{"640796":{"#nid":"640796","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Robotically Precise Diagnostics and Therapeutics for Degenerative Disc Disorder","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELower back pain caused by degenerative disc disorder affects approximately 40% of the population over 40 and though many of us may never experience adverse effects from the disorder, it is the cause of chronic back pain for numerous Americans. Recent imaging diagnostics and cellular based direct-injection therapeutics for degenerative disc and spinal cord injuries have shown great promise for chronic back pain sufferers, however the targeted area for delivery is very small and narrow, requiring extreme precision by the clinical practitioner to avoid the bony vertebrae and other sensitive tissues. The normative anatomy of the spinal area is quite complex. Between each vertebra is a \u0026lsquo;disc\u0026rsquo; of fibrous cartilage surrounding a sac of gel-like fluid that act as the spine\u0026rsquo;s shock absorbers, as well as giving the spine flexibility. Primary nerve branches to the various location of the body travel through this area from the central spinal canal. The complexity is increased if the patient has pre-existing conditions such as bone abnormalities due to scoliosis or osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis (a narrowing of the spinal canal causing compression) or have surgical implants, such as plates, rods and screws. Depending on the type of therapy, number of injections required, and the injection positioning complexity, spinal injection therapy treatment time frames can range from ~ 15 minutes to 2 hours, excluding post-procedure recovery time.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo increase injection site positioning preciseness, and thus the effectiveness, of these new treatments the Biorobotics and Human Modeling Lab, under the direction of George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering Professor Jun Ueda, have developed a patient mounted injection needle robot for use in magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), a technology that combines MRI imaging and low-frequency vibrations to create a map (elastogram) that images the stiffness of soft tissues.\u0026nbsp; Working in conjunction with the Stevens Institute of Technology and the Mount Sinai Hospital, the team developed non-ferromagnetic lead zirconate titanate (PZT) actuators that allow for usage in the magnetic field area produced by MR imaging. \u0026nbsp;The team used the prototype in a demonstration MRE scan for improved diagnosis of degenerative disc diseases. Multi-source shear wave propagation for examination of the pathological state of the patient tissue is achieved by tunable resonant frequency of the individual actuators. This allows for a minimally invasive procedure with a significant increase in precision needle positioning than that available via a human clinician.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn a related project with Emory University and the Georgia Tech Research Institute, Professor Ueda and team developed a patient mounted, minimally invasive, injection needle robot for spinal cellular therapeutics that is fully MRI compatible due to the non-ferromagnetic materials comprising the robotic actuators. High-precision in-vivo performance has been achieved by a PZT-driven parallel-plane needle-orientation mechanism and an iterative super-resolution computer vision algorithm. Preclinical evaluation on a suidae model showed mounting and controller functionality with respiration, while laboratory evaluation demonstrated placement precision of ~14\u0026mu;m of the desired location.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt is hoped that the high accuracy of this needle positioning robot and visual feedback method will result in a significant improvement to the workflow of spinal injection procedures. The dual results of precise positioning and images in near real time combined with a decreased procedure time promise to provide ease of use to clinicians and relief for millions of back-pain sufferers.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E- Christa Ernst\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EProfessor Jun Ueda would like to thank Ai-Ping Hu, Daniel Martinez and Waiman Meinhold for their contributions to this study.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EW. Meinhold, D. E. Martinez, J. N. Oshinski, A. Hu and J. Ueda, \u0026quot;A direct drive parallel plane piezoelectric needle positioning robot for MRI guided intraspinal injection,\u0026quot; in \u003Cem\u003EIEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/em\u003E, doi: 10.1109\/TBME.2020.3020926.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis Research was Sponsored by the following: NSF 1662029, CDMRP FY 2019 Discovery Award, IRIM seed grant FY 2018 \u0026amp; FY 2019, NSF 1545287 (student fellowship | Meinhold, Martinez)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Professor Jun Ueda, have developed a patient mounted injection needle robot for use in magnetic resonance elastography."}],"uid":"27863","created_gmt":"2020-10-30 11:42:27","changed_gmt":"2020-10-30 11:42:27","author":"Christa Ernst","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-10-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-10-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"640794":{"id":"640794","type":"image","title":"Auto SPINE device in clinical testing phase","body":null,"created":"1604057672","gmt_created":"2020-10-30 11:34:32","changed":"1635275750","gmt_changed":"2021-10-26 19:15:50","alt":"The team of Jun Ueda test the positioning preciseness of the new surgical assitive device in laboratory setting","file":{"fid":"243551","name":"Robotic Placement Device In-Use.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Robotic%20Placement%20Device%20In-Use.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Robotic%20Placement%20Device%20In-Use.