Fall 2014 OdCOLLEGE OFyss COMPUTER, MATHEMATICAL, ANDey NATURAL SCIENCES

GAME CHANGER Brendan Iribe Continues To Show His Vision FROM THE DEAN

Dear Friends,

This fall marked the fourth anniversary of critical for quantum computers, which could the College of Computer, Mathematical, and be immensely faster than any existing com- Natural Sciences. Coinciding with this puter at solving certain problems. The race is anniversary, we announced the largest single on to build the first quantum computer gift in University of Maryland history. —and, right now, a device in the basement of 4 Brendan Iribe, former student and co-founder the Computer and Space Sciences building is and CEO of Oculus VR, donated $31 million leading the field. You can read more on page 4 to the university. Brendan’s business partner about this device and other quantum comput- ODYSSEY and computer science alumnus Michael ing strategies our researchers are exploring. Antonov, and Brendan’s mother, Elizabeth, Finally, we invite you to join us on March Editor: Abby Robinson also contributed generous gifts of $4 million 10, 2015, for a mathematics conference to 14 Editorial Associates: Rachel Bender, Nancy Grund and $3 million, respectively. honor our dear colleague and leader, William and Mary Kearney These gifts will support construction of E. “Brit” Kirwan. Chancellor of the University Designer: Loretta Kuo a new computer science building on campus, System of Maryland for the past 12 years, he create scholarships and endow professorships. is retiring after more than 50 years in higher DEPARTMENTS The new Brendan Iribe Center for Computer education. Brit joined UMD as an assistant Department of Astronomy Department of Atmospheric Science and Innovation will advance research mathematics professor in 1964 and worked and Oceanic Science in virtual reality, augmented reality, computer his way up to president, a role he held from 16 (formerly Meteorology) vision, robotics and immersive science at the 1988 to 1998. The conference will feature Department of Biology University of Maryland. The facility will lectures on mathematics and education by (formerly Zoology) feature state-of-the-art maker spaces with Brit’s former colleagues, UMD alumni and Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics access to new equipment and resources that renowned mathematicians from across (formerly Microbiology) will enable students and faculty to bring the country. Department of Chemistry and their ideas to life. You can read more about As always, we thank you—our alumni Biochemistry Brendan, these wonderful gifts and the Iribe and friends—for your collective support, Department of Computer Science Center beginning on page 16. which moves us ahead and ensures that our Department of Entomology Department of Geology We also celebrated the launch of our college remains at the forefront of research Department of Mathematics third quantum science research center in and education. Department of Physics October. Called the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, the Odyssey is published twice a year center expands our long-established partner- for alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students of the College of ship with the National Institute of Standards Computer, Mathematical, and and Technology. Center researchers aim to Jayanth Banavar Natural Sciences. Your comments understand how quantum systems can be Dean and feedback are welcome. Please effectively used to store, transport and process College of Computer, Mathematical, send them to [email protected]. information. This understanding will be and Natural Sciences

2 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 Photo by John T. Consoli CONTENTS

Features 4 2015: A Quantum Odyssey The race is on to build the 4 world’s first quantum computer. 14 Young Scientists, Ancient Discoveries K-12 students and UMD researchers join forces to find and identify shark fossils. 16 Game Changer Brendan Iribe continues to show his vision. 14

ON THE COVER

BRENDAN IRIBE CO-FOUNDED THE Sections VIRTUAL REALITY COMPANY OCULUS 26 Alumni Profiles VR AND THEN SOLD IT TO FACEBOOK FOR $2 BILLION THIS PAST 28 CMNS News JULY. IN SEPTEMBER, IRIBE PLEDGED THE LARGEST SINGLE GIFT IN UNIVERSITY 30 Faculty, Staff, Alumni OF MARYLAND and Student Highlights HISTORY—$31 MILLION —TO SUPPORT CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW COMPUTER SCIENCE BUILDING AND SCHOLARSHIPS. 16 Photo by John T. Consoli

Illustrations by Loretta Kuo / Iribe photo by Mike Morgan Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 3 2 O15: a quantum odyssey

4 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 THE RACE IS ON TO BUILD THE FIRST QUANTUM COMPUTER— AND UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND here is an apparition in the basement of the university’s Computer and Space SCIENTISTS Sciences building. It is not an apparition in the supernatural ARE LEADING sense, or in the Harry Potter novels’ sense of teleportation, though that notion is not so THE WAY. far from reality. Rather, the apparition is the unexpected appearance of a transformational Tinvention with the power to change the world. By Heather Dewar Many scientists think society is on the brink of a second information age, thanks to a new field known as quantum information, sprung from the marriage of quantum physics and theoretical mathematics. The invention that could usher in this second information age is a quantum computer. “Quantum computers will be able to solve some problems dramatically faster than today’s computers and solve difficult problems that are not solvable today,” says Jayanth Banavar, dean of the University of Maryland’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences and a physics professor. “They will change our lives in ways that we cannot even imagine.” “A quantum computer is the holy grail of quantum science,” adds UMD Physics Professor Steve Rolston, who co-directs the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), a research partnership between UMD and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, with the support and participation of the Labora- tory for Physical Sciences. Because of the quantum computer’s potential to alter the field dramatically, scientists are researching every possible application of quantum information—com- munication networks that cannot be tapped; small, powerful sensors with more uses than we can currently guess; and materials with strange and potentially useful properties. The researchers’ goal is to understand how quantum mechanics can store, process and transmit information faster, better and more securely than today’s technology.

Illustrations by Loretta Kuo Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 5 Quantum possibilities At 20 qubits, Monroe’s creation is among The race is on to build the first quantum the largest quantum computing devices in the computer. Right now, the device in the world. (A company in Canada has built a 512- basement of the Computer and Space Sciences bit machine, but experts question whether it building is a leader in the field. This futuristic is a true quantum computer, and test results machine is fundamentally different than any are contradictory.) Monroe, who has been computer on the market today. working in the quantum science field for A typical computer stores information in 20 years, plans to build a 50-qubit device in bits—individual digits, all of them either 0s or the next year or two. His sights are set on 1s. A laptop with one gigabyte of memory can eventually building a 100-qubit device, which store 8 billion 0s or 1s. A computer scientist has the potential to do calculations so would describe that memory as 8 x 109 bits. advanced that no conventional computer But a quantum computer takes advantage of could even double-check them. the unseen properties of what physicists call “the quantum realm”—typically, the world “No other place has the of atoms and subatomic particles, things too breadth that we have” small to be seen with the naked eye. In this Physicists worldwide have developed a handful world, a quantum bit—or qubit—can be a of different design strategies for a quantum 0, a 1 or both at the same time. That means computer, many of which are being advanced a single qubit could give a quantum com- by work at UMD. In fact, UMD boasts top puter’s operating system the capacity to do innovators in three of the approaches, as well two calculations at once. And unlike a laptop, as researchers working on hybrid approaches which adds computing power in a linear way and young experimentalists who are about to as more bits are added, a quantum computer launch new strategies. grows exponentially. A program using two Together, UMD’s quantum scientists qubits can do four calculations at once (22), have as much collective knowledge as their one using three qubits can do eight (23) and peers at any university in the world and more so on. A quantum computer with 300 qubits versatility than at any other research center, could represent vastly more information than says Sankar Das Sarma, a Distinguished a conventional computer, 2300 or about University Professor who holds the Richard E. 1090 numbers. Prange Chair in Physics at UMD. “That is more than the number of “No other place has the breadth that we particles in the universe,” says Christopher have,” says Das Sarma, a quantum theorist Monroe, Bice Zorn Professor of Physics and a who developed the concepts underlying two JQI fellow (a title given to research scientists of the design strategies. “The University of on the institute’s permanent staff). “A Maryland really is number one in quantum quantum computer that big could deal with science.” He cites two important reasons. massive amounts of data in a way nothing “The university and the college have been else can.” extremely supportive of quantum science, and Monroe intends to build that quantum ION TRAPPER: the JQI has become much more than the sum computer. The apparition in the basement of CHRIS MONROE of its parts.” the Computer and Space Sciences building is MONROE’S ION TRAP IS A FRACTION Spooky action at a distance his device—an array of lasers, lenses, mirrors, OF A MILLIMETER IN SIZE. FOUR optical cables, cameras and steel boxes laid GOLD ELECTRODES IN THE SHAPE Rolston, JQI’s co-director, divides quantum out on a table the size of a two-car garage OF RAZOR BLADES GUIDE ELECTRO- science into two phases. The first quantum MAGNETIC FIELDS INTO THE CENTER th door. At its heart is a vacuum chamber TO FORM AN INVISIBLE BUCKET THAT revolution began in the early 20 century and with 20 electrically charged ytterbium atoms HOLDS ATOMIC IONS. THE POSITIVELY involved new insights into the way materials CHARGED IONS LINE UP AND PUSH behave at the microscopic level. “The informa- held in a bowl made of electromagnetic AGAINST EACH OTHER. IN THIS POSI- fields and kept in a quantum state of TION, THE SYSTEM BEHAVES AS A tion revolution is all about understanding SMALL QUANTUM COMPUTER, WITH materials through quantum mechanics and multiple possibilities. EACH ATOM ACTING AS AN INDIVIDUAL QUANTUM MEMORY ELEMENT. designing devices based on that,” he says. “It

