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News Release
- July 10, 2009
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Carnegie Mellon’s Carlos Guestrin Wins Presidential Early Career Award
PITTSBURGH—Carlos Guestrin, Finmeccanica Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Machine Learning in Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science, has won a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers.
Guestrin is among 100 recipients announced Thursday by the White House. They will receive their awards at a White House ceremony this fall. He was nominated for the honor by the Department of Defense, which had recognized him last year with the Office of Naval Research’s Young Investigator Award.
“These extraordinarily gifted young scientists and engineers represent the best in our country,” President Obama said. “With their talent, creativity and dedication, I am confident that they will lead their fields in new breakthroughs and discoveries and help us use science and technology to lift up our nation and our world.”
The PECASE program recognizes scientists and engineers who, early in their careers, show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of knowledge. “I am pleased to see that Carlos has received such a prestigious award,” said Randal E. Bryant, dean of the School of Computer Science. “Carlos has already made major contributions to the theory and application of machine learning. He is also a great educator, and he has helped make the School of Computer Science better in many different ways.”
Guestrin’s long-term research interest is developing efficient algorithms and methods for designing, analyzing and controlling complex real-world systems. His Cascades algorithm, for instance, is a powerful tool for gathering the most information with the least amount of effort, whether it is determining the number and placement of sensors for monitoring water quality in lakes, or deciding which blogs to read to get news as quickly as possible.
A painter, Guestrin also explores the intersection of computer science and art. Last semester, he and an art professor co-taught “New Media Installation: Art That Learns,” an interdisciplinary class in which students created interactive installations that incorporated the learning ability of computers.
Among the honors that Guestrin has received is this year’s Computers and Thought Award, a prestigious award for young investigators in the field of artificial intelligence presented by the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI). He will accept the award and present a lecture July 14 at the IJCAI 2009 meeting in Pasadena, California.
Last year, Popular Science magazine named Guestrin to its annual “Brilliant 10” list of young researchers. He holds the Finmeccanica Chair in Computer Science for 2009-2011, which is awarded to outstanding young faculty members in the School of Computer Science. He has been recognized by the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER), the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, the IBM Faculty Fellowship and the Siebel Scholarship.
Guestrin is a member of the Information Sciences and Technology (ISAT) advisory group for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
A native of Brazil, Guestrin earned a Mechatronics Engineer degree from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1999 and a Ph.D. in computer science at Stanford University in 2003. He was a senior researcher at the Intel Research Berkeley lab before joining the Carnegie Mellon faculty in 2004.
Contact:
Byron Spice
412.268.9068
bspice@cs.cmu.edu
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About Carnegie Mellon: Carnegie Mellon is a private research university with a
distinctive mix of programs in engineering, computer science, robotics, business,
public policy, fine arts and the humanities. More than 10,000 undergraduate and
graduate students receive an education characterized by its focus on creating
and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration,
and innovation. A small student-to-faculty ratio provides an opportunity for
close interaction between students and professors. While technology is pervasive
on its 144-acre Pittsburgh campus, Carnegie Mellon is also distinctive among
leading research universities for the world-renowned programs in its College of
Fine Arts. A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Silicon Valley, Calif.,
and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia and Europe.
For more, see www.cmu.edu.
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