Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Taaz.com in the news

A Jacobs School algorithm for gloss removal from images led to the virtual makeover Web startup Taaz.com where anyone can upload their photo and apply makup and try out new hairstyles. The cutting-edge computer vision technologies developed at UC San Diego are at the heart of the technology.

The Rocky Mountain news just wrote about Taaz.com in a story that recently came out of the Colorado Software & Internet Association DEMOGala.

Also, Taaz.com co-founder and Jacobs School computer science professor David Kriegman recently won CONNECT’s Most Innovative New Product (MIP) award for software and information technology.

Watch the Jacobs School virtual makeover video I put together last spring for the Taaz.com launch below:


Friday, December 19, 2008

Citizen Engineer...a new book from Jacobs School alum

Citizen Engineer is a new book, co-written by Greg Papadopoulos, a Jacobs School alum and chief technology officer for Sun Microsystems.

According to a recent story about the book and its authors in the Mercury News
,
engineering isn't just engineering anymore. In the 21st century, members of the engineering profession must confront issues of environmental sustainability, intellectual property, economics and their own responsibilities as citizens of a global community.

"The book is part primer and part argument. The authors say they wrote it for engineering students, professors and working engineers who, in Papadopolous' words, 'have that idea that maybe they need to think more about what they're doing,'" according to the Mercury News story.

Papadopoulos is the chair of the Jacobs School of Engineering's Council of Advisors.

The Council of Advisors to the Dean of the Jacobs School is comprised of industry leaders who provide: advice and council to help the Jacobs School best serve the San Diego region, the State of California, and the nation; contacts with business, government, and community to advance the mission of the School; help in identifying and acquiring resources in support of the School's goals and programs. Meet the Council of Advisors here

"Citizen Engineer" was co-written by Greg Papadopoulos and David Douglas, both electrical engineers and computer scientists who are, respectively, chief technology officer and chief sustainability officer for Sun. Papadopoulos is responsible for Sun's research and development efforts, while Douglas coordinates environmental programs and heads the company's cloud computing and developer platforms division.