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1239216,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Robotic%20Placement%20Device%20In-Use.png?itok=hlWW1wyj"}},"640795":{"id":"640795","type":"image","title":"UEDA X-Ray image in vivo","body":null,"created":"1604057873","gmt_created":"2020-10-30 11:37:53","changed":"1635275731","gmt_changed":"2021-10-26 19:15:31","alt":"Position of therapeutic needles after placed by AUTO-Spine imaged on MRI","file":{"fid":"243552","name":"In Vivo Layer Image Ueda1.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/In%20Vivo%20Layer%20Image%20Ueda1.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/In%20Vivo%20Layer%20Image%20Ueda1.png","mime":"image\/png","size":187723,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/In%20Vivo%20Layer%20Image%20Ueda1.png?itok=v0GjaP1J"}}},"media_ids":["640794","640795"],"groups":[{"id":"198081","name":"Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC)"},{"id":"197261","name":"Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"142761","name":"IRIM"},{"id":"1271","name":"NanoTECH"},{"id":"213771","name":"The Center for MEMS and Microsystems Technologies"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12701","name":"Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"78811","name":"Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines"},{"id":"541","name":"Mechanical Engineering"},{"id":"249","name":"Biomedical Engineering"},{"id":"186125","name":"surgical device"},{"id":"167861","name":"surgical robotics"},{"id":"13887","name":"Jun Ueda"},{"id":"186126","name":"spinal treatments"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["christa.ernst@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"640638":{"#nid":"640638","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Strengthen Research Ties","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology and the U.S. Department of Energy\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.pnnl.gov\/\u0022\u003EPacific Northwest National Laboratory\u003C\/a\u003E (PNNL) have entered into a formal agreement to bolster the interactions, collaborations, and joint scientific output of both institutions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe goals of this collaborative arrangement are to:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESolve Big Problems\u003C\/em\u003E by leveraging the significant infrastructure and intellectual capabilities of both parties in a multidisciplinary and multi-institutional manner.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESustain and Engage Human Capital\u003C\/em\u003E by exposing a pipeline of talented future members of the workforce to problems of practical importance and complex nature early in their academic programs.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAccelerate Technology Adoption\u003C\/em\u003E by introducing new ideas, science, and technology into the industrial and federal marketplace for the public good.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis five-year agreement was acknowledged during a virtual memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing event on Oct. 23, organized by Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EStrategic Energy Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (SEI).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This MOU provides a basis for both parties to engage in research collaborations, and the joint creation and administration of intellectual property,\u0026rdquo; said Tim Lieuwen, SEI\u0026rsquo;s executive director.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ELeaders of both institutions emphasized that the MOU leverages existing relationships and takes advantage of synergies. PNNL and Georgia Tech already have a long history of collaboration, with more than 100 journal articles, conference papers, and the like coauthored by PNNL and Georgia Tech researchers over the past decade. PNNL also boasts 32 current staff members who earned a bachelor\u0026rsquo;s, master\u0026rsquo;s, or doctoral degree from Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe MOU lays out several potential topics of mutual interest to both institutions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Georgia Tech and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory share interests in many areas of science and technology, including data science and visual analytics, electrical grid technologies, cybersecurity, and processing for fuels, chemicals, and materials,\u0026rdquo; said Chaouki T. Abdallah, Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s executive vice president for research. \u0026ldquo;Through this MOU, we look forward to expanding our collaborations in these important research areas.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe MOU also calls for expanded intellectual engagement, with PNNL and Georgia Tech students and researchers having a substantive presence on each other\u0026rsquo;s campuses, often in the form of joint appointments and internships. Personnel exchanges of this nature typically accelerate research efforts by making available to both parties the unique capabilities, facilities, and research communities that both have to offer.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The complexity of the research problems we are tackling today requires cooperation among institutions. No one institution can solve the big problems alone,\u0026rdquo; Tony Peurrung, PNNL\u0026rsquo;s deputy director for science and technology, said. \u0026ldquo;We are pleased to elevate our partnership with Georgia Tech because with our combined strengths, we will be better prepared to solve some of world\u0026rsquo;s most difficult science and technology challenges.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESeveral online seminars are planned in the coming months to boost awareness of this agreement among the research communities of both institutions and to foster connections between researchers with similar interests.