May 2021 - Gradstudents - mailman.cs.vt.edu

Graduate Council Election Results
by Shakiba Davari 07 May '21

07 May '21

All, If you could not join the Grad Council meeting yesterday, here are the results of the election. The Graduate Council E-board <https://csgrad.cs.vt.edu/officers/> for the Academic Year 2021-2022 is: President: Miles Frantz Vice President: Alex Hicks Treasurer: Joshua Detwiler Secretary: Kylie Davidson Congratulations to the new board and looking forward to the amazing (and finally in person) events they will plan. *Stay Healthy and Happy,* *Shakiba Davari* *Ph.D. Student, **3D-Interaction Group, **Computer Science**, * *Virginia Tech* *President, Computer Science Graduate Council <https://csgrad.cs.vt.edu/>* *, * *Virginia Tech* *Pronoun: She/her * *E-mail <sdavari(a)vt.edu> | Website <https://sites.google.com/vt.edu/sdavari>| 3DI-Lab <https://research.cs.vt.edu/3di/> *

1 0

MEng CS Students - Plan of Study
by Samantha Pipkin 07 May '21

07 May '21

This email is intended ONLY for MEng students Dear MEng CS Students, If you are planning to graduate in Summer 2021 and Fall 2021, your POS is due NOW. Please submit your Plan of Study, through the <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1UpNNIIVuajS9g60ZTMgh_krI6H1kjIm BCdqNmZAadNfE0w/viewform> Master of Engineering in CS Google Form. The POS form itself can be found <https://hosting.cs.vt.edu/gpc/forms/PlanMEng.pdf> here. Graduate School processing typically takes 4-6 weeks. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY and do not submit the POS at the last minute. The Graduate School will not expedite approval of a plan. You will not be able to complete a degree conferral request without an approved POS. If you are not graduating, please use the POS as a worksheet to begin planning. Submission of Plan of Study for the MEng CS program is: * Students must submit their POS by the end of their second semester * Accelerated UG/G students must submit their POS by the end of their first semester If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me by email or we can schedule a zoom meeting. Best, Samantha Samantha Pipkin, Program Coordinator Blacksburg and Northern Virginia Campus Virginia Tech | Master of Engineering 7054 Haycock Road, Room 478 Falls Church, Virginia 22043 <mailto:samanthap@vt.edu> samanthap(a)vt.edu

1 0

MS defense: Nicolas Gutkowski - Monday 1:00 PM
by Douglas Bowman 07 May '21

07 May '21

All, You are invited to the MS thesis defense of Nicolas Gutkowski on Monday. Details below. Title: Designing Cultural Heritage Experiences for Head-Worn Augmented Reality Date/Time: Monday, May 10, 1:00 PM EDT Location: Zoom - https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/82552016820 <https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/82552016820> Committee: Doug Bowman (chair), Sang Won Lee, Todd Ogle Abstract: History education is important, as it provides context for current events today. Cultural heritage sites, such as historic buildings, ruins, or archaeological digs can provide a glimpse into the past. The use of different technologies, including augmented and virtual reality, to teach history has expanded. Augmented reality (AR) in particular can be used to enhance real artifacts and places to allow for deeper understanding. However, the experiences born out of these efforts primarily aim to enhance museum visits and are presented as handheld experiences on smartphones or tablets. The use of head-worn augmented reality for on-site history education is a gap. There is a need to examine how on-site historical experiences should be designed for AR headsets. This work aims to explore best practices of creating such experiences through a case study on the Solitude AR Tour. Additionally comparisons between designing for head-worn AR and handheld AR are presented. -- Doug A. Bowman Frank J. Maher Professor, Computer Science Director, Center for Human-Computer Interaction Senior Fellow, Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology Virginia Tech dbowman(a)vt.edu https://wordpress.cs.vt.edu/3digroup/author/dbowman/ Group: https://wordpress.cs.vt.edu/3digroup/ Center: http://hci.vt.edu/ Twitter: @CHCI_VT

1 0

Fwd: A.I Challenges on Earthquake Prediction and Pneumonia Classification
by Cliff Shaffer 07 May '21

07 May '21

I know nothing about this, but possibly some of you could find this to be an interesting challenge. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Chanukya from DPhi <admin(a)dphi.tech> Date: Fri, May 7, 2021 at 5:04 AM Subject: A.I Challenges on Earthquake Prediction and Pneumonia Classification To: Prof.Cliff Shaffer <shaffer(a)vt.edu> Greetings Prof.Cliff Shaffer Hope you're doing well. I am Chanukya, Co-Founder at DPhi <https://mail.dphi.tech/l/mvN5a5l1GLUa7XJliPYX2g/BR7635R6aUKI7bcJInjFB3Ug/BA…> - a global Data Science/A.I community based out of Belgium. I am writing to you to invite the student community of your esteemed university for our ongoing Data/A.I Challenges <https://mail.dphi.tech/l/mvN5a5l1GLUa7XJliPYX2g/z4DlznIVhsUFLEgD2T972Q/BAJj…> in collaboration with *AETA and Segmind* to address key, pressing real-life challenges. These challenges promise to save lives all across the globe and we hope to contribute to the efficacy of the process. *AETA Earthquake Prediction AI Algorithm Competition* <https://mail.dphi.tech/l/mvN5a5l1GLUa7XJliPYX2g/HciPpc2OBUnYf763eLoHZ2bg/BA…> We have partnered with AETA for their upcoming Earthquake Prediction AI Algorithm Competition which is done in collaboration with Capgemini Euronext and Peking University. This is one of the highly impactful challenges that can solve a real-world problem and have an impact on saving millions of lives across the globe. - It is a team competition with total cash prizes worth USD 26K. - More details can be found here <https://mail.dphi.tech/l/mvN5a5l1GLUa7XJliPYX2g/HciPpc2OBUnYf763eLoHZ2bg/BA…> . *Pneumonia Classification Challenge* <https://mail.dphi.tech/l/mvN5a5l1GLUa7XJliPYX2g/s892hzhemelte33uRYBIzWpg/BA…> - The challenge is ongoing and it is scheduled to conclude on 12th May. - More details can be found here <https://mail.dphi.tech/l/mvN5a5l1GLUa7XJliPYX2g/s892hzhemelte33uRYBIzWpg/BA…> . We look forward to your support in spreading the word among the student fraternity and encourage them to solve real-world problems. We will also be happy to discuss should you have any questions or an opportunity to collaborate with your institution. Many thanks, Chanukya Patnaik Community, dphi.tech <https://mail.dphi.tech/l/mvN5a5l1GLUa7XJliPYX2g/CqLtsSsfjdyTZQl892JMigZg/BA…> https://www.linkedin.com/company/dphi/ <https://mail.dphi.tech/l/mvN5a5l1GLUa7XJliPYX2g/enusD763CWcBin88o79ZGrwA/BA…> -- Dr. Cliff Shaffer Professor and Associate Department Head for Graduate Studies Department of Computer Science Phone: (540) 231-4354 Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 WWW: www.cs.vt.edu/~shaffer

1 0

good luck on finals
by Cal Ribbens 07 May '21

07 May '21

To all of the students in the CS community --- we wish you great success on your last few steps of this semester! One step at a time, breathe, focus as best you can. You can do this. And a special shout out to those graduating this year, including our master's and PhD graduates, several of whom are finishing up and defending their theses and dissertations. We are proud of you all and grateful to have had the privilege to provide scaffolding as you build toward your next adventures. You have all accomplished a great deal this year! Let's finish strong, together. Dr. Ribbens -- Head, Department of Computer Science Virginia Tech https://cs.vt.edu/People/Faculty/cal-ribbens.html https://twitter.com/CalRibbens_VTCS

1 0

CS Grad Council Election Result Announcement
by Shakiba Davari 06 May '21

06 May '21

All, Just a quick reminder that the results of the grad council Election will be announced in today's Grad council meeting <https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/81481692381> at 6 PM. Make sure you show up to know your new E-board and pledge your allegiance to them :D Looking forward to seeing many of you in the meeting today. *Stay Healthy and Happy,* *Shakiba Davari* *Ph.D. Student, **3D-Interaction Group, **Computer Science**, * *Virginia Tech* *President, Computer Science Graduate Council <https://csgrad.cs.vt.edu/>* *, * *Virginia Tech* *Pronoun: She/her * *E-mail <sdavari(a)vt.edu> | Website <https://sites.google.com/vt.edu/sdavari>| 3DI-Lab <https://research.cs.vt.edu/3di/> *

1 0

Tam Phan's Master's thesis presentation tomorrow (5/7)
by Sang Won Lee 06 May '21

06 May '21

Hi all, I invite you to Tam Phan's Thesis presentation tomorrow *Title*: Integrating Traditional Tools to Enable Rapid Ideation in an Augmented Reality Virtual Environment *Date/Time*: May 7, 2021, 2:00pm ET *Zoom link*: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/84955067522 *Committee*: Prof. Sang Won Lee Prof. Doug Bowman Prof. Nicholas Polys *Abstract*: This paper presents a design, implementation, and evaluation of an augmented reality virtual environment to support collaborative brainstorming sessions. We specifically support brainstorming in the form of ideation on sticky notes, a common method to organize a large number of ideas in space with sticky notes on a board. Our environment allows users to integrate physical pen and paper used in a brainstorming session with the support of augmented reality headsets so that we can support further interaction modes and remote collaboration as well. We use an AR HMD to capture images containing notes, detect and crop them with a remote server, then spawn the detected notes in to enable virtual viewing and manipulation. With the virtual notes, users can move, resize, group, and edit the notes in the 3D virtual space, all synchronized in the virtual environment with other users. We evaluate our environment's ability to support ideation in a user study, and also try to determine whether traditional input tools like the pen can be seamlessly integrated into augmented reality, and see if these tools improve efficiency, expressivity, and quality over previous augmented reality input methods. Thank you! Sang Won Lee

