Professor Alan Marchiori joined the Bucknell University Computer Science department in the fall of 2013. Previously, he was a Senior Research Scientist at the United Technologies Research Center (UTRC). Some of his projects included wireless health monitoring systems for aircraft (Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk), novel energy monitoring and diagnostics for commercial HVAC equipment (Carrier and Automated Logic), and next-generation secure smartphone-based electronic locks (Supra and Onity).

Relevant products from United Technologies.

Prior to joining UTRC, Alan earned his Ph.D. in Mathematical and Computer Sciences from the Colorado School of Mines (2011). His dissertation focused on developing and applying wireless sensor networks inside buildings to first monitor and then minimize energy consumption. He is passionate about this topic because the need to drastically improve the performance and efficiency of our buildings is clear and there is a wealth of low-cost ubiquitous computing technologies becoming available.

Temperature Plot of a single floor with steep gradients .

Professor Marchiori has always worked at the intersection of hardware and software with the goal of making computer systems smarter. For several years, he worked in industry as both a Software Engineer and a Hardware Design Engineer in the vending industry. He supported an RFID-based cashless payment system and a wireless networking solution for processing credit card transactions on vending machines.

MEI bill validator with credit card reader (and overpriced drinks).

To explore the idea of building “smart” systems, he was a research assistant in the machine learning laboratory at Purdue University while he earned his M.S. in Computer Engineering from 2000-2002. This work pioneered the use of content-based image retrieval (CBIR) to assist with processing computed tomography (CT) images. The system would analyze a patient’s CT scans and retrieve visually similar images from a library of known diagnoses. The doctor could then use these similar images for reference to help arrive at a diagnosis for the current patient.

Small, high-quality liberal arts schools are not new to Professor Marchiori. In 2000, he graduated from Lafayette College with a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He believes the student-centered learning environment that is possible only with this type of school is ideal for developing the skills needed to be successful in Computer Science and Engineering.

He looks forward to getting to know the Bucknell students and helping to guiding them through their studies. He will be teaching Computer Architecture (CSCI320) and Introduction to Computer Science (CSCI203) this fall. He also plans to continue his research on novel uses of technology in buildings to monitor and reduce energy consumption. This could be anything from designing new occupancy sensors (e.g., multi-modal distributed sensing video, IR, acoustic) to developing smartphone applications that facilitate participatory sensing in buildings (e.g., click the I’m cold/hot button and the building responds). He encourages any interested and motivated students to stop by his office (Breakiron 268) to learn how they can get involved.