Computing Reviews News

Featured Reviewer: Jose Manuel Palomares

Featured in Five is a monthly section where we pose questions to a Computing Reviews featured reviewer. Here are the responses from our January featured reviewer, José Manuel Palomares. 

Q) What is the most important thing that's happened in computing in the past 10 years?

A) For me, the Internet of Things has definitively and irreversibly changed computing: billions of sources sensing the environment, acting on it, and sending data that is transformed into knowledge. All these facts reshape the conception and requirements of computing. The immediacy of real data can feed intelligent devices to produce knowledge; however, with billions of nodes sending data, networks must be efficient so that the huge amounts of date can be handled properly, for example, irrelevant data should be pruned as earlier as possible. This paradigm stresses the computing field in every different aspect: hardware, software, networking, power consumption, and so on. I think the IoT is the major challenge for computing in the foreseeable future.

Q) If you weren't working in the computer science field, what would you be doing instead?

A) Probably something related to cinema and the audiovisual field. However, I also love rugby and I’m a rugby coach for kids in my spare time. Thus, if I wasn’t working in computer science, I could be a coach.

Q) By the end of your career, where do you think computer science will have taken us? What are you working on that might contribute toward that?

A) It is hard to know. I guess computers will be able to provide intelligent information obtained from billions of sources in milliseconds. Will that lead us to a Terminator-style apocalypse in which computers decide that humanity must be eliminated? No, I don’t think so. What about a WALL-E-style future in which robots do all the work humans did and humans become lazy beings? No, I think intelligent robots and devices, combining machinery and computing, will allow humanity to change their workforce to different scopes, and these devices will be constrained and limited by ethical issues as in Asimov’s “Three Laws of Robotics.”

Q) Who is your favorite historical figure? Why?

A) Actually, I don’t have a single historical figure: I believe in humanity as a whole. We have all progressed not by means of a single person but by the impulses of many people (who when combined are millions). One such relevant person, who acted as a science propeller, was Leonardo da Vinci: a genius, a person ahead of his era, a visionary.

Q) What is your favorite type of music?

A) I like rock music, and in particular heavy metal. 

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Click here to read one of José Manuel’s reviews.

 

 

Featured Reviewer: Romina Fucà

Featured in Five is a monthly section where we pose questions to a Computing Reviews featured reviewer. Here are the responses from our December featured reviewer, Romina Fucà. 

Q) What is the most important thing that has happened in computing in the past 10 years?

A) I have been helped by computers in the last ten years like never before. Over the past decade, their speed has increased, and what was once a suggestion for me to explore in research has become a daily guide for my work. With the advances in technology, I let go of my narrow, small-scale aspirations and began to think of the bigger picture by interfacing with real scientists around the world. I sometimes say “I live in the cloud” because remote cloud services help me meet my needs every day.

Q) If you weren’t working in the computer science field, what would you be doing instead?

A) I would be a guide in a fine arts museum. When I was a child, I used to travel with my parents in a caravan, and we visited many interesting historical and artistic sites in Europe and elsewhere. Churches, castles, and ancient relics of the past gave me the ambition to learn a coherent chronology of paintings and painters. I now easily recognize their style and historic location.

Q) By the end of your career, where do you think computer science will have taken us? What are you working on that might contribute toward that?

A) I’m a humanities, arts, and social sciences (HASS) education tutor who branched out into technology and computing, so I personally see computers advancing toward human skills at an increasing pace, with the likelihood that they will be able to perform comparably with humans before the end of my career. I work to let the public know that modern computing uses different logic than the old, classic programming languages with which we are familiar. I have learned much from reflecting about computers, and so too can others benefit from learning new ways to communicate with them. We will probably be able to expand or abandon our usual ways of communicating for better styles, and perhaps—who knows?—we will successfully meet life on other planets.

Q) What is your favorite type of music?

A) I love instrumental music such as Gabriel Yared’s By the Sea and The English Patient, John Barry’s Born Free, and Astor Piazzolla’s music featured in Frantic; these are usually queued up in my list of favorites, as well as being the soundtracks to well-known movies. In addition, I like popular songs such as “I Will Remember You” by Sarah McLachlan, “Somewhere Only We Know” and “I’m Not Leaving” by Keane, and “Somewhere My Love” by Ray Conniff and The Singers.

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Click here to read one of Romina’s reviews.

 

Featured Reviewer: Joseph M. Arul

Featured in Five is a monthly section where we pose five questions to a Computing Reviews featured reviewer. Here are the responses from our November featured reviewer, Joseph M. Arul. 

 Q) What is the most important thing that's happened in computing in the past 10 years?

