Computer Science

Chen Chen headshot
Artificial Intelligence

Chen’s NSF CAREER Award Supports UVA Engineering Artificial Intelligence Research to Better Forecast Infectious Disease Epidemics

UVA computer scientist Chen Chen has earned a five-year, $600,000 NSF CAREER Award to build next-generation AI tools for epidemic intelligence. Combining case reports, wastewater data and mobility patterns, her research aims to improve disease forecasting, guide public health interventions, strengthen surveillance strategies, and eventually help communities understand local infection risks.

A car is driving by with an automatic license plate reader reading its plate.
Artificial Intelligence

Can Flock Cameras Ever Be Trusted? An Ethical Hacker Weighs In

UVA cybersecurity expert Daniel Graham examines the privacy risks of Flock license plate readers, explaining how connected camera networks enable warrantless mass surveillance. He compares safeguards used for cell-site data under Carpenter v. United States, discusses real misuse cases, and outlines what technical fixes and policy changes could make these systems trustworthy.

Yu Meng headshot
Artificial Intelligence

For AI to Advance, We Need Better Ways to Harness Imperfect Data. UVA Engineering’s Yu Meng Could Help.

UVA Engineering’s Yu Meng has won a five-year, $769,711 NSF CAREER Award to develop AI systems that learn effectively from imperfect, incomplete or inconsistently labeled data. His “weak supervision” research could transform fields like healthcare and finance while reducing costly manual data annotation, with findings integrated into new curricula and K-12 outreach programs.