Joshua Kave: ServiceNow Scholar

 UC San Diego undergraduate computer science student Joshua Kave is one of the inaugural recipients of the ServiceNow Scholarship. In this Q&A, he shares what excites him about computer science, and what he hopes to do in the future. Learn more about the inaugural cohort of ServiceNow Scholars here. 

1) Why did you decide to study computer science?

The aspect of building something from scratch, and learning how many important aspects of modern day life works is why CS excites me. I have had many breakthrough experiences throughout my time studying computer science. For example, learning how urls work with different combinations of networking protocols was such a mind blowing realization. I have always taken technology for granted, and being able to discover how our technology functions is truly exciting.

2) Have you been involved in any groups/orgs on campus that have been particularly meaningful or beneficial to you?

One group that is meaningful to me is PACE (Peer-led Academic Cohort Experiences). We gather once a week with professors and upperclassmen to discuss different CS-related topics in groups. While there isn't much of a deep dive into one topic in particular, PACE has been such a benefit towards my mental health. Being able to relax, meet new people, and talk about topics that are interesting brings joy to my day. 

3) Any idea what you'd like to do with your CS degree in the future?

As a first year student, I am still unsure about what specific field or job is right for me. I know that I want to graduate with a computer-science degree, but I do not know where that will take me. Currently, I am interested in software engineering, network engineering, and cybersecurity. As I learn more about specialized fields in CS, I will be able to make a more concrete decision on what I want to do with my future.

4) Any advice to students interested in studying CS?

One major problem with all academic subjects, and especially CS, is imposter syndrome. Feeling like one is not "smart" enough to pursue a degree is a serious roadblock that can be detrimental towards the learning process. Anyone can get into CS; it is never too late. You don't have to be coding since the age of three in order to learn. Of course, having prior experience will definitely help in introductory classes. It really just comes down to how hard one works and studies in order to learn. I used to think to myself "Wow, that person is way smarter than me". Now I think "Wow, that person worked way harder than me". Quantifying outcome as a result of hard work gives me more control, since it is much easier to work and study harder than it is to simply just "get smarter". My advice is that everyone feels like everyone else is smarter than them. Just be passionate about the subject, work hard, and you will do just fine.

5) How does it feel to be named a ServiceNow Scholar?

I feel happy to be included in another amazing community at UC San Diego. Finding my place on this campus has been a struggle, and I look forward to being a ServiceNow Scholar.

Arnav Dandu: ServiceNow Scholar

 UC San Diego undergraduate computer science student Arnav Dandu is one of the inaugural recipients of the ServiceNow Scholarship. In this Q&A, he shares what excites him about computer science, and what he hopes to do in the future. Learn more about the inaugural cohort of ServiceNow Scholars here.

1) Why did you decide to study computer science?

I decided to study computer science because the scope of the problems you can solve with it is unlimited; there is nothing more awesome than successfully breaking down real-world problems into something that can be solved using a computer.

2) Have you been involved in any groups on campus that have been particularly meaningful to you?

Being a part of the IDEA Scholars has given me a group of friends that share the same interests and similar goals as me. Being able to work with them, whether it be on collaborative PAs or software engineering project teams, has been really fun and meaningful to me.

3) Any idea what you'd like to do with your CS degree in the future?

As of now, my current goals regarding computer science are to continue to graduate school. Current research areas I am interested in include parallel computing, algorithms, and computer graphics; I am overwhelmed by the number of options I have to explore in this field.

4) Any advice to students interested in studying CS?

My advice is to take advantage of the plethora of resources available online to build your skills outside of the classroom, supplementing formal instruction with experience in other toolsets. Additionally, persistence is key; the difficulty you encounter in computer science only makes the success of finally getting something to work or understanding a concept that much more gratifying.

5) How does it feel to be named a ServiceNow Scholar?

Being named a ServiceNow Scholar makes me feel recognized for the countless hours I have put towards my academic success and lets me know that I am on the right path. I feel emboldened to continue working towards my goals in computer science, and I am very thankful to be selected in the inaugural cohort of ServiceNow Scholars.

Krstic awarded IEEE Bode Lecture Prize

Miroslav Krstic, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UC San Diego, has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Bode Lecture Prize, the highest award given by the IEEE Control Systems Society. 

