

Physicists win prestigious Sloan Fellowships

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 21:18:43 +0000

Physicists win prestigious Sloan Fellowships Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/22/2023 - 14:18

Orit Peleg and Shuo Sun are among 125 early-career scholars who represent ‘the most promising scientific researchers working today’

Two University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder physicists have been named Sloan Research Fellows, the organization announced last week.

Orit Peleg, assistant professor of physics and computer science, and Shuo Sun, assistant professor of physics, are among 125 early-career scholars who represent “the most promising scientific researchers working today,” the Sloan Foundation said.

Winners receive $75,000, which may be spent over a two-year term on any expense supporting their research.

Sloan Research Fellows are shining examples of innovative and impactful research ... We are thrilled to support their groundbreaking work, and we look forward to following their continued success."

"Sloan Research Fellows are shining examples of innovative and impactful research,” said Adam F. Falk, president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “We are thrilled to support their groundbreaking work, and we look forward to following their continued success."

A Sloan Research Fellowship is a particularly notable recognition for young researchers, in part because so many past fellows have gone on to become “towering figures in science,” the foundation said.

Peleg’s research strives to understanding how biological communication signals are generated and interpreted, and it does so by merging tools from physics, biology, engineering and computer science. Her research has yielded insight into the behavior of bees and fireflies, which are seen at the top of the page.

Orit Peleg seeks to understand the behavior of disordered living systems by merging tools from physics, biology, engineering, and computer science.

Peleg said she was grateful that her research, which she is “deeply passionate about,” resonates with others in the field. “I owe a great debt of gratitude to my supportive colleagues, mentors, and mentees who have guided me throughout my journey,” she said.

“With the awarded funding, I aim to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics of collective communication signals in nature across an increasing array of model species. This area is enormously rich, full of exciting and confounding questions, with a range as expansive as the diversity of life.”

Peleg joined the ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder faculty in 2018. She earned a PhD in materials science in 2012 from ETH Zürich, Switzerland, and holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in physics and computer science from Bar–Ilan University, Israel.

Sun’s research explores light-matter interactions at the fundamental quantum limit, where single atoms can strongly interact with single photons. This is done by designing and fabricating nanophotonic structures that confine photons at an extremely small volume, which are then coupled to solid-state artificial atoms such as quantum dots and atomic defect centers.

Sun joined the ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder faculty in 2019 as a visiting assistant professor of physics and has been an assistant professor of physics since 2020. He is also an associate fellow in JILA, a physical science research institute at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder. He holds a PhD and MS in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a BS in optics from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.

This year’s fellows come from 54 institutions across the United States and Canada.

Shuo Sun is an assistant professor of Physics and an associate fellow of JILA.

Renowned physicists Richard Feynman and Murray Gell-Mann were Sloan Research Fellows, as was mathematician John Nash, one of the fathers of modern game theory. Some 56 fellows have received a Nobel Prize in their respective field, 17 have won the Fields Medal in mathematics, and 22 have won the John Bates Clark Medal in economics, including every winner since 2007.

Open to scholars in seven scientific and technical fields—chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience and physics—Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded in close coordination with the scientific community. Candidates must be nominated by their fellow scientists. Winners are selected by independent panels of senior scholars on the basis of candidates’ research accomplishments, creativity and potential to become a leader in their field.

Peleg and Sun bring the total number of Sloan Fellows recognized at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder to 65 since 1961. They raise the number of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder Sloan Fellows in physics to 24.

More than 1,000 researchers are nominated each year for 125 fellowship slots. A full list of the 2023 Fellows cohort is available at https://sloan.org/fellowships/2023-Fellows.

Orit Peleg and Shuo Sun are among 125 early-career scholars who represent ‘the most promising scientific researchers working today.’

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Computer scientist, physicist wins Cottrell Scholar Award

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 19:50:47 +0000

Computer scientist, physicist wins Cottrell Scholar Award Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 03/01/2022 - 12:50

Clint Talbott

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s Orit Peleg will use the support to launch a novel, interdisciplinary probe of the physics of firefly communications

Orit Peleg, a University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder computer scientist and physicist, has won a 2022 Cottrell Scholar Award, which honors and supports early career scientists who have the potential to become leaders in their fields.

Peleg, an assistant professor of computer science and at the ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder BioFrontiers Institute, is one of 24 scholars to win this year’s award, which comes with $100,000 in research support. The award is bestowed annually by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), which announced the recipients this month.

