UAlbany Researcher Explores New Computing Approaches for Networks

$500K National Science Foundation Grant Supports Research for Business, Transportation, and Government Applications

Prof. Hwang's research is expected to lead to new ideas for storing network data and for using large numbers of computers to quickly get answers to network questions.

ALBANY, N.Y (March 2, 2012) -- Through a National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Career Development Award, University at Albany Assistant Professor of Computer Science Jeong-Hyon Hwang will develop new computing approaches for large, frequently changing networks in industries such as business, science, transportation and government.

The research, which will also be incorporated into curriculums offering UAlbany students advanced opportunities to tackle state-of-the-art database and relevant software challenges, is supported by an NSF grant totaling $496,648 over five years.

"It is increasingly important in many areas of business and science to understand enormous networks of connections," said Hwang. "Whether it is a company trying to understand the spread of a viral marketing message, a transportation planner seeking to minimize traffic delays, or a government official trying to thwart a terrorist network, people are dealing with networks with millions of components that are constantly changing and evolving. The enormous size of these networks and the speed with which they change outstrips the capacity of current data management systems."

UAlbany Assistant Professor Jeong-Hyon Hwang

With the support of the NSF’s CAREER program, Hwang’s research is expected to lead to new ideas for storing network data and for using large numbers of computers to quickly get answers to network questions. All software developed in the project will be made available on an open- source basis so that others can build on and share the code.

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.

Hwang received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Brown University. He has co-authored more than 30 research articles, filed a US patent application, and served as a program committee member or a reviewer for prestigious conferences and journals on computer systems. In addition to the NSF CAREER award, Hwang received a 2005 ACM SIGMOD best demonstration award, and a national scholarship and software development award from the Ministry of Information and Communication of Korea. Jeong-Hyon has industrial experience as a software development team manager and a software engineer.

Jeong-Hyon joins fellow College of Computing and Information Assistant Professor Siwei Lyu as a recent recipient of a CAREER award from NSF. Lyu received the award in 2010 to continue his research on digital imaging, computer vision, and fraud detection.

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