No AMALTHEA experience for 2010!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2010-02-02 12:30:00

To all of you that have or will inquire about the AMALTHEA REU Program, we regret to inform you that we were, unfortunately, unable to secure continuation funding from our main sponsor, the National Science Foundation. This means that we will not be able to offer summer internships for 2010 :(

In lieu of today's disappointing news, we would like to share with you our deep commitment and determination to continue the AMALTHEA program and, therefore, we will try once again to reapply to the NSF for additional funds later this year. We will post any developments regarding this issue on this website; you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed to be continuously kept up to date.

Finally, we would like to thank the NSF and our other sponsors for generously supporting this program during the period 2007-2009. We are also indebted to our Advisory Board members, who over the years helped us in assessing the program and contributed significantly to its improvement. We would also like to offer our warmest gratitude to the, literally, hundreds of applicants that expressed their interest in AMALTHEA over the last 3 years and, of course, to the 29 AMALTHEA participants that joined us in our research endeavors. You are what makes AMALTHEA what it is...

The 2009 showcase materials have been posted!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-12-06 23:00:00

We've just updated the Publications page with this year's technical reports and latest, published papers. We also updated our Projects page with the 2009 project descriptions and posters respectively.Please, check them out!

2009 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-09-30 00:00:00

Graduate mentor Mahsa Maghami, former graduate mentor and current assistant professor at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)Dr. Anna Koufakou are attending the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing [link], which this year is themed "Creating Technology For Social Good" and is held in Tucson, Arizona, from September 30th to October 3rd, 2009.

According to their website: "...The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing is a series of conferences designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront. Presenters are leaders in their respective fields, representing industrial, academic and government communities. Leading researchers present their current work, while special sessions focus on the role of women in today's technology fields, including computer science, information technology, research and engineering. Past Grace Hopper Celebrations have resulted in collaborative proposals, networking, mentoring, and increased visibility for the contributions of women in computing..."

Maghami and Dr. Koufakou will advertise at this venue the AMALTHEA REU Program in an effort to recruit female undergraduates that may be interested in Machine Learning.

2nd Florida Statewide Symposium on Engagement in Undergraduate Research
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-09-26 00:00:00

AMALTHEA Project Staff participated in the 2009 Florida Statewide Symposium on Engagement in Undergraduate Research [link], which took place on September 25-26 at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orldando.

Via this venue, UCF invites faculty, administrators, and professional staff to participate in a two-day symposium focused on strengthening and developing undergraduate research. All of Florida's state and private 4-year universities and community colleges are invited to participate in this event. In 2008, 65 faculty and administrators from throughout the state participated. Some of the topics for presentation and workshops included best practices in undergraduate research, research on undergraduate research, resources to develop strong programs, networking between campuses, and issues in undergraduate research.

On behalf of AMALTHEA, Dr. Costas Efthimiou and Prof. Georgiopoulos gave an overview of the AMALTHEA REU Program, its objectives and its 3-year cumulative outcomes.

End of the 2009 AMALTHEA REU Program
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-07-25 00:00:00

Yesterday was the last day of the 2009 summer experience. The Project Staff would like to sincerely thank all the people that contributed to yet another successful year of the Program and wishes the out-of-town REU student participants a safe return back home.

So long, AMALTHEA 2009!

Symposium of the 2009 AMALTHEA REU Program
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-07-24 00:00:00

Today is our day to shine! At the Symposium we are hosting our Advisory Board and many other guests like dignitaries, faculty, students and researchers from the local industry. During this big event students present and demonstrate their research outcomes. Additionally, the Program will be assessed as a whole by the REU participants and our Advisory Board.

The 2009 AMALTHEA Symposium in a week's time...
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-07-17 00:00:00

You are cordially invited to AMALTHEA's 2009 Symposium, which is going to take place on the UCF campus in a week's time, that is, on Friday, July 24th 2009.

The Symposium is the apogee and last formal activity of our Program, where the undergraduate participants and staff showcase the Program's outcomes to its Advisory Board and invited guests.

In case you would like to attend it as a guest, please RSVP with us, so we can accommodate you. We will be happy to see you there!

The 2009 summer experience starts today!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-05-18 00:00:00

Today marks the official starting date of the 2009 summer experience. The Project Staff would like to welcome all new participant students to the host universities, FIT in Melbourne and UCF in Orlando, where they will spend 10 exciting weeks with us!

You can find out more about our summer activities by visiting our Calendar. If you would like to drop by and join us in any activities, please let us know. We always enjoy good company!

The 2009 participants have been selected!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-04-14 00:00:00

We are happy to announce that the 2009 Program has just finished selecting its student participants. See who is part of the 2009 summer experience at Participant Students. The Project Staff would like to congratulate the new participants and state that it is eager to work with them during this year's summer experience.

Server outage for 12 hours today
Posted by Webmaster on: 2009-04-02 20:10:00

Today we experienced a 12-hour outage of our server hosting www.amalthea-reu.org. The outage was between 8am and 7:30pm and was due to a malfunctioning UPS unit. During this period of time the website and all of its online services were not available. The UPS unit was swapped out with a new one and now we are back on-line. We apologize if this created any inconveniences.

Prof. Georgiopoulos is Mentor of the Year 2009!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-04-02 18:00:00

Prof. Michael Georgiopoulos was named Mentor of the Year 2009 at the 2009 Showcase of Undergraduate Excellence (SURE) at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The prestigious award is sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) and the Student Undergraduate Research Council (SURC); it is annually awarded only to one UCF faculty. Prof. Georgiopoulos was recognized during a brief ceremony at the showcase for his many accomplishments in mentoring undergraduate researchers, including former AMALTHEA REU participants. He was nominated by former Amalthean Roberto Miguez and was unanimously voted for among 18 other nominees. < br />
Congratulations, Prof. Georgiopoulos!

AMALTHEA present at the 2009 Showcase of Undergraduate Excellence at UCF
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-04-02 17:00:00

AMALTHEA also had representation at the 2009 Showcase of Undergraduate Excellence (SURE) at the University of Central Florida (UCF). According to their website ...the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence (SURE) is a poster- or display-based forum for UCF undergraduates to present their research and creative projects to the broader university community. AMALTHEA was represented by 2008 participant Michelle Fox, which presented a poster based on her work with 2008 particpant Gary Gramajo, graduate mentor Anna Koufakou and faculty menotr Prof. Michael Georgiopoulos titled "Detecting Outliers in Categorical Data Sets Using Non-Derivable Itemsets".

AMALTHEA present at the 2009 Faculty Showcase at UCF
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-04-01 15:00:00

The AMALTHEA REU project staff took part today in the poster session of the 2009 Faculty Showcase of Creative Teaching practices and SoTL Research at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The showcase is organized annually since 2005 by the Faculty Center for Teaching & Learning (FCTL)at UCF. Our poster was about the objectives of the AMALTHEA REU Program, its components, its methods and its many outcomes and was presented by doctoral candidate Anna Koufakou (graduate mentor, AMALTHEA 2008).

The 2009 application period has ended!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-03-31 00:00:00

The entire Program's staff would like to thank all of you that have considered and applied for participation in the 2009 AMALTHEA experience.

We have received many good applications, which we will now start processing and reviewing. Regardless of your application's outcome, we will contact and notify you the latest by April 13th.

Until then please be patient and check your email often, in case we need to get in touch with you. Additional news will be posted on our News page.

Last day to apply!
Posted by Webmaster on: 2009-03-30 00:00:00

Today is the last day for interested students to submit their applications for the 2009 summer experience.

If you haven't done so already, please submit your application as soon as possible. The system will accepting applications until 23:59 EST today. Unfortunately, beyond this deadline we will be unable to accept and process additional applications.

One more week left to apply...
Posted by Webmaster on: 2009-03-23 00:00:00

For those students that haven't managed to complete their application forms, please hurry; time is running out. Keep in mind that, if you want to be considered for the 2009 Program, you must submit your application by this coming Monday.

Attended the 2009 Annual CISE REU PI Meeting
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-03-14 08:32:40

Dr. Anagnostopoulos attended the 2009 meeting of all principal investigators (PIs), who direct REU Sites sponsored by the Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) Directorate of the National Science Foundation (NSF); see the official page of CISEREUPI 2009.

In this meeting, which was held during March 11-13 in Washington, DC, and which is typically attended by the entire CISE REU PI community, he represented the AMALTHEA REU Program.

Paper accepted for the 2009 ASEE Conference and Exposition
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-03-13 08:05:21

The AMALTHEA REU principal investigators and faculty mentors (see Project Staff) have co-authored a conference paper titled ``The AMALTHEA REU Program: Activities, Experiences & Outcomes of a Collaborative Summer Research Experience in Machine Learning'' to be presented at the 2009 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition that is going to be held during July 14-27, 2009 in Austin, Texas. ASEE is the Americal Society for Engineering Education.

Abstract:
The AMALTHEA REU Program is a 10-week, summer research experience for science or engineering undergraduate students funded by the National Science Foundation since 2007 and featuring Machine Learning as its intellectual focus. Moreover, it is a joint effort of two collaborating universities in Central Florida, namely Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne and University of Central Florida in Orlando.
Organizing, implementing and directing REU Sites is typically perceived as a demanding effort; while offering unique advantages, operating collaborative sites may impose an additional layer of challenges. In this paper our intention is to present the objectives of our program, its unique characteristics, and the structure and organization of our collaborative site. Furthermore, we would like to give an informative account of our activities across the various aspects of the program, such as marketing of the experience, recruiting of student participants, the summer experience itself and our dissemination efforts. Finally, we report on our outcomes accomplished so far, which include research products and evaluation results.
While our program is only entering into its third year of operation, we do hope that, by sharing our experiences and promising strategies to date, we will encourage and aid prospective REU Site directors to successfully plan for and operate collaborative sites.

HCII 2009 paper related to hand gesture recognition.
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-03-06 13:29:09

Former 2008 AMALTHEA REU participants, Todd C. Alexander from Florida Institute of Technology and Hassan S. Ahmed from University of Miami, have co-authored with their mentor, Dr. Georgios C. Anagnostopoulos, a conference paper titled ``An Open Source Framework for Real-time, Incremental, Static and Dynamic Hand Gesture Learning and Recognition'' to be presented at the International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCII 2009) during July 19-24, 2009 in San Diego, California.

Abstract:
Real-time, static and dynamic hand gesture learning and recognition makes it possible to have computers recognize hand gestures naturally. This creates endless possibilities in the way humans can interact with computers, allowing a human hand to be a peripheral by itself. The software framework developed provides a lightweight, robust, and practical application programming interface that helps further research in the area of human-computer interaction. Approaches that have proven in analogous areas such as speech and handwriting recognition were applied to static and dynamic hand gestures. A semi-supervised Fuzzy ARTMAP neural network was used for incremental online learning and recognition of static gestures; and, Hidden Markov models for online recognition of dynamic gestures. A simple anticipatory method was implemented for determining when to update key frames allowing the framework to work with dynamic backgrounds.

Our new 2009 recruinting poster is out!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2009-02-18 10:00:00

We have just released our 2009 recruiting campaign poster, flier and pull-up display. Feel free to check them out, download them and distribute then to your friends and colleagues. These material can be accessed through our Promotional Material page under our Showcase.

AMALTHEA 2009 application period starts...
Posted by Webmaster on: 2009-02-01 09:00:00

We are happy to announce that the AMALTHEA REU Program is starting today to accept applications for its 2009 summer experience. The application period will be open until Monday, March 30th.

In order to apply, please register first with the website on the Signup page. Once you login you will be able to access your application form.

Best of luck with your applications!

Paper presented at the 2008 IEEE-CIG!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-12-20 00:00:00

Former 2008 AMALTHEA REU participants, Jessica Sparks from Purdue University and Roberto Miguez from university of Central Florida have co-authored with their mentors, John Reeder and Prof. Michael Georgiopoulos, a conference paper titled ``An Open Source Framework for Real-time, Incremental, Static and Dynamic Hand Gesture Learning and Recognition'' that was presented by John Reeder at the 2008 IEEE Symposium on Computational Intelligence and Games (CIG 2008) in Perth, Australia, during December 15-18, 2008.

Abstract:
As the realism in games continues to increase, through improvements in graphics and 3D engines, more focus is placed on the behavior of the simulated agents that inhabit the simulated worlds. The agents in modern video games must become more life-like in order to seem to belong in the environments they are portrayed in. Many modern artificial intelligence approaches achieve a high level of realism but this is accomplished through significant developer time spent scripting the behaviors of the Non-Playable Characters or NPCs. These agents will behave in a believable fashion in the scenarios they have been programmed for, but do not have the ability to adapt to new situations. In this paper we introduce a modularized, real-time evolution training technique to evolve adaptable agents with life-like behaviors. Online performance during evolution is also improved by using selection mechanisms found in temporal difference learning methods to appropriately balance the exploration and exploitation of control policies. These methods are implemented and tested using the XNA framework producing very promising results regarding efficiency of techniques, and demonstrating many potential avenues for further research.

End of the 2008 AMALTHEA Program
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-07-19 00:00:00

Yesterday was the last day of the 2008 summer experience. The Project Staff would like to sincerely thank all the people that contributed to yet another successful year of the Program and wishes the out-of-town student participants a safe return back home. So long, AMALTEHA 2008!

