Student-Focused Competition Announces New Challenges on Thermal Energy Storage, Reducing Energy Consumption, and Carbon Reduction

Developing a diverse and knowledgeable workforce for building science is critical to meeting future decarbonization goals set by the U.S. Department of Energy. That is why the sixth annual JUMP into STEM competition is taking building science education out of the classroom and into the real world with new challenges that will inspire creativity, innovation, and teamwork for the next generation of building scientists.

This collegiate competition invites interdisciplinary student teams across architecture, engineering, public policy, computer science, economics, and more to develop solutions to some of the buildings sector's biggest challenges.

This year's challenges focus on thermal energy storage, building envelope performance, and reducing carbon emissions. Challenges are now open, and submissions are due on Nov. 10, 2023. Winners will be announced in December and will be invited to the Final Competition at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in January 2024.

Getty Images

This challenge encourages participants to seek solutions for thermal energy storage for buildings to optimize energy utilization, enhance sustainability, and increase resilience. Students can develop solutions involving, but not limited to, integration of materials, systems, and controls for the storage and release of energy.

Getty Images

The focus of this challenge is to improve the building envelope performance of new or existing residential buildings by reducing energy consumption in a cost-effective and accessible way. Students may consider solutions to address air leakage, moisture durability, and/or thermal performance of the envelope for new or existing residential buildings. Students can target solutions that are cost-effective, affordable, quickly implemented, and accessible to the end user.

Getty Images

In this challenge, participants will develop an innovative solution that will reduce carbon emissions from U.S. buildings (residential or commercial, new or existing). Problem statements can address embodied carbon emissions and/or operational carbon emissions. Innovative solutions should lead to significant reductions in carbon emissions and increased affordability for identified stakeholder groups to obtain new technologies.

JUMP into STEM finalists do not just earn valuable experience; eligible students and winning teams are offered 10-week, paid internships at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, or Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where they will work on projects that promote hands-on experience, allowing them to work with a mentor and network with industry experts.

Finalists now have the opportunity to participate in an industry partner visit. The pilot program launched in summer 2023, with three interns embarking on a two-day visit to JUMP into STEM sponsor Clayton Home Building Group in Maryville, Tennessee. Interns participated in networking sessions, gained insight into the tech-to-market pipeline, and presented their own summer projects to the Clayton Design Center.

JUMP into STEM is seeking sponsors who will work closely with NREL and other stakeholders to make the competition a success.

Sponsorship funds are crucial to allow for the inclusion of more student teams in the final competition, as well as expansion of the reception, activities, and other benefits for final event attendees and challenge winners. To learn more about the benefits and rewards of becoming a JUMP into STEM sponsor, contact Kim Trenbath.

Read more from the original source:

JUMP Into STEM Competition Prepares Next Generation of Building ... - NREL

The University will offer a Bachelors of Science in Data Science for the first time the degree had previously only been available as a minor in the recently-founded School of Data Science. First years will be able to apply to the major starting this spring semester.

The Data Science Institute was founded in 2013, with the current School of Data Science created in 2019 following a $120 million gift from the Quantitative Foundation the largest private donation in University history.

The new Data Science major will focus on four domains systems, analytics, value and design. It is an interdisciplinary major bringing elements of computer science, statistics, ethics and mathematics together.

Phil Bourne, founding Data Science dean and Biomedical Engineering professor, said the process to get the major approved consisted of getting the proposal through the Provosts Office and then to the Faculty Senate, where it was sent to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

The major is looked at relative to what's going on in other universities, Bourne said. Everybody wants to do data science right now, its unbelievable.

Applicants must have either completed or be currently enrolled in two prerequisite courses Foundations of Data Science and Programming for Data Science. The programming requirement can also be fulfilled by a variety of entry-level computer science courses, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credit.

Professor of Data Science Dr. Aaron Abrams joined the University's data science faculty this past year as the new major has increased the need for professors. Abrams said while Data Science incorporates content from comparable majors, such as computer science or statistics, there are other aspects that make it unique.

It also incorporates elements from design and ethics, Abrams said. To be an effective data scientist, you need some exposure to all those different domains.

Students who are currently in their second year or beyond can not apply for the major given the three-year course load. Computer science is a highly popular alternative.

Second-year College student Daniel Brock, majoring in computer science, said that a data science degree is valuable because of its rising popularity in the workforce.

If I had started off at U.Va. with the option to major in Data Science it very well may have been an option I would choose, Brock said. The market for computer scientists is not very great at the moment and the field is becoming increasingly competitive, whereas data science is continuing to grow in popularity with increasing demand making the market less competitive.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of data scientists is projected to grow 35 percent from 2022 to 2032, meaning the major is increasing in demand and value and about 17,700 openings for data scientists are projected each year.

According to U.Va. Data Science News, over 600 undergraduate students across 50 majors were actively pursuing a data science minor as of last spring.

