Student Profiles - USC Viterbi | Prospective Students

Alexander Hendricks
Master of Science in Green Technologies

What has been your favorite Green Technologies project that you worked on at USC and why?
My favorite Green Technologies project that I have worked on was in my environmental engineering class. My group and I explored the different carbon impacts of an omnivore, vegetarian, and vegan diets based on specific food groups. We took an in-depth approach to how the foods are made, where they come from, and how they get to a location, which is something that not many people consider. The project really made me think about my own personal food choices and the impact it has, which has led me to make various changes in my own diet.

How has living in Los Angeles impacted your experience as a Green Technologies student?
Living in LA has greatly impacted my experience as a Green Technologies student. Los Angeles is one of the most innovative cities in terms of Green Technologies and there are countless companies and groups that are moving towards more sustainable energy in the city. Being able to see these different companies and their work firsthand has really inspired me in my classes. In addition, a lot of the professors draw on data and events in the LA area, which really makes the classes much more interactive and applicable.

As a Green Technologies student, what do you see as two of the most pressing changes our businesses and society must make in the coming years?
The two most pressing changes that society must make in the coming years are the transition towards more sustainable buildings and more incorporation of renewable energy. 39% of carbon emissions come from buildings, so society needs to focus around meeting standards such as LEED that will promote more energy-efficient, safer, and more materially responsible buildings. In addition to this, I think that another large change that needs to be made is to expand renewable energy infrastructure. Around 62% of current electricity comes from fossil fuels, so to avoid the impacts of climate change, this needs to be reduced through more sources like solar, wind, and tidal power.

Why did you choose to enroll at USC?
I chose to enroll at USC as it had a program that uniquely fit my interests. After finishing undergrad, I knew I wanted to go into the renewable energy field and USC's Green Technology program precisely prepares students for work in the field while also allowing for flexibility in pursuing other interests, such as environmental policy or green buildings.

Looking back, what is an experience at USC that you'll never forget?
An experience during my time at USC that I won't forget was going to a USC Women's soccer game with my dad in the Fall. My dad is a high school soccer coach and had two players playing in the game, so it was fun to both cheer on my school and share a fun experience at USC with my dad.

What did you enjoy most about living in California?
My favorite part about living in California is all the different experiences it has to offer. I have lived down here for the past 5 years between undergrad and my first year of graduate school, so I have gotten to experience a lot of what California has to offer. It is one of the only places where you can go to the mountains one day and the beach the next. The city of Los Angeles itself is also incredible since there is so much to do from sports games to concerts to experience the hundreds of different cultures that have made different parts of LA their home.

What are some personal achievements or experiences you'd like to share?
While at USC, there are a couple of personal achievements that I have made. First, I have become accredited as a LEED Green Associate and earned my engineer-in-training certification, thanks to the education I have gotten through my graduate program thus far. In addition, I recently accepted an internship with ENGIE, the 6th largest energy company in the world, to work on renewable energy projects in Southern California.

What advice would you give future Viterbi students?
My advice for Viterbi students is to get to know your professors. They are experts in their field and have a wealth of knowledge to draw upon, which can be useful to classes or even life in general. Often they have fun stories from working in the field or interesting projects that they are looking for students to get involved in, so knowing them personally is a great way to get involved in research at USC.

Alexis Oyetibo
Master of Science in Chemical Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I studied Chemical Engineering in my Bachelor's program at Howard University. I also studied Chemical Engineering in my Master's program at USC. Prior to joining USC, I completed three summer internships: 1. Summer research student at Harvard University (2013); 2. Research and development intern at Kraft Foods Group (2014); and 3. Research and engineering intern at ExxonMobil (2015).

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
I chose USC because it very well aligned with the field I wanted to pursue in the future. I wanted to have a fundamental background in chemical engineering principles. Moreover, USC gave me the largest scholarship.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
I was an active member of the Mork Family Department Graduate Student Association and the National Society of Black Engineers. I also participated in activities organized by USC Christian Challenge, a campus ministry that held events such as discipleship conferences and bible studies. Additionally, I love outdoor activities and playing sports.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
As a part of the graduate student association, I was able to develop a strong network within Viterbi by functioning as student liaison between administration and staff. I strengthened my financial, organizational, and leadership skills as a treasurer and built many connections through this association. One of my favorite sports-related memories was being taken on a free trip to Las Vegas for the PAC-12 basketball tournament and getting to see Magic Johnson.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
I am very passionate about basketball. In fact, I was on the Trojan Fever leaderboard for attending the majority of men's and women's basketball games at USC.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
My experience at USC was awesome. I learned the importance of networking, developed professionally, and formed lifelong friendships. I am proud to be a member of the Trojan family.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
I have joined the Torrance Refining Company as a Process Contact Engineer.

Arnout Devos
Master of Science in Computer Science (2017-2018)

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I completed my undergraduate education in EECS and Management at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium. I interned at Siemens and EPFL. After that, I managed to secure a prestigious Belgian American Educational Foundation research fellowship to support my graduate education and research in Computer Science (CS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) at USC.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
USC is well-reputed as an institution in general and has many distinguished faculty in the fields of CS and AI. My reasons to choose USC for my graduate studies are threefold: 1. Master of Science in Computer Science research is encouraged and supported by well-regarded faculty, 2. the program could be configured to focus on my interest in AI while getting a solid graduate breadth in CS, and 3. USC has an excellent location near Silicon Valley.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
From the very start of my studies at USC I have been involved as a member of the USC Marathon team. Through consistent and fun weekly training, many of us were able to complete the LA marathon. Next to academic life at USC, finishing the LA Marathon has been a very rewarding experience for me.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
In December 2017, I was lucky to be selected -- with the help of USC-- to attend the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS) which happened in Long Beach, CA. Attending one of the premier conferences in AI and interacting with world-class researchers has been an unforgettable experience. In the Fall 2017 semester, I also attended the USC-UCLA Pac-12 game. Experiencing the massive tailgate and witnessing the game at Coliseum -- filled with 90,000 people --has been a truly unforgettable experience. Being felicitated with the USC Viterbi Masters Merit Award for Computer Science was a unique experience too.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
Contrary to most CS masters students, my background is actually in analog circuit design. My interest in physics and the urge to build things led me to pursue this interesting field of study. After working on more algorithmic circuit design and publishing several papers, I realized that my interest in the booming field of Artificial Intelligence was even bigger. This inspired me to make the surprising jump from analog circuit design to AI and machine learning. I can now say that I am very happy that I made this change, and I look forward to the future!

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
Actually, I managed to complete the journey in a little less than one year. Putting a lot of work into courses and research has been a truly rewarding experience. The collaboration with my project peers in Professor Lim’s Deep Learning course and great interaction with everyone in Professor Sukhatme’s lab are things I will cherish forever. Although my stay at USC has been very short, I believe USC provides an excellent environment for CS education and research.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
In September 2018, I will start my PhD in Computer Science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) as an EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow in collaboration with the
MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab in Cambridge, MA. There I will be able to continue AI research on an international level.

Ayten Kahya
Master of Science in Green Technologies

What has been your favorite Green Technologies project that you worked on at USC and why?
My favorite Green Tech project was sustainability consulting cases that we did for our Environmental Sustainability and Competitive Advantage course.

How has living in Los Angeles impacted your experience as a Green Technologies student?
It is great to be in LA as California pioneers the country in sustainability. So, it is a great opportunity to follow up with recent technologies, implementations, and progress. In my experience, I have seen and learned about great green tech solutions here and have been able to follow up with some of the efforts for sustainability. I have also seen that there are a lot of improvements to be done as green tech and sustainability approaches are not broadly adopted.

As a Green Technologies student, what do you see as two of the most pressing changes our businesses and society must make in the coming years?
I believe that the most important thing that needs to change is the awareness of climate change threat; society and business have to realize how serious the problem is. Businesses that are focused on short term returns should stop viewing it as an external issue that needs a few adjustments to handle. Instead, they should include it in their strategy for long term viability. The most difficult one but probably one of the most important things that can aid the situation is changing consumer behavior.

