Category Archives: sabbatical

Fulbright visit to Western Hungary

Győr: Széchenyi tér

At the beginning of April Fulbright Hungary organized a tow-day trip for grantees to Western Hungary. Here are some of my impressions from this trip:

Győr: Our first stop was the Győr campus of the University of West Hungary. University faculty introduced us to their activities in teacher training, language education, art, hospitality management, and leisure management. As it turns out, leisure management is a relatively new idea for Hungary, and the faculty at Győr are leaders in the field.

In the afternoon we went sightseeing. Győr is a fascinating town with beautiful baroque architecture. We had a chance to visit a pharmacy founded in the 1600, which still operates on Széchenyi tér. Fortunately they’ve updated their list of offerings and leaches are no longer available.

Szigetköz: Szigetköz is a beautiful area of islands created by the Danube and its branches. We toured Szigetköz by bus on both days. I really liked our stop on the banks of the Danube just across from Slovakia. I hope to go back to Szigetköz before we return to New Hampshire and spend some time hiking.

Touring Szigetköz – view from our bus

Lipót: Our hotel was in the village of Lipót. Here we also visited a bakery called the Lipóti Pékség. I’m a big fan of bread in general, and of Lipóti Pékség in particular. They have a number of stores in Budapest.

Mosonmagyaróvár: On day two of our trip we visited the Mosonmagyaróvár campus of the University of West Hungary. This visit included an engaging introduction to a food safety lab. One fun fact about Mosonmagyaróvár: it has the highest number of dentists per capita in the world. Many Austrians and other Europeans come here to receive high quality dental treatment at an affordable price.

Having fun at Futura

Futura Science Museum: Our final stop was the Futura Science Museum, which was a lot of fun for kids and adults alike. My favorite exhibit was a long, suspended spring, which can be manually excited to form mechanical waves. The waves propagate along the spring, reflect at the end of the spring, and the reflections travel back to the source. The engineer in me was thrilled. At another neat exhibit visitors pedal stationary bikes and thus generate the electricity to operate race cars zipping around a track in front of them.

As you might imagine our two days flew by very quickly. The person in charge of organizing every detail of this incredibly full and exciting trip was Fulbright Hungary’s Annamária Sas. Thanks Annamária!

You can see more photos from the trip on Flickr.

First lecture in BME autonomous robots and vehicles lab

Today was my first lecture in BME‘s Autonomous Robots and Vehicles Lab (Autonóm robotok és járművek laboratórium). This lab is lead by Bálint Kiss, who is my host during my Fulbright scholarship at in Hungary.

Today’s lecture covered the use of eye trackers in designing human-computer interaction. I talked about our work on in-vehicle human-computer interaction, and drew parallels to human-robot interaction. Tomorrow I’ll introduce the class to our Seeing Machines eye tracker, and in the coming weeks I’ll run a number of lab sections in which the students will conduct short experiments in eye tracking and pupil diameter measurement.

If you speak Hungarian, here’s the overview of today’s lecture (I’m thrilled to be teaching in Hungarian):

Szemkövetők használata az ember-gép interakció értékelésében

A University of New Hampshire kutatói több mint egy évtizede foglalkoznak a járműveken belüli ember-gép interfészekkel. Ez az előadás először egy rövid áttekintést nyújt a rendőr járművekre tervezett Project54 rendszer fejlesztéséről és telepítéséről. A rendszer különböző modalitású felhasználói felületeket biztosít, beleértve a beszéd modalitást. A továbbiakban az előadás beszámol közelmúltban végzett autóvezetés-szimulációs kísérletekről, amelyekben a szimulátor és egy szemkövető adatai alapján becsültük a vezető kognitív terhelését, vezetési teljesítményét, és vizuális figyelmét a külső világra.

Az előadás által a hallgatók betekintést nyernek a szemkövetők használatába az ember-gép interakció értékelésében és tervezésében. Az ember-gép interakció pedig egy központi probléma az autonóm robotok sikeres telepítésében, hiszen az autonóm robotokat nem csak szakértők fogják használni. Ellenkezőleg, ezek a robotok a társadalom minden részében felhasználókra találnak majd. A robotok ilyen széleskörű telepítése csak akkor lehet sikeres, ha az ember-gép interakció elfogadható a felhasználók számára.

Fulbright 2014: Exploring art nouveau in Budapest

On Friday Jennifer and I participated in a tour exploring art nouveau in Budapest. The tour was organized by Fulbright Hungary.

