Ph.D. in Analytics and Data Science Cohorts
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2020 - 2021 Cohort
Martin Brown
Bachelor's Degree: Mathematics, Swansea University, United Kingdom
Master's Degree: Mathematics, Murray State University
Work History:
- Graduate Research Assistant, Kennesaw State University, August 2020 to present
- Graduate Teaching Assistant, Murray State University, August 2018 to May 2020
Course Taught: Problem Solving in Mathematics
Publications: Brown, Martin K. W. "Evaluating an Ordinal Output using Data Modeling, Algorithmic Modeling, and Numerical Analysis" (2020). Murray State Thesis and Dissertations. 168. https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/etd/168
Awards: David Pryce History of Mathematics Prize 2017-2018
Professional Objective: To pursue a career in data science, machine learning, and predictive analytics to solve real-world issues
Xing Guan
Bachelor's Degree: International Economics and Trade, University of International Relations, Beijing, China
Master's Degree: Public Policy Analysis, Georgetown University
Work History:
- Teaching Assistant at the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures, Georgetown University
- Technical Consultant, Yale Center Beijing
Professional Objective: Working with the data; identifying and solving social problems
Inchan Hwang
Bachelor’s Degree: Computer Science, Georgia Southwestern State University
Master’s Degree: Software Engineering, Ajou University, South Korea
Courses Tutored: Precalculus, College Algebra, Calculus I at Georgia Southwestern State University
Work History:
- Tutoring College Algebra, Calculus I and II at Academic Skills Center, Georgia Southwestern State University
- Research Assistant at Intelligence of HyperConnected Systems Lab of Ajou University
- Fullstack web developer, windows system programmer in the cybersecurity industry
Professional Objective: To work in big data analytics, and research and development of machine learning in engineering, and security
Duleep Prasanna Rathgamage Don
Bachelor's degree: Physics and Mathematics, The Open University of Sri Lanka
Master's degree: Mathematics, Georgia Southern University
Work History:
- Graduate Teaching Assistant, Georgia Southern University, 2016 - 2018
- Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Wyoming, 2019 - 2020
Courses Taught: Trigonometry, and Calculus I & II
Publications/Presentations:
- Don, R. D. and Iacob, I. E., ‘DCSVM: Fast Multi-class Classification using Support Vector Machines’, International Journal of Machine Learning and Cybernetics. https://www.springerprofessional.de/en/dcsvm-fast-multi-class-classification-using-support-vector-machi/16967136
- Rathgamage Don, D., Iacob, E., ‘Divide and Conquer Support Vector Machine for Multiclass Classification’, Research Symposium (2018), Georgia Southern University.
- Rathgamage Don, D., Iacob, E., ‘Multiclass Classification using Support Vector Machines’, MAA Southeastern Section Meeting (2018), Clemson University.
Professional Objective: To work in big data analytics, and research and development of machine learning in engineering, and medicine
Linglin Zhang
Bachelor’s Degree: Biological Sciences, Hubei University, China
Master’s Degree: Chemical Biology, University of Michigan and Bioinformatics, Georgia Institute of Technology
Selected Publications: Rebecca Shen, Zhi Li, Linglin Zhang, Yingqi Hua, Min Mao, Zhicong Li, Zhengdong Cai, Yunping Qiu, Jonathan Gryak, Kayvan Najarian. (2018). Osteosarcoma Patients Classification Using Plain X-Rays and Metabolomic Data. 40th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC). 690-693, 2018.
Professional Objective: To become a researcher in industry or academia. My background in Biology and Bioinformatics could provide me strong theoretical support on a research role in the health industry. The experience of doing an internship at Equifax equipped me of certain knowledge on business cases.
Yihong Zhang
Bachelor’s Degree: Psychology Mathematics Interdisciplinary, Chatham University
Master’s Degree: Mathematics and Statistics Allied with Computer Science, Georgia State University
Work History:
- Research Assistant - Collaborated with biomedical department to analyze and visualize microarray gene expression data, Facilitated in data pre-processing and machine learning modeling of clinical liver cirrhosis image data, Assisted in feature engineering of image analysis in deep learning for pathology diagnosis with Mayo Clinic’s pilot project.