Why did you choose to enroll at USC?
I had visited before as a tourist. I really liked the campus and the program content of Green Tech so I chose USC.

Looking back, what is an experience at USC that you'll never forget?
Gamedays

What are some personal achievements or experiences you'd like to share?
I am a national Muay Thai fighter from Turkey, I won a gold medal in the European cup in 2015.

What advice would you give future Viterbi students?
Go out there and socialize as much as you can, meet interesting friends and experience new adventures USC is a great place for it! Look into as many career resources as you can to find an internship do not rely on USC career fairs & services

Daye Nam
Master of Science in Computer Science

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I am from South Korea, and received my bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Yonsei University, Seoul. Before I started my undergraduate program, I had no idea about Computer Science and programming. (I didn’t even know about Apple and iPhone.) But I immediately got fascinated by programming as it lets me develop anything I want. Then, I got involved in different activities to demonstrate how interesting the world of programming is. For instance, I taught programming skills to non-computer science students and even helped women high school students understand the joy of being a computer science student.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
There were multiple topics in Computer Science that I wanted to conduct research on. USC has a very well-known computer science department with a strong research foundation. So, that gave me the confidence that I would be able to study many different topics and discover what I really love. Also, Los Angeles is the perfect location to work with tech companies as well as start-ups. Last but not the least, I chose USC because of the perfect southern California weather.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
I like to discover and explore new things --restaurants, electronic devices or services. I am also interested in understanding how people think and behave. So, I read books on Psychology. I also enjoy watching movies and try to give my own spin to stories of main characters.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
Last year, I took CSCI578 (Software Architecture) course offered by Professor Nenad Medvidovic, who is my current advisor. In the beginning of May, a final project presentation was left, and I literally stayed up 40 hours to finish the project on time. I was trying to fix a critical bug in our tool, but since I was exhausted, I was struggling with the bug for a long time. But just 10 minutes before our presentation, like a miracle, I could fix the bug. My team won the second place in the class. The campus, after the presentation, looked so beautiful with the purple blossom of Jacaranda flower and I felt like it was all a dream. After the presentation, I had a chance to enhance the tool under the guidance of Professor Medvidovic, and even published a paper at the International Conference on Software Engineering at Gothenburg, Sweden.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
I have never watched any horror movies until now. When I was in high school, I read a book about subconscious thoughts and realized that I did not want any negative and cruel images for my subconscious thoughts. I believe that what I see in my life will determine how I think, and I want to be a positive and a joyful person. So, I try to watch happy or inspiring movies as much as possible.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
It was the toughest two years in my whole life. But I enjoyed a lot. I’ve been involved in a variety of research projects, and learned how to find an interesting problem and solve it. I’ve found my overall career goal. Most importantly, people that I met here (my roommates, lab mates, friends from different events) are really amazing. Since all of them are from diverse backgrounds, I could see many different behaviors and lifestyles, which broadened my perspectives. My two-year journey at USC was unforgettable, and I believe that it will be one of the most important phase in my whole life.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
I am starting my PhD program in Fall 2018 at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. It is really sad to leave all of my friends and the beautiful city of Los Angeles, but I am embarking on the next great journey for my career. I’ll keep focusing on interesting problems in software engineering and help people develop high quality software. During my PhD, I will also try to solve real-world problems using software engineering, by working in the industry as an intern during the summer.

Haoteng Tang
Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering (2016-2018)