Peleg, who is also affiliated with the Departments of Physics, Applied Math and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, focuses on understanding how biological communication signals are generated and interpreted.

At the top of the page: Orit Peleg's research will focus on the physics of firefly communications and how these communication signals are generated and interpreted (Photo credit: Fred Huang via Flickr). Above: Orit Peleg is a computer scientist and physicist at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder.

“These exceptional teacher-scholars are chosen not just for their research and educational programs but for their potential to become academic leaders at their institutions and beyond,” said RCSA President and CEO Daniel Linzer.

Recipients are chosen through a rigorous peer-review process of applications from a wide variety of public and private research universities and primarily undergraduate institutions in the United States and Canada. Their award proposals incorporate both research and science education.

In describing the Cottrell-supported work she will do on the physics of firefly communications, Peleg notes that our world is full of living creatures that must communicate information to survive and reproduce.

“A better understanding of how these communication signals are generated and interpreted—an important challenge in ecology—could benefit from physics and mathematics, via application of concepts like energetic cost, compression and detectability,” she writes.

She proposes to work with firefly swarms, which offer a “rare avenue into this interdisciplinary endeavor, as their signals are purely visual, approximately digital, and traceable, even in vast congested groups of individuals.”

Recent advances in field and virtual-reality technologies allow scientists to probe further than ever and investigate deep questions about signal-design strategies and their broadcasting and processing, she said, adding:

“My extensive background in quantitative studies of insect swarms and fluency in both theoretical and experimental approaches places me in a unique position to develop a deeper understanding of animal communication through testable phenomenological theories.”

As a Cottrell Scholar, Peleg will also develop a class titled “Physics, Artificial-Intelligence and Generative-Art of Agent-Based Models,” which will encourage a “Feynman-like joy” in learning, she writes, referring to the physicist Richard Feynman.

Building on the materials from the multi-agent systems class she piloted at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder, Peleg will increase the class’s accessibility via interdisciplinary visual experiences, she said.

“The visual component will be aligned with my current research on firefly behavior, with content inspired by and connected to the research proposal. As multi-agent systems have long been used to seed generative artwork, the course will build on these aesthetic expressions while teaching the students about the physics and artificial intelligence of multi-agent systems.”

Peleg said she was honored to have her work recognized by the RCSA: “It means so much to me that the research and education I am passionate about also resonates with others. I am incredibly grateful for the many nurturing mentors and mentees I had over the years. I wouldn't be able to do this without them.”

My extensive background in quantitative studies of insect swarms and fluency in both theoretical and experimental approaches places me in a unique position to develop a deeper understanding of animal communication through testable phenomenological theories.”

Peleg joined the ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder faculty in 2018. She holds a PhD in materials science from ETH Zürich, Switzerland. She also holds masters’ and bachelors’ degrees in physics and computer science from Bar–Ilan University, Israel.

She is the fourth member of the ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder faculty to be named a Cottrell Scholar. The others are, physicist Dennis Perepelitsa in 2020, physicist Cindy Regal in 2014 and chemist Gordana Dukovic in 2013.

“The class of 2022 joins an innovative and impactful community,” said RCSA Senior Program Director Silvia Ronco. “We look forward to seeing these latest awardees leave their mark on the face of science and academia throughout their careers.”

The awards are named for educator, inventor and science visionary Frederick Gardner Cottrell, who founded the Research Corporation for Science Advancement in 1912.

RCSA is a private foundation that funds basic research in the physical sciences at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. It creates and supports inclusive communities of early career researchers through two core programs: the Cottrell Scholar Program and Scialog.

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s Orit Peleg will use the support to launch a novel, interdisciplinary probe of the physics of firefly communications.

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Students may now pursue a minor in computational biology

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 19:19:50 +0000

Students may now pursue a minor in computational biology Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/15/2021 - 13:19

Tim Grassley

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s new minor combines disciplines like biology, computer science and mathematics

Undergraduates at the University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder interested in biology and computer science used to have to find creative ways to blend their interests on their own. That changed when ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder launched a computational biology minor this past year.

At the top of the page: Printed out copy of the human genome (Adam Nieman/Flickr). Above: Maria Carilli, a ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder student.