- Graduate Lab Assistant - Tutored students with statistics and math subjects.
Professional Objective: Make better use of data in healthcare and bioinformatic industry as a data scientist.
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2019–2020 Cohort
Trent Geisler
Bachelor’s Degree: Mathematical Sciences, United States Military Academy at West Point
Master’s Degrees: Operations Research, Georgia Tech; Business Administration, Georgia Tech
Work History:
• Instructor, Department of Mathematical Sciences, United States Military Academy, 2013-2016
• Analyst for the Directorate of Research, Army Marketing and Research Group, 2016-2019Courses Taught: Integral Calculus, Probability and Statistics, Multivariate Statistics, Financial Investments, and Computational Finance; United States Military Academy.
Professional Objectives: to work on and help solve the U.S. Government’s toughest problems.
Kory Illenye
Bachelor’s Degree: Mathematics, Appalachian State University
Master’s Degree: Mathematics, Appalachian State University
Work History:
• Adjunct Instructor of Mathematics and Statistics
• Appalachian State University, 2017 – 2019
• McDowell Technical Community College, 2017 – 2019
• Catawba Valley Community College, 2018 – 2019
• Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, 2018 – 2019Courses Taught: College Algebra, Trigonometry, Statistics, and Precalculus
Publications: Co-Editor, Statistical Exploration of Climate Data
Professional Objectives: As a former instructor, I realize there is a gap when dealing with academia and industry. I intend on finding a career in industry which will allow me to assist educational institutions to close that gap while solving real world problems.
Srivatsa Mallapragada
Bachelor’s Degree: Mechanical Engineering, Andhra University College of Engineering, India
Master’s Degree: Mechanical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Work History:
• Continuous Improvement Intern, Daimler Trucks North America at Cleveland, North Carolina, USA
• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Graduate Research Assistant, NC Motorsports and Research Laboratory
• Manufacturing Intern, Caterpillar India Pvt Ltd, Sriperambudur, IndiaSelected Publications/Presentations:
• Mallapragada, S. (2017). Computational Investigations on the Aerodynamics of a Generic Car Model in Proximity to a Side Wall (Master’s thesis, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte).
• Uddin, M., Mallapragada, S., & Misar, A. (2018). Computational Investigations on the Aerodynamics of a Generic Car Model in Proximity to a Side-Wall (No. 2018-01-0704). SAE Technical Paper.
• Dimensionality Reduction of Hyperspectral Images for Classification, Srivatsa, M., Michael, W. & Hung, C. C. Ninth International Conference on Information ISSN: 1343-4500
• Bounds, C., Mallapragada, S., and Uddin, M., "Overset Mesh-Based Computational Investigations on the Aerodynamics of a Generic Car Model in Proximity to a Side-Wall," SAE Int. J. Passeng. Cars - Mech. Syst. 12(3):211-223, 2019, https://doi.org/10.4271/06-12-03-0015.
Service and Awards: Base SAS Programmer V9Professional Objectives: I am currently working in unsupervised pattern recognition in high dimensional data sets. After I graduate, I would like to pursue a career in Data Science and Machine Learning in the corporate environment.
Sudhashree Sayenju
Bachelor’s Degree: Computer Science, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany
Master’s Degree: Computer Science, Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg, Germany
Work History:
• Research Assistant, Smart Grid Systems: Software Development and Improvement, Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme, Freiburg, Germany, 2014
• Software Developer, Data Science: Data Analysis using Statistical Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning, Reservix GmbH, Freiburg, Germany, 2017-2018Professional Objectives: I aim to work in a corporate environment where I can use the knowledge I acquired here in real world applications.
Christina Stradwick
Bachelor’s Degree: Music Performance and Mathematics, Marshall University
Master’s Degree: Mathematics with Emphasis in Statistics, Marshall University
Courses Taught: Prep for College Algebra at Marshall University
Selected Presentations:
• Stradwick, C. Exploring the Variance of the Sample Variance. Spring Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America Ohio Section, University of Akron, 2019.
