Dr. Sergei Nirenburg, professor of computer science and electrical engineering, is a member of the truly smart agents research group (TSA), where he works on building artificial intelligent agents capable of human behavior. Since 2006, Dr. Nireburg has been working on the Maryland Virtual Patient (MVP) Project, a multi-level heterogeneous agent-oriented environment that simulates a doctor-patient relationship by way of a "virtual patient."

To read more about Dr. Nirenburg's research pursuits, see his full research profile.

Dr. Gymama Slaughter, assistant professor of computer science and electrical engineering, runs UMBC's Bioelectronics Laboratory (BEL@UMBC), which combines different projects in the areas of electronics, biology, medicine and chemistry. She is currently working on designing a closed-loop system that monitors blood glucose levels and administers insulin to diabetic patients. Dr. Slaughter says that what she desires most is to reduce complications in the lives of diabetic patients and their families. “If I can do that,” she says, “I will count what I do as successful.”

To read more about Dr. Slaughter's research pursuits, see her full research profile.

Dr. Tim Finin, professor of computer science and electrical engineering, specializes in artificial intelligence and has been working on developing smart phones that can guage their user's "context." “What I have always found interesting since I was an Undergraduate was the idea that we could make machines as smart as people,” explains Dr. Finin, whose research involving semantic web technology is directed towards realizing that goal.

To read more about Dr. Finin's research pursuits, see his full research profile.

Visit some of the most spectacular Greek and Roman sites in the world! 

• The Greek temples of Paestum and Agrigento.  
• The Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum
• The famous theater at Taormina
  
• The wonderful mosaics of a Roman villa in Sicily

The trip leaders are Richard Mason and Robert Rivkin.

This study/travel tour can be taken for winter session credit (ANCS 301).

Sign up now (by e-mailing abigail3@umbc.edu) to reserve your place on the list and receive final details as soon as they are ready.

Twenty years ago today, Tim Berners-Lee posted a short summary about the new World Wide Web project on the public alt.hypertext newsgroup. A copy of the first Web page mentioned in his post is hosted by the W3C.

The Web is arguably the most significant computing technology that has been developed in the forty years, although was enabled by other key developments, including the Internet and the “personal” computer. The impact of Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s simple idea and the principles behind it continues to grow as we discover new ways to apply it.

You can read more about the history of the Web in several Wikipedia articles, on the World Wide Web Consortium Web history page, and at CERN.

The Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering would like to welcome new lecturer, Shawn Lupoli, to the department. Mr. Lupoli will be teaching CMSC 201 (Introduction to Computer Science) and CMSC 104 (Problem Solving and Computer Programming) at UMBC this Fall.

Shawn Lupoli’s interest in robotics sparked when he was pursing an undergraduate degree in Computer Science at Frostburg State University. “The hands-on experience ignited my imagination,” says Mr. Lupoli of the robotics course that appealed to his inner-electrician. As a Master’s student at Towson University, Mr. Lupoli used LEGO, Vex Robotics and Fischertechnik robot kits as teaching tools in his Computer Science courses to engage his students with fun, hands-on projects.

“I’ve always wanted to teach,” says Mr. Lupoli, who was influenced by his father, who has been an Industrial Technology teacher at Perryville Middle School for thirty-four years. After receiving his Master’s in Computer Science from Towson University, Lupoli dove into teaching introductory computer science courses. He has over ten years of teaching experience, and has been a Computer Science Instructor at Mount St. Josephs High School in Baltimore, Anne Arundel Community College, Virginia Tech University, and Radford University, among other colleges. Most recently, Mr. Lupoli was an Assistant Professor at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC).

“When I was teaching at Virginia Tech and Radford, I fell in love with the University atmosphere,” he says, which is what drew him to the lecturer position at UMBC. “For me professionally, there are more opportunities here than I would ever have at a community college,” he adds. Mr. Lupoli sees teaching at UMBC as a welcome challenge, and hopes to eventually expand his teaching to subjects such as operating systems and data structures.

This Fall, Mr. Lupoli will teach CMSC 201 (Introduction to Computer Science) and CMSC 104 (Problem Solving and Computer Programming). Eager to get the semester started, Mr. Lupoli says one of his goals for the Fall is to get settled in and get used to the nuances of UMBC. But, the success of his students is his ultimate concern, says Mr. Lupoli, who explains that one of his favorite things about teaching is seeing the "I got it" light turn on in a student's head.  “I strive to make the students understand,” says Mr. Lupoli, “I strive for student success.”

Today is traditional day we celebrate and honor wi-fi in the US: 8.02.11. In other parts of the world it is celebrated on February eighth.

Today is traditional day we celebrate and honor wi-fi in the US: 8.02.11. In other parts of the world it is celebrated on February eighth.