CIS6930-Graduate Special Topic Courses-Spring 2024

CIS6930 (grad only)       

Title: Expressive Agents               

Instructor: Eakta Jain                   

Humans increasingly interact with physical and virtual agents in all areas of life and work. This course will cover foundational concepts and currently ongoing work in the multidisciplinary pursuit of generating expressive agents. Students will get an overview of the field and experience first-hand the challenges involved through project activities. At the end of this course, students will be able to locate literature relevant to their interest, analyze research papers, demonstrate critical thinking and effective technical communication, and translate scientific reports into practical implementations.

 

CIS4930/CIS6930 (co-taught undergrad and grad sections)          

Title: Computer Security and Privacy for Marginalized and Vulnerable Populations      

Instructor: Kevin Butler

Expected background:  Some background in computer security and privacy (e.g. a graduate or undergraduate course in security) would be helpful but is not required. An understanding of research methods for human-centered computing research would also be helpful but is not required.    

Computing has never been more important to our daily lives than in the current moment. The COVID-19 pandemic was a watershed moment for how we interact with others, demonstrating how technology could mediate all communication. Many other disruptive yet innovative technologies are on the horizon such as mixed reality and more pervasive integrated technology in our physical environments, such as sensors within smart cities. However, one constant throughout this rapid evolution in computing is that the needs of marginalized and vulnerable (M&V) populations have been under-addressed, as have the consequences of their exclusion. This course will examine how computer security and privacy research with M&V populations has occurred in the past, attempt to systematize lessons learned, and provide research opportunities for future work in this area. Students will gain exposure to foundational and cutting-edge research in computer security and privacy as well as human-centered research techniques, and gain an understanding of how computing can both uplift and disempower vulnerable groups depending on how it is deployed.