Symposium of the 2008 AMALTHEA Program
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-07-18 00:00:00

Today the 2008 AMALTHEA Program is having its Symposium at Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, FL. The Symposium will be attended by the 2008 student participants, the Project Staff, the Program's Advisory Board, school dignitaries and guests.

The 2008 AMALTHEA Symposium in a week's time...
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-07-11 00:00:00

This is a reminder that in a week from today, namely on Friday, July 2008, the 2008 AMALTHEA Program will be hosting its Symposium at FIT in Melbourne. In case you would like to attend it as a guest, please let us know, so we can accommodate you. We will be happy to see you there!

The 2008 summer experience starts today!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-05-12 00:00:00

Today marks the official starting date of the 2008 summer experience. The Project Staff would like to welcome all new participant students to the host universities, FIT in Melbourne and UCF in Orlando.

Remain up to date and informed about the Program's activities by visiting our Calendar. If you would like to drop by and join us in any activities, please let us know. We always enjoy good company!

The 2008 students have been selected!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-04-12 00:00:00

We are happy to announce that the 2008 Program has just finished selecting its student participants. See who is part of the 2008 summer experience at Participant Students. The Project Staff would like to congratulate the new participants and state that it is eager to work with them during this year's summer experience.

The 2008 application period has ended!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-03-31 00:00:00

The Program has officially stopped accepting participation applications from students for its 2008 summer experience. The Project Staff would like to sincerely thank all applicants for considering the AMALTHEA Program. It also wishes to thank all recommenders for their valuable time that they took for supplying letters for our applicants.

In the next few days the Project Staff will be reviewing all received applications and making decisions. We will contact you whether you will be accepted or not into this year's program. Best of luck!

Last day to apply!
Posted by Webmaster on: 2008-03-30 00:00:00

Today is the last day for student applicants to complete and, finally, submit their applications. If you haven't done so already, please submit your application as soon as possible. The system will accepting applications until 23:59 EST today.

Amy et alia win Best Paper award at EvoMUSART 2008!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-03-29 00:00:01

Amy Hoover (2007 AMALTHEA student participant), Michael P. Rosario (graduate student), and their advisor Dr. Kenneth O. Stanley (2007 AMALTHEA mentor) eventually managed to win the Best Paper paper award at the EvoMUSART 2008 Conference! (see related News Item of March 3rd 2008).

Their paper was selected out of a total of 31 submissions. What makes this specific honor very special, is that it is highly unusual for an undergraduate student to attain such a remarkable distinction at an international event like EvoMUSART!

Awesome achievement! Congratulations to all of you!

One more week left to the deadline...
Posted by Webmaster on: 2008-03-23 00:00:00

For those students that haven't managed to complete their application forms, please hurry; time is running out. Keep in mind that, if you want to be considered for the 2008 Program, you must submit your application by this coming Sunday.

Amy Hoover's paper nominated for Best Paper Award in EvoMUSART 2008!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-03-03 00:10:00

We got word that Amy Hoover's NEAT Drummer paper was nominated for Best Paper Award at the EvoMUSART 2008 Conference!

She co-authored the paper with her faculty mentor, Dr. Kenneth Stanley, and another graduate student (see News Item of 2008-01-09 further below). Apart from her paper, only one other paper was nominated for the same award.

Once again, congratulations, Amy!

One more month left to apply...
Posted by Webmaster on: 2008-03-01 00:00:00

The application deadline is slowly closing in. While you still have enough time to meet the deadline on March 30, it is better to submit your applications relatively soon to avoid any last minute problems.

AMALTHEA is represented at the annual CISE REU Grantees Meeting!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-02-28 00:00:01

Drs. Georgiopoulos and Anagnostopoulos are attending the annual meeting of grantees that are funded ny NSF's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE).

This year's meeting is hosted by University of Texas in Austin on February 28 and 29, 2008. AMALTHEA will be one of the 49 active REU sites supported by CISE represented at the event. The meeting itself provides an opportunity to the community of REU Principal Investigators to discuss common-interest issues and exchange ideas.

Finally, during the meeting there will be a poster competition, where each REU Site will showcase its best poster. The AMALTHEA Staff selected the poster of Andrew Stiles, Brandon Schmitt & Tad Gertz (view here) to represent the Program. For more details on their work please visit the Research Projects page.

