Milestones: July 5, 2019
Recent awards, recognitions, and accomplishments from our students and faculty
Inaugural J.P. Morgan AI Research Awards recognize leading AI researchers
Five faculty members have been awarded 2019 J.P. Morgan AI Research Awards, created to recognize the next generation of leading AI researchers and enable innovation between university faculty and J.P. Morgan. Agostino Capponi, associate professor in industrial engineering and operations research, won in the “Learning from Experience” category for his proposal "Robo-Advising as a Symbiotic Human- Machine System." Capponi plans to develop a robo-advising technology that progressively adapts to each investor’s unique preferences and risk profile with ongoing feedback to optimize his/her investment portfolio. Daniel Hsu, associate professor in computer science, won in the “Explainability and Intrepretability” category for his proposal, “Prediction Semantics and Interpretations that are Grounded in Real Data.” Hsu’s project will look at a general class of mechanisms to improve explanations and interpretations for predictive models, making them more transparent and reliable. Also from the Computer Science Department, Professor Jeannette Wing, director of the Data Science Institute, Associate Professor Junfeng Yang, and Assistant Professor Suman Jana won in the “Explainability and Intrepretability” category for their proposal, “Efficient Formal Safety Analysis of Neural Networks.” Building on promising work in applying formal verification to neural networks, the team will investigate optimization techniques such as interval analysis to improve verification and locate model misbehavior in autonomous AI systems and machine learning algorithms.
Hung, Thomopoulos Named International Orthopaedic Research Fellows
Clark Hung, professor of biomedical engineering, and Stavros Thomopoulos, Robert E. Carroll and Jane Chace Carroll Professor and a professor of biomechanics in orthopedic surgery and biomedical engineering, were inducted as Fellows of International Orthopaedic Research (FIOR) by the International Combined Orthopaedic Research Societies (ICORS). Fellows are recognized for their professional standing and high achievement in orthopedic research. The FIOR honorees will foster professional interactions among ICORS members, research and medical practitioners, regulatory and legislative offices, and will promote public awareness of their profession, encouraging professional and continuing education in orthopedic research. At Columbia Engineering, Hung directs the Cellular Engineering Laboratory which focuses on how understanding the physical and chemical influences on cells and tissues can help develop effective tissue substitutes. Thomopoulos, who is also director of the Carroll Laboratories and vice chair for Basic Science Research in Orthopedic Surgery at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, is an expert in the mechanical challenge of attaching tendon to bone.
Guo elected a Fellow of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
X. Edward Guo, Stanley Dicker Professor of Biomedical Engineering, was elected a Fellow of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR). The Fellowship recognizes long-term ASBMR members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of bone and mineral science. As director of the Bone Bioengineering Laboratory, Guo performs multiscale research in clinical mechanics and mechanobiology and was named chair of the department of biomedical engineering in 2018. Guo will be recognized at the ASBMR Annual Meeting, September 20 to 23, in Orlando, Florida.
Lipson shortlisted for Harvey Engineering Research Prize
Michal Lipson, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering, was one of five researchers to be shortlisted for the IET AF Harvey Engineering Research Prize from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). The £350,000 prize is awarded annually to advance scientific research in the fields of medical, microwave, laser, or radar engineering. Lipson is a leading expert in the area of nanophotonics, including the investigation of novel phenomena and the development of novel devices and applications. She was recently elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences and awarded the NAS Comstock Prize in Physics and has been named by Thomson Reuters as a top 1% highly cited researched in the field of Physics every year since 2014. The winner of the AF Harvey Prize will be announced in November or December and give a keynote lecture in the spring at IET London: Savoy Place.
