talk: Adapt3D: A Framework for Supporting CFD and MHD Modeling, 1pm Fri 10/21 ITE227

Adapt3D: A Framework for Supporting CFD and MHD Modeling

Professor John E. Dorband
Research Associate Professor and MCC Chief Scientist
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
University of Maryland, Baltimore County

1:00pm Friday 21 October 2011, ITE227

Adapt3D is a software framework that supports 3-D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) modeling on an unstructured mesh. It facilitates adaptive refinement and execution in a parallel computing environment, either on shared memory or distributed memory computer architectures. The framework was designed primarily to support parallel computing of simulations on a continuum expressed by an adaptively refined unstructured mesh. It was designed to cleanly differentiate the code that manages an unstructured mesh on a parallel computer and the code that performs the numerics on the components of the mesh. The intent is to ease the burden of the engineer or scientist when it come to understanding parallel computing or adaptive refinement, allowing him to spend his time understanding the computational science rather than the computer science.

Dr. John Dorband received a BA in Math and Physics from Northwest Nazarene University in 1972 and a PhD in Computer Science from The Pennsylvania State University in 1985. He work for NASA for 21 years doing research in parallel and high performance hardware architectures and software. He has developed parallel compilers, algorithms and applications. He was a member of the group that developed the concept of developing high performance computing architectures from commodity components (the Beowulf project).

Host: Yelena Yesha

Undergraduate Researcher Profile: Sheriff Jolaoso

Sheriff Jolaoso is a Senior majoring in Computer Engineering. His research involves analyzing electroencephalographical (EEG) data in order to find and establish trends between humans under specific testing conditions. To learn more about Sheriff's resarch pursuits, read his research profile.

talk: Detection of Chemical, Biological and Explosive Materials, 11:30am Fri 10/21

EE Graduate Seminar

Detection and Classification of Chemical, Biological, and Explosive
Materials: A Brief Overview of Several Cutting-Edge Problem Areas

Darren Emge
PI and Deputy Branch Chief
Laser Standoff Detection Branch
US Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center

11:30am-12:45pm Friday, 21 October 11, ITE 231

The detection and classification of chemical, biological, and explosive (CBE) materials is an area of extremely active research. With the advent of new sensor technologies and sensing methods there is the rapidly growing need for timely robust detection and classification algorithms. Several factors associated with emerging sensors offer novel challenges for the signal processing community. As sensor platforms become more mobile the added complexities of "on the move" standoff detection requires the use of non-stationary and adaptive methods. Ever increasing overall sensitivity introduces variations in signal response and many methods currently lack adequate performance models or ground truth. Reduction in size, weight, and power, along with real time performance, further limit approaches that can be used in addressing these issues. This presentation will provide a brief overview of several of these cutting edge problem areas and offer a glimpse into this challenging problem space.

Mr. Darren Emge earned a BS in Physics from UMBC in 1992. He then went to work for the University of Maryland Medical System, Department of Neurology. During his time at University Medical System, he developed analysis algorithms for evoked response potentials (ERP), functional magnetic resonance (fMRI), or neuronal mapping. He also supported the cognitive psychology group in the development of a pupil motion tracking system in the study of dyslexia. Mr. Emge earned the MSEE from UMBC/CSEE Dept in 2000. In 2001 He joined the US Army ECBC passive detection team investigating advanced mathematical techniques for the detection of chemical vapors based on Fourier transform infrared (FTRI) imaging. In 2003 Mr. Emge was promoted to a Principal Investigator (PI) in the laser standoff detection branch, where he currently serves as PI and Deputy Branch Chief. His current work is in the areas of the detection of small signals, detection of non-stationary signals, and the application of non-linear signal processing methods for the detection of biological and trace chemical/explosive materials.

Seminar Host: Prof. Joel M. Morris

Prof. Lomonaco talks on Quantum Knots, Quantum Braids and Quantum Computing

CSEE processor Samuel J. Lomonaco is giving a talk on his research on quantum computing as part of the Joint Quantum Institute seminar series sponsored by UMCP and NIST. The talk will be given at 12:30pm Monday 17 October, in room 1201 in the Physics building at College Park.

