Cloud Hosting

New Jersey Institute of Technology recently named Jamie Payton, chair of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at Temple University, to lead its Ying Wu College of Computing as dean, beginning July 1.

Presently the largest college at NJIT, YWCC is a key element of the Newark-based Institutions drive to become a nexus of innovation under its new strategic plan. Its three departments, Computer Science, Data Science and Informatics, prepare students to enter fields that also are research priorities of NJIT, such as software engineering, cybersecurity, information technology and artificial intelligence.

Dean Payton will help create and advance a renewed, forward-looking vision for Ying Wu, NJIT President Teik Lim said. This vision will build upon our new strategic plan, the colleges strengths and its commitments to student success, impactful research and innovation.

As dean, Payton will be charged with supporting the 2030 strategic plan by driving enrollment growth; deepening research and curricular partnerships with NJITs other colleges; further diversifying the student body, faculty and staff; and managing relationships with alumni, donors and corporations. The hire comes a month after NJIT unveiled a strategic plan that aims to make the university a nexus of innovation to serve the students of the future.

As a chair at Temple, Payton launched new degree programs including the first online masters in its College of Science and Technology, in information science and technology and became a national leader in initiatives that aim to introduce underrepresented students to computing and STEM, including providing K-12 and college students with learning opportunities around AI.

Also at Temple, Payton led the development of a strategic plan to further diversify the pool of students pursuing computer-focused degrees. Core to that plan was an Inclusive Teaching Summit, new mentoring processes and a revision to the peer teaching review process.

I am thrilled that professor Payton will be joining us as the next dean of the Ying Wu College of Computing, said NJIT Provost John Pelesko, to whom Payton will report. Professor Payton brings tremendous leadership experience to the role as well as a major national presence in broadening participation in computing. I look forward to working with her as we write the next chapter in the history of YWCC.

Payton, who has worked at Temple since 2016, holds three degrees in computer science: a Ph.D. and masters from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelors from the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma.

Continue reading here:

NJIT names Temples Jamie Payton to lead its College of Computing - ROI-NJ.com

The National Academy of Sciences has elected five University of California San Diego professors to membership in the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors bestowed on U.S. scientists and engineers.

Fan Chung of the Jacobs School of Engineering, Stephen Hedrick and Susan Kaech of the School of Biological Sciences, and Lisa Levin and Lynne Talley of Scripps Institution of Oceanography were among the 120 new members and 24 foreign associates elected to the academy in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

They join more than 100 living and deceased members of the UC San Diego faculty who previously had been named to membership in the academy, which was established by Congress in 1863 to serve as an official adviser to the federal government on matters of science and technology.

Major research universities use the number of academy members on their faculty as a benchmark by which to compare the strength of their scientific research and education programs among universities across the nation in different disciplines.

The election of five UC San Diego professors to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences is a truly remarkable distinction, said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. This recognition not only celebrates their individual scholarly excellence and visionary leadership, but also underscores the exceptional quality of our faculty, who are driving innovative, cross-disciplinary research that helps us tackle the most daunting challenges of our time.

The rest is here:

Five from UC San Diego Elected to National Academy of Sciences - University of California San Diego

The National Academy of Sciences has elected 120 members and 24 international members, including five faculty members from MIT. Guoping Feng, Piotr Indyk, Daniel J. Kleitman, Daniela Rus, and Senthil Todadri were elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Membership to the National Academy of Sciences is one of the highest honors a scientist can receive in their career.

Among the new members added this year are also nine MIT alumni, including Zvi Bern 82; Harold Hwang 93, SM 93; Leonard Kleinrock SM 59, PhD 63; Jeffrey C. Lagarias 71, SM 72, PhD 74; Ann Pearson PhD 00; Robin Pemantle PhD 88; Jonas C. Peters PhD 98; Lynn Talley PhD 82; and Peter T. Wolczanski 76. Those elected this year bring the total number of active members to 2,617, with 537 international members.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine provides science, engineering, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.

Guoping Feng

Guoping Feng is the James W. (1963) and Patricia T. Poitras Professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. He is also associate director and investigator in the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, a member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and director of the Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research.

His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate the development and function of synapses, the places in the brain where neurons connect and communicate. Hes interested in how defects in the synapses can contribute to psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. By understanding the fundamental mechanisms behind these disorders, hes producing foundational knowledge that may guide the development of new treatments for conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia.

Feng received his medical training at Zhejiang University Medical School in Hangzhou, China, and his PhD in molecular genetics from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He did his postdoctoral training at Washington University at St. Louis and was on the faculty at Duke University School of Medicine before coming to MIT in 2010. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2023.

Piotr Indyk

Piotr Indyk is the Thomas D. and Virginia W. Cabot Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He received his magister degree from the University of Warsaw and his PhD from Stanford University before coming to MIT in 2000.

Indyks research focuses on building efficient, sublinear, and streaming algorithms. Hes developed, for example, algorithms that can use limited time and space to navigate massive data streams, that can separate signals into individual frequencies faster than other methods, and can address the nearest neighbor problem by finding highly similar data points without needing to scan an entire database. His work has applications on everything from machine learning to data mining.