• Stradwick, C., Vaughn, L., Hanan Khan, A. Data Modeling on Insurance Beneficiary Dataset. College of Science Research Expo 2018, Marshall University, 2018. Poster Presentation.
• Stradwick, C. Disease modeling on networks. The 13th Annual UNCG Regional Mathematics and Statistics Conference, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2017. Poster Presentation.Professional Objectives: To work as a researcher in industry or in a laboratory setting. I would like to use my background in mathematics and statistics to develop novel solutions that address limitations in current data science techniques and to apply known data science methods to solve real-world problems.
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2018–2019 Cohort
Md Shafiul Alam
Bachelor’s Degree: Mathematics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Master’s Degrees: Computational Mathematics, Western Kentucky University, and Applied Mathematics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Work History:
• Graduate Research Assistant, Kennesaw State University, August 2018 to present
• Teaching Assistant, Western Kentucky University, August 2016 to May 2018
• Credit Analyst, Jamuna Bank Ltd, Bangladesh, June 2012 to July 2016Courses taught: Calculus I and II, Western Kentucky University, Fall 2016 to Spring 2018
Professional Objective: To work as a researcher in the industry or as a faculty in a university. My research focus is broadly on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.
Jonathan Boardman
Bachelor’s Degree: Physics, Occidental College
Master’s Degree: Applied Statistics, Kennesaw State University
Work History:
• Graduate Research Assistant, Kennesaw State University, May 2017 – July 2018
• Graduate Assistant, Kennesaw State University, August 2016 – May 2017Courses taught: MATH 1107: Introductory Statistics, Kennesaw State University, Spring 2017
Selected Publications/Presentations:
• Jonathan Boardman, Kyle Biron, Ryan Rimbey; Mitigating the Effects of Class Imbalance Using SMOTE and Tomek Link Undersampling in SAS; SAS Global Forum Proceedings, 2018.
• Kyle Biron, Jonathan Boardman; Proper Preprocessing Prevents Poor Profits: Mitigating Loss Due to Credit Card Fraud Using Xgboost and SMOTE + Tomek Link Undersampling; KSU Analytics Day, 2018.
• Jonathan Boardman, Kyle Biron, Ryan Rimbey; Which Classifier is Most Robust to Class Imbalance?; KSU R Day, 2017.Awards:
• 2017-2018 Outstanding Graduate Student Award: Master of Science in Applied Statistics; KSU – College of Science and Mathematics
• Outstanding Graduate Award 2017-2018; KSU – Graduate College
• Top 8 SAS Global Forum 2018 Student Symposium Finalist
• KSU Analytics Day 2018 2nd Place Graduate Poster
• KSU R Day 2017 2nd Place Graduate PosterProfessional Objective: To work in predictive analytics, designing and implementing novel machine learning solutions to problems in science and business.
Tejaswini Mallavarapu
Bachelor’s Degree: Pharmacy, Acharya Nagarjuna University, India
Master’s Degree: Computer Science, Kennesaw State University
Work History:
• Graduate Research Assistant, Kennesaw State University, 2017-present
• Research Analyst, Divis Laboratories, 2013-2014Selected Publications:
• T. Mallavarapu, Y. Kim, J.H. Oh, and M. Kang, "R-PathCluster: Identifying Cancer Subtype of Glioblastoma Multiforme Using Pathway-Based Restricted Boltzmann Machine," Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics & Biomedicine (IEEE BIBM 2017), International Workshop on Deep Learning in Bioinformatics, Biomedicine, and Healthcare Informatics, Accepted, 2017.
• M.R. Shivalingam, K.S.G. Arul Kumaran, D. Jeslin, Ch. MadhusudhanaRao, M. Tejaswini, "Design and Evaluation of Binding Properties of Cassia roxburghii Seed Galacto mannan and Moringa oleifera Gum in the Formulation of Paracetamol Tablets," Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology(RJPT). 3(1): Jan.-Mar. 2010; Page 254-256.
