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In the media: CMU Portugal Faculty Justine Sherry and students reflect on US Elections

Cristina Lai Men/TSF

Justine Sherry, CMU Portugal Faculty and Assistant Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon, and CMU Portugal Ph.D. students, currently in the U.S., were featured in the Portuguese media outlets Jornal de Notícias and TSF to speak on the U.S. Elections. The state of Pennsylvania represents 19 votes in the Electoral College, playing a pivotal role in the elections. 

The professor, who resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Carnegie Mellon University is located, shares that she received many vote appeals, admitting that it has been a “stressful process” and that “the country has its eyes on us”. She adds that “Pennsylvania is in the middle of everything,”. Among the students of the classes Justine Sherry teaches, there are a few of CMU Portugal students that are “very well prepared, intelligent and creative”, praise Sherry. 

Hugo Sadok, CMU Ph.D. student, states that Pittsburgh is under a “blue bubble” alluding to the Democrats’ symbolic color. However, in counties far from the urban centers, “many choose Republicans.” Duarte Sousa, an Affiliated Ph.D. student in Human-Computer Interaction currently at CMU, states that “the [electoral campaign] process takes a long time, and people are tired. They want the elections to happen, to go back to their lives and have discussions about useless things”. 

Hugo Sadok predicts that “the world will change” if Donald Trump wins the election, but there will be fewer changes if Kamala Harris wins. The elections will take place on November 5th. 

Read the articles Jornal de Notícias and hear the news piece at TSF (in Portuguese).

In the Media: “Components for future robots will be 3D printed” – a project led by CMU researcher

Mahmoud Tavakoli, CMU Portugal researcher and director of the Soft and Printed Microelectronics Laboratory of the Institute of Systems and Robotics (ISR) of Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC) was featured in Notícias Magazine

In the article, Mahmoud Tavakoli speaks on the project “Liquid3D” that will enable printing of self-powered and recyclable robotic components, transitioning from battery-dependent and pollutable electronics.

In 2023, Tavakoli obtained a 2.8m€ grant from the European Research Council to develop “Liquid3D: 3D Printed, Bioinspired, Soft-Matter Electronics based on Liquid Metal Composites: Eco-Friendly, Resilient, Recyclable, and Repairable”, that aims to provide design freedom to scientists, allowing them to print futuristic soft electronics and soft machines. The project will develop a series of innovative printable composites based on liquid metals to print 3D functional cells for sensing, stimulating, processing, and storing energy that is entangled in a distributed system and in a three-dimensional architecture.

Within the CMU Portugal Program, Mahmoud Tavakoli has collaborated on several research projects: Stretchtonics, an entrepreneurial research initiative; WoW, a large-scale collaborative project led by Glintt; and the exploratory research project Exoskins. He is advisor to the Dual Degree students Manuel Carneiro and Marta Freitas

Read the article here (in Portuguese).

CMU Portugal articles featuring Mahmoud Tavakoli:

In the media: Prometheus-1 with green light from Anacom to fly into space

The 5cm Pocketqube Satellite,  Prometheus-1, developed at Universidade do Minho under the CMU Portugal project PROMETHEUS  was featured in Sapo Tek, a Portuguese website about the latest technology advancements. 

The satellite secured the space launch and command and control operations license from Anacom, the Portuguese regulatory authority for the communications sector. 

The launch of the Prometheus-1 satellite is scheduled for November, from the Vanderberg spaceport, in the USA, hitching a ride on a Falcon 9 rocket, from Space X.

The Prometheus-1 satellite is the result of the Exploratory Research Project “PROMETHEUS – PocketQube Framework Designed for Research and Educational Access to Space“, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, within the scope of the CMU Portugal Program, in a consortium led by the University of Minho and in cooperation with Instituto Superior Técnico and Carnegie Mellon University. The Principal Investigators of this project are Alexandre Ferreira da Silva, Universidade do Minho, and Zachary Manchester, from Carnegie Mellon University. 

Read the article here (in Portuguese). 