New section featuring additional photos from last year's activities.
Posted by Webmaster on: 2008-02-08 01:20:00

We've just added a photos section under the Other Products page, which features additional pictures from last year's Symposium, as well as pictures from other activities. The photos will be only accessible to returning 2007 participants and Advisory Board members.

Anna Koufakou, Kel Cardona et alia have their IJCNN'08 paper accepted
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-02-05 08:00:00

Good news keep on coming: Anna Koufakou, Kel Cardona and others have their IJCNN 2008 paper (part of the WCCI 2008 congress) accepted for publication and presentation:

Koufakou, A., Secretan, J., Reeder, J., Cardona, K., Georgiopoulos, M. (2008). ``Fast Parallel Outlier Detection for Categorical Datasets using MapReduce'', to appear in the Proceedings of the IEEE-INNS-ENNS International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN 2008), part of the 5th World Congress on Computational Intelligence (WCCI 2008), Hong Kong, China, June 1-6, 2008.

Koufakou and her collaborators applied the MapReduce framework to develop and characterize fast outlier detection algorithms. Congratulations to all of you!

The new 2008 flyer and poster revealed today!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-01-30 23:10:00

We are very excited to announce that we have just released the new promotional material for the 2008 advertising campaign and made them available on the Promotional Material page under our Showcase. Please make sure to check them out!

New RSS feature went live today!
Posted by Webmaster on: 2008-01-30 22:50:00

Starting today our site offers RSS 2.0 syndication of all our news and announcements. Just subscribe to our RSS feed using your favorite news reader (like Google Reader) and the news will, literally, come to you! It is the simplest way to stay updated on important announcements, whether these are about the application process or the Program's major activities and accomplishments.

Jason Beck and Maria Garcia's paper to FLAIRS 2008 gets accepted!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-01-28 00:10:00

More good news: Jason's and Maria's backward adjusting algorithm paper to FLAIRS 2008 was accepted:

Beck, J., Garcia, M., Zhong, M., Georgiopoulos, M., Anagnostopoulos, G.C. (2008). ``A Backward Adjusting Strategy and Optimization of the C4.5 Parameters to Improve C4.5's Performance'', to appear in the Proceedings of the 21st International Florida Artificial Intelligence Research Society (FLAIRS) Conference (FLAIRS 2008), Coconut Grove, Florida, USA, May 15-17, 2008.

Maria and Jason co-authored their paper with their graduate mentor, Mingyu Zhong, and their faculty mentor, Prof. Michael Georgiopoulos, and was based on their research during the 2007 AMALTHEA summer experience.

Congratulations to both of you!

Application period started!
Posted by Webmaster on: 2008-01-28 00:00:00

Today the AMALTHEA Program starts accepting applications for its 2008 summer experience. This year's on-line application interface has been significantly revamped and we hope that you will find it quite user friendly. In order to apply, please register first with the website on the Signup page. Once you login you will be able to access your application form.

By the way, if you have any ideas on how we can improve our application interface or process, please let us know.

Application period dates announced!
Posted by Webmaster on: 2008-01-20 12:23:00

The AMALTHEA Program officially announces today its call for participation into the 2008 summer experience. Applications will be accepted only on-line starting on Monday, January 28 and ending Sunday, March 30. Participation offers will be extended to applicants on a rolling basis. Therefore, if you are interested and eligible, we urge you to apply as soon as possible. Have questions? Visit our FAQ pages.

Slightly new look, but revamped content!
Posted by Webmaster on: 2008-01-20 12:06:00

Let us introduce you to our new look. We recently gave the web page an initial, slight face lift and we are still working on improving its looks. Most importantly, we also added lots of material from the 2007 Program. Thus, make sure you check out the our Showcase.

Amy Hoover's EvoMUSART 2008 paper gets accepted!
Posted by Project Staff on: 2008-01-09 00:00:00

Recently, Amy Hoover, one of our 2007 participants, had one her papers accepted by the EvoMUSART 2008 workshop:

Hoover, A.K., Rosario, P.M., and Stanley, K.O. (2008) ``Scaffolding for Interactively Evolving Novel Drum Tracks for Existing Songs,'' to appear in the Proceedings of the 6th European Workshop on Evolutionary and Biologically Inspired Music, Sound, Art and Design (EvoMUSART 2008), part of the European Workshops on the Theory and Applications of Evolutionary Computation (EvoWorkshops 2008), Napoli, Italy, March 26-28, 2008.

The paper, which she has co-authored with her faculty mentor, Dr. Stanley, is based on her research she did during the 2007 AMALTHEA Program on evolving drum beats via neural networks.

Congrats, Amy!