He has been named a Simons Investigator and a fellow of the Association for Computer Machinery. In 2023, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Daniel J. Kleitman

Daniel Kleitman, a professor emeritus of applied mathematics, has been at MIT since 1966. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his master's and PhD in physics from Harvard University before doing postdoctoral work at Harvard and the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Kleitmans research interests include operations research, genomics, graph theory, and combinatorics, the area of math concerned with counting. He was actually a professor of physics at Brandeis University before changing his field to math, encouraged by the prolific mathematician Paul Erds. In fact, Kleitman has the rare distinction of having an Erds number of just one. The number is a measure of the collaborative distance between a mathematician and Erds in terms of authorship of papers, and studies have shown that leading mathematicians have particularly low numbers.

Hes a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has made important contributions to the MIT community throughout his career. He was head of the Department of Mathematics and served on a number of committees, including the Applied Mathematics Committee. He also helped create web-based technology and an online textbook for several of the departments core undergraduate courses. He was even a math advisor for the MIT-based filmGood Will Hunting.

Daniela Rus

Daniela Rus, the Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, is the director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). She also serves as director of the Toyota-CSAIL Joint Research Center.

Her research on robotics, artificial intelligence, and data science is geared toward understanding the science and engineering of autonomy. Her ultimate goal is to create a future where machines are seamlessly integrated into daily life to support people with cognitive and physical tasks, and deployed in way that ensures they benefit humanity. Shes working to increase the ability of machines to reason, learn, and adapt to complex tasks in human-centered environments with applications for agriculture, manufacturing, medicine, construction, and other industries. Shes also interested in creating new tools for designing and fabricating robots and in improving the interfaces between robots and people, and shes done collaborative projects at the intersection of technology and artistic performance.

Rus received her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and her PhD in computer science from Cornell University. She was a professor of computer science at Dartmouth College before coming to MIT in 2004. She is part of the Class of 2002 MacArthur Fellows; was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and is a fellow of the Association for Computer Machinery, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.

Senthil Todadri

Senthil Todadri, a professor of physics, came to MIT in 2001. He received his undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur and his PhD from Yale University before working as a postdoc at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, California.

Todadris research focuses on condensed matter theory. Hes interested in novel phases and phase transitions of quantum matter that expand beyond existing paradigms. Combining modeling experiments and abstract methods, hes working to develop a theoretical framework for describing the physics of these systems. Much of that work involves understanding the phenomena that arise because of impurities or strong interactions between electrons in solids that dont conform with conventional physical theories. He also pioneered the theory of deconfined quantum criticality, which describes a class of phase transitions, and he discovered the dualities of quantum field theories in two dimensional superconducting states, which has important applications to many problems in the field.

Todadri has been named a Simons Investigator, a Sloan Research Fellow, and a fellow of the American Physical Society. In 2023, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

View post:

Five MIT faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences for 2024 - MIT News

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (May 11, 2024) Many, if not most, of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State Universitys newest graduates began their higher education journeys in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their journeys now are taking them into a world wracked by social injustice and global unrest.

But these Aggies are fully prepared to rise to any challenge they face and lead others to do the same having demonstrated historic resilience and achieved personal preeminence under the direction of Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr., who is retiring from the helm of his alma mater at the conclusion of this academic year.

More than 1,500 undergraduate, more than 200 masters and almost 60 doctoral students became members of N.C. A&Ts spring Class of 2024 in commencement ceremonies Friday, May 10, in theSteven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts and Saturday, May 11, at Greensboro Coliseum.

That raises to more than 3,000 the number of estimated graduates for the 2023-24 academic year. Spring 2024 graduate numbers will be finalized in August.

Throughout the years, Ive been a part of numerous graduate ceremonies, yet this one holds special significance as my final one as chancellor of this esteemed institution, said Martin. It has been a privilege. It has been an extraordinary journey. Thank you for the most memorable 15 years of my career. You have inspired me in remarkable ways.

Thank you so very much for an incredible 15 years.

At the first undergraduate ceremony, A&T Board of Trustees Chair Kimberly B. Gatling conferred upon Martin the distinguished status of chancellor emeritus with the boards unanimous approval. Before presenting him with the framed proclamation, she noted his many accomplishments as the universitys 12th chancellor and first alumnus in the role as well as the heights A&T achieved during his tenure.

Martin reminded graduates that their journeys, like his own, are not over.

Graduates, today marks a pivotal moment in your life as you stand on the threshold of endless possibilities. Your hard work, determination and unwavering commitment to excellence have brought you to this exciting moment and milestone, he said. Now as you embark on the next chapter of your lives, remember that the knowledge and skills you have acquired here will serve you as the foundation for an incredibly bright future. Embrace the challenges that lie ahead with courage and confidence knowing that you are equipped to overcome obstacles that may come your way.

Journalist Tamron Hall, executive producer and host of the nationally syndicated The Tamron Hall Show, served as keynote speaker for the two baccalaureate student ceremonies Saturday. The morning ceremony was for College of Engineering, John R. and Kathy R. Hairston College of Health and Human Sciences and College of Science and Technology graduates, while the afternoon ceremony was for College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES), College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics and College of Education graduates.

