Dear colleagues, alumni and friends,
The 2020-2021 academic year was definitely one full of strength and resilience. As we begin a new year, we must look back at our struggles and successes and know we have become stronger as a community.
For this edition of our magazine, we are featuring some faculty who are doing incredible work to bring AI to K-12 students. Kristy Boyer, Ph.D., received a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to investigate AI education for middle school students. Christina Gardner-McCune, Ph.D., with the AI4K12 Initiative, organized a virtual workshop to help education leaders from across the country create K-12 AI efforts in several states. My T. Thai, Ph.D., is also working in the field of AI to improve fairness in the connected world.
A handful of our students and research assistants are also working in the field of AI. Gloria Katuka, a Ph.D. student in Dr. Boyer’s lab, is featured for the work she is doing to bring AI and computer science to K-12 students. Tania Banerjee, Ph.D., and Yashaswi (Yash) Karnati, a Ph.D. student, are both using AI at the UF Transportation Institute to improve roadways and make them safer.
We want to celebrate our faculty for their continued efforts and recent awards and recognitions, including Sumi Helal, Ph.D., who was elected a member of the Academia Europaea, Sanjay Ranka, Ph.D., who received an Impact Award from IEEE, and Dr. Thai and Prabhat Mishra, Ph.D., who were named IEEE Fellows. Our faculty were also the recipients of some major grants that will have a large impact on society, with Christina Boucher, Ph.D., receiving $1.2 million from NSF and Patrick Traynor, Ph.D., receiving $1.7 million from the Department of Homeland Security.
Even through the challenges, the department and our students had reasons to celebrate this year. The computer engineering graduate program now ranks No. 12 nationwide and the UF Online Bachelor’s program ranks No. 3, according to the U.S. News & World Report. Seven students from CISE received Outstanding Achievement Awards from the UF International Center and three received awards from the UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. One student was the first at a Florida university to receive a Google Ph.D. Fellowship.
We’re proud to announce that Shadow Health, co-founded in 2011 by Benjamin Lok, Ph.D., was recently acquired by Elsevier. Shadow Health uses a software that provides a comfortable and safe environment where nurses can practice, make mistakes and learn to improve their conversation skills.
Join me in congratulating our faculty and students for their incredible efforts. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Juan E. Gilbert, Ph.D.
The Banks Family Preeminence Endowed Professor
Chair, Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering