Graduate Student Fellow Helps Computers Interpret Human Languages
BY: ALEX JOHNSON Computers don’t speak the same language as humans, but Afra Feyza Akyürek uses machine learning to help computers process and interpret human languages better. Akyürek, a PhD student in Computer Science at Boston University, aims to improve the dialogue between humans and computers and refine programs like Siri or Alexa. Akyürek’s primary […]
Of Mice and Models: How a Graduate Student Fellow Solves Neural Puzzles
BY: ALEX JOHNSON They say that great minds think alike, but very little is known about how thinking translates to movement or action. The brain remains one of the great puzzles of science, and many issues related to the brain, like motor diseases, are still not fully understood. Munib Hasnain enjoys solving problems above all […]
Using Out of This World Methods to Gather Space Data
BY ALEX JOHNSON A cold, dark, vacuum full of giant flaming gas balls is not exactly an ideal place to collect data. However, much of what we know about space is thanks to ingenuitive scientists who figure out how to collect information in an environment where they cannot exist. They create instruments and methods for […]
Computers v. Congress: Graduate Student Fellow Studies the Intersection of Digital Privacy and Law
BY ALEX JOHNSON & GINA MANTICA When most people hear the word “crypto”, their minds jump to cryptocurrencies. Meaning “hidden” in Greek, “crypto” is also short for “cryptography” – a field of research dedicated to encoding and decoding data. Modern cryptography has been around since the 1950’s and is almost as old as the very […]
Hariri Institute Graduate Student Fellow Finds a Home for Innovative Research Methods
BY ALEX JOHNSON As computational tools become more advanced, the focus is often on the applications to science, technology, or medicine. However, computing can also be used to address social problems like homelessness, vulnerable youth populations, and gentrification. Adrianna Spindle-Jackson, a Graduate Student Fellow at the Hariri Institute, uses computational methods to address questions related […]
Graduate Student Fellow Studies Sleep with Math
BY GINA MANTICA Beverly Setzer always loved math. But after finishing her undergraduate studies at North Carolina State University, she wanted to apply math to real world problems. With the support of her mentors, Setzer uses math to study how the brain transitions to and from sleep as a Graduate Student Fellow at the Hariri […]
Modeling metabolism with math
BY GINA MANTICA A bunch of interconnected chemical reactions throughout our body keep us alive. These metabolic networks are key to understanding the evolution of life on earth. But studying them in the lab can be costly and time consuming. Computer modeling, while often simplistic, can provide researchers with efficient insights into how metabolism is […]
Telepractice Presents a Challenge to Voice Therapy
Boston University researchers urge caution when evaluating voice disorders over teleconferencing platforms due to differences in acoustic measurements. BY GINA MANTICA, gmantica@bu.edu Over the past year, people across the world learned how teleconferencing platforms like Zoom can help folks stay connected – playing games with friends, hosting virtual weddings, and even visiting a doctor. But […]
Graduate Student Fellow Addresses Ecological Research Challenges with Computing
BY: DEIRDRE SHAHAR Computing is the way of the future for scientific research, including ecological studies. Luca Morreale, a Graduate Student Fellow at the Hariri Institute, conducts research on how humans, roads, cities, and other developments affect forests in the Northeast. While publicly collected datasets offer large opportunities for ecologists to learn this information, these […]
From Industry to Academia: How a Graduate Student Fellow Uses Engineering to Study Speech
BY: NATALIE GOLD Hasini Weerathunge has a strong background in industry—from working in the London Stock Exchange to conducting research at SYNERGEN Technology Labs. Now, as a Graduate Student Fellow at Boston University’s Hariri Institute for Computing, she is studying how Parkinson’s disease affects speech production processes in the brain. Originally from Sri Lanka, Weerathunge […]