ACMACM has named Scott Aaronson the recipient of the 2020 ACM Prize in Computing for his pioneering contributions to quantum computing. Aaronson helped develop the concept of quantum supremacy, which is when a quantum device is able to solve a problem that classical computers cannot solve in a reasonable amount of time. The University of Texas at Austin professor established many theoretical precepts of quantum supremacy experiments, and has researched how such experiments could facilitate the […]

Max Planck Gessellschaft (Germany)A free Web application designed by researchers at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) and the University Medical Center Göttingen can calculate the risk of coronavirus infection indoors. The app employs a method called HEADS (Human Emission of Aerosol and Droplet Statistics) to calculate infection risk via aerosols. Users input a few parameters, like the size of a room, how many people are present, and whether they are […]

The Washington PostThe U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a campaign to eliminate hacker access to hundreds of U.S.-based servers exposed by a bug in Microsoft Exchange software discovered earlier this year. The flaw gave hackers back doors into the servers of at least 30,000 U.S. organizations. Although the number of vulnerable servers have been reduced, attackers have already installed malware on thousands to open a separate route of […]

The New York TimesThe Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is working to eliminate computer engineering terms that evoke racist history, including "master," "slave," "whitelist," and "blacklist." Some companies and technology organizations already have started changing some of these technical terms, raising concerns about consistency as the effort has stalled amid conversations about the history of slavery and racism in technology. IETF's Lars Eggert said he hopes guidance on terminology will […]

Carnegie Mellon UniversityA snake-like robot developed by Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) researchers can move smoothly and precisely while submerged in water. Developed with a grant from the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute, the Hardened Underwater Modular Robot Snake could be used to help the military inspect ships, submarines, and infrastructure for damage while at sea, saving time and money by not needing to wait until a ship enters its home port or dry dock. CMU’s Nate […]