• M.R. Shivalingam, K.S.G. Arul Kumaran, D. Jeslin, Y.V. Kishore Reddy, M. Tejaswini, Ch. MadhusudhanaRao, V. Tejopavan, "Cassia roxburghii Seed Galacto manna— a potential binding agent in the tablet formulation," Journal of Biomedical Science and Research(JBSR), Vol 2 (1), 2010, 18-22Professional Objective: To be a data scientist in the field of health care or bioinformatics where I can leverage my analytical skills and knowledge towards the advancement of the research field.
Seema Sangari
Bachelor’s Degree: Computer Science and Engineering, Himachal Pradesh University, India
Master’s Degrees:
• MSc Investment Management, Cass Business School, City University of London, London, U.K.
• MSc Applied Statistics, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, U.K.
• Graduate Certificate in Data Mining and Applications, Stanford University, US.Work History:
• Certified Graduate Statistician by Royal Statistical Society, London, UK.
• Senior Data Scientist, IBM Security for 3.5 years.
• Have also worked as a Senior Financial Engineer for more than a decade with financial regulatory bodies in India and the UK and private sector in finance, insurance and reinsurance domain in India, the UK and Bermuda.Professional Objective: To apply data science skills to solve the real-world business problems
Srivarna Settisara Janney
Bachelor’s Degree: Mechanical Engineering, Visveswaraiah Technological University, India
Master’s Degree: Computer Science, Kennesaw State University
Work History:
• Graduate Research Assistant, Kennesaw State University, 2016-2018
• Senior Software Engineer, Torry Harris Business Solutions (THBS), United Kingdom, 2010-2012 and India, 2012-2014
• Software Engineer, Torry Harris Business Solutions (THBS), India, 2007-2010Selected Publications/Presentations:
• S.S. Janney, S. Chakravarty, “New Algorithms for CS – MRI: WTWTS, DWTS, WDWTS”, One-page research paper, 40th International Conference of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (IEEE EMBC), Jul 2018
• Master thesis presented at Southeast Symposium on Contemporary Engineering Topics (SSCET), UAH Engineering Forum, Alabama, Aug 2018
• Master thesis poster is accepted to be presented at Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) 2018 Annual Meeting, Oct 2018
• Submitted draft copy for book chapter contribution on “Bioelectronics and Medical Devices”, Elsevier Publisher, May 2018
• Showcased 3MT, Georgia Council of Graduate Schools (GCGS), Apr 2018
• Master thesis presented in workshop for “Medical Signal and Image Processing” at Department of Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, NIT Rourkella, Feb 2018
• S.S. Janney, I. Karim, J. Yang, C.C Hung, Y. Wang, “Monitoring and Assessing Traffic Safety Using Live Video Images”, GDOT project showcase, 4th Annual Transportation Research Expo, Sept 2016Service and Awards:
• 1st Place Winner, Graduate Research Project, C-day Poster Presentation, Kennesaw State University, Spring 2018
• People's Choice Award, 3 Minute Thesis (3MT), Apr 2018
• CCSE Dean’s 4.0 Club, Jan 2018
• 3rd Place Winner, Hackathon 2017 - HPCC Systems Big Data
• Foundation of Computer Science, Certified by Kennesaw State University, Jun 2016
• Fundamental of RESTful API Design, Certified by APIGEE, Nov 2014
• Member of HandsOnAtlanta, since 2014
• SOA Associate, Certified by IBM, Jun 2008Professional Objective: I would like to be a researcher in Data Science and Analytics in medical imaging technologies contributing to advancements that would help medical and healthcare professionals provide value-based and personalized health care. I would like to look at career opportunities in industry and academia that fuel my interest in research.
