Latest News

To Improve Smartphone Privacy, Control Access to Third-Party Libraries

Just 30 Libraries Account for More Than Half of Sensitive Data Taps

by Byron Spice | Monday, September 11, 2017

Smartphone apps that share users' locations, contacts and other sensitive information with third parties often do so through a relative handful of services called third-party libraries, suggesting a new strategy for protecting privacy, Carnegie Mellon University researchers say.     

CyLab’s Bryan Parno shares Distinguished Paper Award win with demonstration of verifiable security

by Daniel Tkacik | Thursday, September 7, 2017

Chances are, you’re reading this article on a web browser that uses HTTPS, the protocol over which data is sent between a web browser and the website users are connected to. In fact, nearly half of all web traffic passes through HTTPS. Despite the “S” for security in “HTTPS,” this protocol is far from perfectly secure.

Carnegie Mellon's Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship Earns I-Corps Renewal

by Melanie Simko | Monday, August 21, 2017

Carnegie Mellon University's Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship recently received a continuing grant from the National Science Foundation for its Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Sites program.

SCS Students Captain Winning Teams at C2C Competition

School of Computer Science students captained teams that finished first and second in the Cambridge2Cambridge (C2C) three-day cybersecurity competition that ended July 27 at the University of Cambridge.

Robert Xiao, a Ph.D. student in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, led the Unstoppables team, which won the £9,000 top prize, and won the £3,000 Leidos C2C Individual award as well. Carolina Zarate, a senior computer science major, captained the CrypticCrushers team, which took the second-place £4500 prize.

Improving Security Science Through Collaboration

by Ann Lyon Ritchie | Thursday, August 3, 2017

Computer scientists need to collaborate with their counterparts in the natural and social sciences to advance cybersecurity research, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. 

CMU's PPP Team Notches Fourth DefCon Win

by Daniel Tkacik | Monday, July 31, 2017

Carnegie Mellon University’s hacking team, the Plaid Parliament of Pwning or PPP, won its fourth World Series of Hacking title this weekend at the DefCon security conference in Las Vegas.

With four titles under their belt, the team has more wins than any other team in the 21-year history of the international competition. The 10 current members of PPP include eight undergraduates from the School of Computer Science and one Ph.D. student in SCS’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute.

Carnegie Mellon Method Enables Telescoping Devices That Bend and Twist

Robots That Readily Expand or Shrink Would Be Possible

by Byron Spice | Thursday, July 27, 2017

Carnegie Mellon University researchers have found a way to design telescoping structures that can bend and twist, enabling robots of various shapes to collapse themselves for transport or entering tiny spaces, and making possible robotic arms and claws that can reach over or around large obstacles.

Graphics and Robotics Pioneer Receives Highest Honor in Computer Graphics

by Barb Helfer | Tuesday, July 25, 2017

The Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (ACM SIGGRAPH) has named Jessica Hodgins, professor of computer science and robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, the 2017 recipient of its Steven Anson Coons Award for Outstanding Creative Contributions to Computer Graphics.

NY Times Examines How SCS Remade Pittsburgh

by Byron Spice | Tuesday, July 25, 2017

What do Pittsburgh's "food boom," the establishment of Uber's Advanced Technologies Center and the return of Jean Yang to her hometown have in common? The School of Computer Science, says writer Steven Kurutz in the July 23 edition of The New York Times.

CMU Hacking Team Looks for Win at DefCon

by Daniel Tkacik | Tuesday, July 25, 2017

At a time when cybersecurity pervades news headlines, it's fitting that a team of cybersecurity experts from Carnegie Mellon University may grab an unprecedented win this weekend in Las Vegas.

Carnegie Mellon's competitive hacking team, the Plaid Parliament of Pwning, looks to win a fourth title at this year's DefCon cybersecurity conference. No other team has ever won more than three times in DefCon's 21-year history of what many refer to as the "World Series of Hacking."

UPMC Professorships Will Help Shape the Future of Healthcare

by Shilo Rea and Byron Spice | Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Carnegie Mellon University's Ruslan "Russ" Salakhutdinov, Kathryn Roeder and Larry Wasserman have received endowed professorships from UPMC to fund work in statistics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics to help shape the future of healthcare.

SCS Will Welcome Largest First-Year Class This Fall

Women Once Again Make Up Almost Half of Incoming Students

by Byron Spice | Wednesday, June 28, 2017

The School of Computer Science is preparing for its largest-ever incoming class of first-years this fall, with 206 students currently committed, continuing the school's efforts to meet the world's growing demand for computer scientists by increasing its undergraduate enrollment.

Carnegie Mellon Solidifies Leadership Role in Artificial Intelligence

New Initiative, CMU AI, Unifies Expertise Across Departments and Disciplines

by Byron Spice | Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science (SCS) has launched a new initiative, CMU AI, that marshals the school's work in artificial intelligence (AI) across departments and disciplines, creating one of the largest and most experienced AI research groups in the world.