The Bode Lecture Prize recognizes distinguished contributions to control systems science or engineering, and the broader impacts of the contribution towards the benefit of society at large. Krstic will deliver a plenary lecture at the 2023 Conference on Decision and Control in Singapore.

Krstic serves as senior associate vice chancellor for research for UC San Diego, and holds the Daniel L. Alspach Endowed Chair in Dynamic Systems and Control. He opened up a whole new area of research in control theory by reviving what are known as extremum seeking algorithms. Krstic’s advances made it possible to better conduct chemical analysis of rocks on the Mars rover Curiosity. They also have helped achieve a 200-fold increase in area density in the microchips that run smartphones, resulting in a multi-billion dollar impact for the semiconductor photolithography industry.

He has made transformational contributions to partial differential equations control, nonlinear delay systems, extremum seeking, adaptive control, stochastic nonlinear stabilization, and their industrial applications – including everything from stabilizing stop-and-go motion in congested traffic to estimating the state of health of batteries for electric vehicles and mobile phones. 

“Henrik Bode was the founding thinker of control systems as a field that straddles technology and theory,” said Krstic. “The Bode Lecture should inspire the community about the future of the field. No one has achieved this as memorably as Peter Kokotovic in 1991, with his “Joy of Feedback” lecture. He showcased my first result in that lecture, helped launch my career, and this is what makes my own Bode Lecture task for 2023 not only daunting but also special.” 

Krstic has received several lifetime achievement recognitions. In 2022, he was named the inaugural recipient of two awards: the biennial A.V. “Bal” Balakrishnan Research Award for Scientific Excellence in Research in the Mathematics of Systems and the triennial Ruth Curtain Award for Distributed Parameter Systems from the International Federation for Automatic Control. In 2021, he received the Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award; in 2019, the Reid Prize from the Society for Industrial Mathematics and the Nonlinear Control Systems Award from the International Federation for Automatic Control; and in 2017 the Oldenburger Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 

Krstic also is Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the International Federation of Automatic Control, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the UK’s Institution of Engineering and Technology, as well as associate fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Wood high-rise tops off at UC San Diego shake table — tests planned for early next year

The tallest building ever to be tested on an earthquake simulator topped off at 10 stories high at UC San Diego's shake table when construction crews and a giant crane flew the last wood panel to the top of the structure on Dec. 6, 2022.

The building is made from cross-laminated timber, or CLT, a material that allows for faster construction and is also sustainable. The goal of the Tallwood project, funded by the National Science Foundation, is to determine how well CLT mid- to high-rise buildings would fare during an earthquake. It is led by the Colorado School of Mines with a team of researchers from universities around the world. You can learn more about the project at the Tallwood website, in this story by the San Diego Union-Tribune and in this podcast episode. 

The building is set to be tested some time early next year, and will undergo several simulated earthquakes, including the equivalent of the 6.7 Northridge earthquake that shook Southern California in 1994.

The Tallwood project is the first large-scale building to be tested on UC San Diego's shake table, one of the two largest in the world, since the table underwent a major $16.9 million upgrade funded by the NSF.  It went from being able to move in one direction – east-west – to three directions – east-west, north-south, up and down, as well as roll, pitch and yaw, three motions in the x, y and z axes performed by airplanes in flight and commonly seen in earthquake motions. The upgrade to one vertical and two horizontal motions and three rotations–known technically as six degrees of freedom–will allow the facility to test structures with an unprecedented degree of accuracy when compared to real earthquake ground motions.

The shake table, opened in 2004, has tested more than 30 structures in that time, and has already made a significant impact. Tests here have resulted in changes to building codes for everything from hospitals, to tall buildings, to roads and bridges.

Find out more about the shake table's impact in this KPBSstory.

Jacobs School faculty, alumni featured in Forbes 30 Under 30

Five UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering affiliates were recognized in the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for their contributions to the fields of science, energy and healthcare. The faculty and alumni were recognized as up-and-coming stars in their respective fields for their efforts to develop more sustainable iron and steel manufacturing, study the origins of COVID-19, use wearable ultrasound tech to monitor changes in our bodies, and harness data from the microbiome to detect cancer. 

Niema Moshiri, an assistant teaching professor of computer science and engineering, was selected in the Healthcare category for a set of bioinformatics tools he helped develop to allow researchers to process SARS-CoV-2 sequencing data in rapid time. These tools enabled scientists to study the origins and spread of COVID-19.