6 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 Photo by John T. Consoli The really fundamental Furthermore, in the quantum world, two “ bizarre thing about objects can behave in ways that are correlated, even though they have never been in contact. Physicists call this “entanglement.” quantum mechanics “If you flip two coins, there are four possible outcomes—heads and heads, tails is that it is really not and tails, heads and tails, and tails and heads,” explains David Hucul, a Ph.D. student in a theory about nature, Monroe’s lab. “If the two quarters are entangled, they are correlated in specific ways. Let’s say, but about our for example, the quarters are always corre- lated. Every time one quarter shows heads, knowledge of nature. the other quarter also shows heads. If you took one quarter and I took the other, you In other words, could fly to California and flip your coin. The result would be random, just like any other coin toss. But if it came up heads, you would immediately know that my coin also came up there is no heads. And if you got tails, you would know instantly I got tails, even if I was on the other side of the universe.” objective This seems impossible, Rolston points out, because information cannot be transmit- ted faster than the speed of light. But with reality. ” quantum objects, the correlation is as close –Steve Rolston to instantaneous as anyone can measure. And from this simple starting point—a scrap of information shared by means of entangle- is transistors, magnetic storage and the laser. ment—researchers can move on to develop That’s the straightforward part of quantum codes, communication networks and quantum mechanics. computation tools. quirks “There is a second part of quantum In the 1930s, Albert Einstein called the mechanics that we call ‘quantum weirdness,’ phenomenon of entanglement “spooky these wonderful, counterintuitive things that action at a distance.” Rolston believes it is only Superposition used to be simply interesting oddities without spooky if you are wedded to the notion of The capacity for a qubit much relevance,” Rolston says. “But in the objective reality. “The really fundamental to exist in two different last 20 years, as we have become very good bizarre thing about quantum mechanics is states at the same time. at manipulating individual atoms, we can that it is really not a theory about nature,” he now exploit some of these oddities to do says, “but about our knowledge of nature. In Entanglement When two objects behave new things.” other words, there is no objective reality.” in a correlated way, To understand one important quantum Consider that ball in the box: it can be though individually they oddity, you must forget the notion of red, blue and simultaneously red and blue. behave randomly. opposites. In the quantum realm there is no Its real state may not only be unknown, but duality, no yes-no, no on-off. Everything can undetermined until the physicist opens the Indeterminacy exist in more than one state. An electron can box and observes the color. This is quantum An object in a quantum spin clockwise and counterclockwise at the indeterminacy, the idea that a quantum object state has no fixed proper- same time. A flipped quantum coin lands may have no fixed properties until the object ties until it is observed simultaneously on heads and tails. And if you is observed and measured. and measured. hand a quantum physicist a sealed box and tell “Whenever I measure something I her the ball inside is either red or blue, she will disturb it. I cannot precisely measure both Uncertainty set you straight: the ball is both red and blue. position and velocity of a particle, for Any measurement of a This capacity to be two things at once is called instance,” says Rolston. “The more carefully quantum system disturbs the system, resulting in “superposition,” and it is the key to quantum I measure the particle’s velocity, the less measurement errors. systems’ extraordinary flexibility. certainty I have about its position.”

Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 7 Conundrums like this are both the In Monroe’s laboratory, researchers heat system is going to have to be modular,” says strength and the weakness of quantum the rare earth element ytterbium to convert Monroe. “You can keep putting more qubits science. For example, because any measure- it to a gas, then inject a few neutral atoms of on a chip, but at some point you run out of ment of quantum data is disruptive, it would the gas into a vacuum chamber. A laser beam space or run into noise and you have to make be almost impossible to hack into a quantum strips an electron from each atom, converting that leap and link a lot of chips together.” computer or intercept communications on them to positively charged ions. A second Many quantum computing experts think a quantum network without being detected. laser beam chills them to a few thousandths Monroe’s approach is the most advanced Anyone who reads a quantum message and of a degree above absolute zero. Inside a gold and will be the easiest to scale up quickly. then forwards it on to its destination would and ceramic chip designed and built in the lab, It has even attracted financial support and add so many errors that the interception electric fields of varying strengths and direc- engineering expertise from Lockheed Martin, would be noticed. tions hold the ions still in a crystalline pattern the Bethesda, Md.-based global security and Because such a network would be about a tenth of a millimeter wide. Once the aerospace company with a 60-year history of much more spy-proof than today’s commu- ions are trapped in place, the scientists use support for UMD research. (See “Partnerships nications systems, the U.S. Army Research specially tuned lasers to connect them into a Empower Quantum Leaps,” page 13.) Laboratory is collaborating with the JQI to miniature circuit similar to those in conven- test the technology by building a fiber-optic tional computers. Quantum doughnuts quantum link between the campus and the The same principles are guiding work Other strategies seek to work around the lab’s headquarters in Adelphi, Md. across the hall in another of Monroe’s experi- delicacy of the quantum state by using materials At the same time, Monroe points out, ments, where graduate student Hucul tracks that are potentially less sensitive to the quantum uncertainty makes it hard to pause the action in two separate vacuum chambers environment. In fact, Das Sarma’s ideas have a quantum computer and confirm it inspired some of these alternative is working because any measurement approaches. of the computer’s qubits will alter the Das Sarma and other quantum results. Not to mention the fact that theorists use mathematics and quantum states are extremely fragile. A quantum computer abstract reasoning to explain the Quantum bits must be kept cold, behavior of solids, liquids, super- as close to absolute zero (-273.15 could represent more conductors and atomic phenomena degrees Celsius, -459.67 degrees that happen only in the quantum Fahrenheit) as possible. A few mol- information than realm. In his 34 years at UMD, Das ecules of air in the vacuum chamber Sarma has been responsible for many that houses them, a thud that shakes the number of breakthroughs in quantum research, the laboratory floor or an electrical including the conceptual basis for surge in the room’s wiring can cause particles in the artificial atoms made from semicon- qubits to “decohere,” or slip out of ducting materials, called “quantum superposition and become either a 0 universe. dots,” which could be used in a or a 1, and thus no better than a con- quantum computer. But these days, ventional bit. In most experiments, he is most excited by an approach the qubits remain in their quantum based on what he and others call state for just a fraction of a second. “quantum doughnuts.” There is no question that researchers face a meter apart. Each chamber holds a single Imagine any circular shape with a hole some big challenges. They must find a way ytterbium atom and has its own Rube in the middle, such as a doughnut or rubber to keep qubits securely confined and reliably Goldberg array of lasers, lenses and mirrors teething ring. Bite around the edges of a quantum, yet still accessible and controllable. designed to beam a photon—a particle of doughnut and it remains a ring. Twist a Because they know quite a few qubits will slip light—precisely enough to hit that one baby’s teething ring and the ring keeps its out of the quantum state, they have to build in ytterbium atom. Next, the two photons travel original shape. a hefty surplus to compensate. And they have through optical cables to a beam splitter, Researchers who specialize in topology to entangle the qubits in an efficient pattern which they strike simultaneously. —the study of these resilient shapes—think so the computer will be fast, versatile, fail-safe At the moment the beam splitter detects they are ideal for building quantum computers. and will continue working even if most them, the two ytterbium atoms—which are A design that encodes information in this qubits decohere. still in separate vacuum chambers a meter shape could overcome the fragility of quan- apart—become entangled by light. Measure tum superpositions because a ring is still a “At some point you have to the way one of them spins, and researchers ring no matter how you deform it. Rings of make that leap” will instantly know which way the other qubits could be braided together into circuits With so many problems to solve, it is no one spins. that would keep working even if many of the wonder UMD researchers are trying several “We think this is a good architecture for qubits decohered. different strategies. a quantum computer, because a big quantum In 2005, Das Sarma collaborated with

8 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 The New Frontier

In the 1920s, physicist Albert Einstein predicted that certain gases would behave in strange ways under quantum conditions. As a young researcher launching his career in the 1970s, William Phillips worked simultaneously on testing Einstein’s prediction and finding a way to cool atoms to keep them in a quantum state. The latter work earned Phillips the 1997 Nobel Prize in physics and was critical for producing the peculiar matter that Einstein predicted. strange aspects of Today Phillips is a College Park Professor quantum mechan- in Physics and co-director of the Joint Quantum ics. In the quantum Institute’s (JQI) Physics Frontier Center, working realm, everything—a with researchers who continue to explore desk, a lamp and its Einstein’s prediction and other quantum conun- light—behaves as drums. Established in 2008 with a five-year, $12.5 both a particle and a million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, wave. In the world of the center supports researchers in atomic physics classical physics, we and condensed matter physics, which includes see objects as either studies of solids, liquids and exotic phases of particles or waves. But matter. Physics Professor Luis Orozco also in the quantum realm, co-directs the center, which is one of 10 NSF- wave-particle duality GRETCHEN CAMPBELL funded physics frontier centers. This summer, the means that sometimes we see both. NSF renewed its support to the center for another Campbell takes a few grams of sodium or move faster, as if every particle in the condensate five years. strontium and heats them in a tabletop oven to 600 jumped en masse into high gear. Many of the center’s scientists, like degrees Celsius (1,112 degrees Fahrenheit) to pro- That jump in speed could lead to a quantum Assistant Professor of Physics Gretchen Campbell, duce a tiny fraction of a gram’s worth of gaseous counterpart for today’s inertial sensors, which are conducting basic research aimed at advanc- atoms. She then uses lasers and magnetic fields measure acceleration, rotation and other kinds of ing our understanding of the quantum world. to chill them to within a few billionths of a degree motion. Today’s inertial sensors are components Campbell, who is also a JQI Fellow, is a pioneer in of absolute zero, the coldest temperature possible. in many kinds of instruments that must adapt to atomtronics, an emerging field in which scientists “They get cooler and cooler, move slower and movement, from a smartphone’s compass app use ultracold atoms to build circuits with the same slower, and get closer and closer together,” she or a video camera’s image-tracking mechanism superconducting properties as some electronic says. “Eventually we can no longer distinguish to an airliner’s navigational system. Quantum circuits. “This field keeps growing, and we keep one atom from another. At this point, we could call inertial sensors may guide planes and submarines discovering new things we can do,” says Camp- them either a particle or a wave.” more accurately, and therefore more safely. “The bell, who won a Presidential Early Career Award The gas has now become a Bose-Einstein research is in the earliest stages,” says Campbell. for Scientists and Engineers in December 2013. condensate—an ultracold superfluid that is not “It’s possible there are other atomtronic sensors She studies the peculiar quantum mate- simply a collection of separate atoms but a single that will be useful.” rial that Einstein predicted in 1924, but was not entity, frictionless and free flowing. In Campbell’s Campbell and colleagues in the Physics produced in any lab experiments until 1995. This sodium experiment, the condensate flows inside Frontier Center say they are not only interested in substance, called a Bose-Einstein condensate of a ring formed by laser beams. Campbell stirs the potential applications, but also profoundly excited atoms in the gas phase, displays one of the deeply atoms with another laser beam just as she would by the chance to explore the mysteries of the stir coffee with a spoon. At a critical stirring quantum realm. speed, Campbell sees the entire gas suddenly “What appeals to me is understanding how Wave-particle things work and the underlying laws of nature,” quantum duality says Jonathan Hoffman, a Ph.D. student who quirk Everything is both a works with Orozco and JQI co-director Steve particle and a wave, Rolston in the center. “The idea of inventing at the same time. something new is fascinating. But more important, I like exploring new ideas in physics.”