Quantum knots and quantum braids: Their possible application to superfluid vortices and to topological quantum computing in optical lattices.

In this talk, we show how to reconstruct knot theory in such a way that it is intimately related to quantum physics. In particular, we give a blueprint for creating a quantum system that has the dynamic behavior of a closed knotted piece of rope moving in 3-space. Within this framework, knot invariants become physically measurable quantum observables, knot moves become unitary transformations, with knot dynamics determined by the Schroedinger equation. The same approach can also be applied to the theory of braids. Toward the end of the talk, we look at possible applications to superfluid vortices and to topological quantum computing in optical lattices.

For more information, see the entry on the Joint Quantum Institute calendar.

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

This October is the the eighth annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security in cooperation with the National Cyber Security Alliance and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

According to the DHS, cyber threats present some of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face, not just in the United States, but throughout the world. Everyone who uses the Internet has a role to play in helping to secure it and thus enhance the safety for themselves and their families online.

See the DHS National Cyber Security Awareness Month site for more information, including suggestions for what you can do.

Maryland Cyber Challenge finals ahead

When Dr. Rick Forno came to UMBC in the fall of 2010, he came with a plan: a weekend competition at UMBC for students interested in cybersecurity. But, what was originally conceived as a casual Saturday afternoon event, evolved into the Maryland Cyber Challenge and Conference (MDC3), a state-wide competition that promises generous scholarships for participating students and, though only in its first year, is already being endorsed by an impressive slew of supporters including President Hrabowski and Governor Martin O’Malley.

Just in time for National Cyber Security Awareness Month, the goal of MDC3 is to “celebrate Cybersecurity in Maryland,” says Dr. Forno, co-chair of the event and the Graduate Program Director, Cybersecurity at UMBC. MDC3 started as a partnership between the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and UMBC, and has now expanded to include the National Cyber Security Alliance, Tech Council of Maryland, and the Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development. When SAIC suggested using CyberNEXS–their cyber training, certification, and exercise model—to simulate compromised computers for students to analyze, MDC3 was born.  

The competition is made up of three rounds, where teams are confronted with a cybersecurity threat or issue that needs to be resolved. Teams fall within three division: High School, College, and Professionals, and are made up of roughly six members. When MDC3’s qualifier rounds kicked off in early September, an impressive 53 teams throughout the state had joined the competition; roughly 15 per division.

The first round presented teams with virtual machines that were plagued by vulnerabilities. Team members were given the task to find and fix as many problems as they could within the given time limit. Round two, which took place on October 1st, was forensics based. Each team was given a compromised computer hard drive that they had to diagnose and analyze to determine what malicious activity had happened and how.

The final round of the competition will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center on October 21st and 22nd. There are currently 24 teams in the competition, 8 per division. The finals will consist of a computer defense exercise for high school students who must defend their systems against active attacks, while college and professional teams will participate in a penetration testing and forensics-oriented event where they examine, attack, and compromise assorted target systems in the exercise environment.  Included in those 24 finalists is UMBC’s own Cyber Defense Team, the Cyberdawgs.

“I really enjoy going to competitions, it gets me hyped and excited,” says Marc Warfield, Cyberdawgs president, a Junior pursuing his B.S. in Information Systems. “Overall I’m happy that we made it to the finals so that we can get more focus and hopefully members.”

In addition to the valuable experience, the competition boasts impressive scholarship awards for student winners courtesy of the National Security Agency (NSA). Competing High School and College students can potentially win $5,000 per person per team (1st place) or $2,000 per person per team (2nd place). Dr. Forno credits these generous sums to Caroline Baker, Director of Corporate Relations at UMBC, and the OIA group for their tenacious negotiations with NSA to make these scholarships possible.

The MDC3 finals are tied in with a two-day conference. Panels and lectures will feature topics like cloud computing, careers in cybersecurity, cybersecurity education, and the Cyber Maryland Initiative. The conference features experts in the field including Chris Inglis, Deputy Director of the NSA, Larry Clinton, President of the Internet Security Alliance, and Ira Winkler author of Spies Among Us.

