Margaret Jean Eppstein (also published as Margaret J. E. Heinrich) is an American multidisciplinary scholar whose research involves the computational modeling of

complex system A complex system is a system composed of many components that may interact with one another. Examples of complex systems are Earth's global climate, organisms, the human brain, infrastructure such as power grid, transportation or communication sy ...

s in various application domains. She is a

professor emerita ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

and research professor of computer science at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

Education and career

Eppstein grew up in the countryside in

Galesburg, Michigan Galesburg is a city in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,049 at the 2020 census. Galesburg is located along the north side of the Kalamazoo River. The city is situated on M-96 and is just north of I-94 (wi ...

, a small town outside

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

, where her father worked as a research scientist at

Upjohn The Upjohn Company was an American pharmaceutical manufacturing firm (est. 1886) in Hastings, Michigan, by Dr. William E. Upjohn, an 1875 graduate of the University of Michigan medical school. The company was originally formed to make ''friable ...

. Her parents built one of the eight

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

-designed homes near Kalamazoo. After switching majors every year in the Honor's College at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

, she graduated in Zoology in 1978. She did graduate study in zoology in the early 1980s at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

and

, before switching to computer science, in which she earned a master's degree at the University of Vermont in 1983. She continued at the University of Vermont as a lecturer in computer science, a position she held from 1983 to 2001. While working at the University of Vermont, she entered graduate study in civil and environmental engineering there in 1993, and completed her Ph.D. in 1997, under the supervision of David E. Dougherty. On completing her Ph.D., she became a research assistant professor in computer science, a year later adding a secondary appointment as research assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. She became a regular-rank assistant professor of computer science in 2002, and added a secondary appointment as assistant professor of biology in 2005. She was founding director of the University of Vermont Complex Systems Center from 2006 until 2010, was tenured as associate professor in 2008, and promoted to full professor in 2014. She chaired the University of Vermont computer science department from 2012 until 2018, when she retired. She has continued to do research as professor emerita and research professor.

Research

Eppstein's research involves the computational modeling of

s in various application domains. It has included studies of the foraging strategies of

antlion The antlions are a group of about 2,000 species of insect in the neuropteran family (biology), family Myrmeleontidae. They are known for the predation, predatory habits of their larvae, which mostly dig pits to trap passing ants or other prey. ...

s, the use of

ground-penetrating radar Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a geophysical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. It is a non-intrusive method of surveying the sub-surface to investigate underground utilities such as concrete, asphalt, metals, pipes, cables ...

to measure

soil moisture Soil moisture is the water content of the soil. It can be expressed in terms of volume or weight. Soil moisture measurement can be based on ''in situ'' probes (e.g., capacitance probes, neutron probes) or remote sensing methods. Water that enters ...

, the reconstruction of 3d structure from

fluorescence Fluorescence is one of two kinds of photoluminescence, the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation, many substances will glow (fluoresce) with colore ...

, the prediction of

cascading failure A cascading failure is a failure in a system of interconnection, interconnected parts in which the failure of one or few parts leads to the failure of other parts, growing progressively as a result of positive feedback. This can occur when a singl ...

s in

electric power transmission Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...

, and the popularity of

plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or simply plug-in hybrid is a type of hybrid electric vehicle equipped with a rechargeable battery pack that can be directly replenished via a charging cable plugged into an external electric power so ...

vehicles. Her work on fluorescence tomography won the 2004 Sylvia Sorkin Greenfield Award of the

American Association of Physicists in Medicine The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) is a scientific, educational, and professional organization of Medical Physicists. In 2011, it absorbed the American College of Medical Physics. Their headquarters are located at 1631 Pri ...

. She has also won several other best paper awards for her publications.

Selected publications

References

External links

University of Vermont profile
blog.uvm.edu. Accessed March 27, 2024. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eppstein, Margaret J. People from Kalamazoo, Michigan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Complex systems scientists American computer scientists American women computer scientists Michigan State University alumni University of Vermont alumni University of Vermont faculty