A) The most important thing that’s happened in computing in the past 10 years is in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), where tremendous improvements and a major turning point have taken place. It used to be that mainly deductive reasoning was applied to the field of AI. But due to the introduction of graphics processing units (GPUs) and faster machines, inductive learning combined with deductive reasoning started to produce some end results. Thus, many companies and countries started to invest in the field, and AI has since improved the lives of many people and many countries around the world. Today, AI has infiltrated every part of our lives as society takes advantage of its benefits. I am sure that quantum computing, too, will be a turn for the better in the near future.

Q) If you weren't working in the computer science field, what would you be doing instead?

A) If I were not working in the computer science field, I would work with people who are struggling to make ends meet, that is, help them to improve their livelihood and apply technology in beneficial ways. This population could include farmers, day laborers, or those who have little basic education. Basically, I would try to bring a smile to their faces.

Q) By the end of your career, where do you think computer science will have taken us? What are you working on that might contribute toward that?

A) I am sure that, within a few years, the quantum computer will change the world and the way we compute things. That being said, every field in computer science has a different outlook and could change the world in different ways. Since quantum computing provides a new way of looking at problems, we may have to think differently. I am looking forward to working in quantum computing in the future.

Q) Who is your favorite historical figure? Why?

A) My favorite historical figure is Mahatma Gandhi. With a determined mind—and without violence—he brought freedom and independence to India. He also spoke about the unity of all religions.

Q) What is your favorite type of music?

A) I like relaxing music with guitar and trumpet sounds. Soothing songs for meditation.

Click here to read one of Joseph’s reviews.

Featured Reviewer: Bálint Molnár

Featured in Five is a monthly section where we pose five questions to a Computing Reviews featured reviewer. Here are the responses from our October featured reviewer, Bálint Molnár. 

Q) What is the most important thing that's happened in computing in the past 10 years?

A) New database technologies and various methods of computational intelligence—artificial intelligence (AI), data science, machine learning, and so on—have found widespread application in practice.

Q) If you weren't working in the computer science field, what would you be doing instead?

A) A historian who studies the changes to everyday life throughout history.

Q) By the end of your career, where do you think computer science will have taken us? What are you working on that might contribute toward that?

A) It will be necessary for people to obtain higher-level education and skills that include not only computer literacy but also the handling of complex systems in human environments. I work on business processes and workflows in enterprises that exploit recent technologies such as blockchain and AI/data science

Q) Who is your favorite historical figure? Why?

A) Archimedes—he developed many advanced (though premature) ideas in mathematics.

Q) What is your favorite type of music?

A) Rock and classical.

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Click here to read one of Bálint’s reviews.

Featured Reviewer: Jon Millen

Featured in Five is a monthly section where we pose five questions to a Computing Reviews featured reviewer. Here are the responses from our September featured reviewer, Jon Millen. 

Q) What is the most important thing that's happened in computing in the past 10 years?

A) The developments that made the biggest splash in the past ten years were based on inventions made more than ten years ago. The most recent is Bitcoin, as well as other blockchain-based cryptocurrencies. Quantum computing is starting to look practical, but it originated around 1980. The success of AlphaGo in beating a master at Go was an application of deep learning, which was bolstered by back-propagation algorithms from around 1986.

Q) If you weren't working in the computer science field, what would you be doing instead?

A) Probably designing video games.

Q) By the end of your career, where do you think computer science will have taken us? What are you working on that might contribute toward that?

A) Computer science has always been about elegant algorithms, invented by creative researchers. You never know what exciting innovation is coming next. 

Q) Who is your favorite historical figure? Why?

A) Albert Einstein. Isn’t he everybody’s favorite?

Q) What is your favorite type of music?

A) Blues, boogie-woogie, folk rock, classical Spanish guitar.

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Click here to read one of Jon’s reviews.

Featured Reviewer: Hamdy Soliman

Featured in Five is a monthly section where we pose five questions to a Computing Reviews featured reviewer. Here are the responses from our August featured reviewer, Hamdy Soliman. 

Q) What is the most important thing that's happened in computing in the past 10 years?

A) The emergence of quantum computing and the possibilities it brings, both in terms of novel algorithms and computing architecture, but also its threat to existing security designs.

Q) If you weren't working in the computer science field, what would you be doing instead?

A) A restaurateur or chef. I love to cook!

Q) By the end of your career, where do you think computer science will have taken us? What are you working on that might contribute toward that?

A) With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) and advances in security and machine learning, sensors will become ubiquitous and will dominate all aspects of our lives, including being embedded throughout our devices and bodies. The research I am working on contributes toward future IoT use cases as well as securing sensor communications.

Q) Who is your favorite historical figure? Why?

A) My favorite historical figure in computing would be Claude Shannon. His work was the basis for a lot of information theory (back then "communication theory") and he made big contributions to cryptography and telecommunications. He also invented the first wearable computer (for all you Apple Watch fans out there).