The already explosive success of MDC3 suggests that chances are high for it to develop into an annual staple, which is Dr. Forno’s goal. “The whole idea behind this event was to get people excited and interested and to get people to pursue careers in cybersecurity because there is such a need for it now and going forward,” says Dr. Forno. “It also demonstrates UMBC’s entrepreneurial commitment to fostering cybersecurity and STEM education for Maryland’s current and future workforce.”

Excitement is definitely the response conveyed by teams like the Cyberdawgs. “It was a good learning experience, which is the best thing about these competitions,” says Warfield of the competition so far. But winning, of course, hasn’t been totally ignored. “I’m not going to promise anything,” says Warfield, “but I promise that we are going to try our best and hopefully bring home the championship to UMBC.”

Visit www. mdc3.org for more information and to register for the conference.

Dennis Ritchie, inventor of the C programming language, has died

Sad news. Rob Pike reports on Google Plus that Dennis Ritchie died at his home this weekend after a long illness. Ritchie created the C programming language and was a key contributor to Unix. In 1983 he received the Turing Award with his long time colleague Ken Thompson for the development of operating systems theory and the implementation of the UNIX. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1988 and has received many other national and international awards, including the including the IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal, te National Medal of Technology and the Japan Prize.

Update 10/14: The New York Times published a story on Ritchie yesterday, Dennis Ritchie, Trailblazer in Digital Era, Dies at 70.

Update 10/15: In Dizzying but Invisible Depth, Jean-Baptiste Queru offers an interesting perspective on "why the mainstream press and the general population has talked so much about Steve Jobs' death and comparatively so little about Dennis Ritchie's".

Update 10/15: Bjarne Stroustrup on the importance of Ritchie’s contributions to our field: They said it couldn’t be done, and he did it.

talk: Optical Sensors for Biotechnology & Bioengineering

EE Graduate Seminar

Optical Sensors for Biotechnology and Bioengineering

Yordan Kostov, PhD
Research Associate Professor
UMBC Center for Advanced Sensor Technology

11:30am-12:45pm, Friday 14 October 2011, ITE 231

Interaction of the light with the matter is one of the fundamental interactions in the nature. It is used in a variety of fields, stretching from telecommunications to life sciences. In this talk, the use of luminescence for sensing purposes will be highlighted. In particular, fluorescence spectroscopy will be illustrated. Multiple examples that employ different characteristics of the fluorescence (excitation and emission spectrum, decay time, polarization, and combination thereof) will be given. The presented sensing principles are used for measurements of oxygen, pH, CO2, ethanol, etc. As an optical chemical sensor requires successful interweaving of elements from 5 different scientific areas (analytical chemistry, polymer science, optics, electronics and computer science), the problems and the requirements for system integration are discussed.

Dr. Yordan Kostov received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. with honors in 1987 from Department of Electrical Engineering, Odessa Politechnic Institute, Former USSR. He received a Ph.D. Degree in Electrical/Chemical Engineering from Bulgarian Academy of Sciences for his work in the area of optical chemical sensors and biosensors. After that, Dr. Kostov spent an year as a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for Technical Chemistry, University of Hanover, Germany. In 1994 he accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechincs, Sofia Technical University, Bulgaria. In 1999 he became a post-doctoral fellow at University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, at the Medical Biotechnology Center. He joined the UMBC Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering as a Research Assistant Professor in 2000, and is now Research Associate Professor since 2006. Dr. Kostov also holds a position as an Assistant Director of the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology at UMBC. He is involved in the development of chemical and biochemical sensors for biotechnology, bioengineering and biomedical applications.

Seminar Host: Prof. Joel M. Morris

Delali Dzirasa (’04, Computer Engineering) receives 2011 UMBC Young Alumni Rising Star Award

UMBC Alumni Association presents awards each year honoring alumni for their professional and personal achievements and service to the University. This year's Young Alumni Rising Star Award is being given to Delali Dzirasa (’04, Computer Engineering) who is the founder and president of Fearless Solutions, LLC.

While an undergraduate, Delali Dzirasa was a member of the inaugural entrepreneurship classes at UMBC, developing two companies before graduating. Today, he is founder and president of Fearless Solutions, a cybersecurity start-up housed at UMBC’s @bwtech cybersecurity research and technology park.