Other CMU Portugal articles featuring Prometheus-1:

Prometheus-1 In the media: Exame Informática, Expresso, Rádio Universitária do Minho

In the Media: Research Project led by Jorge Fernandes in “90 Segundos de Ciência”

Jorge Fernandes, CMU Portugal Faculty member at Instituto Superior Técnico and researcher at INESC ID, was interviewed by the “90 Segundos de Ciência” Podcast on Antena 1 about CMU Portugal’s Exploratory Research Project “mm-Size Stimulator Implants”. The project’s main goal is to develop a new generation of battery-free medical microelectronic implants.

The main idea behind this project is to create subdermal or deep implants with millimeter dimensions that are autonomous and biocompatible.

“We believe that these implants can revolutionize medical practice and change the use of therapies that are typically administered through medication, replacing them with others that interact with the nervous system through electrical stimulation,” shares the researcher.

The main feature of this new generation of implants is avoiding the use of batteries, which eliminates the need to encapsulate the implant in titanium, thereby avoiding the need to power the circuit. As a result, the implant can be smaller, making it much less intrusive and more comfortable to apply to the patient.

The final goal is to create integrated circuits with very low energy consumption, suitable for monitoring or applying electrical stimulation therapies.

The project is funded under the CMU Portugal 2022 Call for Exploratory Research projects, supported by Fundação da Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT).

Listen do the Podcast at 90 Segundos de Ciência website.

CMU Portugal Faculty Featured in Newly Launched CMU SCS Podcast

Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science recently launched a new podcast, ‘Does Compute’. The third episode, titled “Data From Humans features CMU Portugal affiliate Professor Mayank Goel. In this edition, alongside Traci Kennedy from the University of Pittsburgh, the discussion explores how computer science is transforming approaches to both mental and physical health.

Professor Goel currently advises one CMU Portugal Affiliated PhD student, and serves as Project PI for the CMU Portugal Exploratory Research Project iNNOV Sensing

Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science new Podcast “Does Compute” explores how Computer science drives innovations that shape our world, from smart appliances to advancements in healthcare and education.

For more information on this new podcast, visit this article from the School of Computer Science and click below to watch Episode 3. 

In the Media: “AI and the productivity challenge — an unknown frontier”, opinion article by Nuno Jardim Nunes

In an opinion piece published by Expresso, Nuno Jardim Nunes offered a look into the  growing apprehension and unease regarding large-scale language models (LLM) and their ability to potentially escape human control and develop autonomous, intentional behaviors. 

“If the predictions are confirmed, we could be on the verge of a transformation comparable to the Industrial Revolution, or, to a lesser extent, the emergence of the PC, the internet and mobile computing”, shares the CMU Portugal’s National Director and Interactive Technologies Institute’s President. 

 As a researcher in the field of human-technology interaction, Nuno Nunes shares that he remains cautiously optimistic: “Currently, sectors such as mobility, security, health, education, logistics and industrial production are deeply influenced by AI technologies. However, it remains uncertain whether these technologies will be able to overcome what Google defines as level 2 (competent, above the 50th percentile of humans) in generic tasks, or reach level 3 (expert, above the 90th percentile) in more specific tasks. For now, the notion of attaining  a virtuoso (99th percentile) or superhuman proficiency remains a distant prospect for now .

You can read the full article in Expresso (in Portuguese).

In the Media: “Partnership creates growth opportunities for students and researchers”

The partnership between the Unicorn Factory Lisboa and the Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI) was featured in the Spring 2024 issue of The Link, Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science Magazine. 

 


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n October 2023, the Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI) became the first research institution to partner with the Unicorn Factory Lisboa, based in Hub do Beato, an initiative by the Lisbon City Council to support startups and scaleups in creating sound products and business models, achieving sustained accelerated growth in Lisbon. 

