Jules White

August 17, 2010 — Jules White joined the ECE faculty this month as an assistant professor. He comes to Virginia Tech from Vanderbilt University, where he was a research assistant professor. White received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt in 2008 and his M.S. in 2006. He earned a BA from Brown in 2001.

Cyber-Physical Systems

White’s research focus is cyber-physical systems, which are systems with closely linked computational and physical aspects. This emerging field is rooted in embedded systems but focuses on the interactions between the physical and computational aspects.

In a soon-to-appear journal article in the IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering Special Issue on Search-based Software Engineering, White presents a search-based software technique for helping researchers find solutions to the complicated maximization problems that arise when designing systems with both hardware and software considerations. This technique, called the Allocation-baSed Configuration Exploration Technique (ASCENT), provides solutions that deviate from the optimal solution by an average of five percent or less.

Other Research

White’s other research interests include deployment and configuration optimization, mobile computing, model-driven engineering, distributed systems and cloud computing, and autonomic computing. Some of his most recent conference publications focus on new uses for smartphones, such as using smartphones to detect car accidents.

Artistic Escapades

Also a painter, White has had his work appear in the Cambridge Art Association’s 2002 National Prize Show, the Summit Gallery in Fairhope, AL, the Kathryn Shultz Gallery in Cambridge, MA, and the University Place Gallery in Cambridge, MA. More information about his artistic endeavors and some of his artwork can be found at americanartists.org

White serves as the Director of Design and Technology for the Christopher Isherwood Foundation, a group dedicated to promoting and helping writers, and the Art Editor and Webmaster for the American Center for Artists, an online magazine.