Binghamton University student receives Graduate Excellence in Research Award

BINGHAMTON, NY (05/18/2012)(readMedia)-- Each year, Binghamton University recognizes research excellence by graduate students with a set of awards designed to recognize the wide variety of approaches to the advancement of knowledge on the Binghamton campus and the important role played by graduate students in research at the University.

Steven Loscalzo of Johnson City, NY, who is pursuing studies in computer science, has received a Graduate Student Excellence in Research award from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

Loscalzo was recognized for his research, which has contributed to one of the holy grails in artificial intelligence: software agents that can learn to make decisions in complex, real-world environments. He works to turn raw information into usable knowledge in diverse fields such as computational biology and intelligent software agents. Tackling one key challenge – the large number of input features that must be analyzed by domain experts or software agents – Loscalzo has developed methods that reliably select relevant features for various domains. He has also built software that allows for paperless grading of assignments within the Department of Computer Science. Advancing to the pinnacle in his research field at an extraordinary pace, he has one refereed journal article under revision, six refereed conference papers and one technical report, serving as the lead author in most cases. He has also been a reviewer for five conferences and is called "one of the most creative, persistent and productive students" in the department.

Binghamton University is one of the four university centers of the State University of New York. Known for the excellence of its students, faculty, staff and programs, Binghamton enrolls close to 15,000 students in programs leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. Its curriculum, founded in the liberal arts, has expanded to include selected professional and graduate programs.