Beginning this summer, with applications opening on April 26, a new program will offer a secondary certification in computer science for high school teachers in the state of Illinois. CS professor Craig Zilles has been working with the College of Education and CS PhD students to utilize this program and promote a more equitable high school experience in computer science.

“What makes a program like this relevant is the great interest in teaching computer science skills at the high school level. Currently the workforce can’t match that interest, though,” Zilles said. “We have an opportunity ahead to provide a solution.” Read the full story →

Alston's Entrepreneurial Dreams Taking Off with Apple's Support

Being named to Apple’s first Entrepreneur Camp for Black Founders and Developers provides CS minor David Alston a close relationship with the tech giant in support of his app, Kickstroid. The graduating senior called this the "most satisfying thing that has ever happened in my entire life." Learn more →

Jacobson's BracketOdds Research Takes the Madness Out of March

This year Illinois CS professor Sheldon Jacobson and his students addressed the very essence of why the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, perhaps more than any other event in American sport, provides a sense of excitement and unpredictability.
Learn more →

Several Illinois CS Research Projects Result in Best Paper Awards

Illinois CS research continues to sustain high levels of success, as indicated by the ability to earn best paper awards at prominent computing conferences. Congratulations to each of the projects and the authors involved. Learn more →

CS Faculty Among Researchers Awarded Jump Arches Funding

Four Illinois CS professors are applying their expertise in artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, and computer vision to several new projects funded in fall 2020 by the Jump Applied Research for Community Health through Engineering and Simulation (Jump ARCHES) program. Learn more →

Newest Knight of St. Patrick Motivated to Make Engineering and CS More Inclusive

Illinois CS undergraduate student Tommy Carver will be among the 12 Grainger College of Engineering students inducted as Knights of St. Patrick, a distinction that recognizes leadership, excellence in character, and more. Learn more →

Doctoral Candidates Win Highly Competitive Fellowships from Industry

Jiaxin Huang and Wing Lam have earned highly competitive doctoral fellowships in recognition of their innovative research. Huang earned a 2021 Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship, while Lam received the Google Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities IT (CMD-IT) LEAP Dissertation Fellowship. Learn more →

Illinois’ Online Graduate Programs Continue to Climb

The online surge has been driven largely by a handful of scalable programs – the iMBA (Master of Business Administration, from the Gies College of Business) and MCS (Master of Computer Science, from Illinois CS) being the top two – offered on the Coursera online learning platform. Learn more →

'Farms are Going to Need Different Kinds of Robots'
Among those at the forefront of studying the impact of increased technology on the future of farming is professor Girish Chowdhary, the director of the Distributed Autonomous Systems Laboratory (Daslab) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  BBC News →

Memories In Motion
A lot of you probably have a photo album filled with old pictures of family members. You may have never met some of them. But what if you could see them move? That’s what one website is offering with a service called, “Deep Nostalgia.” U of I professor, David Forsyth, says this sort of technology has improved a lot over the last decade — think Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram filters. Now, he says companies are experimenting. WCIA →

Intel CPU Interconnects Can Be Exploited by Malware to Leak Encryption Keys and Other Info
Chip-busting boffins in America have devised yet another way to filch sensitive data by exploiting Intel's processor design choices. Doctoral student Riccardo Paccagnella, master's student Licheng Luo, and assistant professor Christopher Fletcher, all from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, delved into the way CPU ring interconnects work, and found they can be abused for side-channel attacks. The Register →

Bracket Expert Gives Advice Ahead of March Madness
University of Illinois professor Sheldon Jackson is a bracket expert who runs BracketOdds at U of I. Jacobson and his students worked on new simulators for this year's tournament that prove the best way to select your bracket is to start with the Elite Eight or Final Four. Fox 32 Chicago →

CS Communi-tea Hour: A Relief During the Pandemic
A year has passed since the world went into an emergency lockdown suspending all forms of in-person communication for an indefinite period of time. Realizing the impact of this on mental health, Elizabeth Gonzalez, computer science undergraduate academic adviser, came up with the idea of hosting weekly Zoom hangout sessions called the ‘SOS Communi-Tea.’  The Daily Illini →

Go Figure: A Numerical Look at Illini Headlines, From Faculty Honors and COVID Cases to Average Salaries for First-Year Grads
11: UI computer science faculty members who’ve been awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship since Sarita Adve was so honored in 1998. Sanmi Koyejo is the latest Illini to be chosen as one of 128 early-career researchers across the U.S. and Canada. The News-Gazette→

Illinois Computer Science Speaker Series
Check the calendar for upcoming speakers!
The Illinois Computer Science Speaker Series brings prominent leaders and experts to campus to share their ideas and promote conversations about important challenges and topics in the discipline. Join us online: talks are virtual this year!  View the Calendar →

Sail 2021
Apr. 2-4, Online
High school students get a taste of what it is like to be an Illinois CS student by attending this student-run virtual event. Speak to professors, advisers, and student leaders, and attend a variety of short courses! Register now!

HackIllinois 2021: Rekindling Connections
Apr. 9-11, Online
Register now for HackIllinois! This student-run, 36-hour team competition showcases students' programming and creative skills, attracting participants from across the nation. Check the HackIllinois Website for updates about this year's virtual event!