We saw a number of beautiful buildings, including the Geological and Geophysical Institute of Hungary, pictured above. In fact, we had a chance to go inside the Institute building and admire its architecture. Later we also visited the Four Seasons hotel, which is located in the art nouveau Gresham Palace.

Thanks to Annamária Sas of Fulbright Hungary for organizing the tour. You can see more pictures from the tour on Flickr.

2014 Visit to University of Szeged

The home of the Research Group on Artificial Intelligence

Yesterday I visited the University of Szeged. I was there at the invitation of fellow Fulbrighter Mark Jelasity. Mark is a member of the Research Group on Artificial Intelligence. He and I met at a recent event organized by Fulbright Hungary, where Hungarian Fulbright scholars reported on their experiences in the USA.

The primary purpose of my visit was to give a talk at the Institute of Informatics; thanks to Peter Szabó for including my talk in the Institute’s seminar series. I was really excited, as this was the first time in my career that I gave a talk in Hungarian. For fun, here are the Hungarian title and abstract:

Szemkövetők használata autóvezetéses szimulációs kisérletekben

Absztrakt: A University of New Hampshire kutatói több mint egy évtizede foglalkoznak a járműveken belüli ember-gép interfészekkel. Ez az előadás először egy rövid áttekintést nyújt a rendőr járművekre tervezett Project54 rendszer fejlesztéséről és telepítéséről. A rendszer különböző modalitású felhasználói felületeket biztosít, beleértve a beszéd modalitást. A továbbiakban az előadás beszámol közelmúltban végzett autóvezetés-szimulációs kísérletekről, amelyekben a szimulátor és egy szemkövető adatai alapján becsültük a vezető kognitív terhelését, vezetési teljesítményét, és vizuális figyelmét a külső világra.

As part of the visit I had a chance to talk to Mark about his research (see Mark’s Google Scholar profile). Mark’s interest is in distributed learning, which might have fascinating applications in the automotive domain.

Szeged fish soup

My visit was also exciting on a personal level, as I was born in Szeged, and my family often travelled there during my childhood. I walked around the town a bit to reminisce, and Mark treated me to an excellent lunch of fish soup.

See pictures from my trip on Flickr.

Eitan Globerson discusses piano and brain at BME

Yesterday I attended a talk by Eitan Globerson at BME. Professor Globerson is a conductor, pianist, and a brain scientist. His talk explored the brain mechanisms involved in playing the piano. A key mechanism is automaticity, which allows pianists to produce the complex musical sequences at very high tempo. I really enjoyed this talk, with its mix of performing music and discussing brain imaging.

Professon Globerson was hosted by BME professor Bertalan Forstner. Thanks Luca Szegletes for inviting me. See more pictures from the talk on Flickr.

Fulbright Hungary orientation – February 2014

Last week I attended the orientation for the 2014 spring group of American Fulbright grantees in Hungary. I am grateful to the Fulbright Hungary staff for making the American grantees’ transition into life and work in Hungary smooth. I especially want to thank Annamária Sas, who is the Program Officer in charge of the American grantees. Annamária knows what needs to be done, and she accomplishes everything with seeming ease and with enthusiasm. I also want to thank Csanád Nagypál for his work on our financial arrangments. Finally, I want to thank Dr. Huba Bückner, Director Emeritus, as well as Dr. Károly Jókay, Diretor of Fulbright Hungary, for their leadership of Fulbright Hungary. Their strong engagement is evident in the work of the organization.

The orientation covered three areas:

  • Life in Hungary: history, language, customs, art, and current affairs.
  • Work in Hungary: organization of higher education, suggestions for success in teaching and research, and engaging the citizens of Hungary.
  • Practical issues: working with Fulbright Hungary, and with the US Embassy in Budapest.

In retrospect, it’s amazing how much we learned about these areas in just four days. Below is a brief overview.

History. Hungarians feel a strong connection to their history. We were treated to a stellar history lesson (covering over 1,000 years of Hungarian history, starting in 896) by Prof. Dr. Tibor Frank. We also participated in a guided tour of the city, learning many tidbits from our guide. And in our visit to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences we saw, and sometimes even touched, items such as a 16th century Hungarian codex, and artifacts collected by the founder of tibetology, Sándor Csoma de Kőrös.

Gábor Tóth of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences showed us this codex.

Language and customs. Over the centuries Hungarians have worked successfully to maintain their language. The Fulbrighters who do not speak Hungarian were introduced to basic words and expressions by a passionate teacher, Mária Sánthané Gedeon. Mária also spent time exploring the differences in culture and customs between Hungary and the US. One of the differences: Americans are more likely to be assertive than Hungarians. Donald Morse, who has lived in Hungary for many years, also discussed customs, from what to bring to dinner parties (flowers, wine), to who pays for lunch (the person issuing the invitation). Professor Morse also recounted personal experiences of Hungary’s recent communist history.