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPacific Northwest National Laboratory\u003C\/strong\u003E draws on signature capabilities in chemistry, earth sciences, and data analytics to advance scientific discovery and create solutions to the nation\u0026#39;s toughest challenges in energy resiliency and national security. Founded in 1965, PNNL is operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy\u0026#39;s Office of Science \u0026mdash; the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States \u0026mdash; and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E, also known as Georgia Tech, is one of the nation\u0026rsquo;s leading research universities, providing a focused, technologically based education to more than 36,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The Institute has many nationally recognized programs, all top-ranked by peers and publications alike, and is ranked among the nation\u0026rsquo;s top public universities by\u003Cem\u003E U.S. News \u0026amp; World Report\u003C\/em\u003E. It offers degrees through the Colleges of Computing, Design, Engineering, Sciences, the Scheller College of Business, and the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech has hundreds of centers focused on interdisciplinary research that consistently contribute vital research and innovation to American government, industry, and business.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n177 North Avenue\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Georgia Tech - John Toon (jtoon@gatech.edu); PNNL - Greg Koller (greg.koller@pnnl.gov).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology and the U.S. Department of Energy\u0026rsquo;s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have entered into a formal agreement to bolster the interactions, collaborations, and joint scientific output of both institutions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will expand interactions, collaborations and joint scientific output."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2020-10-27 01:17:01","changed_gmt":"2020-10-27 01:21:04","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-10-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-10-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"640637":{"id":"640637","type":"image","title":"Pacific Northwest National Laboratory","body":null,"created":"1603760923","gmt_created":"2020-10-27 01:08:43","changed":"1603760923","gmt_changed":"2020-10-27 01:08:43","alt":"Pacific Northwest National Laboratory campus","file":{"fid":"243506","name":"PNNL Richland Campus Aerial Photo.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/PNNL%20Richland%20Campus%20Aerial%20Photo.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/PNNL%20Richland%20Campus%20Aerial%20Photo.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1282910,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/PNNL%20Richland%20Campus%20Aerial%20Photo.jpg?itok=hJgBywcF"}}},"media_ids":["640637","640637"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"213","name":"energy"},{"id":"183598","name":"PNNL"},{"id":"184316","name":"Pacific Northwest National Laboratory"},{"id":"167357","name":"SEI"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"},{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"640835":{"#nid":"640835","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Why is This New Deep Learning Visualization Going Viral?","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EInteractive visualizations are quickly becoming a favorite tool to help teach and learn deep learning subjects. One visualization in particular is rising to the top of\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/github.com\/poloclub\/cnn-explainer\u0022\u003EGitHub\u003C\/a\u003E, Twitter, and LinkedIn as a standout resource to understand Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECreated by Georgia Tech and Oregon State University researchers over the course of a year,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/poloclub.github.io\/cnn-explainer\/\u0022\u003ECNN Explainer\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;is a robust interactive visualization tool uniquely developed for deep learning beginners.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBy combining visualizations, animation, and transitions, CNN Explainer\u0026nbsp;enables users to inspect the interplay between low-level mathematical operations and high-level model structures. Presenting views with different level of details\u0026nbsp;gives users control over what technique they focus on and allows them to transition to others when they are ready.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;While there are other existing tools that help explain CNNs for beginners, this tool is quite different in how comprehensive its depth is and how it combines everything together,\u0026rdquo; said\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/zijie.wang\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EZijie Jay Wang\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E,\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;the primary investigator of this work.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Some tools only explain high level structures while others only focus on low level mathematical instruction. We wanted to build a tool that could integrate everything together and use transitions to help users navigate through different structures and their levels of detail,\u0026rdquo; he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile CNN Explainer was originally created with students and deep learning instructors in mind, general professionals and avid deep learning professionals are also showing excitement and interest in this new tool.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Many professionals who want to find out more about deep learning, and machine learning are accessing and using CNN Explainer, and it is helping them get started in this field. Meanwhile, avid deep learning practitioners have been adapting CNN Explainer to debug their own models,\u0026rdquo; said Wang.