Azer Bestavros, associate provost for computing and data sciences, says the new PhD program will emphasize the ethical and responsible application of computing technology. With its state-of-the-art Center for Computing & Data Sciences scheduled to open in 2022, BU's Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) is now accepting applications for a new cross-disciplinary PhD program, where candidates will be able to work under the guidance of faculty within CDS as well as CDS-affiliated faculty in a domain of their choice. Azer Bestavros, associate provost for computing and data sciences, says PhD students in CDS will have the opportunity to pursue research that stands to impact a variety of disciplines. "That's what computing and data science research does," he says, "so the idea is to have a program where it is possible to marry data science with another discipline. That discipline could be in the social sciences or the humanities or it could be in engineering or life sciences. That will be up to the student."

You are free to share this article under the Attribution 4.0 International license. Machine learning powers a new kind of drone flight controller software, researchers report. After Wil Koch flew a friend's drone for the first time, operating it through "first-person view" where a person wears a headset connected to a video feed streaming live from a camera on the drone, he thought it was amazing. So amazing that he went out that same day and purchased his own system--a video headset, controller, and quadcopter drone, named for the four propellers that power it. "You put the goggles on and they allow you to see live video transmitting from a camera mount on the drone," Koch says.