During the latter ceremony, University of North Carolina System Board of Governors Secretary Pearl Burris-Floyd presented Devona Dixon, Ph.D., with a 2024 Excellence in Teaching Award. The award, bestowed by the board, recognizes the extraordinary contributions of faculty members across the UNC System.

Dixon is an associate professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, housed in CAES. Among her many accomplishments, she has led the successful Tenacity Talks lecture series at A&T in partnership with Harlems Fashion Row. She also secured awards from clothier The Gap and the nonprofit Icon 360 to support the universitys Fashion Merchandising and Design Program.

Additionally, Dixon is among the A&T faculty members who have received national certification in evidence-based teaching practices by the Association of College and University.

Hall received a B.A. in broadcast journalism from Temple University, where she serves on the board of trustees, and made history in 2014 as the first African American female co-host of NBCs TODAY.

She has earned many accolades, including two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host, Gracie Awards from the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation in 2020 and 2022, inclusion on the Variety500 list in 2022, and nominations for 13 Daytime Emmy Awards, four NAACP Image Awards, a GLAAD Media Award and an Iris Award.

I could see you all on a screen in the back. You didnt know I was watching you walking in, Hall told the graduates. And I saw the most beautiful joyous faces in the world. You were all walking in, hugging each other, your families were walking in, even the babies cried cause yall look so good!

Hall talked about one of her recent show episodes where she discovered she had an ancestor named Tobias from Cumberland County, North Carolina. Tobias, upon being freed from slavery, moved to Texas and changed his last name to represent the person he really was.

And it made me think of what I wanted to talk with you about today: Your brand. Your name. What it represents for you, she said.

Hall said she prepared for delivering her remarks by praying for the graduates, their families, their professors and everyone in attendance, including herself.

I believe greatly in the ability of faith and the things that faith can bring, she said. You stepped out on faith and applied to come to this university. You stepped out on faith in the middle of a global pandemic to keep going.

Hall said she watched a local news report that featured one of A&Ts graduates that showed photos of her wearing a mask in class. It was evidence that nothing went as expected for the Class of 2024.

All of a sudden, the world changed. And you proved to be more resilient than you ever imagined, said Hall. But you also started building a brand.

This is your time to show your brand. What is your brand? What do you stand on? she said. You are at a pivotal point of establishing your brand. What is your brand? What are you willing right now to say out loud you want?

Hall said she has a philosophy of betting on herself. She adopted and embraced it after she was publicly fired from a prominent professional role.

I emerged with God on my side and I emerged with this attitude of betting on myself, she said. I extend this attitude to you. Betting on yourself does not mean betting against anyone else. Betting on yourself means, right now, being able to say out loud what you want.

I applaud you great human beings! Go out and get it! Go out and run it! Go out and earn it! Go out and show them what Aggie Pride is all about!

Stephanie G. Adams 88, Ph.D., fifth dean of the University of Texas at Dallas Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, served as keynote speaker for the graduate student ceremony Friday.

Please allow me just a minute to take all of this in. I was going to pull out my phone and take a selfie, but that just did not seem dignified enough for the occasion, but I have just a second, said Adams. Because you see, three decades ago, I quietly whispered a little prayer to the universe not really a prayer, maybe just a thought or a wish that one day I might return to my alma mater as a commencement speaker. Today is my confirmation that dreams do come true.

Adams is an honors graduate of A&T where she received her B.S. in mechanical engineering. She earned an ME in systems engineering in 1991 from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary engineering in 1998 from Texas A&M University. She is past president and Fellow of the American Society of Engineering Education and member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Board of Directors, in addition to holding membership in other professional organizations.

In 2003, Adams received the CAREER award from the Engineering Education and Centers Division of the National Science Foundation as a leader in the advancement and inclusion of all in STEM education, in addition to many other professional honors.

To our graduates, the first thing I encourage you to do when you leave today is to thank those who have supported, encouraged, nurtured, mentored, guided and protected you during this part of your lifes journey, she said.

Adams recounted her challenges with standardized testing, pausing her higher education journey twice and coping with colleagues who thought she could not achieve tenure in her first faculty position.

So how is it I am standing on this or any other stage receiving this type of recognition when so many doubted my ability? I am here today because of my resilience, she said. To the 2024 graduates, regardless of the path that you have traveled or the challenges that you have faced, your presence here today is a testament to your resilience.

Youve achieved this milestone not only because of your intellectual talent but because in the face of lifes challenges, you stayed determined. You showed faith in yourself. You exercised self-discipline. And perhaps you made some personal sacrifices all while completing the requirements for the degree you are earning today.

Holding a degree from A&T offers exclusive advantages, Adams said. She directed graduates to use them by making a positive difference in the lives of others.

Dont spend too much time thinking about your own importance. Having the degree doesnt make you special, but what you do with it most certainly will, she said. You can provide opportunities for those on the margins or those who may not be included or chosen for reasons beyond their control. Because after all, thats what Aggies Do.

Go here to see the original:

Resilience Realized: A&T Commemorates Spring 2024 Graduates - North Carolina A&T