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How can AI tools help consumers find the best deals and tackle the holiday shopping list? Associate Professor of marketing Purvi Shah spoke with NBC Boston about the technology driving retail transformation. "AI can help you compare products and prices across stores. It can also give you review summaries that can help you evaluate various product options based on those review summaries," Shah said. "All of this is done very efficiently."
The New York Times quoted computer science professor Craig Shue about cybersecurity concerns related to Internet-enabled devices, as its Right At Home column asks, “Is My Not-So-Smart House Watching Me?”
The Telegram & Gazette published an opinion piece by Craig Wills, department head and professor of computer science. “I have identified the need to limit at least one of three conditions to increase privacy protection: the leakage of information, its linkage with other information sources and the lifetime of its existence,” Wills advised.
The Telegram & Gazette profiled research by Jamal Yagoobi, department head and professor of mechanical engineering. “When you try to do something in space, the design aspect is so critical,” Yagoobi said. This new method to cool spacecraft on long missions may one day play a crucial role in NASA’s quest to send astronauts to Mars and other deep-space destinations.
Patricia Stapleton, assistant professor of social sciences & policy studies, along with a colleague from Plymouth State University, published an article about their work on a new teaching modules that helps educators address disaster reduction challenges.
The Telegram & Gazettefeatured Craig Shue, associate professor computer science, and a $507,600 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. Shue will use the grant to create a system that outsources security to experts in the cloud.
Jean King, the Peterson Family Dean of Arts & Sciences, was quoted in this article, following her panel presentation at the U.S. News & World Report STEM Solutions 2018 Conference.“There is a difference between awareness and action,” King said. “It was to take real effort” to bring women into STEM." In addition, Stephen Flavin, Vice President and Dean of Academic and Corporate Engagement, moderated a panel on 'Spurring Collaboration Between Industry and Higher Ed'.
WPI’s Pavement Research Lab is featured in WCVB’s Cutting Edge Segment. Reporter Mike Wankum, takes a look at what researchers are doing to find a better, stronger mix of pavement materials to stand up to the environment and heavy truck loads.
Considered one of the world’s foremost academic authorities on Jimi Hendrix, humanities professor Joel Brattin was featured in this Telegram & Gazette article. “All told, Brattin finds the album to be something of a treasure trove and a good reminder as to why Hendrix’s work is still so popular and influential today,” the T&G stated.
Stating that President Laurie Leshin has raised the profile of WPI “significantly,” the WBJ published this story in its Business Leader of the Year section. “Under Leshin, WPI has made an aggressive push into Boston's hotbed of tech companies, innovation and young talent,” the WBJ reported. “It is WPI, not Harvard University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that has a classroom and collaboration space in the Seaport.”
Andrew Palumbo, dean of admissions and financial aid, was interviewed for this article. How much one should borrow “is an inherently personal decision that is best made after conducting thoughtful research,” Palumbo said.
The Worcester Business Journal reported on work funded by a $1.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a new smartphone app to monitor chronic wounds. The work is led by Emmanuel Agu, associate professor of computer science and coordinator of WPI’s Mobile Graphics Research Group, with co-principal investigators professor Diane Strong and associate professor Bengisu Tulu, both of the Foisie Business School, and Peder Pedersen, a retired professor of electrical and computer engineering.
Raghvendra Cowlagi, assistant professor of aerospace engineering, and Alexander Wyglinski, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, are developing self-driving cars that can operate safely and efficiently, even in complex city environments; the work is funded by a $425,000 National Science Foundation award.
Craig Shue, associate professor of computer science, was interviewed about his research into cloud-based security for home networks. The work is supported by a $507,600 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation.
Scott Barton, assistant professor of humanities and arts and an expert on how sound is perceived, was interviewed for an article about the Windsor Hum, a “persistent noise of unknown origin, sometimes compared to a truck idling or distant thunder,” that has been affecting residents of Windsor, Ontario, for years.
Amy Zeng, assistant dean of Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s business school, is helping the school design a supply chain master’s degree program to be offered in August. It emphasizes technical competencies such as data analytics and emerging technologies.
WPI math professor Bill Martin is interviewed about the impact of Euler’s number, and how the number is used to model growth rates, ranging from financial investments to the rate of spread of disease.
Gregory Fischer, mechanical and robotics engineering professor, and Laurie Dickstein-Fischer, professor of education at Salem State University, were interviewed for this article. The feature story focused on the potential of robots, including the Fischers’ PABI (Penguin for Autism Behavioral Intervention), to help therapists treat adults and children with autism.
The Boston Business Journal reported on the opening of WPI Seaport, a multipurpose space in Boston that will further WPI’s role in the state’s innovation economy. President Laurie Leshin was joined by several state and local officials, including Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty, and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, who said the new collaboration with WPI will “will bring more outstanding talent into our neighborhoods.”
Forbes interviewed Michael Ahern, director of corporate and professional education, on the cybersecurity training programs he and his team have been creating for several ‘critical’ industries, for this article. “I was an engineer in the power industry for 30 years, and I know that some of these companies are being attacked thousands of times a day,” Ahern said. “There are not enough cybersecurity workers at a time when the trend is that more and more hacks are successful.”