Photo by Loretta Kuo Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 9 a Microsoft physicist and several other colleagues to introduce the concept of the braided topological qubit. Five years later, Das Sarma and colleagues proposed that by layering certain superconducting metals like a sandwich, researchers could create special particles, called Majorana fermions, which could act as qubits in a topological quantum computer. Preliminary proof-of-principle studies show these qubits can be made in lab conditions that are not as exacting as the ones needed for Monroe’s ion trap design. “You need low temperatures, but not anywhere near as low as other approaches, and a much lower magnetic field,” says Das Sarma. “We call this ‘generic topological computing,’ because it’s relatively easy to do.” The next step is for experimentalists to build a prototype that links some Majorana fermions together to function as qubits. One of JQI’s newest scientists plans to do that. But first, Vladimir Manucharyan is setting up a laboratory in the new Physical Sciences Complex, where he plans to take an entirely different approach to quantum computing. Born in Azerbaijan and educated at Moscow Technological Institute and Yale University, Manucharyan joined JQI and the Department of Physics as an assistant professor in January. Where Monroe captures individual atoms, holds them in that strange multiple- down the hall, because it makes brainstorm- identity quantum state and connects them ing with colleagues much easier. “We hope to together, Manucharyan’s approach draws on learn what Chris does with his ions, and vice ideas from electrical engineering. He builds versa,” Manucharyan says. “To have more precise electronic circuits that use a special than one approach in the same department is type of quantum transistor. But otherwise, he very, very helpful.” DOUGHNUT explains, “they work just like a regular circuit Manucharyan plans to launch another THEORIST: from Radio Shack.” He chills the circuits to experiment with Das Sarma’s Majorana SANKAR nearly absolute zero in a special $500,000 fermions next year. “I find this approach DAS SARMA refrigerator imported from Finland. The fascinating because it involves ultracold circuits are superconductors, carrying fundamental questions of physics and TOPOLOGICAL QUANTUM an electrical current in perpetuity without new states of matter,” Manucha- COMPUTING generating any heat. Manucharyan says these ryan says. “It requires a lot of THEORIZES THAT “QUANTUM circuits can be manipulated into behaving like technical skills, but I think we DOUGHNUTS” networks of qubits with the same characteris- can actually make it work.” COULD BE BRAIDED tics as Monroe’s trapped atoms. TOGETHER TO FORM A STABLE QUANTUM The superconducting electronic circuits Asking the questions COMPUTING SYSTEM. Manucharyan builds do not lose energy, so that really matter they are more stable. The circuits are bigger Eventually, in 10 or 20 or 50 years, than the single atoms in Monroe’s ion traps, the first quantum computer will but they are still difficult to build, link become a reality. Then what? together and get into a quantum state. “Right now, there is a limited set of Manucharyan likes the fact that experts things that we know we can do easily through in other quantum systems are a few doors quantum mechanics that we cannot do easily

10 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 Photo courtesy of Microsoft Their Real ALUMNI World is WORKING IN QUANTUM Quantum

ANA MARIA REY

In 2013, when researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology unveiled the most accurate atomic clock ever built, physicists hailed it as a break- through made possible by the ideas of theoretical physicist Ana Maria QIUZI LI Rey, Ph.D. ’04, physics. Rey’s work CHAD ORZEL provided the theoretical underpinning Qiuzi Li, Ph.D. ’13, physics, has for the development of this atomic discovered that quantum theorists’ “Learning to appreciate quantum JONATHAN MIZRAHI physics is largely a matter of learn- clock and similar experimental skills, such as the ability to use ing to put aside our intuition for how devices, says Joint Quantum A useful quantum computer will have mathematical analysis and insights the world ‘ought’ to work and looking Institute Co-Director Charles Clark, to be fast, controllable and scalable drawn from physics to predict the at what really happens,” says Chad Rey’s former Ph.D. advisor and an —not a prototype with dozens of hidden properties and behavior of Orzel, Ph.D. ’99, chemical physics. expert on ultracold atoms. “I still qubits, but a product with thousands materials, are valuable in corporate A physics blogger, lecturer and enjoy fruitful collaborations with the of them. “We are getting pretty research. At UMD, Li conducted author, Orzel has helped thousands colleagues I met at the University good at controlling 10 ions,” says research in the Condensed Matter of students and citizen scientists of Maryland,” says Rey, now an Jonathan Mizrahi, Ph.D. ’13, physics. Theory Center, and was a prolific understand quantum weirdness in associate professor of physics at the “However, we want someday to be author, a Women in Physics mentor his 13-year career at Union College University of Colorado Boulder and a working with thousands or even and coach of the U.S. Physics Olym- in Schenectady, New York, where he research fellow at JILA. In Septem- millions of ions. That will require new piad team. Today, she is a senior is an associate professor and chair ber 2013, she received a MacArthur approaches and new techniques.” researcher working as a theorist of the Department of Physics and Fellowship for theoretical work that At UMD, Mizrahi worked on ultrafast in the field of geophysics at Exxon Astronomy. “There’s nothing better has inspired experimentalists in control of qubits in ion traps. As a Mobil Research and Engineering than seeing the moment when a several quantum specialties. postdoctoral researcher at Sandia Company in Annandale, N.J. Li says student ‘gets’ a new and strange In announcing the $625,000 National Laboratories, he is testing, her job is to guide research that idea,” says Orzel, who studies laser unrestricted “genius grant,” the characterizing and experimenting “addresses key technical needs cooling and trapping of krypton John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur with microfabricated ion traps. The and enables novel technology in the atoms. The author of “How to Foundation praised Rey’s creativity mass-produced traps, made using energy industry.” Basic research is Teach Physics to Your Dog,” Orzel’s in “advancing our ability to simulate, the same technology as standard far from irrelevant to daily life, she new book, “Eureka: Discovering manipulate and control novel states computer chips, can advance says. “Fundamental science can Your Inner Scientist,” is due out in of matter through fundamental quantum computing from handmade lead to technologies that have a December. “It is about the ways that conceptual research on assemblies to large, complex arrays. direct impact on solving the world’s scientific thinking shows up in every- ultracold atoms.” “We are almost to the point where biggest energy challenges.” day activities like solving crossword we have extraordinary quantum puzzles and playing basketball,” control at the finest level over arrays he says. of individual atoms,” says Mizrahi.

Orzel photo by Steve Jacobs / Rey photo courtesy of the MacArthur Foundation / Mizrahi photo courtesy of Jonathan Mizrahi / Li photo by Haitan Xu Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 11 with a classical computer,” says JQI Fellow Jacob Taylor, a NIST physicist who specializes in quantum information theory. Some of the advantages are well studied and widely accepted. For example, a quantum computer can find the factors of a large number exponentially faster than a classical computer. That could render existing technology for online commerce obsolete, because today’s most widely used encryption technology is based on the difficulty of factoring long numbers. “If everybody has a quantum computer, the current encryption technology is no longer secure,” says Taylor. Researchers agree a quantum computer will quickly find patterns within huge data- bases that are too big to search with existing computers. In the “big data” age, when all sorts of personal information is archived, that could be a major boon to many fields, such as medical research. A quantum computer could help chemists develop complex new medicines made up of hundreds of molecules, CIRCUIT CHILLER: says Rolston. And in game theory, a quantum VLADIMIR computer could identify the pivotal points MANUCHARYAN on a decision tree, or “the few questions that really matter, while the rest are irrelevant,” EACH OF MANUCHARYAN’S explains Taylor. ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS ACTS LIKE A SINGLE ATOM. But the new machines will likely be WHEN CHILLED TO NEARLY error-prone and vulnerable to hacking. ABSOLUTE ZERO, THE CIRCUITS CARRY AN “Almost always, the weakest link in any system ELECTRICAL CURRENT is a person whose credentials have been com- IN PERPETUITY WITHOUT promised,” Taylor says. “That is not going to GENERATING ANY HEAT, AND EXHIBIT QUANTUM change. So you have to look at the computer’s BEHAVIOR. overall infrastructure and ask which parts of it are going to be broken and which parts of it can be fixed.” In October 2014, Taylor, UMD Distinguished University Professor Emerita in Computer Science Dianne O’Leary, and colleagues at the university’s Institute for Advanced Computer Studies established the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science (QuICS), a partnership between the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technol- ogy, with the support and participation of the Research Directorate of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service. Taylor is co-directing the center with Computer Science Associate Professor Andrew Childs. In QuICS, quantum theorists will explore these questions and many more.

12 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 Photo by Loretta Kuo Partnerships Empower QuICS researchers aim to answer Quantum Leaps questions that fall into four categories: How does our knowledge of quantum mechanics By launching two new centers devoted to spe- vation robust and reproducible. Monroe hopes change our understanding of what computers cific aspects of quantum science, the Univer- Lockheed Martin’s engineers will push the can do? How does our knowledge of the sity of Maryland is building on the model part- production process along. capacity of quantum computers change our nership that makes its Joint Quantum Institute “Lockheed’s engineers can take our hand- understanding of nature? How can a techno- (JQI) a leader in quantum physics research. crafted process and turn it into an assembly logical society keep its information secure in Founded in 2006, JQI is a research part- line, and that’s what we need,” Monroe says. a quantum world? And finally, given all the nership between UMD and the National “Our goal is to build a device where you don’t imperfections and challenges of quantum Institute of Standards and Technology, with the have to know its inner workings. You just use it. computing, how do we go forward into the support and participation of the Laboratory for That requires serious engineering. I think a second information revolution? Physical Sciences. The institute is home to 34 10-year time frame is reasonable to develop As if those questions were not enough fellows—senior researchers who are on JQI’s such a device.” to think about, Taylor is also working to permanent staff—and over 100 students, post- understand quantum systems and sensors. doctoral researchers and visiting scientists. Preparing for a He is collaborating with other researchers at JQI scientists study the physical properties of quantum future NIST and UMD to develop quantum the microscopic world. The institute’s strength Completing the circle of quantum science magnetic sensors for use in biological assays is in quantum information, broadly defined to expertise, the university’s new Joint Center for and a quantum device that precisely measures cover communication networks, sensors, com- Quantum Information and Computer Science gravitational fields. Such a sensor could guide puters, quantum simulators of complex (QuICS) will tackle questions about the airplanes from takeoff to landing if GPS materials, and dozens of other uses for such a computer and its systems fail, and find oil underground or topics in basic and applied impact on science and society. submarines beneath the ocean’s surface. science. JQI is co-directed The center, which resides by UMD Physics Professor in the University of Mary- A new invention, Steve Rolston and NIST JQI QuICS land Institute for Advanced a new understanding Fellow Charles Clark. Computer Studies, was The race to create a quantum computer is One of JQI’s founding officially launched in just beginning. “A demonstration in the lab members is College Park October with a $2 million, is maybe 10 years away,” says Das Sarma. “A Professor of Physics William two-year federal grant. A marketable quantum computer is probably Phillips, who shared the 1997 QEC partnership between UMD and 25 to 30 years away.” Nobel Prize in physics for using NIST, with the support and par- Meanwhile, the college’s work is laser light to cool and trap atoms. ticipation of the Research Directorate contributing to both basic and applied “Our work sometimes has to do with practical of the National Security Agency/Central Secu- science in much the same way the Apollo things,” says Phillips, who is also a NIST Fellow. rity Service, QuICS is co-directed by JQI Fellow space program did in the 1960s. “It always has to do with really fundamental and NIST Physicist Jacob Taylor and Computer “We are really coming to understand quantum mechanical problems and with Science Associate Professor Andrew Childs. quantum mechanics at the macroscopic level,” understanding more clearly the way the The researchers will think through the Das Sarma says. “How do quantum states world works.” possibilities and limitations of a computer that disappear? What do you have to do to keep does not yet exist. The futuristic nature of their quantum states alive forever? How can we see From the bench work poses certain dilemmas. For example, quantum behavior in thousands or millions to the factory floor “If you want to understand the performance of atoms simultaneously? All of these are big UMD’s longstanding research partner, Lock- of a classical algorithm, you can just run the questions that lead to a quantum computer, heed Martin, signed an agreement with the algorithm and see how it works,” says Childs. and they lead to an understanding of university in March establishing the Quantum “Understanding quantum algorithms is harder nature too.” Engineering Center. The center’s mission is to because we can’t yet run them.” Dean Jayanth Banavar agrees, noting develop a working quantum computer under QuICS researchers want to better under- that this research will ultimately benefit the leadership of Bice Zorn Professor of Physics stand the kinds of tasks quantum technologies humankind. “This will not be an evolutionary Christopher Monroe. can handle better than conventional ones and change, but a revolutionary change. We are Monroe has been working on the design what a quantum computer can teach us about poised to create the next revolution here at for a quantum computer since 1994. His newest the quantum nature of our world. “Exploring the University of Maryland, and the future is experiment uses a manufactured 50-electrode that boundary between the two realms is our going to be breathtakingly exciting.” n silicon chip, replacing the hand-built chips main focus,” says Taylor. used in earlier versions and making the inno-

Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 13 Young Scientists, Ancient Discoveries

K-12 students and UMD researchers join forces to find and identify shark fossils.

14 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 early Miocene period, between 20 and 10 science, engage students in research and gather million years ago. Staff send the sediment new paleontological data. Kent decided to samples, along with tweezers and magnifying collaborate with Paleo Quest, an organization glasses, to students across the country. The dedicated to advancing the state of education, students, with the aid of fossil photographs, exploration and contributions in paleontology identify potential fossils and mail them to and geology. Kent’s laboratory. “After I teamed with Paleo Quest, our In Kent’s lab, undergraduate students biggest challenge was figuring out how to sort through the samples, many of which are organize and transport the sheer volume of too worn or damaged to confirm as fossils. material from Calvert Cliffs to classrooms Because the shark teeth are so tiny—often no across the country and then back to the lab,” more than one or two millimeters—Kent’s explains Kent, noting that tens of thousands students use a state-of-the-art dissecting of schools across the nation now participate microscope to visually determine the species in the program. He is eager to add even more of origin for intact specimens. Identified schools to that list.

cross the nation, elementary, middle and high school students are experiencing the thrill of discovering shark teeth fossils that are tens of millions of years old—and of receiving Acredit for their work in scientific journals. The students’ experience is courtesy of SharkFinder, a citizen science project led by University of Maryland Entomology Instructor Bretton Kent and sponsored by Paleo Quest, a nonprofit that advances the science of paleontology. One such student scientist is seven-year- old David, of Bethesda, Md., a young fossil lover who discovered SharkFinder during the 2014 USA Science & Engineering Festival in

Washington, D.C. After watching David SEVEN-YEAR-OLD DAVID (CENTER) HELPS IDENTIFY SHARK TEETH WITH ENTOMOLOGIST investigate sample kits at the event, Kent BRETTON KENT (LEFT) AND BIOLOGY LAB COORDINATOR HANS LEMKE (RIGHT). personally invited the boy to work in his lab. On Thursdays during his summer break, fossils are curated and displayed at the Calvert The group’s goals include developing new David’s mother drove him to College Park Marine Museum in Solomons, Md. tools to train current teachers and students in to sort fossils in Kent’s laboratory. There, Since SharkFinder efforts began two identifying the species of origin of fossils. “We David says he searched for rock samples with years ago, student participants have found hope to show students how science is done by “especially hard surfaces, serrated edges or more than 25,000 fossilized teeth. Kent’s giving them the chance to participate in the curiously shaped holes,” all of which could group is currently preparing nine research real thing,” adds Kent. suggest evidence of an ancient sea creature. papers on recent findings, all of which will Although the majority of the young shark During his first two weeks in the lab, he found credit the K-12 students who contributed finders are not applying to college or jobs yet, possible fossils of worm tunnels, ray plates fossils or photographs. Kent anticipates the program will inspire stu- and shark teeth. A lack of information on shark species’ dents to pursue paleontology research careers. “It’s not every day that you can find a fossils in Maryland led Kent to launch the David, though, needs no further convinc- shark tooth!” exclaims David, who credits program. Though he knew the Calvert Cliffs ing. “I hope that SharkFinder will be the start SharkFinder with giving him new area potentially contained tens of thousands of my career in fossil hunting,” he says. n opportunities to fossil hunt. of fossil samples, he did not have enough –Irene Ying Fossil samples are collected by Paleo time or manpower to excavate and identify Quest staff from sites in Virginia and Maryland, them himself. An experienced citizen science including the Calvert Formation, part of organizer—SharkFinder is his third such FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SHARK- FINDER, VISIT WWW.SHARKFINDER.ORG Calvert Cliffs State Park in southern Maryland. project—Kent believed this project was a OR EMAIL [email protected] Calvert Cliffs is famous for fossils from the prime opportunity to involve the public in

Photos by Loretta Kuo Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 15 GAME CHANGER

Brendan Iribe Continues To Show His Vision

By Lauren Brown

16 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 Photo by John T. Consoli GIVING BACK

Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 17 TAKE A COMPANY FROM ZERO TO $2 BILLION IN 20 MONTHS, AND In the early 1990s, Peters helped a preteen Iribe buy his first computer, an DON’T BE SHOCKED WHEN YOUR original IBM PC 086. While playing video games, Iribe realized that he could freeze his shoot-’em-up game to stare at the 1s and 0s in FRIENDS, FAMILY AND INVESTORS the memory. He started hunting for patterns and soon figured out how to modify the WANT TO CELEBRATE WITH YOU. programming code to give himself unlimited lives and ammunition. Then he boosted his Brendan Iribe’s surprise bash, held just largest single gift—to construct a new popularity at school by sharing a program days after Facebook acquired Oculus VR, the computer science building. “But I would add with friends to run on their home computers. business he co-founded and leads as CEO, that the memories and the relationships are “Everybody wanted it,” he recalls. “‘You’re looked like something straight out of “This Is what last forever on that journey.” still dying? Here’s my program to stop that.’” Your Life.” On stage with him during the At Atholton High School in Columbia, Guests who’d secretly flown to Southern announcement stood the foremost example Md., computer science teacher and soccer California included the elementary-school of his enduring friendships and his ability to coach Reg Hahne told the sophomore he buddies he played video games with. The identify the best people in the industry to didn’t make the team, but said Iribe was a college roommates he entertained with execute his ideas. Iribe’s longtime business better fit in his classroom. visions of his first business. The computer partner (and former Denton Hall floormate) “He was eclectic and intense,” says programming wizards he recruited over the Michael Antonov, B.S. ’03, computer science, Hahne, who still keeps in touch with Iribe. past 15 years. His mother, Elizabeth, who now co-founder and chief software architect “He always wanted to ask the next question: supported him in every venture and helped at Oculus, donated $4 million toward What if? What if? He was never satisfied. He organize the celebration. construction of the building and computer always wanted to do better.” Back on the East Coast were other happy science scholarships. By 15, Iribe landed his first job, working investors, like the tech company guy who gave Their first company, Scaleform, sold for for Wayne Moore, founder of Department of him his first programming job at age 15 and $36 million. Their second, Gaikai, went for Defense engineering subcontractor Microcosm. the uncle who pitched in with seed funding $380 million. Iribe was one of several gifted and talented and accounting at the video-game software Now Oculus bears the title of the first students in Howard County schools employed firm Iribe and two friends started at the Kickstarter-funded startup to become a by Moore to develop new software and to University of Maryland. multibillion-dollar company. VR experiences build a video game for his new company, Iribe had convinced people from every using the Oculus Rift goggles and software Alien Software. stage of his 35 years to support Oculus VR. stole the show earlier this year at Comic-Con “I didn’t know what I was doing,” Moore Now, many of them stood beside him to toast in San Francisco and South by Southwest in says. “Brendan shouldn’t have known what the company’s success and future. Oculus Austin. Blown-away bloggers and tech writers he was doing. But he knew immediately how was this much closer to developing a totally have proclaimed the Rift the next big thing in to organize these guys. He figured out you immersive 3-D virtual reality (VR) experi- computing, and over 75,000 new developer should be doing this, and you shouldn’t be ence, one that has the potential to transform kits have been sold. And everywhere, there doing that. He totally reframed the entertainment and social communication. is Iribe, the who-needs-sleep? leader, the entire effort.” “After a while it was a no-brainer. I’ve device’s greatest evangelist. Moore shut down the effort, though, invested in every company he’s ever created,” “It’s hard to understate the impact VR is when he couldn’t get a production company says Ernie Falcone, B.S. ’86, electrical going to have,” Iribe says. “We can replace what to put the game on the market, which was just engineering, who employed Iribe in high you see in the world with anything we want.” being taken over by 3-D gaming. school and college. “Brendan is a decent Until then, Iribe says, “We had so much programmer. He’s an incredible visionary.” BORN TO LEAD fun, eating pizza and subs every night while Iribe rose to success through uncanny Iribe had too much charisma to ever be a we worked late and played games. We were instinct, intelligence, unwavering confidence traditional tech geek. soaking up and learning. Wayne paid for this and shrewd business sense, along with a He was raised by his mother, first in a awesome education for me and nearly a fervent loyalty to the friends he cultivated 100-year-old farmhouse in western Virginia, dozen students.” along the way. then in Howard County, Md. There she Iribe took that education to his second “Steve Jobs really hit it when he said the married Alan Peters, a chemist who cultivated high-school job with a museum-exhibit journey is the reward,” Iribe said in September, Iribe’s budding interest in computers and designing firm in Laurel, Md., called Quatre- as he announced he was committing video games—Mario, the Legend of Zelda, foil. At age 16, he was a lead programmer, $31 million to UMD—the university’s Commander Keen and Doom. cranking out multimedia programs.