Dunietz Receives AAAS Mass Media Fellowship

by Byron Spice | Monday, June 5, 2017

Jesse Dunietz, a Ph.D. candidate in the Computer Science Department, will spend 10 weeks this summer at the New York offices of Scientific American magazine as an American Association for the Advancement of Science Mass Media fellow.

Shaw, Garlan Receive IEEE Software Engineering Awards

by Joshua Quicksall and Byron Spice | Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Institute for Software Research (ISR) professors Mary Shaw and David Garlan will receive IEEE Computer Society Technical Council on Software Engineering (TCSE) awards at the International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), May 20–28 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

ACM Honors Satya, Colleagues for Andrew File System

CMU Created First Distributed File System in 1980s

by Byron Spice | Wednesday, May 3, 2017

The Association for Computing Machinery has named the developers of Carnegie Mellon University's pioneering Andrew File System (AFS) the recipients of its prestigious 2016 Software System Award.

Shaw Earns University's Highest Education Honor

by Susie Cribbs | Monday, April 24, 2017

Mary Shaw joined the Carnegie Mellon University faculty after she completed her Ph.D. at the university in 1972. Since then, she's designed computer science curricula at all university levels, established software architecture as a recognized discipline, and served as chief scientist of CMU's Software Engineering Institute and associate dean for professional education.

Carnegie Mellon Advances Cloud's Capacity for Video Analytics

Research With Intel Addresses Rapidly Growing Volume of Online Video

by Byron Spice | Sunday, April 23, 2017

Carnegie Mellon University is leading a research effort sponsored by the Intel Corporation that will enable cloud-based services to process a rapidly increasing volume of online video and put new analytics and immersive technologies within reach of consumers, businesses and public officials.

Project Olympus Hosts Spring Carnival "Show and Tell"

Research, Startups Take Center Stage in McConomy Auditorium

by Byron Spice | Friday, April 14, 2017

The Project Olympus innovation program will host its annual Spring Carnival Show and Tell event, highlighting research and startups of interest to the investment community, from 4:30 to 6 p.m., Thursday, April 20, in the Cohon University Center's McConomy Auditorium.

Carnegie Mellon AI Beats Chinese Poker Players

Lengpudashi Tops Humans by $792,327 in Virtual Chips During Five-Day Exhibition

by Byron Spice | Monday, April 10, 2017

Artificial intelligence has once again triumphed over human poker players, as a program developed by Carnegie Mellon University researchers beat six Chinese players by a total of $792,327 in virtual chips during a five-day, 36,000-hand exhibition that ended today in Hainan, China.

Carnegie Mellon AI Takes On Chinese Poker Players

China Exhibition Includes $290,000 Winner-Take-All Prize

by Byron Spice | Wednesday, April 5, 2017

A version of Carnegie Mellon University's Libratus, which in January became the first artificial intelligence to defeat top poker pros at Heads-Up, No-Limit Texas Hold'em, will play six top Chinese players for a $290,000 winner-take-all purse.

The 36,000-hand exhibition featuring a different AI, named Lengpudashi or "cold poker master," will take place April 6–10 on the island province of Hainan, China.

Carnegie Mellon Makes Strong Showing at Global CodeCon Finals

by Aisha Rashid | Thursday, March 23, 2017

Two Carnegie Mellon University students outcoded more than a hundred of their peers at the 2017 Global CodeCon Finals — a two-hour long coding competition at Bloomberg's offices in New York City and London. Raymond Kang, a junior studying computer science and mathematical sciences, earned ninth place; and Gabriele Farina, a Ph.D. student in computer science, came in 13th.

Blum To Participate on Panel in DC

by Byron Spice | Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Lenore Blum will join a panel, "Mothers of Invention: Celebrating Women Innovators," hosted by the Congressional Inventions Caucus on Wednesday, March 22, in Washington, D.C.  Blum will speak about Project Olympus and Women@SCS and the roles they play in increasing the participation of women in computer science and entrepreneurship.

SCS Undergrads Named KPCB Fellows

by Aisha Rashid | Tuesday, March 21, 2017

The Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers (KPCB) Fellowship Program has announced that two School of Computer Science undergraduates are among the fellows in its 2017 Engineering Fellows Program.  

Allison Wang and Serena Wang are among 54 students selected from almost 2,000 applicants across the country to represent their universities this summer in Silicon Valley. The three-month summer program helps fellows develop their technical and design skills under the mentorship of innovative Silicon Valley startups.

Frieze Honored for Increasing Diversity in Computer Science

CMU's Director of Women@SCS and SCS4ALL Will Receive 2017 Habermann Award

by Byron Spice | Tuesday, March 7, 2017

The Computing Research Association has selected Carnegie Mellon University's Carol Frieze as the recipient of its 2017 A. Nico Habermann Award, recognizing her sustained, successful efforts to promote diversity in computer science.