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2017–2018 Cohort
Sanjoosh Akkineni
Bachelor’s Degree: Computer Science, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, India
Master’s Degree: Computer Science (Concentration in Data Analytics), Kennesaw State University
Work History:
• Data Science and Analytics Graduate Intern, Equifax, 2017 – Present
• Graduate Research Assistant, Kennesaw State University, 2015-2017Selected Publications/Presentations:
• KSU Analytics Day 2018
• Computing Showcase 2016, 2017Service:
• President - Graduate Student Association (GSA) 2016-2018, Kennesaw State University
• Treasurer - IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS) 2016-2017, Kennesaw State University
• Secretary - Robotics & Automation Society 2017, Kennesaw State University
• Peer Leader - International Orientation (2016-2017), Kennesaw State University
• Law Enforcement Training, Citizens Police Academy, KSU Police Department 2017Awards:
• Won 3rd Prize for Bert’s Big Adventure driving research project – KSU Analytics Day 2018
Awarded Udacity Google Developer Scholarship 2018
• Student of the Year - Division of Student Affairs, Kennesaw State University 2017
• Graduate Student Involvement Award - International Student Association, Kennesaw State University 2017
• Golden Key International Honor Society MemberProfessional Objectives: To be a data scientist with a demonstrated ability to deliver valuable insights via data analytics and advanced data-driven methods. Primary research interests are in Machine learning, algorithms for massive datasets, large scale optimization, and recommender systems. I want to work in Health Care and Government (not finite to these as I am still exploring my research interests) to build an appropriate data framework that can utilize advanced analytic means to aggregate data effectively to gain in depth insights.
Andrew M. Henshaw
Bachelor’s Degree: Electrical Engineering, Georgia Tech
Master’s Degree: Electrical Engineering, Georgia Tech
Master’s Degree: Business Administration, Georgia State University
Work History:
• Georgia Tech, School of Electrical Engineering, Research Engineer I, 1986-1990
• Georgia Tech Research Institute, Research Engineer II, 1990-1999
• APower Solutions, Vice President, 1999-2001
• Georgia Tech Research Institute, Sr. Research Engineer, 2001-Courses taught: Software-Defined Radio Development with GNU Radio: Theory and Application, Georgia Tech Professional Education
Selected Publications/Presentations: Python Cookbook, Vol 1, 2002, “Sorting Objects Using SQL’s ORDER BY Syntax”
Service and Awards:
• International Test and Evaluation Association (ITEA) Atlanta Chapter, President, 1995
• Georgia State Soccer Association, Information Technology Committee Chair, 2009-2014
• Georgia State Soccer Association, Recreational Committee, 2007-Professional Objectives: Enhance GTRI’s capabilities in data science and analytics
Liyuan Liu
Bachelor’s Degree: Human Resource Management, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology
Master’s Degree: Financial Economics, University of Detroit Mercy
Master’s Degree: Analytics, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University
Work History:
• Intern, Equifax, 01/2018-present
• Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia State University Institute for Insight, 09/2015-09/2016Selected Publications/Presentations:
• Liyuan Liu, Meng Han, Yiyun Zhou, and Yan Wang; LSTM Recurrent Neural Networks for Influenza Trends Prediction; Proceedings in 14th International Symposium on Bioinformatics Research and Applications (ISBRA), 2018, Springer.
• Liyuan Liu, Meng Han, Yan Wang and Yiyun Zhou; Understanding Data Breach: A Visualization Aspect; Proceedings in 13th International Conference on Wireless Algorithms, Systems and Applications, 2018, Springer.
• Yiyun Zhou, Meng Han, Liyuan Liu, Jing (Selena) He, Yan Wang; Deep Learning Approach for Cyber-attack Detection; Proceedings in MiseNet of IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications, 2018.