Although planning to major in commerce, first-year College student Lynn Rizk, is considering a minor in Data Science as opposed to computer science.

Data Science equips you with analytical skills that help you draw conclusions based on information that you're studying, Rizk said. I'm more interested in analyzing information that will specifically help me with consumer and market related trends and using that to analyze businesses.

The University has offered a minor in Data Science for the past three years this past April, the University was ranked 11 in top 20 public universities for highest-paying jobs in Data Science. They have now joined 160 other universities that offer Data Science majors and related courses.

We did a survey last year of freshmen coming into U.Va., and almost half of them expressed some interest in potentially doing the major, Bourne said. The fact students are even interested [in the major] tells you that they are thinking, when I graduate from here in four years, what are the jobs going to be?

In light of the growing interest in data science among first years, Bourne's insights shed light on the University's forward-thinking approach. In January of 2019, the University announced the construction of the School of Data Science on Emmet Street, with an amphitheater and pond between the building and the street. The $35 million, 60,000-square-foot building is expected to open in the spring of 2024. Data science classes are currently being held across Grounds, but primarily in the Dell.

U.Va. School of Data Science will be holding Datapalooza 2023: The Future on Nov. 10 in Newcomb Hall. This event will focus on the future of data science, AI in education and the launch of the Futures Initiative.

Go here to read the rest:

U.Va approves new Data Science B.S. - University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily

ByHub staff report

Anton (Tony) Dahbura is co-director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Assured Autonomy, the executive director of the Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute, and an associate research scientist in computer science at the university's Whiting School of Engineering. His research focuses on AI assurance, security, fault-tolerant computing, distributed systems, and testing.

Image caption: Anton Dahbura

The Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence is the first major step the federal government has taken to regulate AI by establishing standards for AI safety and security, and by imposing the requirement that the most powerful AI systems need to be extensively tested by third parties to reduce the chance of unintended consequences. The EO also includes, among numerous initiatives: provisions for building up American expertise in AI to remain competitive; increased funding for AI research; help for small businesses and start-ups to commercialize AI; and mechanisms for promoting international cooperation in AI.

AI is an incredibly powerful set of technologies that is making its way into virtually all aspects of our lives, from how we drive our cars to how we are approved for loans, are diagnosed and treated for medical conditions, and even use our phones. It can also be used for the next waves of scientific discovery and for advances in health care. Furthermore, there are more controversial application areas such as using AI in the criminal justice system for singling out suspected criminals in surveillance video or making recommendations for prison sentences.

The vast promise of AI is tempered by its many potential pitfalls. We're in the research stage of understanding what can go wrong with AI and how to overcome those challenges to successfully integrate AI into society. For instance, societal bias is something that is very easy to creep into AI-based systems and is notoriously difficult to detect and remediate; AI-based systems can inadvertently leak information about individuals or present other forms of security vulnerabilities; AI systems can mass-produce disinformation and scams; AI-enabled applications can present new ethical dilemmas; and of course, there will always be edge cases that will cause AI to behave in unpredictable and undesirable ways.

There's little doubt that researchers can develop the tools and methodologies to ensure that AI performs safely, ethically, securely, and equitably. However, it will take time and require a concerted effort by academia, private industry, all levels of government, and philanthropic organizations to achieve those lofty goals.

The EO comes at a critical time as companies large and small barrel forward to introduce all manner of AI-enabled technology to the market. While the EO is impressively comprehensive, this journey is just beginning. It's going to take ongoing proactive leadership across the government over the long haul to keep up with the astonishing pace of AI development and ensure that AI is deployed responsibly. There will be unanticipated twists and turns that require flexibility, vision, and the ability to bring all sides together so that we can rightly trust AI.

Continue reading here:

Biden administration issues executive order regulating artificial ... - The Hub at Johns Hopkins

The Advanced Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, or SuperUROP, is celebrating a significant milestone: 10 years of setting careers in motion.

Originally mapped out by Dean Anantha Chandrakasan (then the head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, SuperUROP is designed to act as a launching pad for careers in research and industry, allowing juniors and seniors to experience an authentic and authentically challenging research experience. Students begin their year-long effort by identifying a project and building a relationship with a faculty member or senior research scientist, before spending many hours per week engaged in closely focused research on a specific question; writing a high-quality research paper and bringing it through the review process; and finally, presenting their findings in a scientific poster conference attended by key stakeholders, including faculty, peers, and generous supporters of the program.

Unlike most homework or exams, which usually have a highly structured result, SuperUROP research is frequently very open-ended, morphing into graduate theses, startup plans, or industry positions as students continue their work well past the semesters close.

Research, especially as an undergraduate, is always very challenging, says Chelsea Finn '14, an alumna of SuperUROP who is now an assistant professor at Stanford University working on robotic interaction. Doing research as an undergraduate student is the best way to get a flavor of the ambiguity, challenge, and thrill that comes from trying to solve problems that no one has solved before. SuperUROP is super useful for figuring out if a career in research is a good fit.