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe traction CNN Explainer has gained across web communities is another undeniable testament to its usability and need. Since its public release on May 1st, it has received almost\u0026nbsp;5000\u0026nbsp;GitHub stars and an average of\u0026nbsp;300\u0026nbsp;daily visitors from more than\u0026nbsp;80\u0026nbsp;countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The success of CNN Explainer has really shown me how the power of visualization can help people interact with their machine learning models,\u0026rdquo; continued Wang. \u0026ldquo;It is a very good interface for both beginners and experts, and in the future, I will try to design more tools for all levels to help them interpret, debug, and understand their models.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECurrently, CNN Explainer has also become a popular tool in deep learning courses\u0026mdash;used by instructors from Georgia Tech, University of Wisconsin\u0026ndash;Madison, University of Tokyo, and more.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ic.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Interactive Computing\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;Associate Professor\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.facebook.com\/ai\/\u0022\u003EFacebook AI\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003EResearch Scientist\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EDhruv Batra\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;is an early adopter of this tool and currently uses the tool in his Intro to Perception and Robotics course at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Batra, \u0026ldquo;I have used CNN Explainer and other visualization tools created by the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/poloclub.github.io\/\u0022\u003EPolo Club of Data Science\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;in my class. I find such visualizations to be highly valuable in explaining ostensibly complicated concepts in a simple visual way.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I am visual learner myself; if I can picture things like the flow of spatial feature maps in a CNN, I can understand the concepts easily. And plenty of research in pedagogy suggests that I am not atypical. In CS 4803\/7643 Deep Learning, I augment formal mathematical description with such visualizations, and I am highly appreciative of tools like the CNN Explainer,\u0026rdquo; said Batra.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2004.15004\u0022\u003Epaper outlining CNN Explainer\u0026rsquo;s process and programming\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;will be presented at the top visualization conference,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ieeevis.org\/year\/2020\/welcome\u0022\u003EIEEE VIS 2020\u003C\/a\u003E. It is also among the selected VIS papers published at\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.computer.org\/csdl\/journal\/tg\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, the top visualization journal.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Built by the team of eight over the course of a year, CNN Explainer\u2019s robust programming is uniquely developed for both the novice and veteran deep learning researcher."}],"uid":"34540","created_gmt":"2020-10-30 18:10:03","changed_gmt":"2020-10-30 18:10:31","author":"Kristen Perez","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-10-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-10-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"640832":{"id":"640832","type":"image","title":"CNN Explainer","body":null,"created":"1604080887","gmt_created":"2020-10-30 18:01:27","changed":"1604080887","gmt_changed":"2020-10-30 18:01:27","alt":"Image of a convolutional neural network interactive visualization","file":{"fid":"243561","name":"CNN Explainer.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/CNN%20Explainer.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/CNN%20Explainer.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1793574,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/CNN%20Explainer.png?itok=tv1QAPwO"}}},"media_ids":["640832"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50877","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"4305","name":"cse"},{"id":"38921","name":"data visualization"},{"id":"186137","name":"CNN Explainer"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EKristen Perez\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["kristen.perez@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"640830":{"#nid":"640830","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Professor Wants to Optimize Software Stack for Quantum Computers","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe emerging paradigm of quantum computing can solve problems that are beyond the capability of conventional computers. Quantum computers require a full stack solution, where the system works well if it has both the right hardware and software. Developing the right software stack of quantum computers is where Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/~moin\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMoinuddin Qureshi\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Esteps in.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EQureshi joined the School of Computer Science in July to bring his expertise in this area.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Quantum Connection \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EQuantum wasn\u0026rsquo;t always Qureshi\u0026rsquo;s research area. He received his Ph.D. from University of Texas at Austin, where he studied cache management. He then worked at IBM on emerging memory technology. When he started at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2011, Qureshi\u0026rsquo;s areas were memory systems, computer architecture, and hardware security.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt wasn\u0026rsquo;t until 2016 when a student came back from a Microsoft internship with a new interest in memory system for quantum computers that Qureshi started working in the area. Until 2016, research in quantum computing had mostly a theoretical bent, and Qureshi was skeptical of the practical implementation and use. That all changed once IBM made the 5-qubit machine available via cloud for public use and users could run programs on real quantum computers.