In addition to making waves in the Maryland cybersecurity community (Dzirasa recently met Maryland governor Martin O’Malley at UMBC’s Advantage Incubator launch), the two-year-old company employs a number of UMBC graduates and current students. In addition to serving as SGA speaker of the senate and helping to plan UMBC’s first Homecoming, Dzirasa also received the following honors as a student: Golden Key Honor Society (2001), Student Ambassador, Presidents Board of Visitors (2003), Most inspiring lead award (2003), USAA All American Scholar Award (2001), and NSBE Torchbearer Award for students possessing a GPA of 3.25 and above (2001). Following graduation, he worked at RABA technologies for fellow alumnus Rob Baruch.

Dzirasa is married to UMBC alumna Letitia Dzirasa ’03, biological sciences, and he has one son, Dominic Williams-Dzirasa. He follows in the footsteps of brothers Mawuli Dzirasa ’00, mechanical engineering, and Dr. Kafui Dzirasa ’01, chemical engineering, in graduating from UMBC. He enjoys giving back to the community within his church.

The 2011 awards will be presented on Thursday, October 14, 2011, at an awards ceremony in the Albin O. Kuhn Library on the UMBC campus. To attend, please RSVP online.

Ralph Semmel (Ph.D. CS '92) is UMBC Alumnus of Year for Engineering and IT

Each year, the UMBC Alumni Association presents awards to honor alumni for their professional and personal achievements and service to the University. The 2011 awards will be presented on Thursday, October 14, 2011, at an awards ceremony in the Albin O. Kuhn Library on the UMBC campus. To attend, please RSVP online.

This year's Alumnus of the Year for Engineering and Information Technology is Ralph Semmel (’92 Ph.D., Computer Science) who is currently the Director of The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. As Director, Dr. Semmel leads the nation’s largest University Affiliated Research Center, which performs research and development on behalf of the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other Federal agencies. The Laboratory has more than 5,000 staff members, of whom more than two-thirds are engineers and scientists.

Prior to becoming Director, Dr. Semmel served as the founding Head of APL’s Applied Information Sciences Department and Infocentric Operations Business Area. Dr. Semmel also served in a variety of other executive and senior leadership positions at the Laboratory including Business Area Executive for Infocentric Operations, Assistant Head of the Power Projection Systems Department, Business Area Executive for Science and Technology, Deputy Director of the Research and Technology Development Center, and Supervisor of the System and Information Sciences Group. In addition to his APL responsibilities, Dr. Semmel served from 1997 through 2010 as Chair of the graduate programs in Computer Science, Information Assurance, and Information Systems Engineering for Johns Hopkins University’s Engineering for Professionals program. In 2011, he was appointed Professor of Computer Science at the University. Dr. Semmel also has been program co-chair and on the program committees for several major international conferences, and served on the editorial board of the International Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering. He has published more than 40 papers in the areas of artificial intelligence, database systems, and software engineering.

Dr. Semmel also has led and continues to serve on a variety of Government science and technology boards, panels, and committees. Before joining the Laboratory in 1986, Dr. Semmel held leadership and technical positions with Wang Laboratories, MITRE Corporation, and the U.S. Army. Dr. Semmel received a B.S. in Engineering from the United States Military Academy, an M.S. in Systems Management from the University of Southern California, an M.S. in Computer Science from The Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UMBC.

Dr. Semmel was the eleventh person to receive a Ph.D. in Computer Science for his dissertation entitled A knowledge-based approach to automated query formulation. His dissertation research, which was supervised by Professor James Mayfield, tackled the difficult problem of enabling people to access and query a large, complex databases without having to master the details of their internal structure and naming conventions. His approach combined a strong theoretical foundation with a collection of novel heuristics to produce a system that solved the problem and also supported effective and practical applications. He evaluated his work on a real database in use at the Space Telescope Science Institute that comprised nearly one hundred interconnected relational tables. This research was forward looking and one of the first to address problems that are just now becoming critical as the scale and availability of data has reached a tipping point. Companies like Google, Microsoft and IBM are now urgently tackling the same problems that Dr. Semmel first define and framed more than twenty years ago.

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