18 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 “HE ALWAYS WANTED TO ASK THE NEXT QUESTION: WHAT IF? WHAT IF? HE WAS NEVER SATISFIED. HE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO BETTER.”

Photo by John T. Consoli Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 19 “What we needed him to do, he was well Iribe decided to take off the following joined the team, along with Antonov’s room- suited for,” says Falcone, who founded the year to focus on Quatrefoil’s project building mate and a fellow programming whiz, Andrew company with his wife, Abbie Chessler. “It the music lab for the Experience Music Reisse, B.S. ’01, computer science, to launch wasn’t the artist part—it was the creative part Project Museum in Seattle. He didn’t quite their startup, Sonic Fusion, which was later of developing engaging exhibits and getting leave the university, though. renamed Scaleform. people jazzed. That’s what he’s still doing. He One day in fall 1998, he drove by “We were in a little bit over our heads,” just got better and better at it.” Antonov walking along Route 1, pulled over Iribe says now. and offered him a ride home. Back in THE BOLD AND THE BRAINY Antonov’s dorm room, Antonov showed Iribe GROWING PAINS AND GAINS What changed everything for Iribe was an operating system he made in high school What may seem like an overnight success meeting Antonov, a Steve Wozniak to his and the games he recreated using it. Iribe was story really took years. Iribe convinced Steve Jobs. stunned by their sophistication. Antonov to take a break from school to get They roomed across the hall from each “Where did you learn to make all these Sonic Fusion off the ground. (Antonov’s other when they arrived at Maryland, and games?” Iribe asked. parents balked at that move, though, and he never did two students seem so different. Antonov said he taught himself by read- soon returned to Maryland part time.) Antonov, a Russian immigrant who grew up in ing programming books. He pointed to a stack Reisse took a break from the programming Owings Mills, Md., was shy and bookish. He of black and white composition notebooks. workload when he couldn’t afford to work had started programming on a calculator, then Inside them, in the tiniest print, he’d copied without a paycheck, and a broke Iribe and in high school created games for his home PC. hundreds of pages of programming instruc- Antonov moved into Iribe’s mother’s house Still, he and Iribe hit it off, and Antonov tion from library books. shortly after Iribe’s stepfather passed away. suggested they create a game together. Iribe “You’re a genius and you’re crazy,” said Falcone, who had started another was still working full time at Quatrefoil (and Iribe, who immediately recognized a bigger business called Mars Labs, and Iribe buckled accumulating more than 200 campus parking opportunity to start a company with Antonov. down together to find investors for their tickets as he zipped back and forth—Falcone Their idea was to produce a new companies among their friends, families promised to pay them if it meant Iribe could computer multimedia windowing system and strangers. stay at the office longer). Iribe jokes now that with richer graphics and gaming hooks than “We never read books on raising venture he “squeezed in” classes between all the time Microsoft’s. Sven Dixon, who had worked capital,” Falcone says. “We just did it.” he spent working and gaming with friends. with Iribe at Alien Software as a digital artist, Iribe’s mom and uncle pumped in addi- tional funding as he and Antonov headed out to their Laurel office by 9 a.m. and returned after midnight, day after day, for four years. Then they got the idea to drive out to California to convince some of their programming idols to support Scaleform. That met with only limited success, and they worked nonstop in a nearly empty apartment for months before returning to Iribe’s mom’s house. Finally, they licensed their technology to Firaxis in Hunt Valley, Md., for a game called Civilization IV. It went on to be named 2005 Game of the Year by several gaming websites. “BRENDAN IS “Five years of our lives we slaved on this thing,” Iribe says. But he and Antonov realized A DECENT their work couldn’t be scaled—it required too much technical support to tackle customers’ PROGRAMMER. problems. They decided to drop it entirely, and start over. “That was a really hard decision HE’S AN to make,” Iribe recalls. Yet another idea emerged from all of his INCREDIBLE networking: a slick, compact, high-speed, graphically beautiful interface system that VISIONARY.” would integrate easily into game engines and allow developers to use the Adobe Flash authoring tool. “Somehow I convinced Sven

IRIBE WORKING AT THE QUATREFOIL OFFICE AS A TEENAGER. and Mike to stay with me and keep cranking

20 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Iribe to make this whole new product. I thank them be nearly a dozen reporters. all the time for not bailing, because at the end Carmack declared it not just of the day, Sven created all the graphics and “fundamentally cool,” but “the best VR Mike wrote all the code. I just went out there demo for this kind of thing ever made.” He to try to sell it,” Iribe explains. expressed confidence that several major Scaleform opened an office in Greenbelt, improvements could be made quickly and Md., where it remains today, and grew its that the Rift headset would be available to staff to about 30 people. Their first product, consumers in the near future. GFx, got licensed throughout the industry The Rift was a sensation and was awash and was featured over the next few years in in a tidal wave of positive press in June 2012 hundreds of PC, Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox when Iribe agreed to take a closer look. 360 games, including Crysis, Mass Effect and Yes, the duct-taped device was clunky Gears of War 3. and had serious problems, such as blurriness, In February 2011, after more than a a too-narrow field of vision, multiple cords decade of relentless work, Autodesk acquired to get tangled around and time lag that—like Scaleform, and Iribe began looking for a every other attempt at VR—made Iribe nau- new opportunity. Nate Mitchell, who was seous within seconds. But he saw potential. first hired by Iribe as a Scaleform intern and “Mike, Nate, Andrew and I put our heads is now vice president of product at Oculus, together and thought about what this could says Iribe’s exit was a blow, temporarily: “The really become and where this could really go,” energy left the building so fast you wouldn’t he says. “We got incredibly excited about it.” believe it. He really did serve as an Energizer The foursome agreed to form Oculus VR Bunny, powering the speed and momentum with Luckey and launched a $250,000 Kick- of the company.” starter campaign to fund the mind-boggling Iribe landed at a cloud gaming company amount of R&D required to improve the Rift. in Southern California called Gaikai, and They produced a video over the next two Antonov, Reisse and Mitchell soon followed. weeks featuring testimonials from some of Their goal: to make gaming consoles obsolete the biggest names in the gaming industry. by allowing gamers to rely on the cloud to The crowdfunding effort raised $800,000 in stream to smart TVs. Sony, which was work- the first 24 hours, ultimately netting over ing on a cloud platform for PlayStation 4, $2.4 million in 30 days. bought the company within a year. Carmack quit his job as co-founder “We were starting to get the hang of this,” of id Software to become chief technology Iribe says jokingly. officer at Oculus. The company raised over $90 million in venture capital and, with THIRD TIME, ANOTHER CHARM the help of Valve Software in Washington With Oculus, Iribe again revved up a life state, made huge strides improving the Rift, already in overdrive. including the ultra-low latency 360-degree A friend offered to introduce him to positional tracking and rendering needed to Palmer Luckey, who as a home-schooled teen- avoid disorientation. Users looking right and ager had cobbled together a VR headset called left and tilting their heads up and down get the Oculus Rift, made of cellphone parts and the sense of “presence”—of being in another a goggle-like frame. Luckey predicted that it world. “Working closely with Valve, we finally would someday offer true immersion—the cracked the code and proved we could deliver holy grail of gaming. a comfortable experience that everyone As the now-legendary story goes, word enjoyed, even the most sensitive users like reached John Carmack, creator of the Doom me,” says Iribe. and Quake franchises who is widely consid- Other possibilities for the technology ered the father of 3-D, first-person-shooter beyond gaming quickly became apparent: games. Carmack contacted Luckey, asking teach children about the solar system, help to show the Rift to a few people at E3, the medical students learn how to perform premier video gaming conference. BUSINESS PARTNERS FOR 16 YEARS AND surgery, take homebound (or cash-poor) COUNTING. ABOVE: IRIBE HOLDS THE SONIC Luckey sent him one of only two FUSION BUSINESS PLAN AND ANTONOV users on virtual vacations and even put fans in prototypes. (He later told Iribe: “It’s like Jesus HOLDS THE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION IN the middle of sporting events. 1999. BELOW: THE TWO FRIENDS REVISIT asking to borrow your clothes. You just give DENTON HALL, WHERE THEY FIRST MET AS The Rift won every best-of-show or them.”) And those “few people” turned out to UMD FRESHMEN. best product award at major trade shows

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Iribe / Denton Hall photo by Mike Morgan Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 21 Pictured from left to right: 1. Brendan Iribe and Elizabeth Iribe (1982) 1 2 2. Alan Peters, Brendan Iribe and Iribe’s grandmother Anita M. Iribe (1991) 3. Sven Dixon, Ernie Falcone, Brendan Iribe, Michael Antonov and Andrew Reisse at Sonic Fusion (1999) 4. Ernie Falcone and Brendan Iribe (2000) 5. Brendan Iribe, Dana Reisse, Michael Antonov and Robert Reisse (2014) 6. Brendan Iribe and Wayne Moore (2014) 7. Brendan Iribe and 3 4 Elizabeth Iribe (2014)

“Steve Jobs really hit it when he said the journey is the reward. But I would add that the memories and the relationships are what last

5 forever on that journey.”