\u0026nbsp; Since then, companies such as IBM and Google have demonstrated machines with 50+ qubits, and the progress in machine capacity is expected to accelerate in the coming years.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;My background is computer systems, not quantum physics or quantum information,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026ldquo;Before 2016, there was no obvious bridge to do system-level research in quantum computing\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Quantum computers became really exciting for system research with the advent of the cloud-based IBM quantum machines,\u0026rdquo; Qureshi said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMoving from Engineering to Computing \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs Qureshi\u0026rsquo;s research shifted more into quantum, it became clear he could make more headway in the field if he joined the College of Computing, where it would be easier to work with researchers in programming languages and software.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The chance of collaboration, the chance of learning and doing impactful research, and teaching quantum computing courses is higher in College,\u0026rdquo; he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EQureshi\u0026rsquo;s goal is to improve software to make quantum computation less susceptible to errors. Some of his \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2019\/10\/191015103411.htm\u0022\u003Erecent work\u003C\/a\u003E uses diversity to reduce the errors in quantum computation. Qureshi also led a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2020\/01\/08\/georgia-tech-collaborates-ibm-develop-software-stacks-quantum-computers\u0022\u003Ecollaboration\u003C\/a\u003E with Oak Ridge National Labs (ORNL) that allows Georgia Tech employees to have access to the state-of-the-art quantum computers from IBM.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EQureshi wants to make quantum accessible to students.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The content on quantum computing can be intimidating, and sometimes it may feel like you need a Ph.D. in physics and another Ph.D. in mathematics to make sense of the material\u0026rdquo; said Qureshi. \u0026ldquo;However, if you are interested in doing research at the system and software level, then the problems are similar to typical systems and abstractions can go a long way in making progress.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWith this in mind, Qureshi is teaching an Introduction to Quantum Computing graduate class this fall and hopes to bring quantum to the Online Master of Science Computer Science (OMSCS) program by 2021.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The exciting aspect of doing systems research in quantum computing is that the field is only getting defined right now, and you have more of a chance of making a bigger contribution in a field of when you go in early,\u0026rdquo; he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Qureshi joined the School of Computer Science in July to bring his expertise in quantum."}],"uid":"34541","created_gmt":"2020-10-30 17:46:03","changed_gmt":"2020-10-30 17:53:07","author":"Tess Malone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-10-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-10-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"640831":{"id":"640831","type":"image","title":"Moin Qureshi 2020","body":null,"created":"1604080246","gmt_created":"2020-10-30 17:50:46","changed":"1604080246","gmt_changed":"2020-10-30 17:50:46","alt":"Moin Qureshi ","file":{"fid":"243560","name":"MoinPic.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/MoinPic.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/MoinPic.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":45053,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/MoinPic.jpg?itok=diB-Ssm_"}}},"media_ids":["640831"],"groups":[{"id":"50875","name":"School of Computer Science"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETess Malone, Communications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:tess.malone@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Etess.malone@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"640807":{"#nid":"640807","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Nunn School Alumna Becomes the Marine Corps\u0027 First Female Ground Combat Battalion Commander ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn 2000, Lt. Col. Michelle Macander graduated from Georgia Tech\u0026#39;s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs with a bachelor\u0026#39;s degree in International Affairs. Within a year after commissioning as a second lieutenant in the Marines, the September 11 attacks happened, leading to the War on Terror.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;I think studying the theory and history of international affairs helped me to make sense of the US and multinational response that I became a part of,\u0026quot; said Macander. \u0026quot;It also made me more effective at working with other nations\u0026#39; militaries, comfortable living and working abroad, and a better, more open-minded leader of the diverse group of Marines I would serve alongside.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring her career, Macander has served in many roles, including a Marine Officer Instructor, Operations Officer, Commanding Officer for the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, and now the first female Ground Combat Battalion Commander.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;In my time as a student at Georgia Tech and ROTC, I learned self-reliance and discipline, both skills that have served me well over my 20-year career, and that made me ready to serve as the first female commander in a Marine Division.