Students come to SuperUROP to get ahead not only on research skills, but on the entrepreneurial skills theyll need for careers in startups and industry. A SuperUROP scholar in 2015-16, Eric Dahlseng '17 went on to co-found Empo Health, a medical device company. At its core, I think the SuperUROP program teaches undergraduates how to create things that dont exist (whether that be processes, ideas, technologies, etc.) and share those creations with the world effectively, says Dahlseng, whose company has introduced a device used to remotely monitor patients at risk of dangerous diabetic complications. This is an important set of skills for research and academia, but also an immensely important set of skills for entrepreneurship.

Dahlseng also found that SuperUROP stretched his communications abilities I took the communication portion of my SuperUROP very seriously, recalls the entrepreneur, who received the Ilona Karmel Writing and Humanistic Studies Prize for Engineering Writing award for the paper portion of his project. As I advance in my career, and especially as Empo Health grows, the importance of good scientific communication is only expanding. I find my role focusing more and more on the communication pieces as I work on growing the team and establishing strong collaboration amongst everyone, sharing our learnings with key stakeholders, and highlighting what were creating for end customers and users.

Luis Voloch '13, SM '15 can also testify to the power of SuperUROP to transform strong students into strong scientific communicators. When Voloch was enrolled in SuperUROP, in 2012-13, he investigated how sources of information, including viruses, can be concealed or revealed in computer networks. He is now the co-founder of Immunai, an AI-driven cancer immunotherapy biotech company based in New York City which employs over 140 people and develops technologies at the intersection of AI, genomics, big data, and immunology. In addition to his career at Immunai, Voloch lectures within the Stanford Graduate School of Business on management and entrepreneurship topics in data science and AI-heavy companies. In both roles, the communications skills he acquired during his SuperUROP experience help him connect with students. In my SuperUROP, I started to learn how to do better scientific communications, which I built up further during my graduate research work and beyond. Communicating clearly is a core professional and research skill, and Im thankful we got started with it that early.

As careers change and grow, those core skills can flex to meet new challenges. Jennifer Madiedo '19, MNG '20, a senior software engineer in Industry Solutions Engineering at Microsoft, credits her SuperUROP experience with developing her skills in scientific communication and storytelling. How do you introduce your work to someone who may understand the overarching concepts of your field but not all the details? How do you figure out what background work is relevant and pull it into a cohesive backstory? How do you explain your methodology without losing your reader in too many details? It's all about the communication; learning to communicate deeply technical ideas in a way peers can understand was a whole new challenge I hadn't really encountered before at MIT.

Madiedo started her career in a half-engineering, half-research natural language processing team at Microsoft, and now works directly with customers and their engineering teams to solve multifaceted problems. I'm completely out of a lab setting now, but the skills I learned in undergraduate research truly form the bedrock of how I communicate with my teammates and peers.

Again and again, the alumni of SuperUROP stress that communication often regarded as a soft skillwas one of the most important abilities to be tested and developed by the program. Communication is important in many areas, but is truly an essential part of science, says Chelsea Finn, who balances her research and teaching responsibilities at Stanford with a role on the Google Brain team. The ultimate outcome of science is knowledge, and that knowledge is not very useful if it is not communicated to others! Finn credits much of her passion for science communication to the infectious passion of her SuperUROP advisor, the late Seth Teller: Seth instilled in me the importance of conveying enthusiasm for things that I am excited about, especially when talking to students and mentees.

With 10 years of enthusiastic alumni now engaged in groundbreaking work across many fields, that legacy of enthusiasm continues to pull new scientists into the lab, and new students into a productive year of critical thinking, communicating, and creating through SuperUROP.

See the original post here:

Reflecting on a decade of SuperUROP at MIT - MIT News

Chi-Ren Shyu

Nov. 3, 2023

Chi-Ren Shyu has been named a Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI).

Shyu is the Paul K. and Dianne Shumaker Professor in electrical engineering and computer science and serves as the director of theMU Institute for Data Science and Informatics.

As one of 23 new ACMI Fellows elected by the 473-member body, Shyu represents excellence from academia, government and industry. Inductees are the best and brightest stars in the field demonstrating thought leadership, stellar experience and established scholarship, according to the ACMI.

Dr. Shyu has a sustained record in informatics research developing innovative technologies and explainable AI methods with significant impacts on industry, research community, and federal agencies, the ACMIs historical biography says. He is also recognized for building the National Institutes of Health and National Security Agency funded data science and informatics programs with trainees making notable contributions in the informatics community.

I am honored to have been elected as a Fellow of ACMI, Shyu said. It is a privilege to stand among such esteemed colleagues in the field of biomedical informatics within the College, all united in the mission to pioneer innovation in informatics research and education aimed at enhancing human health.

Read the original post:

Chi-Ren Shyu named a Fellow of the American College of Medical ... - University of Missouri