Jessica Ray named among Talented 12 ‘young stars’ by chemical and engineering newsmagazine

, 91̽»¨assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been named a member of the 2020 of young chemists working to solve world problems by the weekly newsmagazine Chemical & Engineering News, or C&EN.

The honors, bestowed each year since 2015, highlight a dozen “rising young stars who are using chemical know-how to change the world.” Ray, who joined the 91̽»¨in 2019, researches composites, surface chemistry and targeted removal and recovery of wastewater constituents. She is developing low-cost selective absorbents to remove toxic compounds from wastewater and improve drinking water.

The Talented 12 honorees will give short TED-style talks about their research during a two-day that will be part of the magazine’s free inaugural online Futures Festival Aug. 25 and 26.

The magazine is a publication of the Read an article about this honor and Ray’s work on the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering .

* * *

Richard Ladner receives National Science Board 2020 Public Service Award

The National Science Board has named 91̽»¨computer scientist recipient of its , honoring his career of contributions to increasing public understanding of science and engineering.

Ladner is a professor emeritus in the UW’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. The board, called the NSB for short, was created by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950. Its dual roles are to establish science policy and to serve as an independent body of advisers to the nation’s leaders. The award was established in 1996.

The board , who has championed digital accessibility and inclusivity, for “demonstrated exemplary science communication and diversity advocacy throughout his career and has been called the ‘conscience of computing.'”

Victor McCrary, NSB vice chair, said, “We cannot exclude anyone when it comes to the important pursuit of scientific advancement. Richard Ladner’s work has significantly enlarged the circle of perspectives at the bench, and by welcoming and empowering those with disabilities to fully contribute he has greatly enhanced and advanced our nation’s global leadership in science, engineering, and technology.”

Read more on the Allen School’s .

* * *

Maryam Fazel chosen for inaugural Moorthy family endowed professorship

, 91̽»¨professor and associate chair in the , has been named the first recipient of the new Moorthy Family Inspiration Career Development Professorship, for her work as a researcher and educator.

Fazel co-directs the 91̽»¨ and holds adjunct appointments in the mathematics and statistics departments at the UW, as well as the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. Her research focuses on data science, robotics and controls.

The professorship, funded by an endowment established in 2019 by Ganesh and Hema Moorthy, recognizes the support they received from the family and in turn are passing on to other generations. Ganesh Moorthy, president and chief operating officer of Microchip Technology, earned a BA in physics from the 91̽»¨in 1981 and has served on the department’s advisory board. Hema Moorthy, an electrical engineer, worked at Hewlett-Packard for many years.

The endowment supports faculty members who have shown significant promise early in their careers. Read more on the department .

* * *

Jackson School gets $200,000 cybersecurity grant from Carnegie Corp of New York

The 91̽»¨Jackson School of International Studies has received a $200,000 grant for cybersecurity research from .

The grant will support the expansion of the including its cybersecurity training program in the Jackson School’s , which was funded by previous grants by Carnegie. The aim is to bridge the gap between academia and the policy world.

, professor of international studies, is principal investigator for the grant. Other participating faculty are , and — all faculty members in the Jackson School. The grant will provide research opportunities for students as well.

Read more on the Jackson School .

Cooperating in the work, funded by the National Science Foundation, will be the 91̽»¨, and as well as and 91̽»¨Information Technology.

Devices connected to the , now becoming standard components in new buildings, can increase energy performance while reducing costs. But such highly connected sensors can also bring potential security vulnerabilities.

And though technical solutions to such security concerns exist, implementing them can be impeded by differences in communication and work cultures between workers in information technology, and operations and maintenance. These challenges, together with a policy environment that rarely regulates internet of things devices, can increase risks and leave buildings vulnerable to attack.

The NSF in August over three years to the lab in the College of Built Environment’s to study how organizational policies and procedures can help — or hinder — the needed collaboration between information technology and operations and maintenance professionals. The lab is housed in the department’s .

Several 91̽»¨faculty, staff and administrators are involved in the . Co-principal investigators are , a research scientist in the Center for Education and Research in Construction; and , professor of construction management.

, lecturer, research scientist and co-director of the also is an investigator, as is Chuck Benson, director of the UW’s new risk mitigation strategy program for the internet of things.

The three-year project will use the investigators’ expertise in communication, collaboration, cybersecurity policy and internet of things practices to study two critical areas:

• How operations and maintenance and information technology groups currently share their knowledge and skills to improve security for the internet of things; and
• How public policies and an organization’s own rules on privacy and security impact how information technology and operations and maintenance teams collaborate

The team will work on these issues through ethnographic research of university cybersecurity efforts, interviews with information technology and operations and maintenance professionals and case studies of cybersecurity efforts in the built environments of higher education.Ìý

A graduate research assistant and undergraduate students from the Jackson School’s Cybersecurity Initiative also will be involved in the work.

The aim is to better understand how elements of organization, practice and policy interact and affect collaboration in keeping the internet of things safe and secure — and to provide clear examples of how such elements might help or hinder the necessary collaboration to implement smart building technologies.

The interdisciplinary nature of the project is an important part of the approach, Osburn said.

“What’s most important about this project is finding ways to help technology experts from different departments and different disciplines work and communicate better together so that they can keep our buildings safe and make sure that the data that internet of things devices are collecting stay secure.”

###Ìý

For more information, contact Osburn at lbusch@uw.edu, Dossick at cdossick@uw.edu, Beyer at jlbeyer@uw.edu or Benson at cabenson@uw.edu.

Learn more at the .

NSF grant #1932769 Ìý