Music. Hungary’s rich contribution to the world of music was discussed by Dr. Veronika Kusz, a musicologist at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Veronika provided a brief overview of the works of the most influential Hungarian composers over the centuries. I was delighted to discover the 16th century lutenist, Bálint Bakfark. Following Veronika’s presentation we attended  a spectacular ballet performance of Onegin at the Hungarian State Opera.

Dr. Huba Bückner, Director Emeritus, introduces Dr. Veronika Kusz

Current affairs. We explored current affairs with two people who are shaping the future of Hungary: Katalin Ertsey, Member of the National Assembly, and TV host Dr. Levente Boros Bánk. The discussion was animated, especially since Hungarian parliamentary elections are scheduled for April 2014.

Work. We spent a considerable amount of time discussing work life, and how to leverage our time in Hungary to our benefit, and to the benefit of our hosts. Dr. Huba Bückner, Director Emeritus, as well as Dr. Károly Jókay, Diretor of Fulbright Hungary, urged us to be ourselves, so that our Hungarian students and colleagues can gain experience dealing with the US model of education and research.  Prof. Dr. Zoltán Abády-Nagy gave us an overview of the Hungarian higher education system, from organization, to historical perspectives, to faculty career paths. And current student grantee Jamie Hoversen warned us plan ahead, because there is so much to do and never enough time to do it all.

Engaging citizens of Hungary. Karyn Posner-Mullen and Dmitri Tarakhovsky, both with the US Embassy in Budapest, discussed ways in which we can engage the citizens of Hungary, from participating in the work of American Corners, to attending events organized by the embassy, to making our own professional and personal connections. Erika Sólyom, the director of the Budapest American Corner, discussed specific types of programs we should consider participating in.

Practical issues. Finally, we discussed a number of practical issues, from the ever important financial issues, to the reports required by Fulbright Hungary, to taking advantage of US Embassy resources. I was also glad to hear that there’s a Hungarian Fulbright Alumni Association, which is headed by Dr. Katalin Nagy.

Last, but not least, I’m very happy to have met the new American Fulbright grantees in Hungary: Stephen Hartke, Janet Holmes, Amy Forss, Andrea Mitnick, Leslie Muray, Nicholas Rubashkin, and Peter Szende. I’m looking forward to following their efforts.

You can see more pictures from the orientation on Flickr.

With my wife Jennifer at the Hungarian State Opera presentation of Onegin.

Impressions from the USA: Hungarian Fulbrighters report

Dr. Károly Jókay, Executive Director of Fulbright Hungary, opens the meeting.

Yesterday I attended a meeting organized by the Hungarian Fulbright Commission, in which the 2012-2013 cohort of Hungarian Fulbright recipients reported on their experiences in the USA. Here are some of my impressions from this meeting:

Americans are kind, and America is a beautiful and exiting country.
All of the presentations I attended included words of praise for Americans as welcoming, supportive and open. Presenters also shared photographs of the US, from nature, to monuments, to street corners, to small town soccer teams. The Hungarian Fulbrighters took it all in and enjoyed the experience.

US data infrastructure is a game-changer.
Hungarians visiting the USA felt that our infrastructure, and primarily our ability to access and process large amounts of data, is a tremendous strength. This came across especially vividly in the presentation of András Pethő, editor at the origo.hu Hungarian news portal. 

Of personal interest: Hungarian-Americans retain cultural heritage.
Since their birth, I’ve been teaching my two kids to speak Hungarian, which is one of the two languages I grew up with. One of the presenters, history PhD student Tímea Oláh, explored Hungarian-Americans in New Brunswick, NJ. It was interesting to hear that the New Brunswick Hungarians have a viable community where the Hungarian language and customs are thriving.

You can see my pictures from the meeting on Flickr.

Fulbright 2014

I’m spending the spring 2014 semester at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The university’s Hungarian name is Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem, or BME for short.

My stay at BME is funded by a Fulbright Scholarship. My hosts in Hungary are the Hungarian Fulbright Commission, and BME professor Bálint Kiss. Bálint and I are planning to explore the effects of different user interface characteristics, and different assistive control algorithms, on the cognitive load of users of an assistive technology. My educational efforts will include classroom teaching (focusing on the field of ubiquitous computing), advising student projects, and research talks.