6 7

22 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 Photos 1-4 courtesy of Elizabeth Iribe / Photos 5-7 by Lisa Helfert and wowed attendees at South by Southwest Interactive this past March, where fans lined up for hours to step into a “Game of Thrones” simulation in which they could reach the top of “The Wall” up a rumbling elevator and stand amid whipping winds. Their mouths hung open in amazement—what Iribe calls “the Oculus face.” It wasn’t long before Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Oculus to to fund the Brendan Iribe Center for Com- test the latest prototype himself. He and the puter Science and Innovation, and another Oculus leadership talked about the difficulty IT JUST HIT $1 million for scholarships. Antonov followed of eliminating motion sickness and the hard- suit, pledging $3.5 million for the building ware engineering still needed: custom optics, ME AND I SAID, and $500,000 for scholarships. Elizabeth screens, sensors and cameras. Building and Iribe, her son’s most loyal investor, gave manufacturing a consumer-ready platform ‘WE CAN HELP. $3 million to endow two professorships in was going to cost hundreds of millions of computer science. dollars. Speaking with Zuckerberg, Iribe laid HOW MUCH IS Iribe likes the ideas of “giving while out his vision: “Oculus is going to revolution- living,” as well as encouraging students to ize not just gaming and entertainment, but A BUILDING?’ create and researchers to explore the potential the way humans interact. You’ll truly believe of virtual reality, while making the University you’re in a new virtual environment and you of Maryland a national model in this field. won’t be alone. Virtual reality is the only “It’s fun to do this project when virtual platform that can connect everyone face-to- ’70 and Ph.D. ’76, physics, and Dana, M.L.S. reality is about to take off, and the center is face. Imagine the whole world is in a pair of ’73, library and information services, quickly going to be there right from the beginning,” glasses.” funded a new scholarship for Terp computer Iribe says. “There’s going to be an environ- An impressed Zuckerberg acknowledged science students in his name. ment at Maryland that fosters creativity and that Oculus had gaming figured out and Face- “We wanted Andrew to be remembered innovation in computer vision, robotics, book knew social networking and communi- and to support the kind of independence, virtual reality and everything that is impactful cation. Together, they could connect a billion creativity in computer science and the love in computer science.” people in virtual reality. of nature, which he had,” Antonov says. In the meantime, he’s still pushing to Within three days, they’d hammered out He and Iribe were invited back to get the Rift to the market—he deflects the the essentials of a deal for Facebook to acquire Maryland for Bitcamp, an April 2014 event near-daily question of “When?” Oculus has Oculus. The deal allowed the startup to keep that drew 700 students nationwide to hack grown to more than 200 employees at offices working autonomously, but with vastly more together websites, apps and computer in Seattle, Dallas, and Menlo Park and Irvine, financial support. hardware projects. Calif., and is advertising 60 new positions. “Oculus has the chance to create the Computer Science Department Chair “There’s a constant drive to do better. It’s most social platform ever, and change the way Samir Khuller worried that amid the Oculus great for the product and great for the team,” we work, play and communicate,” Zuckerberg news frenzy, the pair would back out. Instead, Mitchell says. “He jokes that I’m Nice Nate said in the official announcement. they spoke to a standing-room-only crowd, and he’s Bad Brendan. Say there’s a product It was news around the globe. Iribe and donated more than 40 Rifts to the deliriously that comes before us. I’d say these five things Co. were the darlings of the tech world—and happy student hackers and toured their old aren’t important. He’d disagree and say all five 10 days later, he and Antonov were headed stomping grounds in the A.V. Williams building. have to be done.” back to the University of Maryland. Passing the computer science classrooms Members of the crew work long days and and research labs carved out of the building, nights (often in flip-flops or stocking feet). CREATING THE FUTURE which opened in 1987 as office space, Iribe Falcone laughs as he recalls their diet for Iribe and Antonov had reconnected with the recalls, “My first thought was, this is pretty staying up all night at Quatrefoil: “A scoop of university only a year earlier under the most depressing. How can people get inspired to vanilla ice cream, grind the s*** out of some heartbreaking of circumstances. Reisse, an create the future in a space like this?” coffee, pour it on top and eat it, while pound- Oculus co-founder and lead engineer, and Someone mentioned that computer ing Cokes and Dr. Peppers all the time.” an avid hiker and photographer, was killed science needed a new home. “It just hit me When Iribe left Quatrefoil all those years in a hit-and-run accident near his Santa Ana, and I said, ‘We can help. How much is a ago, he posted a note on Falcone’s wall, where Calif., home in May 2013. building?’” Iribe remembers. it remains today: After four years and many Iribe, Antonov and their co-workers, In August, Iribe signed the paperwork to sleepless nights, Brendan’s saga ends. Not really. along with Reisse’s parents, Robert, M.S. give the University of Maryland $30 million It’s hard to get rid of me. n

Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 23 AT THE SIGNING CELEBRATION IN SEPTEMBER 2014. (L-R) JAYANTH BANAVAR, MICHAEL ANTONOV, MARY ANN RANKIN, BRENDAN IRIBE, ELIZABETH IRIBE, WALLACE LOH. COMPUTER SCIENCE RECEIVES $38.7 MILLION IN GIFTS

A record $31 million gift from a former University only 10 days after Facebook announced in March sparks this type of creativity will provide a unique of Maryland student will help create a new home that it would acquire Oculus for approximately experience for students.” for the Department of Computer Science—and $2 billion. Students will have the opportunity to take raise its stature as a global leader in virtual reality, “I’m making this investment now because it courses in classrooms designed specifically robotics, computer vision and immersive science. gives me the opportunity to participate alongside for interactive and active learning. The building The Brendan Iribe Center for Computer the students and help them in any way I can to will also include specialized labs to support the Science and Innovation, named for the Oculus VR create amazing things,” says Iribe. “I don’t want to expansion of research in areas such as virtual and co-founder and CEO who made the largest single just be a name on a building. I want to be someone augmented reality, computer vision, robotics and gift in university history, will be a place where stu- who continues to show up on campus and inspires big data. dents and faculty members from across campus student exploration and entrepreneurship for New research in these areas will enhance can come together to learn, create and discover. years to come.” ongoing projects, like the “augmentarium” Oculus Co-founder and Chief Software The new facility, Architect Michael Antonov, B.S. ’03, computer which will be located “I DON’T WANT TO JUST BE A science, who has worked alongside Iribe since adjacent to the Computer their days at UMD, is giving $4 million for the Science Instructional NAME ON A BUILDING. I WANT TO building project and scholarships, and Iribe’s Center at the main entrance BE SOMEONE WHO CONTINUES mother, Elizabeth, is contributing $3 million for two to campus, will emphasize endowed professorships in computer science. communal meeting spaces, TO SHOW UP ON CAMPUS AND Thirty-two computer science faculty members community areas and INSPIRES STUDENT EXPLORATION have personally committed over $733,000 to help hands-on learning. It will AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR fund the building. include “maker spaces” “The innovation and entrepreneurship that and “hacker spaces” with YEARS TO COME.” will be sparked in the Iribe Center will be an equipment and tools for –BRENDAN IRIBE economic engine for our state and nation,” says students and faculty across Jayanth Banavar, dean of the College of Computer, campus to collaborate, experiment and bring their Amitabh Varshney, computer science professor Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. ideas to life. and director of the university’s Institute for Iribe, who studied at UMD in 1997-98 before “Virtual reality enables your imagination Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), is con- beginning his career as a serial entrepreneur, first to go wild,” says Antonov. “Having a facility at structing with support from the National Science suggested creating—and funding—the building the University of Maryland that encourages and Foundation. The space will feature interactive

24 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 Photo by Mike Morgan projection displays, head-mounted displays, programmable robotic mounts and high-speed computing clusters that researchers will use to visualize large and complex data for a range of applications, including image-guided surgical interventions. Computer Science Professor Ramani Duraiswami, who also has an appointment in UMIACS, is applying his research on how humans understand sound to create virtual reality environ- ments in which users feel immersed in the sounds of another world. His College Park, Md.-based company VisiSonics recently announced that MICHAEL ANTONOV (RIGHT) VISITS RESEARCH LABS TO LEARN ABOUT Oculus licensed its RealSpace3D audio technology COMPUTER SCIENCE FACULTY MEMBER AND STUDENT PROJECTS. to create high-fidelity virtual reality experiences for the Oculus Rift headset. “Placing the University of Maryland at the center of virtual reality research with ties directly “I BELIEVE IN PUBLIC EDUCATION, AND I’M SO to Oculus will be amazing for the faculty and students who will be part of this new industry that GLAD BRENDAN AND I ARE INVESTING IN THE will have a huge impact on the world,” says Iribe. STATE OF MARYLAND’S FLAGSHIP INSTITUTION.” While virtual reality technology has its roots –ELIZABETH IRIBE in video gaming, Iribe sees future virtual reality applications in medicine, travel, history, art, sports and more. In the new building, students—with “The gift began after a tragedy and will end and the important commitment of the faculty are a majors ranging from engineering and art to in a living memorial,” said UMD President Wallace great start, but to fully realize that vision, we need business and behavioral science—and local Loh. “It demonstrates the impact of friendship, to raise an additional $15 million from donors and community members will be invited to attend teamwork and family—qualities that ultimately $100 million from the state,” says Pugh. n courses and events and use its space to pursue benefit our students and faculty.” –Abby robinson projects that could change the world. Elizabeth Iribe’s named chairs will support The Iribe Center will help centralize computer the department chair of computer science and a science and UMIACS faculty members who are yet-to-be-recruited faculty member who inspires currently spread out among four buildings on students and conducts innovative research. campus, with A.V. Williams (a building designed “I believe in public education, and I’m so Faculty Donors to the in 1987 as generic office space) serving as home glad Brendan and I are investing in the state Brendan Iribe Center base. The new facility will also support the of Maryland’s flagship institution,” says for Computer Science growing computer science department, where Elizabeth Iribe. and Innovation undergraduate enrollment has expanded from “The gifts from Brendan, Michael and Liz nearly 800 majors in 2009 to almost 1,400 in 2013, will completely transform computer science at Ashok Agrawala Peter Keleher with more than 200 students pursuing graduate Maryland. The impact will be felt by our students, J. Yiannis Aloimonos Samir Khuller degrees. Recently, the 40-year-old department faculty, staff and the state for decades to come,” Benjamin Bederson Clyde Kruskal was named No. 17 in the Academic Ranking of says Samir Khuller, chair of the Department of W. Rance Cleaveland Jack Minker World Universities and No. 15 in U.S. News & Computer Science. “They will help us achieve Larry Davis Dana Nau World Report’s rankings of graduate programs. greatness, move into new research areas and Amol Deshpande Donald Perlis “Two of my goals in giving this donation are provide an unparalleled experience for students.” Ramani Duraiswami William Pugh to raise the position of the university and attract Computer Science Professor Emeritus Bill Howard Elman James Reggia many more top computer science students and Pugh, who is helping with the building’s fund- Jeffrey Foster Vibha Sazawal faculty members,” says Iribe. “Right now, we’re raising effort and kicking in $500,000 of his own Jon Froehlich A. Udaya Shankar top 15, but top 5 is better and No. 1 is best!” money, says more engagement from alumni and William Gasarch Elaine Shi Computer science students will also benefit state officials is needed to fully realize a wonder- Laurence Herman Ben Shneiderman from the new scholarships Iribe and Antonov are ful future for computer science at Maryland. Michael Hicks Neil Spring creating. Iribe pledged $1 million of his donation “The Iribe Center will significantly improve Jeffrey Hollingsworth Aravind Srinivasan and Antonov gave $500,000 of his toward scholar- the research and educational impact of the David Jacobs Alan Sussman ships, which include a fund in memory of their computer science department and make us the Jonathan Katz Amitabh Varshney longtime business partner Andrew Reisse, B.S. ’01, top-ranked maker/hacker university in the world. computer science, who passed away in 2013. The leadership gifts from Brendan and Michael

Photo by John T. Consoli Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 25 ALUMNI PROFILE

