By Nicole Capozziello
Published February 2, 2021
Baicheng Chen, a senior computer science major, has been selected as a finalist for the Computing Research Association's 2021 Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award.
“Baicheng received this award because he has shown a strong potential to be an extraordinary researcher in computing research,” says Wenyao Xu, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. “As an undergraduate researcher, he was the first author of one ACM MobiCom paper, and co-authored several papers presented at prestigious venues, such as ACM MobiSys, ACM SenSys and IEEE Oakland. These would be considered as remarkable research achievements for any PhD student in a top CS program.”
In his recent research work, Chen developed a novel battery-less wireless temperature monitoring technology. Millions of wireless temperature sensor units are needed in the global market each year. This innovation brings the possibility of transforming the current practice into a more compact, low-cost and ecological solution.
The Computing Research Award program recognizes undergraduate students from North American colleges and universities who show outstanding research potential in an area of computing research.
According to the selection committee, this year’s nominees were a very impressive group; they made significant contributions to research projects, were authors or coauthors on multiple papers, made presentations at major conferences, and produced software artifacts that were in widespread use. Chen was one of 23 finalists from top computer science programs across the country.
“Unlike taking courses in school, in which answers are definite and given in the back of a textbook, research is about providing a logical solution to the unknown and making things work that no one has done before,” says Chen. “Although coursework serves as the foundation for students to innovate, innovation itself is much more attractive and important for a brighter future.”
Following graduation, Chen plans to pursue a PhD degree in computer science/engineering and continue doing research on wireless sensing and mobile computing.
Xu said, “We hope this recognition will motivate more undergraduate students to participate in computing research from day one at UB.”
The Computing Research Association is supported by Microsoft Research and Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs (MERL), who sponsor the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award program in alternate years. Microsoft Research is the sponsor of this year's awards.