Wednesday / CS Seminar

January 24th / 12:00 PM

Hybrid / Mudd 3514

Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/97948319511?pwd=SEgzSWVWSTUwOWdLMHJFZ0k3dTFRZz09

Panopto: https://northwestern.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=d6cbb5cc-20e9-45a1-9bd1-b0fc0108dbdb

Speaker

Nivedita Arora, Northwestern University

Talk Title

Sustainable Internet of Things: Rethinking the Electronic Lifecycle from an Environmental Lens

Abstract

Mark Weiser, 30 years ago, laid the foundation for ubiquitous computing by imagining everyday things with computational functionalities that 'disappear' into the environment. As we rapidly move towards a world with a trillion internet-connected devices, we need to move beyond just functionality and deeply think about even the disappearance of their environmental impacts. With this vision in mind, I build sustainable computational materials by rethinking the computing stack from the bottom up, going beyond off-the-shelf device components, and co-designing across novel materials, fabrication methods, low-power circuits, and industrial design. To illustrate this, I will provide an example of an easy-to-retrofit, inexpensive, battery-free sticky note that can wirelessly sense acoustic vibrations and provide feedback. I discuss the potential application of sustainable stickers in interaction sensing, mobile health, and infrastructure monitoring. I will conclude by laying a path forward for systems, toolkits, and applications that help progress the ambitious research agenda of sustainable computational materials throughout their full lifecycle - production, operation, and reuse or disposal.

Biography

Nivedita Arora is Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Allen K. and Johnnie Cordell Breed Junior Professor of Design at Mccormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. Previously, she received her Ph.D. in Computer Science, advised by Gregory Abowd and Thad Starner from Georgia Tech, and did her Post Doc with Josiah Hester. Her research envisions creating computing systems with a sustainability-first approach for their entire lifecycle -- (1) eco-friendly materials/manufacturing, (2) battery-free system operation (3) responsible end-of-the-lifecycle disposal/reuse. For this, she works at the intersection of device fabrication, low-power systems, and design. She also actively applies my work to application domains like smart home control, health, accessibility, biodiversity, and urban infrastructure monitoring. Her research has been recognized with two best papers (ACM IMWUT, ACM SenSys-ENSsys), two best poster awards, and research highlights in Communications of the ACM and SIGMOBILE's GetMobile Magazine. In addition, she has received the ACM UbiComp Gaetano Borriello Outstanding Student Award, GT Foley Scholar, Outstanding GRA award in GT's College of Computing, Rising Stars in EECS, and GT's Faces of Inclusive Excellence.

Research Interests/Area

Sustainable Computing