Title: Humane Computing

Speaker: Ophir Frieder (http://www.cs.georgetown.edu/~ophir/), Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057

Time: Monday, May 7th, 2:00pm-3:00pm

Location: Babbio 321

Host: Adriana Compagnoni
 
Abstract:

Humane Computing is the design, development, and implementation of computing systems that directly focus on improving the human condition or experience.  In that light, three efforts are presented, namely, improving foreign name search technology, spam detection algorithms for peer-to-peer file sharing systems, and novel techniques for urinary tract infection treatment.

The first effort is in support of the Yizkor Books project of the Archives Section of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  Yizkor Books are commemorative, firsthand accounts of communities that perished before, during, and after the Holocaust.  Users of such volumes include historians, archivists, educators, and survivors.  Since Yizkor collections are written in 13 different languages, searching them is difficult.   In this effort, novel foreign name search approaches which favorably compare against the state of the art are developed.  By segmenting names, fusing individual results, and filtering via a threshold, our approach statistically significantly improves on traditional Soundex and n-gram based search techniques used in the search of such texts.  Thus, previously unsuccessful searches are now supported.
 
In the second effort, spam characteristics in peer-to-peer file sharing systems are determined.  Using these characteristics, an approach that does not rely on external information or user feedback is developed.  Cost reduction techniques are employed resulting in a statistically significant reduction of spam.  Thus, the user search experience is improved.
 
Finally, a novel “self start”, patient-specific approach for the treatment of recurrent urinary tract infections is presented.  Using conventional data mining techniques, an approach that improves patient care, reduces bacterial mutation, and lowers treatment cost is presented.  Thus, an approach that provides better, in terms of patient comfort, quicker, in terms of outbreak duration, and more economical care for female patients that suffer from recurrent urinary tract infections is described.

Biography:

Ophir Frieder holds the Robert L. McDevitt, K.S.G., K.C.H.S. and Catherine H. McDevitt L.C.H.S. Chair in Computer Science and Information Processing and is Chair of the Department of Computer Science at Georgetown University. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, ACM, and IEEE.