Computer Science Class of ’60s Colloquium

Computer Science Class of ’60s Speaker

Joshua Smith ’91
Milton and Delia Zeutschel Professor
Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Washington Seattle

“Connecting Physical and Digital: Computer Science Research Challenges”

This talk will provide more technical descriptions of several of my lab’s research projects, with a focus on computer science research challenges and opportunities. I will describe our work on backscatter communication, including ambient backscatter, analog backscatter, and single sideband backscatter. I will also discuss computer systems challenges in designing ultra-low power energy harvesting systems. Finally, I will discuss some of our work on sensing and perception for robotics.

Joshua R. Smith is the Milton and Delia Zeutschel Professor in the Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he leads the Sensor Systems research group. He was named an Allen Distinguished Investigator by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and he is the thrust leader for Communications and Interface in the NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering. 

In recent years his research has focused on wirelessly powering and communicating with sensor systems in applications such implanted biomedical electronics, ubiquitous computing, and robotics. Previously, he co-invented an electric field sensing system for suppressing unsafe airbag firing that is included in every Honda car. Three startup companies have spun out of his lab: Jeeva Wireless, Wibotic, and Proprio. He received B.A. degrees in Computer Science and Philosophy from Williams College, an M.A. in physics from Cambridge University thanks to a Herchel Smith Scholarship from Williams, and the Ph.D. and S.M. degrees from MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms (formerly the Media Lab’s Physics and Media group).