Ingrid Burbey

Ph.D., Computer Engineering, May 2011

Program Coordinator, Ted & Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology

My Professional Webpage

Fellow (2004-2006), Integrated Research and Education in Advanced Networking (NSF)
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

Email: iburbey AT vt DOT edu

What I Study

 I'm fascinated by pervasive (aka ubiquitous) computing. It's all about bringing the advantages of technology to those in the population who may not be comfortable sitting down in front of a PC. It's making the technology comfortable to everybody - and maybe so comfortable that they don't even notice it.

My research topic is about being able to predict where people are going. When I tell this to people, many of them look at me and exclaim, "That's Big Brother!" But then I explain that it's not big brother -- I'm not tracking them, in fact, I'm trying to replace tracking systems with a private system that can give suggestions about where you can be found, or help you organize your life with useful reminders or recommendations, or to help the disadvantaged population -- the elderly or mentally challenged or the distracted -- get through their daily life easier. Once I explain all that, my listeners respond with "Hey, I need that!"

Here is my latest summary of my research.

Journal Publications

Conference & Workshop Publications

Book Chapters

Unpublished Papers

Fall 2011

New Job

Kick Your B-EUDY 5K

Spring 2011

I ran in the 2011 Boston Marathon. It was AWESOME!!!. A week later, I successfully defended and my PhD was awarded in May 2011!

Fall 2010

It took some fierce mouse-clicking, but I beat the masses and registered for the 2011 Boston Marathon. No time to think about that though, as I am spread way too thin trying to finish my dissertation, work for the Hume Center for National Security and Technology and the OSSIE project.

Summer 2010

 I am still trying to graduate, but it's looking good. I'm starting a new job working on the Core Framework of the OSSIE project. Hopefully, this job will transition from GRA->post-doc->Research Scientist. The story of how I got the job is a hoot, but the job itself is pretty cool because it uses almost every aspect of my education and experience.

Spring 2010

 I am going to graduate (or die trying!) I'm also a GRA for Dr. Tront.

In November 2009, I ran 3:57 in the Richmond Marathon, which qualifies me to run the Boston Marathon. Hopefully, I will do that in April 2011.

Summer 2009

After an introspective spring coping with my sister's diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and her passing, I'm back to focusing on school and writing the dissertation.

I probably need a part-time job, but it has to involve working with people, as the research and dissertation is such a solo endeavor.

"You eventually learn that true priorities are like arms; if you think you have more than a couple, you're either lying or crazy." (from here) I agree, so I'm focusing on finishing my Ph.D. and training for the next marathon.

Fall 2008

I'm taking a leave of absence from school to consult for Intralot designing Lottery terminals. I love this job.

This is my third year as an assistant coach for the Blacksburg High School Cross-Country team. I've really cut back on my role this year and Marathon plans are on hold until I have more free time (but I'm still hoping to run Boston in the next few years).

Summer 2008

I got a paper accepted at The First ACM International Workshop on Mobile Entity Localization and Tracking in GPS-less Environments (MELT 2008), which is part of Mobicomm 2008 in San Francisco.

Along with Triiip Bowen and Tom Martin, I have contributed a chapter in a book called "Location Based Services Handbook: Applications, Technologies, and Security," to be published by CRC Press in late 2008. [Update: The book has been delayed until 20xx.]

I finished the marathon in 4 hours and 6 minutes, which is about 14 minutes better than I expected to finish and 6 minutes away from qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I may need to run another marathon; I'm considering Richmond.

Spring 2008

This semester (Spring 2008), I'm helping catalog sites for an Engineering Education website called Engineering Pathway. It's pretty cool; check it out.

I've always heard that a Ph.D. is like a marathon, so I've decided to put the quote to the test and run the Country Music Marathon in April.

A little news from Qualcomm (Jan 2007):

Congratulations on your selection as a recipient of the 2006-07 QUALCOMM "Q Award of Excellence"! We are excited to be able to provide you with an award that will enhance your academic experience. We received hundreds of applications from students around the country. You should truly feel proud to be recognized as one of the top engineering students in the nation.

Biographical Sketch

I'm a Ph.D. student in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. I expect to complete my Ph.D. degree in Computer Engineering someday. My research focuses on predicting where (and when) mobile users are going. My advisor is Dr. Tom Martin.

I received my B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1982 and my M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1991. My Master's thesis was funded by the Department of Energy. I am a member of IEEE, SWE and Tau Beta Pi.

I am taking a break from my consulting business to pursue my Ph.D. I have been self-employed programming embedded systems for the lottery industry, working for the California State Lottery, the Virginia Lottery, GTECH, AWI (now part of SciGames) and others.

Courses I've Taken at Virginia Tech (in reverse chronological order)

Contact Information

Last updated (slightly): 15 November, 2011