[FRIAM] Fwd: Recent CMU Research for COVID-19 Response

[George Duncan]

Important contributions

George Duncan
Emeritus Professor of Statistics, Carnegie Mellon University
georgeduncanart.com
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My art theme: Dynamic exposition of the tension between matrix order and
luminous chaos.

"Attempt what is not certain. Certainty may or may not come later. It may
then be a valuable delusion."
>From "Notes to myself on beginning a painting" by Richard Diebenkorn.

"It's that knife-edge of uncertainty where we come alive to our truest
power." Joanna Macy.




---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Farnam Jahanian <president at andrew.cmu.edu>
Date: Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 3:55 PM
Subject: Recent CMU Research for COVID-19 Response
To: <gd17 at andrew.cmu.edu>


Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon Community:

Our community continues to make a positive impact
<https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2020/april/coronavirus-response.html>
during the worldwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I wish to
express my unending gratitude for how CMU faculty, students and staff have
worked together during this unprecedented time.

We have donated personal protective equipment; activated our manufacturing
expertise and facilities to produce supplies; offered free access to Simon
Initiative and other educational tools; and shared virtual performances
that provide a much-needed creative outlet. We have seen CMU-led research
making significant contributions this week, and I am writing to share just
three examples:

   - Yesterday, the CMU Delphi Research Center launched COVIDCast
   <http://www.covidcast.cmu.edu/>, a site that brings together multiple
   data sources to support COVID-19 forecasting, including Facebook as well as
   Google, Quidel Corp. and a national health system. The site contains five
   interactive maps with real-time information at the national, regional and
   county level. COVIDcast leverages our leadership in machine learning,
   statistics and data science, and builds upon Delphi’s long-standing
   partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I
   remain grateful to the entire Delphi team, led by Ryan Tibshirani,
   associate professor of statistics and machine learning, and Roni Rosenfeld,
   professor and department head of machine learning. They were assisted by
   Jodi Forlizzi, director and professor of human-computer interaction, who
   led the team that created the data visualizations. This project has
   garnered much attention from CNN
   <https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/us-coronavirus-update-04-23-20/h_473c68f3d0cea263896b85e12aec7d13>,
   Wired
   <https://www.wired.com/story/survey-data-facebook-google-map-covid-19-carnegie-mellon/>,
   CNET
   <https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-maps-out-coronavirus-symptoms-across-us/?ftag=COS-05-10aaa0b&TheTime=2020-04-20T13%3A20%3A50&PostType=link&ServiceType=twitter&UniqueID=C0DED558-8309-11EA-816D-B2D4923C408C>,
   NBC News,
   <https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-releases-county-county-maps-covid-19-symptoms-n1187506>
The
   Verge
   <https://www.theverge.com/facebook/2020/4/20/21227347/facebook-symptom-tracker-survey-carnegie-mellon-global-expansion-ppe-ml-ai-mark-zuckerberg>,
   Popular Mechanics
   <https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a32240823/cmu-facebook-google-covid-19-symptom-tracking/>,
   and Gizmodo
   <https://gizmodo.com/carnegie-mellon-and-facebook-have-turned-covid-19-data-1842961114?utm_medium=sharefromsite&utm_source=gizmodo_twitter>,
   among others. This effort builds on earlier work done through our
   collaboration with Facebook, which was highlighted in Mark
Zuckerberg’s *Washington
   Post* op-ed
   <https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/20/how-data-can-aid-fight-against-covid-19/>
   and Good Morning America interview
   <https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/mark-zuckerberg-explains-plans-facebook-health-surveys-research/story?id=70238069>.



   - On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that the state
   is partnering with Carnegie Mellon on a dashboard tool
   <https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2020/april/dashboard-will-help-inform-state-decision-makers.html>
   to help policymakers make informed plans for re-opening the state’s
   economy. Our data-driven tool is the result of collaboration by economists,
   policy experts and scientists from the Tepper School of Business, the Heinz
   College and the School of Computer Science as well as a number of experts
   from across the university who are highlighted on this site
   <https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2020/april/dashboard-will-help-inform-state-decision-makers.html>.
   The administration will use this dashboard to better understand the
   inherent risks and benefits to re-opening certain businesses and industry
   areas. I am grateful to Dean Ramayya Krishnan of the Heinz College for
   leading this effort.


   - Finally, Po-Shen Loh, professor of mathematical sciences, has brought
   together a team, including many CMU students and alumni working in
   mathematics, human-computer interaction, computer science and information
   security, to develop NOVID
   <https://www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-events/2020/0417_novid-app.html>, an
   innovative contact tracing app that uses ultrasound technology to
   anonymously and reliably track exposure to COVID-19. Using this technology
   to measure the distance between two people is proving to be more effective
   than other Bluetooth-enabled apps on the market. This app, awaiting
   approval in the Google Play Store with an iOS version under development, is
   currently being beta-tested. This effort shows incredible promise to
   improve and accelerate the testing, tracing and isolation strategy that is
   key to slowing the spread of COVID-19 and safely restarting our economy.

Like so many other institutions across society, Carnegie Mellon is being
tested like never before, but the world is looking to us to provide
innovative solutions to the various challenges we now face. I am truly
inspired by, and grateful for, the CMU researchers, faculty, staff and
students who are stepping up to answer the call and showcase our nimble
leadership at the intersection of technology and humanity.

Wishing you all a restful weekend and continued good health,
Farnam

Farnam Jahanian
President
Henry L. Hillman President’s Chair
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