Tipping Point to Turning Point

“I owe my education to a thief…sort of,” PATRIZIA BARONE (RIGHT) says Patrizia Barone, B.S. ’78, chemistry. WITH HER SISTER, SAPIENZA BARONE, Born in Italy, Barone and her family B.A. ’77, ENGLISH, AND THE INFAMOUS TRUCK. immigrated to Uruguay when she was young, and they made a living selling fruits and laboratory in Italy. Her product development Educational Fund in the College of Agricul- vegetables. The middle of three children, skills were honed in her next position with ture and Natural Resources. Barone helped with the family business, Bayer’s consumer products division in Chicago. “I was fortunate to receive scholarships where she developed sales skills at an early By age 32, Barone was named vice and work-study employment during my years age. When Barone was 10, someone stole the president of R&D at Reckitt Benckiser, where at Maryland,” Barone says. “That support family’s truck, which was used to transport she led the North American R&D laboratory. allowed me to complete my education and the produce. At the time, Uruguay was going Later, she moved to Sydney, Australia, to was the springboard for my successful busi- through political unrest and tough economic direct all product development activities for ness career. I really want to pay it forward and times, and members of her extended family Australia, New Zealand, South and East Asia, give back to the University of Maryland to had already moved to the U.S. “The theft of Africa, and the Middle East. In 2000, she help students achieve their dreams.” the truck was the tipping point for my family returned to the U.S. to lead the company’s She adds, “One of the scholarship to decide to leave Uruguay a few years later,” global regulatory affairs organization. students found me on Facebook to tell me she Barone says. In 2009, Barone joined Unilever and just got her medical degree. She said now that The Barones packed up and moved now represents the company on the board she’s graduated, she can help others. That’s the to the U.S. in 1970, a move Barone says of the Alliance for Consumer Education and most powerful thing.” n –Ellen Ternes “created the opportunity for my success.” supports the Alliance’s program to prevent She eventually won a scholarship to attend inhalant abuse. As Unilever’s regional vice PATRIZIA BARONE STANDS NEXT TO the University of Maryland and later earned president of regulatory affairs for North A MARYLAND her Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry at America and global foods and refreshment, DAY-THEMED TERRAPIN Georgetown University. Barone is the one helping others work SCULPTURE, She credits the support of her parents toward success. WHICH SHE and others for helping her chart a remarkable Well aware of the support she received DONATED TO THE COLLEGE. path to several high-level corporate positions, throughout her career, Barone believes in THE TERRAPIN IS logging more than 5 million air miles in giving back. She currently serves on the ON DISPLAY IN SYMONS HALL. the process. “My parents had to cut their Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry’s educations short in Italy during World War Committee of Distinguished Advisors and II,” she says, “so they made sure their kids chairs the advisory board of the Joint Insti- received an education, even if it was a struggle tute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition for them at times.” (JIFSAN). Barone’s background helped her secure In addition, she has created two scholar- INSPIRED BY PATRIZIA? a job at Colgate-Palmolive after receiving her ships in honor of her parents’ commitment to JOIN PATRIZIA BARONE IN MAKING A doctorate. Fluent in Italian, Barone was hired education: The Francesco Barone Scholarship DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFE OF A STUDENT. CONTACT ANDREA MORRIS AT to develop detergent soaps for the Philippines, for chemistry students in the College of 301.405.8296 OR [email protected] a position that required working closely Computer, Mathematical, and Natural FOR MORE INFORMATION. with the research and development (R&D) Sciences, and the Rosina Barone JIFSAN

26 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 Photos courtesy of Patrizia Barone ALUMNI PROFILE

the

Mechanicksof Mentoring

As a first-year medical student at the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine in Manhattan, Aaron Weiss hit the academic jackpot when nationally recognized endocrinologist Jeffrey Mechanick, B.S. ’81, zoology; M.D. ’85, Mount Sinai, took Weiss under his wing to mentor him. Now a resident in cardiothoracic surgery, Weiss says, “Dr. Mechanick has been the most influential person I’ve encountered in getting to where I am now. He gave me so many opportunities to do so much.” As director of metabolic support and clinical professor of medicine at Mount Sinai, author of six books and more than 200 journal articles, the former president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and a member of the President’s Council on

Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition Science Board, JEFFREY MECHANICK Mechanick is the perfect mentor. Mentoring students like Weiss, who resulted in a paper published in the Journal of Mechanick remains enthusiastic about shares his intense drive to learn, has brought Neural Transmission. UMD. He serves on the college’s Board of Mechanick full circle to his own experiences He credits mentoring by UMD professors, Visitors, is active with the Joint Quantum as an undergraduate at the University of including biology faculty members William Institute and supports the William J. Higgins Maryland. When Mechanick was a student, J. Higgins and Howard Brinkley, as one of Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Fund that he took risks when it came to what and how the most important factors in fueling his fire honors his mentor. “I look to enrich people,” he wanted to learn. In his sophomore year as a to learn. “The University of Maryland was a Mechanick says. “I think I can speak for many pre-med student, when getting A’s was a prior- place that said, ‘Here’s someone who wants to alumni that we want to be engaged.” ity, Mechanick took a Ph.D. level course in the learn, let’s help.’ There was a strong belief in In his current role, Mechanick says, philosophy of mathematics without complet- mentorship to advocate and facilitate learning,” “I characterize much of my career here at ing any of the prerequisites. Despite warnings recalls Mechanick. Mt. Sinai as finding mentees. I learned many by the professor—who thought he was in Even before they reconnected several of these mentoring skills as a mentee at the class by mistake—he earned an A. “I go years ago, Higgins remembered Mechanick Maryland, and so the cycle goes on.” as fast as I can and circumvent the rules to clearly. “He’s one of the few undergrads That cycle will likely continue for learn as much as I can,” says Mechanick. Later, whose conversations about science I still another generation, says Weiss. “When I have during his junior and senior years, Mechanick remember,” Higgins says. “Jeff has a good time more experience, I would be thrilled to do conducted endocrinology research at the Uni- intellectually, and he’s so enthusiastic about half as much for someone as Dr. Mechanick versity of Maryland School of Medicine that everything.” has done for me.” n –Ellen Ternes

Mechanick photo by Loretta Kuo / Stethoscope designed by Theresa Berens from the Noun Project Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 27 CMNS NEWS

SUJAL PATEL (ABOVE CENTER AND INSET) SPEAKS TO ALUMNI IN SEATTLE. Terps Take Seattle Overlooking beautiful Lake Union, nearly 100 and served as the president of EMC’s Isilon University of Maryland alumni and guests Storage Division until 2012. Drawing on enjoyed the scenery and the conversation at lessons learned throughout his career, Patel Seattle’s Museum of History & Industry on urged fellow alumni to be forward thinking June 12. The networking reception was and anticipate where their industries are co-hosted by the College of Computer, Math- headed, rather than be satisfied with where ematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) and they are now. William Pugh was also recognized by the Robert H. Smith School of Business. One of Patel’s mentors, Richard Gerber, Banavar for his contributions to the univer- Guest speaker Sujal Patel, B.S. ’96, traveled from Europe to attend the reception. sity. A computer science professor at UMD computer science, shared his entrepreneurial Gerber, a computer science professor at UMD for 23 years, Pugh focused on recognizing and experiences as founder of Isilon Systems, a from 1991 to 2001, taught Patel in a special building on students’ individual strengths and company that offered clustered storage topics course on video streaming methods— learning styles to elicit their best work. After systems to address the needs of storing, long before video streaming was a reality. retiring from UMD in 2012, he went on to managing and accessing digital content and During the reception, CMNS Dean Jayanth lead an effort to create a UMD program called other unstructured data. Patel guided Isilon’s Banavar recognized Gerber for his lifelong Computer Science Education for Tomorrow. n acquisition by EMC in 2010 for over $2 billion dedication to students. $1.2 Million to Broaden Undergraduate Science Education Experiences In May, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute awarded the College “Our existing programs provide a solid foundation on which to of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences a five-year, $1.2 build these new initiatives, which focus on supporting and retaining million grant for undergraduate science education. The college will use students who may be at risk of abandoning careers in the biological the grant to establish a new living-learning program for students in the and chemical sciences,” said Katerina Thompson, director of the biological and chemical sciences, create opportunities for students to college’s undergraduate research and internship programs. engage in biological and chemical sciences research during their first The new living-learning program will include a common residence semesters, and support mentoring programs for students. hall with integrated academic support, community-building activities Representing the sixth such award that the University of Mary- such as field trips to local research laboratories, co-enrollment in land has received since 1992, the new grant will help the university introductory science courses and early access to research opportunities. meet the rising demand from faculty and students for high-quality, This new program will join five other college-sponsored living-learning innovative, cross-disciplinary experiences in education and research. programs—three in College Park Scholars and two in the Honors College. n

28 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 Photos by Greg White CMNS NEWS

Faculty Named to Leadership Posts On July 1, the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences announced three new appointments. Wolfgang Losert was named the college’s interim associate dean for research. A physics professor with appointments in the Institute for Physical Science and Technology (IPST) and the Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, Losert’s research focuses on discovering emergent dynamic properties of complex systems at the interface of physics and

WOLFGANG LOSERT biology, with a special emphasis on cancer biology. He is the co-founder and leader of the Partnership for Cancer Technology, which provides faculty and graduate students the opportunity to tackle pressing problems in cancer research in collaboration with Commencement 2014 National Cancer Institute experts. Jonathan Dinman was appointed interim chair of the AT THE COLLEGE’S SPRING 2014 Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics. He joined COMMENCEMENT, MARCIA MCNUTT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF SCIENCE MAGAZINE, the university in 2002 as an associate professor in cell biology ENCOURAGED GRADUATES TO AIM HIGH and molecular genetics and was promoted to full professor in AND PURSUE THEIR CAREERS WITH PASSION. DRAWING ON HER OWN POST- 2008. He has pursued research on virology, ribosome structure COLLEGE EXPERIENCES, SHE SPOKE ABOUT WARNING THE PUBLIC ABOUT NATURAL JONATHAN DINMAN and function relationships, and regulation of gene expression. DISASTERS AND HELPING CONTAIN THE Christopher Jarzynski, Distinguished University Professor DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL. in chemistry and biochemistry, has been named director of IPST. Jarzynski joined UMD in 2006. His research focuses on statistical MCNUTT CONGRATULATED THE GRADUATES, NOTING, “MY WISH TO YOU, CLASS OF mechanics at the molecular level, specifically the foundations of 2014, IS THAT YOU ALL FIND YOUR WAY non-equilibrium thermodynamics, the application of statistical TO SOMETHING THAT REALLY AND TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND IN THE FUTURE, mechanics to problems of biophysical interest, the analysis of YOUR RIVALS WILL NOT SAY ‘FEAR THE artificial molecular machines, and the development of efficient TURTLE’, BUT ‘THANK THE TURTLE’.”

numerical schemes for estimating thermodynamic properties of WATCH A RECORDING OF THE EVENT complex systems. n AT TER.PS/CMNSGRAD14.

