Search

This article presents information on the top technology innovators under age 35 as of October 1, 2005. Parham Aarabi, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Toronto in Ontario, developed an algorithm that calculates the difference between the times at which a sound reaches two closely spaced microphones. Martha Bulyk of Harvard Medical School in the U.S. has adapted gene chip technology to determine the DNA binding preferences of proteins. An application that offers real-time software diagnostics has been created by Bryan Cantrill, senior staff engineer at Sun Microsystems.

This article discusses the use of evolutionary algorithms, or genetic algorithms (GAs) in designing antennas and machines. Evolutionary algorithms, also known as genetic algorithms or GAs, take their cue from biological evolution. Breeding antennas takes time, of course. Most designs are downright awful, and it takes a large number of computing cycles to find decent performers. Still, when one has a computer that can generate and test 1,000 generations an hour, interesting ideas do emerge. One of the first scientists to give evolutionary algorithms a serious test drive was David Goldberg, director of the Illinois Genetic Algorithms Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who worked under Holland as a PhD student in the early 1980s. Now that evolutionary algorithms are outwitting humans, some researchers want to raise the bar even higher. At Stanford University, for example, professor of biomedical informatics John Koza--yet another Holland protégé--is exploring a closely related field called genetic programming. Evolutionary algorithms have fixed sets of instructions and merely vary the data they manipulate. The discoveries made so far by Koza's programs range from novel computerized methods for sorting proteins to cutting-edge designs for electronic circuits.

The article offers information on max-flow, or maximum-flow problem in computer science, refers to an element of logistical problems and a basic in algorithm's introductory problems. According to Jonathan Kelner, applied mathematics assistant professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT,) max flow is being used in solving optimization problems such as in airline scheduling and digital image processing. It also mentions that linear algebra can help solving max-flow problems.

The article offers information on the different kinds of voting system worldwide The rating of the 1995 women's figure-skating world champion was based on a complex algorithm method. Sparta, the longest-lasting democratic government in history used shouting system in electing Gerontes and Ephors. The current U.S. election method, in which voters name one and only one candidate, is called plurality voting.

This article features Desney Tan, who was included in "Technology Review" magazine's list of young technology innovators for 2007. Tan is using algorithms to sort through data from an electroencephalography (EEG) in hopes of turning electrodes into meaningful input devices for computers. He plans to develop a mass-market EEG system consisting of a small number of electrodes that, affixed to a person's head, communicate wirelessly with software on a personal computer (PC). The technology will improve productivity in the workplace, enhance video-game play and simplify interactions with computers.

The article describes the innovative work of Kristala Jones Prather, who has been included in the 2007 TR35 list of the world's top innovators under the age of 35. She is developing a strategy for synthesizing commercial molecules biologically, from start to finish. She believes that biologists can use reverse-engineering principles to build compounds, stringing natural and engineered enzymes together in novel combinations inside microbial hosts. Prather is developing a database of enzyme-catalyzed reactions which includes algorithms that will identify the enzymes most useful for constructing novel metabolic pathways.

The article provides information on the algorithms being developed by Lakshminarayan Srinivasan, a neurosurgery research fellow at the Massachusetts General Hospital, for neural prosthetics. Technologies for detecting brain activity include functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy. The new algorithms apply to any combination of output devices because they operate at a higher level of abstraction. The algorithms treat all neural activity as either continuous or binary and translate it into continuous or discrete commands.

The article profiles Anna Lysyanskaya, an assistant professor of computer science at Brown University and one of the recipients of TR35 Innovator of the Year. Lysyanskaya has developed a practical way for people to securely log in to Web sites without providing any identifying information. She, in collaboration with Jan Camenisch of the IBM Zürich Research Laboratory, developed algorithms that make both generating and testing credentials much more efficient. The algorithms will be incorporated by IBM into its Idemix anonymous-credential systems.

The article describes the innovative work of Anna Lysyanskaya, who has been included in the 2007 TR35 list of world's top innovators under the age of 35. She has developed a practical way for people to securely log in to websites without providing any identifying information. Her approach relies on zero-knowledge proofs, which allows one to subscribe using a pseudonym and receive digitally signed credentials. In collaboration with Jan Camenisch of the IBM Zürich Research Laboratory, Lysyanskaya developed algorithms that make both generating and testing credentials much more efficient.