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I come from Xi’an of China. Both my parents work in a state-owned enterprise. I graduated from one of the best high school in China, the middle school attached to the Northwestern Polytechnical University in 2012. Then I joined Xi’an Jiaotong University, one of the best university in China, and got my bachelors degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2016. Later, in 2016, I came to USC to pursue my masters degree in biomedical engineering. I am really thankful to all the schools and professors who have taught me until now.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
There are several reasons. First, I think that the weather and food in Los Angeles is quite nice with sunshine, beautiful beach and delicious Chinese food in San Gabriel. Second, I consider that USC is one of the best universities in USA, particularly for the engineering field. Thirdly, there is ample education and research resource available here. For instance, I have access to computation resources like GPU by my Lab (LONI), which helps me do my research work. And finally, there are a lot of USC Alumnus in Los Angeles who can help me with my career.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
Interests outside of classroom? It should be working in Lab. Just kidding . I like to go around with my friends and see new places. I also enjoy cooking. I have been playing piano since my childhood and I continue to play it, since I like it. Music always make me relaxed when I feel tired.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
I think it would be the first time I got paid for being a teaching assistant (TA). It was unforgettable because it was my first salary in life. I really feel I can make some contributions to this world.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
I think people might be surprised to know my real nature. I look like a serious man, who doesn’t talk much. But I am an outgoing individual who enjoys social life and communicating with others. So, I think this may surprise others.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
It was a fulfilling journey – studied a lot, met many interesting people and finished my masters degree successfully.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
I plan to pursue a PhD now.

Henry Su
Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I grew up in Southern California, but moved to the Bay Area to do my undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. I subsequently interned and got hired full time at Chevron in an IT role. After spending my first 3 years working at/near their headquarters in the Bay Area, I moved down to Houston to take my next position at the company. Six years later, I still reside in the Houston area as of now.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
When I made the move to Houston, my intent was to get closer to the exploration & production side of the business in Chevron, and at the time, I was also exploring options for furthering my education. After consulting with many, including mentors and management, I decided to pursue a Petroleum Engineering MS program in order to develop a blended "digital engineering" skill set. I chose USC due to the research partnership they had with Chevron, and also the number of current students and alumni I knew who went through the same MS program through DEN@Viterbi.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
Outside the classroom, I like trying new foods from cuisines all around the world. I also like exploring new places.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
Although the DEN program provided me with the needed flexibility to pursue the MS program in a part-time remote fashion, one regret I have is the lack of in-person interactions. Although there were lots of good online and phone interactions, particularly for class projects, it isn't quite the same as the on-campus experience. Still, I've connected with quite a few classmates and still keep in touch today as much as possible.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
I have a strange fascination with meteorology that I keep only as a hobby. Although I've taken an introductory class in my undergrad years, I never seriously considered pursuing it as a major or career for some reason.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
Because I did my MS studies part-time while working full-time, I took only 1 class per semester, and so my journey at USC took much longer than 2 years (over 4 years, in fact). The journey was long, challenging, but very fulfilling. And I can surely say that I've learned a lot along the way.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
My future plans are to continue working at Chevron, hopefully in a digital engineering role which makes use of both my undergrad in Computer Science and the Petroleum Engineering knowledge that I've gained from my MS studies.

John Alexander Targonski
Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I did my undergraduate studies at Penn State University and got my Bachelors in Aerospace Engineering. Then I immediately came to USC to do my Masters in Astronautical Engineering. I worked for Space X during last spring and summer.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
One of the key reasons why I chose USC was the curriculum and program that it offered. USC has a program in Astronautical Engineering, specifically focused on space engineering, which most of the other universities don’t offer. I like this program because it allowed me to focus on what I like and also gave the opportunity to take aerospace courses. More specifically, I liked how the astronautical department offered more application based curriculum as opposed to theory based. Another reason was the location of the university – Los Angeles. Space industry companies are based in Los Angeles and so it ended up being a great location for my career and really helped in networking as well. Opportunity to get hands on experience through USC’s Liquid Propulsion Laboratory (LPL) was one of the important factors too, for choosing USC.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
Outside of classroom, I enjoyed working with LPL – they build liquid rocket engines. I was involved with a similar lab during my undergraduate studies. At USC LPL, I was the lead and spent majority of my time at the lab. I was fortunate to be the lead. LPL has a partnership with a lab in Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan. The labs are working together to build a large launch vehicle. We are building the rocket engine while Kyushu Tech is in-charge of making the actual vehicle. It’s a large vehicle measuring 16 feet and weighing almost 2,000 pounds.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
One of the unforgettable incidents is associated with LPL. In December 2017, we had our first successful static fire, which was one of the exciting moments in my life. We were able to static fire a liquid rocket engine in the Mojave desert. It took almost a year to prepare and I lead the team, of around 30 students, behind this.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
I am very passionate about basketball. In fact, I was also on the Trojan fever leaderboard as I had attended the most number of games at USC.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
It was an amazing experience and I was able to learn a lot. I was able to collaborate with people from all over the world. Working with people in our labs brought a lot of great ideas and helps innovate. Another great thing about USC is the clubs and resources it offers, which fulfill your passion and desires.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
Starting next month, I will be working for Space X at Hawthorne, California.