1 0

MS thesis defense: Yasmine Belghith (5/11/21, 1pm)
by Kurt Luther 06 May '21

06 May '21

Hi all, You are cordially invited to Yasmine Belghith's MS thesis defense. *Title*: The Social Structures of OSINT: Examining Collaboration and Competition in Open Source Intelligence Investigations *Date/Time*: May 11, 2021, 1:00pm ET *Zoom link*: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/89745354029 *Committee*: Prof. Kurt Luther (chair) Dr. Andrea Kavanaugh Prof. Chris North *Abstract*: Investigations are increasingly conducted online not only by professionals, but also novice sleuths — in both competitive and collaborative environments. These investigations rely on publicly available information, called open source intelligence (OSINT). However, due to their online nature, OSINT investigations often present coordination, technological, and ethical challenges. Through semi-structured interviews with 14 professional OSINT investigators from nine different organizations, we examine the social collaboration and competition patterns that underlie their investigations. Instead of purely competitive or collaborative social models, we find that OSINT organizations employ a combination of both,and that each has its own advantages and disadvantages. We also describe investigators’ use of and challenges with existing OSINT tools. Finally, we conclude with a discussion on supporting investigators with more appropriable tools and making investigations more social.

1 0

MS thesis defense: Liling Yuan (5/7/21 3pm)
by Kurt Luther 06 May '21

06 May '21

Hi all, You are cordially invited to Liling Yuan's MS thesis defense. *Title*: SleuthTalk: Addressing the Last-Mile Problem in Historical Person Identification with Privacy and Collaboration *Date/Time*: May 7, 2021, 3:00pm ET *Zoom link*: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/81293718588 *Committee*: Prof. Kurt Luther (chair) Prof. Chris North Prof. Cliff Shaffer *Abstract*: Identifying people in historical photographs is an important task in many fields, including history, journalism, genealogy, and collecting. A wide variety of different methods, such as manual analysis, facial recognition, and crowdsourcing, have been used to identify the unknown photos. However, because of the large numbers of candidates and the poor quality or lack of source evidence, accurate historical person identification still remains challenging. Researchers especially struggle with the "last mile problem" of historical person identification, where they must make a selection among a small number of highly similar candidates. Collaboration, including both human-AI collaboration and collaboration within human teams, has shown the advantages of improving data accuracy, but there is a lack of research about how we can design a collaborative workspace to support the historical person identification. In this work, we designed a SleuthTalk, a web-based collaboration tool integrated into the public website Civil War Photo Sleuth which addresses the last-mile problem in historical person identification by providing support for shortlisting potential candidates from face recognition results, private collaborative workspaces, and structured feedback interfaces. We evaluated this feature in a mixed-method study involving 6 participants, who spent one week each using SleuthTalk and a comparable social media platform to identify an unknown photo. The results of this study show how our design helps with identifying historical photos in a collaborative way and suggests directions for improvement in future work.

1 0

Master defense today at 10am
by Liqing Zhang 06 May '21

06 May '21

Dear all, Sorry for the last minute but you are all invited to Rutwik Kulkarni's master thesis defense today at 10am. Zoom Link: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/86724884612 Abstract: The global spread of antibiotic resistance warrants concerted surveillance in the clinic and in the environment. Towards this, next-generation sequencing of microbial communities provides an opportunity for proactive detection of emerging antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), yet there are limited computational pipelines enabling the identification of novel ARGs. Such pipelines should be accurate, scalable, accessible to users with diverse backgrounds. To address this problem, we develop deepARG+, a deep neural network model for predicting novel ARGs from genomic or metagenomic sequences, considering both the primary sequences and the physio-chemical properties that are intrinsic to different ARG classes. Comparison of deepARG+ with the existing methods shows that our method achieves not only greater accuracy but also 2x speedup over the fastest method deepARG. DeepARG+ is expected to be widely used in the community for prediction of novel ARGs in large-scale sequencing data. -- Liqing --------------------------------- Liqing Zhang Associate Professor Department of Computer Science Virginia Tech Phone: 540-231-9413

1 0