Andy Zhao and Olivia Dippo, recent materials science and engineering PhD alumni, were recognized in the Energy category for their company Limelight Steel, which uses a laser furnace technology they developed to rapidly heat iron ore using zero-emissions energy sources, enabling more sustainable iron and steel manufacturing.

Gregory Sephic-Poore, a recent bioengineering PhD alumnus, was selected for the Healthcare category as a cofounder of Micronoma. The company developed Oncobiota, a patent pending microbiome-based test that detects cancer early. Contrary to prevailing theories at the time, Sepich-Poore's research found that no type of human cancer is sterile and their microbes can reveal the type and presence of cancer, making it easily detectable in early stages.

And Chonghe Wang, who earned a master’s degree in nanoengineering at UC San Diego, was recognized in the Science category for his work to develop a wearable ultrasound technology that could monitor deep tissue vital signs in the human body. The wearable ultrasound device provides 48 hours of continuous imaging to enable diagnostic and monitoring tools for various diseases.

UC San Diego students lead autonomous race car team to 2nd place at IAC

Team AI Racing Tech posing with their autonomous
car and second place winnings at Texas Motor Speedway.

Little more than a year after the inaugural Indy Autonomous Challenge full-scale autonomous car race, Team AI Racing Tech, which includes engineering, computer science and data science students from UC San Diego, took second place at a follow-on race held at the Texas Motor Speedway.

Of the nine teams from around the world competing in the challenge, only six qualified for the head-to-head race in Texas on Nov. 11. AI Racing Tech clenched second place on race day. The team is comprised of students from the University of Hawaii, UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, and Carnegie Mellon. The two student technical leads this season were Haoru Xue, a recent UC San Diego electrical and computer engineering graduate, and Siddharth Saha, a computer science and engineering master’s student at UC San Diego who earned his bachelor’s degree here in data science. Computer engineering student Jose Jimenez-Olivas and recent electrical engineering undergraduate alumnus Frank Garcia were also part of the team this season. UC San Diego Contextual Robotics Institute lecturer Jack Silberman is one of the team's advisors. 

UC San Diego team members Siddharth Saha,
Frank Garcia, Haoru Xue and Jose Jimenez-Olivas. 

UC San Diego, through its Contextual Robotics Institute, is an associate institution partner with the University of Hawaii’s AI Racing Tech Team. Each of the nine IAC teams has transformed a Dallara AV-21 race car into an autonomous vehicle, developing perception, navigation, and control systems with support from IAC sponsor companies, in order for the car to function completely autonomously.

In addition to the inaugural race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and this race at Texas Motor Speedway, the students also participated in a race during the famed Consumer Electronics Showcase (CES) at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and are now gearing up for their second CES race in Las Vegas in January 2023.

The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) is a collaborative effort that brings together public, private and academic institutions to challenge university students around the world to imagine, invent and prove a new generation of automated vehicle software and inspire the next generation of STEM talent.

Learn more about the Indy Autonomous Challenge: https://www.indyautonomouschallenge.com/

MathWorks supports expanded use of computer modeling tools with MicroGrant Program

The Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego is home to nearly 10,000 students, making it the largest engineering school in California. Every single one of these students has access to computer modeling software including MATLAB and Simulink, produced by MathWorks. 

MathWorks has donated $60,000 for small grants up to $15,000 to be awarded to student and faculty projects for use in curriculum and research development that involve MathWorks tools in some way. This could be student organizations using MATLAB to design a new race car, faculty research projects incorporating Simulink in their multidisciplinary simulation models or graduate student research projects that make use of MathWorks tools. The grant can also be used to support the development of curriculum materials for undergraduate teaching and labs, assessment tools, interactive tool development, research education and training tools. 

Along with funding, each selected project will be co-advised by a MathWorks engineer, who can provide technical support and guidance. 

In addition to establishing the MicroGrant Program, MathWorks has joined the Corporate Affiliates Program of the Jacobs School of Engineering, as well as the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Corporate Alliance and the Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute’s Industry Partner Alliance Program. 

Students and faculty of the Jacobs School of Engineering, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute had a chance to apply for the first round of grants with submissions due August 1. Awards will be announced by September 2. More information on the program, and following application rounds, is available here.