The program offers interdisciplinary classes to undergraduates interested in the intersection of fields like biology, computer science and mathematics. This, in turn, allows students and researchers to develop new ways of understanding biological data, species’ behavior, the structure of genomes and other types of complex biological systems. The minor teaches students to approach biological questions using computational ways of thinking, such as simulating ecosystems using mathematical models.

The field offers opportunities to delve into specialized research of living organisms but also explores the way these findings fit into a wider understanding of biological systems. When communities consider trying to alter the behaviors of biological phenomena, like viruses, computational biology approaches can help leaders make informed decisions that predict outcomes of those choices.

Computational biology is extraordinarily relevant to some of the biggest questions and challenges we’re facing globally.”

“Computational biology is extraordinarily relevant to some of the biggest questions and challenges we’re facing globally,” says Kristin Powell, director of interdisciplinary education with the BioFrontiers Institute and associate director of the minor. “One thing that has come out of the last year is the pressing need for computational biology to study phenomena like the spread of COVID-19 and how we stop it.”

Creating a broad, interdisciplinary vision

The minor emerged from ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s interdisciplinary BioFrontiers Institute. Faculty had seen success in its graduate-level IQ Biology PhD program, but they wanted to address a growing gap in opportunities for undergraduates to learn about these innovative ideas.

Rather than follow the program designs of peer universities, which in many cases add some computer science coursework to a biology major or vice versa, ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s faculty opted to make the program as interdisciplinary, cross-departmental, cross-college and collaborative as possible.

“There was a fateful meeting in the biotech building where we got 10 faculty from across campus in the room and we asked, ‘If we designed a computational biology degree from the ground up, focusing on the most important ideas in the field, what would our ideal program look like?’” says Aaron Clauset, associate professor of computer science and faculty director of the minor. “‘How would it train young scholars for the next century of biological research?’ It was an inspiring meeting.”

Key support came from Robin Dowell, who is associate professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology and a member of the BioFrontiers Institute's core faculty. Dowell’s research focuses on computational biology and uses an "antedisciplinary approach," whereby she "ignores boundaries between disciplines to follow this biological problem wherever it leads."

Top image: Kristin Powell, the director of interdisciplinary education with the BioFrontiers Institute, helped create this new minor. Middle image: Aaron Clauset, associate professor of computer science, also helped create this new minor. Bottom image: Robin Dowell, associate professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, was a key leader from the College of Arts and Sciences.

By the end, the team had a rough template for a computational biology minor. With the plan in hand, Powell, Clauset and Dowell began realizing the vision.

Launching the minor took about three years. Powell, Clauset and Dowell worked closely with a team to build an interdisciplinary curriculum and audits, establish the program’s administrative home in the Computer Science Department, determine how students gain access to coursework, decide who advised students and generate cross-college support.

“Each stage of launching an interdisciplinary program requires a lot of care,” notes Powell, “because the ultimate goal is to ensure that academic and administrative support enables undergraduates to seamlessly navigate an interdisciplinary education.”

Amplifying ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s remarkable opportunities

After launching in collaboration with the Computer Science Department, the program quickly gained interest from students across the university, many of whom had previously tried to bring together their interests in biology, computation and mathematics on their own.

One student, Maria Carilli, did not realize ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder had launched a minor in computational biology until she began researching graduate schools that focus on bioinformatics.

“One program that stood out to me, because I value interdisciplinary approaches to problems, was ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ’s IQ Biology PhD program,” says Carilli. “I was put in touch with Dr. Kristin Powell, and she told me about that graduate program and then also about this really exciting opportunity that was just starting up, the computational biology minor.”

Enrolling opened opportunities for Carilli, who graduated in spring 2021 with majors in biophysics and music and a minor in computational biology, to learn a new coding language, study methods of thinking and apply many of the tools she had learned over her ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder academic experience.

She particularly enjoyed classes on biological networks, taught by Aaron Clauset, and statistical analysis of the human genome, taught by John Rinn. In both cases, students downloaded large data sets from publicly accessible databases to generate predictive algorithms and draw new conclusions.

“ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ is so big and such a great research university, all of the departments are really strong,” says Carilli. “The interdisciplinary nature of computational biology is really well-served by ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ.”

Carilli, who begins a PhD program in biochemistry and molecular biophysics at the California Institute of Technology in fall 2021, notes that, at first, the broad list of faculty and students’ majors, which span thirteen undergraduate majors and counting, was exciting but also intimidating. At the time, she was concerned she would have gaps in her skills that would put her at a disadvantage.