CHRISTOPHER JARZYNSKI

Losert and Dinman photos by John T. Consoli / Jarzynski photo by Andrew Snadecki / McNutt photo by GradImages Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 29 FACULTY & STAFF HIGHLIGHTS

Faculty were recognized for their contribu- presented at the 2013 IEEE Computer Howard Milchberg, physics and electrical tions to the university at the Faculty and Staff Security Foundations Symposium. and computer engineering, published a paper Convocation held on Oct. 7, 2014. in the journal Optica about optical wave- • President’s Medal David Inouye, biology, was appointed to the guides he created. Major media outlets Ann Wylie, geology National Academy of Sciences’ Public Inter- covering the work included the Australian • Distinguished University Professors faces of the Life Sciences roundtable. Inouye Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian Broad- James Drake, physics also will be a lead author of an assessment of casting Corporation, Discovery News, Geek, Sylvester James Gates, physics pollinators, pollination and food production Gizmag, Gizmodo, New Scientist, Slashdot, Christopher Jarzynski, chemistry for the United Nations’ new Intergovernmental Smithsonian and Wired (UK). and biochemistry Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Dianne O’Leary, computer science Ecosystem Services. Richard Mushotsky, astronomy, and • Distinguished Scholar-Teachers Dheeraj Pasham, Ph.D. ’14, astronomy, Sarah Eno, physics Melissa Kenney and Richard Moss, Earth published a paper in the journal Nature con- Alan Kaufman, geology System Science Interdisciplinary Center, firming the existence of an intermediate-mass • Kirwan Undergraduate Education Award contributed to the third National Climate black hole. Major media outlets covering the Steven Rolston, physics Assessment released in early May. Kenney, work included the Christian Science Monitor, who is also a lead principal investigator of Earth and Sky, Huffington Post, LiveScience, Millard Alexander, chemistry and the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Science magazine, Space.com and Time. biochemistry, was elected to membership in National Climate Indicator System, was a the International Academy of Quantum lead author of the assessment’s decision sup- Nick Schmerr, geology, was awarded the Molecular Science, which promotes research port chapter. Moss, who is also a senior staff Doornbos Memorial Prize by the Committee and international collaboration related to the scientist with the Pacific Northwest National on Studies of the Earth’s Deep Interior at its application of quantum theory to chemistry Laboratory’s Joint Global Change Research biennial meeting in Japan in August. Awarded and chemical physics. Institute, was a convening lead author for the to a young scientist for outstanding work same chapter and prepared scenarios and on Earth’s deep interior, the prize is given in Sankar Das Sarma, physics, Najib El-Sayed, other guidance materials for the authors. honor of the Dutch seismologist, cell biology and molecular genetics, Mihai Durk Doornbos. Pop, computer science, and Jeremy Selengut, Zhanqing Li, atmospheric and oceanic University of Maryland Institute for science, was elected fellow of the American Francesco Tombesi, astronomy, received Advanced Computer Studies, were included Geophysical Union (AGU)—an honor the 2014 Astrophysics Science Division Peer on Thomson Reuters’ recently launched list conferred on less than 0.1 percent of all Award from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight of Highly Cited Researchers, a compilation of AGU members in any given year. Li was also Center, for “outstanding contributions in influential names in science. These researchers awarded the 2014 AGU Atmospheric Science support of the ASTRO-H mission and to the earned the distinction by writing the greatest Section Kaufman Award for “broad influence understanding of ultrafast outflows in active numbers of reports officially designated by in atmospheric science through exceptional galactic nuclei.” n Essential Science Indicators as Highly Cited creativity, inspiration of younger scientists, Papers—ranking among the top 1 percent mentoring, international collaborations and most cited for their subject field and year of unselfish cooperation in research.” publication—between 2002 and 2012. IN MEMORIAM Eric Haag, biology, published a paper in the journal PLOS Biology about how cross- Irving Kipnis, chemistry and biochemistry, Sciences (CMPS), died June 26. Beginning species mating of worms leads to sterility and died August 4. Kipnis earned his Ph.D. in in 1981 as assistant to the provost of the then death. Major media outlets covering the work organic chemistry, directed the operations Division of Mathematical, Physical Sciences included the Huffington Post, Los Angeles of the lower division laboratories and taught and Engineering, and through her last eight Times, National Geographic, New Scientist, in the science in the evening program. In years as CMPS associate dean for under- Popular Science, Science News, The Verge, addition to training new instructors, interfac- graduate education (1990-1998), Williams The Washington Post and Wired (UK). ing with the Department of Environmental consistently provided strong leadership and Safety and serving as a compliance officer, positively influenced hundreds of individual Michael Hicks and Elaine Shi, computer Kipnis was involved in departmental outreach students. Her primary operating principles set science, and graduate student Chang Liu won programs such as the Maryland Science the tone, culture and reputation of the Office the National Security Agency’s 2014 Best Olympiad, Chemathon and Outward Bound. for Undergraduate Education: students come Scientific Cybersecurity Paper Competition. first, students will take responsibility for their Their paper was titled “Memory Trace Thelma M. Williams, retired associate dean academic experience and always encourage Oblivious Program Execution” and had been of undergraduate education for the College academic excellence. n of Computer, Mathematical and Physical

30 ODYSSEY Fall 2014 ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS

Mustafa Bilgic, Ph.D. ’10, computer science, Theoretical Computer Science and the astronomers, astrophysicists and scientific advisor Lise Getoor, received a National Association for Computing Machinery’s philosophers for theoretical, analytical, con- Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Special Interest Group on Algorithms and ceptual or observational discoveries leading to Development (CAREER) award for his project Computation Theory. advances in understanding the universe. Tully that focuses on how active learning can has been an astronomer at the University of potentially minimize the cost, time and effort Tobin Marks, B.S. ’66, chemistry, was awarded Hawaii since 1975. n involved with annotating machine models. the 2014 Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Award by Bilgic is an assistant professor of computer the Royal Society of Chemistry for “his science at the Illinois Institute of Technology. pioneering work in organometallic chemistry, particularly with regard to catalysis, as well ALUMNI NOTES ARE WELCOME. Sujal Bista, Ph.D. ’14, computer science, as his work in materials chemistry from PLEASE SEND THEM TO ODYSSEY, CMNS DEAN’S OFFICE, UNIVERSITY advisor Amitabh Varshney, was honored with molecular sources.” Marks is the Charles E. and OF MARYLAND, 2300 SYMONS HALL, a best paper award at the annual IEEE Confer- Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry, COLLEGE PARK, MD 20742. SEND INFOR- MATION BY FAX TO 301.314.9949 OR BY ence on Scientific Visualization, held in Paris the Vladimir N. Ipatieff Professor of Catalytic EMAIL TO [email protected]. in November. Bista’s paper on visualization Chemistry, and professor of materials science of diffusion kurtosis imaging tensors for and engineering at Northwestern University. understanding the brain microstructure was one of 34 papers accepted for presentation Nathalie McOmber, B.S. ’00, biological STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS out of 136 submissions. sciences, was named one of the nation’s top 40 dentists under the age of 40 by Incisal Edge Astronomy graduate students Gabriele David Chitwood, B.S. ’72, mathematics; magazine. McOmber, who is an attending Betancourt and Krista Smith won NASA Ph.D. ’80, botany, was named a fellow of the dentist at Monmouth Medical Center, is Earth and Space Science Fellowships European Society of Nematologists. profiled on the cover page of the magazine’s (NESSF). Nine NESSF fellowships in astro- Chitwood is the research leader of the fall 2014 issue. Per Incisal Edge, the “profiles physics were awarded nationwide in 2014. U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nematology of the best next generation of dentists are Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. nominated by industry experts from around Computer science graduate student Vahid the country, vetted by an independent Liaghat received a 2014 Google Ph.D. Jacob Devlin, M.S. ’09, computer science, panel and presented in a manner befitting the Fellowship in market algorithms. The fellow- advisor Bonnie Dorr, won the award for best honor—as the rock stars of our field.” ship program supports students in computer long paper from the Association of Compu- science or closely related fields and reflects the tational Linguistics for his co-authored paper Forrest W. Nutter, B.S. ’76, botany, received company’s commitment to building strong titled “Fast and Robust Neural Network Joint the 2014 Outstanding Teaching Award from relations with the global academic community. Models for Statistical Machine Translation.” Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture Devlin is currently a natural language process- and Life Sciences in recognition of his Biochemistry undergraduate student Roger ing research scientist at BBN Technologies. interactive software training programs for Lin was interviewed by The Baltimore Sun plant disease epidemiology and his numerous about his scheduled summer trip to Guate- Rao Kambhampati, Ph.D. ’89, computer teaching publications. Nutter’s software mala with the nonprofit program A Broader science, advisor Jim Hendler, has been named programs are currently being used in more View. Lin planned to help at a medical center president-elect of the Association for the than 80 universities and 25 countries. in Xela, the second largest Guatemalan city Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. He located in the Sierra Madres. will serve as president from 2016 to 2018. Aaron Schulman, Ph.D. ’13, computer science, Kambhampati is professor of computer advisor Neil Spring, was recognized with the Michael Ralph, chemical and life science science and engineering at Arizona State 2013 Special Interest Group on Data Com- graduate student and Olathe East High University. munication (SIGCOMM) doctoral disserta- School (Kansas) teacher, has been awarded tion award. His dissertation “provides the first the 2014 Outstanding Biology Teacher Amnon Lotem, Ph.D. ’00, computer science, observations of fundamental factors that limit Award, sponsored by the National Association advisor Dana Nau, will receive the 2014 the reliability of the Internet’s critical last-mile of Biology Teachers. Gödel Prize for a co-authored paper titled infrastructure and presents improvements to “Optimal Aggregation Algorithms for mitigate the effects of these factors.” Schulman Undergraduate student Claire Weber, Middleware,” which introduced the powerful received his award at the annual SIGCOMM biological sciences and geography, received a “threshold algorithm” that is widely used in conference in Chicago in August. U.S. Department of State Critical Language applications and systems that demand optimal Scholarship. A member of the Gemstone results for gathering multisourced information. R. Brent Tully, Ph.D. ’72, astronomy, Honors Program, she studied Urdu in India The award, which recognizes outstanding advisor T. A. Matthews, was awarded the over the summer. n papers in theoretical computer science, is 2014 Gruber Foundation Cosmology Prize. presented by the European Association for This prize honors leading cosmologists,

Fall 2014 ODYSSEY 31 University of Maryland 2300 Symons Hall College Park, MD 20742

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