Over $10,000 of equipment stolen from Friend Center lab

Princeton’s Vision and Learning Lab, led by professor Jia Deng, suffered a several-thousand dollar theft of computer equipment at the Friend Center on Oct. 26.

Six Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics processing units (GPUs) were stolen from the lab. GPUs are a kind of specialized processor, originally designed to accelerate graphics rendering, which have come to be used in machine learning, video editing, and gaming applications, as well as in the production of artificial intelligence (AI). With each GPU estimated to cost at around $1,800, the stolen equipment had a total value of around $10,800, according to Lahav Lipson GS, a current Ph.D. student at the Vision and Learning Lab.

Lipson wrote in an email to The Daily Princetonian that he and his colleagues “were very surprised” by the theft of the GPUs, noting that “People leave expensive equipment unguarded in the Friend Center all the time without issue.”

Prior to the theft, he noted that the lab had been debating purchasing a “computer cage” to protect the GPUs, which would have enabled them to keep the equipment “under lock and key.” But ultimately, the researchers had decided against it, since at the time, “that sounded ridiculous,” Lipson wrote. However, he admitted that in hindsight it “would’ve been the smart thing to do.”

The theft was reported to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) at 2:31 p.m. on Oct. 26, according to its crime logs, and was estimated to have taken place between 4 p.m. on Oct. 25 and 2 p.m. on Oct. 26. In his lab’s Slack channel, Deng asked for other members “to help narrow down the time interval of the theft,” according to screenshots obtained by the ‘Prince.’ At least one member of the lab reported that they did not observe anyone enter the lab from 7:15 to 8:40 p.m. on Oct. 25.

When asked about the steps that the Vision and Learning Lab would be taking to prevent theft in the future, Lipson wrote that he did not feel as though “much will or need to change” in terms of lab security, besides the researchers “better securing [their] desktop computers.” He explained that the nature of the equipment itself, not just the security or practices in the lab, contributed to the theft since, in comparison to other equipment, “GPUs are especially vulnerable to theft,” because they are “very valuable, lightweight, and easy to sell.”

Deng, the head of the lab, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

DPS opened an investigation into the theft of the GPUs, which is still ongoing.

When asked for comment by the ‘Prince,’ University spokesperson Jennifer Morrill wrote “This theft was reported to DPS and the incident is under investigation. As this is an open investigation, we are unable to comment further. We encourage all members of our community to review the Safety & Security tips on our website, and to contact the department at 609-258-1000 if you have any information about this incident.”

Leela Hensler is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’

Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.