In this interview, Nuno Nunes, CMU Portugal National Co-Director and President of ITI, highlighted Portugal’s growing prominence in fostering highly innovative companies despite the country’s size. He emphasized the role of CMU Portugal’s talent in contributing to the country’s tech landscape: “There are many projects and partnerships that benefited from the wide network of CMU Portugal talent and many leaders that, one way or another, contributed back to the country as academic leaders, entrepreneurs or by sharing their experiences with younger researchers,”. For instance, some startups like the SaaS cloud banking platform, Mambu, and the world’s first RiskOps platform, Feedzai, started as CMU Portugal student projects. These companies have attracted more than $200 million in venture capital investment: “While many of these global companies have headquarters in the U.S. or other financial markets, they share the Portuguese DNA,” said Nunes.

The partnership between the municipality of Lisbon and Fundação Santander Portugal Fund supports startups to scale up through the Unicorn Factory. Throughout the interview the CMU Portugal National Director highlighted the importance of nurturing talent to manage global digital products, which is facilitated by international collaborations with educational institutions like CMU: “Some of the Unicorn companies said it was very hard to find people with experience and skills to manage global digital products,” explained Nunes, adding that “with the help and funding of Fundação Santander, we are bringing this to Lisbon in partnership with several schools and faculty from CMU.”

Nuno Nunes ended by emphasizing that the impact of the partnership can be measured by the success of its researchers and alumni: “The impact comes after these young, talented researchers create new companies and get jobs in world-class companies or universities,” said Nunes, “even if they are not based in Portugal.” 

More information about the ITI and Unicorn Factory Lisboa partnership here

In the Media: Paulo Moniz, CMU Portugal alum, is Chief Information Security Officer at EDP

Paulo Moniz became Chief information Security Officer (CISO) at EDP in late 2010. But how did cybersecurity come into this life? “I have always been, and still am, very eclectic in my interests and tastes, so, when it comes to my professional career in information technology, I have done programming, managed systems and databases, configured computer networks, among other tasks in this field, he recalls.

In 2007, he decided to pursue an academic specialization and in 2010, he concluded the CMU Portugal Dual MSc degree in Information Security between Carnegie Mellon University and the Faculty of Sciences of Universidade de Lisboa , .

In this interview with Security Magazine, Paulo Moniz talks about his role as CISO, leadership and major challenges in cybersecurity. You can read the interview (in Portuguese).

Picture credits to IT Security. 

In the Media: Carol J. Smith, AI Trust Lab Lead at CMU, “I don’t believe regulating technology makes sense”

In an interview with Lusa, Carol J. Smith, AI Division Trust Lab Lead and a Principal Research Scientist at Carnegie Mellon University,  expressed her perspective on regulating technology. While some argue for regulation, Carol emphasized the importance of prioritizing human rights and privacy in the development and deployment of technology.

Carol J. Smith was a keynote speaker, supported by CMU Portugal,  at ICSE 2024, the international conference on Software Engineering, that took place in Lisbon, from April 14-20.

Carol says artificial intelligence is “a more complex, more dynamic system with broader applications”, affecting great groups of people, but advocates for strengthening everything related to rights, privacy and data protection.

Concerning the misinformation, Carol Smith acknowledged the challenges people face in critically evaluating information, particularly in the face of external influence. She emphasized the importance of questioning the alignment of information with opinions and fostering critical thinking skills, especially in contexts like the scrutiny of US Elections., adding that: “people don’t need to know how algorithms work. If you want, fantastic, but what you need is to know how to find the facts, how to understand if something is false or not”, she emphasizes.

Carol expressed concerns about the lack of transparency in the practices of large organizations, particularly regarding data usage and potential risks to individuals’ privacy and security. She advocated for greater transparency to mitigate inadvertent harm caused by the mishandling of personal information within systems, stating that  “about how some of the large organizations are doing their work and what data sets they are using, potentially exposing people to harm inadvertently through the placement of your personal information in the systems”.

Looking ahead, Carol expressed hope for increased attention to ethics in technology over the next two years. She emphasized the importance of integrating ethics education into technological development to ensure responsible innovation and mitigate potential risks to individuals and society.