Photo by Roman Shavnya on Unsplash
Photo by Roman Shavnya on Unsplash

Research

  • Congratulations to Institute Professor Maurizio Porfiri, who has received the 2021 NYU Tandon Excellence in Research Award for his outstanding research performance, exceptional publication record, mentorship work, and industry impact!
  • While both masks and social distancing help slow the spread of airborne pathogens, a new study by Institute Professor Maurizio Porfiri shows that viral outbreaks can be prevented if at least 60% of a population complies with both measures.
  • Congratulations to Joseph Chow, who has been promoted to Associate Professor!
  • Associate Professor Joseph Chow has joined the Transportation Research Part B Editorial Board as an Editor! Transportation Research: Part B publishes papers on all methodological aspects of the subject, particularly those that require mathematical analysis.
  • Congratulations to Smart Cities Postdoctoral Associate Eric Corbett, who was awarded the Mellon ACLS Fellowship to support ongoing research on public engagement with AI in NYC. This funding amplifies public facing, socially relevant scholarship between universities and public entities. The specific project Eric is working on is a collaboration between Queens Public Library and NYU’s Center for Responsible AI that is looking at how to provide AI educational programs as well as exploring the design of new modes of public engagement with public sector AI in the city.
  • Smart Cities Postdoctoral Associate Eric Corbett presented a paper on “Designing Civic Technology with Trust” at the CHI 2021 Conference, the premier venue for Human Computer-Interaction Research. Eric’s research presents a new way of thinking about trust in civic technology that goes beyond efficiency and transactionality to consider design approaches centered around closing distance in civic relationships between the public and their government.
  • Smart Cities Postdoctoral Associate Eric Corbett also began a fellowship at the NYC Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer. He will be working within the CTO office on AI policy in NYC government, as well defining equity in applied machine learning projects. This fellowship will allow Eric to better understand the governmental landscape and directly connect his research agenda at CUSP.
  • Professor Debra Laefer’s summer research program will be welcoming 4 students from Tandon’s ARISE program to involve promising high school students in research and 4 students from Tandon’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program.
  • The GovLab published a new episode of The GovLab Collective Intelligence podcast. This latest installment interviews Haris Biskos who leads synAthina, an online-offline public platform where the City of Athens supports citizens in developing and implementing projects that improve the quality of life in the city.
  • Until May 21, The GovLab is accepting applications for a new course through our Data Stewards Academy: “Developing a Data Reuse Strategy for Solving Public Problems.” You can learn more and apply here.
  • On April 23, The GovLab celebrated the first anniversary of the Open Data Policy Lab, in partnership with Microsoft, and announced “A Selection of Activities, Achievements, and Future Priorities” for this next year. You can read more here.

Publications

Education

  • Congratulations to the winners of this year’s 2021 Commencement and Achievement Awards! 18 CUSP Master’s candidates were honored for their impressive academic achievements, research initiatives, and other accomplishments from their time at CUSP.