• Bingchen Yu, Meng Han, Liyuan Liu, Yan Huang, Yi Liang, Liquan Bai; Data-driven Approach for Understanding the Mild Cognitive Impairment; Proceedings in 14th International Symposium on Bioinformatics Research and Applications (ISBRA), 2018, Springer.Professional Objective: To work in data science in a corporate environment
Mohammad Masum
Bachelor’s Degree: Mathematics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Master’s Degree: Mathematical Sciences, East Tennessee State University
Work History: Instructor at East Tennessee State University
Courses taught: Probability and Statistics (non-calculus) at East Tennessee State University
MS Thesis: Vertex Weighted Spectral Clustering
Professional Objective: to work in data science in the Health sector, and to hold a faculty position at a university
Lauren Staples
Bachelor’s Degree: Biosystems Engineering, Clemson University
Master’s Degree: Statistics, University of New Hampshire
Work History: Children’s Oncology Group, Clinical Statistician, 2016-2017
Courses taught: STAT 8940 Applied Analysis Project with Nuesoft. Co-taught with Dr. Ni
Selected Publications/Presentations: An Optimized Route for Q100’s Bert and Kristin to Visit all Jersey Mike’s Subs in Atlanta for Charity
Service and Awards: 3rd Place at 4/20/2018 KSU Analytics Day
Professional Objective: Healthcare Analytics
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2016–2017 Cohort
Shashank Hebbar
Bachelor’s Degree: Mechanical Engineering, Anna University
Master’s Degree: Industrial Engineering, North Carolina State University
Work History:
• Analytics Intern, Cox Enterprises, Atlanta, GA
• Machine Learning Research Intern, SAS Institute, Cary, NCSelected Publications/Presentations:
• SAS Global Forum 2017- “Regularization techniques”
• Journal of Risk Management (Under Review)– “Borrower default trees in bipartite network” (co-author)Professional Objective: To make the best use of my data science and machine learning skills in a corporate environment and contribute to the field of applied research.
Jessica Rudd
Graduation Date: Summer 2020
Dissertation: Quantitatively Motivated Model Development Framework: Downstream Analysis Effects of Normalization Strategies
Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Herman Ray
Yan Wang
Graduation Date: Spring 2020
Dissertation: Data-Driven Investment Decisions in P2P Lending: Strategies of Integrating Credit Scoring and Profit Scoring
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Sherry Ni
Current Position: Statistician, Credigy
Lili Zhang
Graduation Date: Spring 2020
Dissertation: A Novel Penalized Log-likelihood Function for Class Imbalance Problem
Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Herman Ray
Current Position: Data Scientist, Hewlet Packard Enterprise
Yiyun Zhou
Graduation Date: Spring 2020
Dissertation: Attack and Defense in Security Analytics
Dissertation Advisor: Jing (Selena) He
Current Position: Data Analyst, U.S. Express Ventures
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2015–2016 Cohort
Edwin Baidoo
Graduation Date: Spring 2020
Dissertation: A Credit Analysis of the Unbanked and Underbanked: An Argument for Alternative Data
Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Stefano Mazzotta
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Business Analytics, Tennessee Technological University
Sergiu BuciumasBachelor’s Degree: Economic Cybernetics and Informatics, Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova
Master’s Degree: IT, Southern Polytechnic State University
Work History:
• Senior Systems Engineer Windows, RHEL/AIX, SunTrust Bank
• Data Engineer Intern, Advanced Analytics, Coca-Cola European Partners
• Integration Engineer (Co-op), Cox Communications, Systems Engineer, SunTrust Bank.Professional Objectives: Research position in a corporate environment or research faculty position at a university. Research – Interested in the algorithmic aspects of Artificial Intelligence, particularly focusing on Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing and Reinforcement Learning agents.
Bogdan Gadidov
Graduation Date: Summer 2019
Dissertation: One and Two-Step Estimation of Time Variant Parameters and Nonparametric Quantiles
Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Mohammed Chowdhury
Current Position: Data Scientist, U.S. Xpress Ventures
Jie Hao
Graduation Date: Summer 2019
Dissertation: Biologically Interpretable, Integrative Deep Learning for Cancer Survival Analysis
Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Mingon Kang
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Linh Le
Graduation Date: Spring 2019
Dissertation: Deep Embedding Kernel
Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Ying Xie
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Information Technology, Kennesaw State University
Bob Vanderheyden
Graduation Date: Fall 2019
Dissertation: Ordinal HyperPlane Loss
Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Ying Xie
Current Position: Principal Data Scientist, IBM