For those undergraduates who are hesitant about computational biology because of similar worries, she has this advice:

“Don't be afraid to explore things that you don't have experience in. That's the way you're going to learn and the way you're going to discover what you actually like and what you want to do.”

To enroll in the computational biology minor, students can submit a statement of interest and speak with Eva Lacy, the program’s undergraduate academic advisor.

The computational biology minor gained guidance and support from Robin Dowell and the Computational Biology Committee, Ken Anderson, Rhonda Hoenigman, Eva Lacy, Kim Noice, Mary Steiner, Beth Webb, Amber McDonnell, Eli Hallowell, Travis Torline, Lorenzo Rivas, the Computer Science Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Undergraduate Education Council, the BioFrontiers Institute and the many staff, faculty, deans and partner departments in the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s new minor combines disciplines like biology, computer science and mathematics

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Digital-humanities experts to trade ideas on campus

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 03:29:08 +0000

Digital-humanities experts to trade ideas on campus Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 01/27/2019 - 20:29

The digital humanities—which lie at the nexus of computing and the humanities—are the subject of a symposium at the University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder next month.

Alan Liu and Miriam Posner

The symposium, dubbed English + Media & Technology, will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 22 in the Center for British & Irish Studies (Norlin Library room M549). The event is free and open to the public. It will feature two national experts and thought leaders from ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder.

Jane Garrity, ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder professor of English and one of the symposium’s organizers, said the event is designed to jump-start interest in the emerging interdisciplinary field and potentially pave the way for a new major at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder.

The event will feature lectures by Alan Liu, distinguished professor in the English Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Miriam Posner, assistant professor at the UCLA School of Information.

Liu’s presentation is titled “Digital Humanities Learning Goals for Undergraduates.” Liu says he will address this question from two perspectives “whose synthesis will be increasingly important for students in their careers and for society in general: the humanities and data science.”

One critical question, Liu states, is how learning digital methods can help students understand the humanities better, and how can such understanding contribute to a world ever more influenced by data science.

He added: “Supposing that the ultimate goal of (digital humanities) in the classroom is a humane data science, what kinds of approaches, methods, and skills should students learn to work and live in a world where data might fulfill the root promise of its name as ‘science’ by being good ‘knowledge’?”

Posner’s presentation is titled “Digital Humanities at the Actually Existing University.” She observes: “Rhetoric about digital-humanities education and research conjures a world with infinite time and no resource constraints. But that’s emphatically not the case at real-world universities.”

Posner will discuss how to prioritize goals, assess results, and serve students best in this environment. “This talk will discuss how we approached the problem at UCLA and detail some strategies that have been successful there and elsewhere.”

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ the conference

What: English + Media & Technology
When: Friday, Feb. 22, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where: Center for British & Irish Studies, Norlin Library M549
Schedule:
10 a.m. – Alan Liu, guest speaker
Break
11:30 a.m. – Miriam Posner, guest speaker
12:45-1:45 p.m. – Lunch, catered
2-3:30 p.m. – “Hands-on Learning: Collaborative Labs Roundtable”
4-5 p.m. – Conversation with Graduate Students

Liu has worked in the areas of digital humanities, the humanities in public life, Romantic literature, and literary and cultural theory. His most recently book is Friending the Past: The Sense of History in the Digital Age. He is founder and co-leader of the 4humanities.org advocacy initiative and principal investigator of the Mellon Foundation funded 4Humanities WhatEvery1Says project.

Posner is a digital humanist with interests in labor, race, feminism and the history and philosophy of data. As a digital humanist, she is particularly interested in the visualization of large bodies of data from cultural heritage institutions, and the application of digital methods to the analysis of images and video.

A film, media, and American studies scholar by training, she frequently writes on the application of digital methods to the humanities. She is at work on two projects: the first on what “data” might mean for humanistic research; and the second on how multinational corporations are making use of data in their supply chains.

Also speaking during the symposium are ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder English faculty Adam Bradley, Lori Emerson, David Glimp and Rachael Deagman Simonetta.

The event is sponsored by the Department of English. For more information, contact Alyssa Miller.

The digital humanities—which lie at the nexus of computing and the humanities—are the subject of a symposium at the University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder next month.

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