Q) What is your favorite type of music?

A) I enjoy orchestral/classical music.

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Click here to read one of Hamdy Soliman’s reviews.

Featured Reviewer: Epaminondas Kapetanios

 

Q) What is the most important thing that's happened in computing in the past 10 years?

A) I would have to mention deep learning (convolutional neural networks, CNNs), not so much because of the success stories in object recognition through the revival of artificial neural networks (ANNs) and artificial intelligence (AI), but for highlighting how delusional it is to believe in having crafted intelligible intelligence with the current computer architectures and organizations.

Q) If you weren't working in the computer science field, what would you be doing instead?

A) Sports science and coaching.

Q) By the end of your career, where do you think computer science will have taken us? What are you working on that might contribute toward that?

A) I think computer science may have created some sort of intelligent machine acting as a “black box” to, and creating hilarious interactions with, humans. Explaining decisions and actions in conversations with end users may alleviate this deficiency and foster synergy between humans and intelligent machines.

Q) Who is your favorite historical figure? Why?

A) Jean Monnet was one of the key founders of the European Coal and Steel Community, the predecessor of the European Union and a project for peace, cooperation, and the protection of human rights. 

Q) What is your favorite type of music?

A) Rhythm and blues (R&B) and blues.

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Click here to read one of Epaminondas Kapetanios’ reviews.

 

Featured Reviewer: André Mariën

Featured in Five is a monthly section where we pose five questions to a Computing Reviews featured reviewer. Here are the responses from our June featured reviewer, André Mariën. 

Q) What is the most important thing that's happened in computing in the past 10 years?

A) Infrastructure as code, software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and so on, i.e., freedom for the people.

Q) If you weren't working in the computer field, what would you be doing instead?

A) I would be an architect, constructing something tangible.

Q) By the end of your career, where do you think computer science will have taken us? What are you working on that might contribute toward that?

A) That is actually about now, so it is easy to “predict.”

Q) Who is your favorite historical figure? Why?

A) Leonardo da Vinci, an impossibly creative individual with diverse interests.

Q) What is your favorite type of music?

A) Music from the 60s and 70s.

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Click here to read one of Andre Mariën’s reviews.

Featured Reviewer: S. Ramakrishnan

Featured in Five is a monthly section where we pose five questions to a Computing Reviews featured reviewer. Here are the responses from our May featured reviewer, S. Ramakrishnan. 

Q) What is the most important thing that's happened in computing in the past 10 years?

A) It is difficult to choose just one among many, so here are two: processor speed and smartphones.

Q) If you weren't working in the computer field, what would you be doing instead?

A) Quite an interesting question. I would likely be a mathematics teacher in schools.

Q) By the end of your career, where do you think computer science will have taken us? What are you working on that might contribute toward that?

A) Robots everywhere, with most roles currently done by humans done by robots. I am working on machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and emotion recognition.

Q) Who is your favorite historical figure? Why?

A) Mahatma Gandhi, who united a diverse India and used two highly valuable principles, namely truth and non-violence, to get freedom.

Q) What is your favorite type of music?

A) Carnatic music and melody songs in Tamil.

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Click here to read one of Dr. Ramakrishnan’s reviews.

 

Featured Reviewer: M. Sasikumar

Featured in Five is a monthly section where we pose five questions to a Computing Reviews featured reviewer. Here are the responses from our April featured reviewer, M. Sasikumar. 

Q) What is the most important thing that has happened in computing in the past 10 years?

A) Hard to pinpoint one specific event out of the huge number of strides made in the last decade. In a sense, the biggest game changer has been the phenomenal increase in computing power, including network capacity. This has enabled a lot of old ideas like deep learning to become practical.

Q) If you weren't working in the computer science field, what would you be doing instead?

A) Perhaps aeronautical engineering, which was the alternative to computer science I was given when taking admission in engineering. Of course, today, aeronautics is also full of computing!

Q) By the end of your career, where do you think computer science will have taken us? What are you working on that might contribute toward that?

A) Computing is going through a phase of rapid change, making any prediction hard. One direction I would like to see is accessible programming for ordinary people, just as computing as a technology has evolved. Programming would reach the level of human-to-human communication, with keyboard and mouse and difficult syntax a thing of the past. I have teams working in speech and language technologies, which is one of the emerging approaches to human-computer interaction (HCI). A b brain-computer interface (BCI) is another relevant technology in this direction.

Q) Who is your favorite historical figure? Why?

A) Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation in India, for having led a nation to freedom with simplicity, truth, and non-violence as the primary weapons.

Q) What is your favorite type of music?

A) Carnatic music.

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Click here to read one of Dr. Sasikumar’s reviews.