Popular Science has released their Top Ten of 2014 which honors the brightest young minds reshaping science, engineering, and the world. Computer scientists Prabal Dutta and Roxana Geambasu made the Top Ten!
In Dr. Dutta’s lab at the University of Michigan, small wireless sensors keep tabs on energy usage, gathering data that could inform the next generation of smart buildings. They scavenge their own power from their surroundings, such as the slight magnetic field generated by an electrical wire. Dutta’s other projects include a set of cameras only a few cubic millimeters in size and lapel pins that track how air temperature, humidity, and the distance between speakers affects the spread of flu. Dutta was also a Co-Organizer of the CCC workshop on the New Making Renaissance: Programmable Matter and Things.
Dr. Geambasu of Columbia University is building software that allows people to see where the information they upload to the cloud goes. In order to understand how companies share data, Geambasu devises clever ways to track the repercussions. Her latest software uses a series of “shadow accounts” to see how ads change when certain phrases are used. Other programs she’s designed make data self-destruct after a set period of time, help users track what information they’ve entered where, and limit data breaches from lost or stolen phones.
For more information about all of the Top Ten of 2014 visit the original article.
