In the News

Note: Some media outlets require users to log-in. The Gordon Library offers the WPI community free access to a number of newspapers. Visit newspaper database for details.  

Preview News Image

WPI researcher provides expertise and context in The New York Times on AT&T data breach

“When you move your IT infrastructure to the cloud, suddenly you’re in a place that is shared with a bunch of other people, and it becomes much trickier… There are many more ways in which potential attacks can be done.”  Professor Patrick Schaumont in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering provided analysis for The New York Times on the AT&T breach involving the data of more than 100 million phone customers. He discussed the potential risks of shared IT infrastructure in the cloud. The article also appeared on MSN. He was also quoted on the national security concerns raised by the data breach in an article on CBS News that was posted on yahoo! News and AOL.

Read the report in The New York Times
Worcester Business Journal
Industry advocates seek to turn Central Mass. into a leader in bioindustrial engineering

WPI is highlighted as one of the major forces behind developing a bioindustrial manufacturing hub in Central Massachusetts. Eric Young, assistant professor of chemical engineering told the Worcester Business Journal “We can leverage what Massachusetts is great at, and map it to a broader bioindustrial landscape. We can use the strong base we already have, and add in a few extra pieces.” 

Pittsburgh Post Gazette
WPI Chemical Engineer Receives $2M to Speed, Ease Genetic Engineering

More than 150 media outlets, including The Oklahoman and The Pittsburg Post-Gazette, reported on Eric Young, Leonard P. Kinnicutt Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at WPI, who received four separate grants totaling more than $2 million to support his research into using yeast and fungi to take on significant genetic engineering challenges. Through his research in synthetic biology, Young aims to engineer organisms to make it easier to develop numerous products, like medicines, biofuels, and plastics, and increase security by developing a new method to detect hidden underground explosives.

Worcester Business Journal
WPI, UMass Lowell team to support $111K in research

The Worcester Business Journal reported on WPI and the University of Massachusetts Lowell partnering to award more than $111,000 in seed funding to six different teams, focusing on work ranging from human-robot collaboration to cancer detection and rehabilitation for stroke patients.

Telegram.com
WPI Team Helping to Develop Technology to Detect GMOs in Wild

In this article, the Telegram & Gazette reported on Eric Young, assistant professor of chemical engineering, being part of a team developing a biosecurity tool that can detect engineered microorganisms based on their unique DNA signatures. “There’s this huge change in how civilization works” thanks to the advent of GMOs, he told the T&G, “and the dream is that it’s a much more sustainable way of producing things.”