Skip to main content Skip to navigation
Winter 2022

Computer Science

Computer hacker in a dimly lit room
Spring 2022

Cybercrime and how to protect yourself online

While cybercrime is constantly evolving, the good news is there are a few simple security measures anyone can take to increase their online security, whether they have a doctorate in computer science or a hard time printing attachments from their Hotmail account.

First and foremost, experts agree using strong, unique passwords is the easiest way for an internet user to protect their personal and financial information online. A strong password is typically at least 15 characters long and includes letters, numbers, and special characters.

Another pro-tip is never to reuse passwords. This is because one of the easiest ways hackers gain access to a user’s … » More …

Spring 2019

Medical Big Data

Big data is a powerful new tool in the medical bag, and one that can put patients in charge of their own health. Medical students at Washington State University are learning about the potential use of the tool on medical teams, while a new data analytics program at WSU teaches future data analysts. » More ...
Summer 2018

Nella Ludlow comes home

Nella Ludlow knew who she really was from an early age. “As I got older, I thought, I just can’t do this anymore,” she says. So she came out as a transgender woman.

After earning a degree in math and physical sciences at Washington State University, the 1982 graduate joined the Air Force. There she trained as a fighter pilot, worked in military intelligence, and earned a doctorate in artificial intelligence from the University of Edinburgh, and did post-doctoral studies at Cambridge University.

She retired at the end of the Cold War and entered the business world at the height of the dot com … » More …

Summer 2017

AI

One of the most memorable moments of Matthew Taylor’s life so far would look to most people like just a jumble of numbers, brackets, and punctuation strung together with random words on a computer screen.

IF ((dist(K1,T1)<=4) AND
(Min(dist(K3,T1), dist(K3,T2))>=12.8) AND
(ang(K3,K1,T1)>=36))
THEN Pass to K3

And so on. Line after line of computer code flowing like a digital river of expanding possibilities.

Although sophisticated and wonderfully complex, it wasn’t so much the code itself that made this such a pivotal moment.

It was what came next.

Taylor, a graduate student in Texas at the time, … » More …

Robot typing
Summer 2017

Robowriters

Subject. Verb. Object.

These are the basic building blocks of written communication. It’s what you need to make a complete sentence like the one you’re reading now.

Structured. Logical. Direct.

This also is why parts of my chosen career are ripe for takeover by robots.

For millions of Americans, the defining realization of how fast artificial intelligence is evolving came in 2011 when Watson — IBM’s now-celebrated language processing computer — won the popular TV quiz show Jeopardy by beating two of the game’s top champions.

I watched with fascination as well. But, for me, the point was driven home even harder a few years … » More …

Fall 2015

Cybersecurity and the smart grid

Chen-Ching Liu, Anjan Bose, Adam Hahn, and the other researchers at Washington State University’s Energy Systems Innovation Center explain the smart grid and how to safeguard it from hacking and natural disasters, with redundancy and testing.

You can read more about their work in “Out the hack door,” Fall 2015.

Videos produced by the WSU Video Team.

What is the Smart Grid?

WSU professors Chen-Ching Liu and Dr. Anjan Bose discuss the evolution of the electric power grid.

The Self-Healing Grid

Advancements in intelligent monitoring and automation, combined with robust, redundant sources of power serve to protect electricity-dependent communities from outages and … » More …