Professor wins Google Focused Research Award

Computer science professor Deborah Estrin has been named one of the recipients of the first-ever Google Focused Research Awards. Estrin, director of the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS), is leading efforts to develop mobile phones into powerful data collection devices for public health and environmental monitoring.  

"This award will be extremely helpful in supporting our research and experimentation in the use of participatory sensing as a tool for personal, community, and environmental health," Estrin said. "It comes to us at a critical time, as CENS' core funding from the National Science Foundation draws to a close, and as we seek partnerships and resources to launch much larger efforts in the development and application of participatory sensing."

The funding will support CENS' research in technology and applications for participatory sensing - which takes advantage of the widespread proliferation of mobile devices such as cell phones, and allows the public to use them to gather, analyze, and share data from their surroundings. CENS has collaborated with partners, both at UCLA and in the community, to bring many innovations in participatory sensing to life.

Google announced awards to 12 projects at 10 U.S. universities on February 2. The awards are for two to three years, and the recipients will have the advantage of access to Google tools, technologies, and expertise.

"Google's open source approach to mobile applications, and in particular their Android operating system, is a key enabler and very compatible with our work," Estrin said.

The award amount is $300,000 over two years, with the possibility of an additional $150,000.