Cornell University - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Computer science surge sparks campus building boom

  Space is tight for computer science students at the University of Washington. The program can accommodate only onethird of UW students who fulfill prerequisites and apply to the major. With lobbying <a href="https://news.cs.washington.edu/2015/02/24/23-wa-technology-leaders-line-up-in-support-of-expanded-facilities-for-uw-cse/">support</a> from a number of big-name tech neighbors Microsoft, Amazon and Zillow, to name a few -- the university is soliciting state funds to help pay for a second building for its Computer Science &amp; Engineering department in Seattle. With a new building, UW expects to double its compsci enrollment.

• Scientists create one robot brain to rule them all

  Researchers are creating a single, massive repository of robot knowledge so machines around the world can learn from each other.

• Cyborg moths could act like living drones in search and rescue

  By electronically manipulating the flight muscles of moths, scientists are one step closer to creating biobots that could fly over a disaster area and spot survivors or hazards.

• Bitcoin price dips as backers fear mining monopoly

  Fears that a Bitcoin mining pool controls more than half the total computational power used to create the digital currency have prompted a decline in its value.

• The Internet of Things could encroach on personal privacy

  A recent White House report on big data wonders aloud about the capability of sensors and smart meters to turn homes into fish tanks, completely transparent to marketers, police -- and criminals.

• Cornell researchers print 3D speaker

  Researchers at Cornell University have successfully fabricated a working loudspeaker using a 3D printer.

• 'Selfish miner' attack could devastate Bitcoin, researchers say

  Bitcoin is vulnerable to an attack that could have devastating effects on the virtual currency, but it can be fixed with a software update, according to researchers from Cornell University.

• Researchers use nanotech to battle cancer

  Two universities this week announced that researchers in the schools have made advances in fighting cancer by using nanotechnology.

• Cornell team building heart-monitoring, bug-fighting smart clothes

  Your shirt could soon power a smartphone while monitoring your blood pressure and providing alerts about harmful bacteria nearby.

• Xbox One should accelerate development of learning robots

  Ashutosh Saxena bought an Xbox to play computer games at home, but discovered that the Kinect motion-detection technology it includes provides a rich tool for his robotics lab where he's trying to create robots that learn what humans are up to and try to help out.

• Cornell Prof: Carrier IQ affair 'my worst nightmare'

  A Cornell University professor is calling the controversial Carrier IQ smartphone software revelations a privacy disaster.

• BEYOND NETWORKING: Twitter analysis reveals global human moodiness

  Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites are often criticized for encouraging people to share thoughts of little consequence, though social scientists are finding these electronic missives, when assembled en masse and analyzed with big data tools, can offer a wealth of new information about how people think and act.

• NAND flash can verify a device's identity

  People who make, buy and sell flash storage could detect counterfeit products based on the unique "fingerprints" of the chips, using techniques being developed by university researchers.

• Avatars rising in the enterprise

  Avatars aren't just for the movies or for techies with time on their hands. Organizations are using virtual worlds for training, simulation and prototyping, among other things.