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETime at Tech\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMacander, who was born and raised in New York, decided to enroll at Georgia Tech because she wanted to attend a technical school in a new place.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Atlanta was very different from my suburban, upstate New York upbringing, but I loved being in a vibrant city, and I definitely enjoyed the southern hospitality,\u0026quot; said Macander.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring her time as a student, she stayed busy by running cross-country and track, working on campus, and joining the Navy ROTC. Her decision to move from the athlete dorms into the freshman experience dorm helped her meet other students, including Katie Rodgers, a Nunn School alumna, who would later convince her to change her major.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Chemical Engineering to International Affairs\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMacander, who began as a Chemical Engineering student, changed her major to International Affairs when Georgia Tech moved from a trimester to semester system between her sophomore and junior year, causing her to lose credits.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIf she remained in the chemical engineering program, she would have needed to stay a fifth year to complete the required Navy ROTC classes.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;My roommate and good friend Katie Rodgers was in the Nunn School and knew I was struggling with the decision, but helped make a case for me that it was a challenging, exciting program that fits well with my goal of being a Marine Corps Officer,\u0026quot; said Macander.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMoving in this direction meant that Macander could graduate within a reasonable time and begin her career with the Marines.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;The Nunn School program proved much more valuable as a Marine Corps officer than an engineering degree would have,\u0026quot; said Macander.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdvice to Students and Future Officers\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESeek mentors\u003C\/strong\u003E: \u0026quot;I would not be where I am today if I wasn\u0026#39;t blessed with incredible mentors from the moment I stopped by the NROTC building my freshman year. Captain Aaron Potter (retired as a lieutenant colonel) was the Marine Officer Instructor at Georgia Tech who helped me earn my commission, and whose voice I still hear reminding me to push myself out of my comfort zone, but to always be humble.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStep out of your comfort zone\u003C\/strong\u003E: \u0026quot;My advice, no matter the occupation, would be to work hard and know there might be sacrifices to be successful and not to be afraid to do something new and challenging. I had the choice of commanding a unit that I had served in before and knew inside and out the comfortable choice, or the unit I ultimately requested.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWritten by Jessica Palacios and edited by Nunn School student\u0026nbsp;Maria Winstead.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"In 2000, Lt. Col. Michelle Macander graduated from Georgia Tech\u0027s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs with a bachelor\u0027s degree in International Affairs."}],"uid":"34435","created_gmt":"2020-10-30 13:21:37","changed_gmt":"2020-10-30 14:03:21","author":"jpalacios9","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-10-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-10-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"640802":{"id":"640802","type":"image","title":"Nunn School alumna Lt. Col. Michelle I. Macander giving a speech during the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendelton\u2019s change of command ceremony. (Audrey C. M. Rampton\/U.S. Marine Corps)","body":null,"created":"1604063196","gmt_created":"2020-10-30 13:06:36","changed":"1604063196","gmt_changed":"2020-10-30 13:06:36","alt":"","file":{"fid":"243555","name":"Michelle Macander.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Michelle%20Macander.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Michelle%20Macander.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":22844,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Michelle%20Macander.jpg?itok=7AG5-eOz"}}},"media_ids":["640802"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.1stmardiv.marines.mil\/Leaders\/1st-Marine-Division-Leaders\/Article\/794743\/ltcol-michelle-i-macander\/","title":"LtCol. Michelle I. Macander Bio"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2020\/06\/23\/i-had-to-be-on-a-look-into-the-career-of-the-corps-first-female-marine-ground-combat-battalion-commander\/","title":"\u2018I had to be on\u2019: A look inside the career of the Corps\u2019 first female Marine ground combat battalion commander"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2020\/07\/04\/marine-corps-first-female-ground-combat-battalion-commander-reflects-her-historic-role.html","title":"Marine Corps\u0027 First Female Ground Combat Battalion Commander Reflects on her Historic Role"}],"groups":[{"id":"1286","name":"Center for International Strategy, Technology, and Policy (CISTP)"},{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1285","name":"Sam Nunn School of International Affairs"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"}],"keywords":[{"id":"3774","name":"marines"},{"id":"2694","name":"alumna"},{"id":"525","name":"military"},{"id":"169209","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts; Sam Nunn School of International Affairs"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jessica.palacios@inta.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJessica Palacios\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nMarketing \u0026amp; Event Coordinator\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nSam Nunn School of International Affairs\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}