News

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Robots Have Become An Essential Part Of The War Against Covid-19

Jan. 27, 2021
Diligent Robotics, a healthcare technology company founded by WNCG professor Andrea Thomaz, is on the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. As highlighted in Forbes, robots like Diligent's Moxi are increasingly being used for essential functions in the patient-care setting. Read more at Forbes.com.  
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Reducing Energy Use in Neural Networks

Jan. 11, 2021
Although advanced neural networks continue to dramatically improve the capabilities of artificial intelligence systems, they are associated with substantial energy use. In an effort to address this problem a growing number of organisations are focused on the creation of technologies designed to reduce energy use in the training and operation of such systems.

Rajiv Khanna Receives Best Paper Award at NeurIPS 2020

Jan. 5, 2021
WNCG alumnus Rajiv Khanna and his colleagues Michal Derezinski and Michael W. Mahoney received the Best Paper Award at NeurIPS 2020. Their winning paper, “Improved Guarantees and a Multiple-Descent Curve for Column Subset Selection and the Nyström Method,” was presented in the conference’s Learning Theory track. The paper was one of three to receive the distinction for 2020. The award committee chose the winners in a two-stage selection process which considered the research’s impact, creativity, and “potential to endure,” along with its scientific and academic rigor.
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Chan-Byoung Chae and Kaibin Huang Elevated to IEEE Fellow

Jan. 5, 2021
WNCG alumni Chan-Byoung Chae and Kaibin Huang have been elevated to Fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for 2021. Elevation to Fellow is a prestigious distinction conferred upon select members of the institute whose “extraordinary accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest are deemed fitting” for the accolade. Chae was honored for contributions to MIMO design and prototypes for emerging communication systems; Huang for contributions to wirelessly powered communications and multi-antenna communications.
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Xingqin Lin Receives Young Professional Award

Dec. 21, 2020
WNCG alumnus Xingqin Lin has won IEEE’s 2020 Best Young Professional (YP) Award in Industry. IEEE Communications Society selects two winners for the annual award: one from academia and one from industry. Young Professional nominees must have received their first post-secondary degree within the past 15 years in order to be eligible. Candidates for the industry category are considered based on “innovative research and/or development of concepts, frameworks, products, services, standards in the communications field.”
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José del R. Millán: Building the Brain-Computer Interface

Dec. 15, 2020
This news feature is part of Dell Med's Voices, a series of profiles that highlight the people of Dell Med as they work to improve health with a unique focus on our community. How can a computer help someone regain motor function? José del R. Millán, Ph.D., a professor in Texas ECE and the Dell Medical School Department of Neurology, tackles this question as he designs brain-computer interfaces that empower people to surpass their limits. Q&A WHAT’S THE PROBLEM YOU’RE TRYING TO SOLVE, AND HOW DID YOU COME TO RECOGNIZE IT?
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Shrinking massive neural networks used to model language

Dec. 3, 2020
A new approach could lower computing costs and increase accessibility to state-of-the-art natural language processing. WNCG student Tianlong Chen is the lead author of a study in artificial intelligence that posits that hidden within massive neural networks, leaner subnetworks exist that can complete the same task more efficiently. The study is co-authored by WNCG assistant professor Zhangyang "Atlas" Wang, along with Jonathan Frankle of MIT CSAIL, and Shiyu Chang, Sijia Liu, and Yang Zhang, all of the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab.
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Prof. Joydeep Ghosh Receives 2020 IEEE ICDM Research Contributions Award

Dec. 3, 2020
WNCG professor Joydeep Ghosh has been named a recipient of the 2020 IEEE ICDM Research Contributions Award. The award is the highest recognition for research achievements in Data Mining, and is annually given to one individual or one group who has made influential research contributions to the field of Data Mining. 
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Five WNCG Faculty Named Highly Cited Researchers

Dec. 3, 2020
Andrea Alù, Jeffrey G. Andrews, Alan Bovik, Robert Heath, and Nanshu Lu have been named Highly Cited Researchers for 2020. The annual list from Clarivate recognizes influential researchers from around the world.
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A Conversation with Diligent Robotics Co-Founder Andrea Thomaz

Nov. 18, 2020
WNCG professor Andrea Thomaz was interviewed by Austin Monthly on how her company Diligent Robotics is "revolutionizing health care in the age of COVID-19." Read the full interview on Austin Monthly.