Mishaal Aleem
Master of Science in Computer Science

Tell us a little bit about yourself
Prior to beginning the Computer Science program at USC, I received my B.S. in Aeronautics & Astronautics from the University of Washington (in Seattle, WA) and worked briefly at Boeing as an Aerodynamics Engineer.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
The unique Computer Science - Scientists & Engineers track attracted me to USC as it gave me the opportunity to pursue a M.S. in Computer Science despite not having an undergraduate CS degree. I knew from my work and previous academic experience that I wanted to learn more about Computer Science, and USC was one of the few institutions that offered a complete M.S. for those without formal Computer Science training. The entire program seemed very comprehensive and well-planned, and given USC's academic reputation and my desire to pursue Computer Science it seemed a great fit.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
Outside the class, I enjoy cooking and reading.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
For me, some of the most unforgettable experiences have definitely been those related to challenging courses/assignments and pushing myself to learn or do something beyond what I thought I could. For example, one of my most challenging courses was Operating Systems (CSCI 402). I cannot count the number of late nights my group and I spent working on our daunting kernel assignment. The feeling of accomplishment, however, when we finished was incredible - I could not have imagined 2 years ago that I would ever be able to understand or create my own OS. Additionally, I had the pleasure of taking Software Engineering (CSCI 577a) and I got to work with a team to create an inventory management system for the USC STEM Educational Outreach Programs office. This was a really fulfilling project to work on as I was able to learn so much and also create something meaningful with a real positive impact!

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
Prior to beginning my Computer Science Master's program, I had never taken a CS class before!

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
My journey at USC has been very positive and fulfilling. I have really enjoyed the classes, and learned more than I could have imagined in just 2 years. I also loved working as a Course Producer and helping others on their academic journeys. Finally, I have made wonderful lifelong friends. Overall, it has been a great experience!

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
I am planning to work full-time as an engineer. My goal is to work in a position where I can combine my Aerospace Engineering & Computer Science interests and skills.

Miyuan Xu
Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering (Medical Device & Diagnostic Engineering)

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I graduated from USC in Biomedical Engineering (BME) with an emphasis on Medical Device and Diagnostic Engineering (MDDE). Also, I did my bachelor in biomedical engineering from Shandong University in China. I'm really passionate about BME! While pursuing my master's degree at USC, I had a better and deeper understanding of my field of study. So, I joined as an R&D project intern at Medtronic and Data Analytics intern at ThermoFisher Scientific.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
The Viterbi School of Engineering is known for its innovation and is a student-driven hub. The BME program offers flexible and versatile course plans where you have a lot of interesting options to choose from; especially the MDDE.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
I like to stay fit by going to gym. Also, I love to get involved in activities conducted by student organizations like the Viterbi Graduate Students Association (VGSA)VGSA and Graduate Students of Biomedical Engineering (GSBME).

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
I became a member of VGSA and was a department senator during 2017 Spring semester. It was an unforgettable experience, filled with enthusiasm and commitment. I'm happy that I could help our students and department through my efforts. Now, I am confident that I can take leadership roles.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
I'm can easily adapt to situations and new people. I was an exchange student in two different universities during college time, both domestically and internationally. I can also multitask. I did two internships at the same period during my last semester.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
It was definitely a fantastic journey. I will miss the classrooms where I attended lectures and the libraries where I studied hard. The people I met at USC were very supportive.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
I'm dedicated to medical device and biotechnology industry. I will always be curious and passionate about it.

Osman Kaan Demiroz
Master of Science in Computer Science - Game Development (2016-2018)

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I came to USC from Istanbul, Turkey, where I was born and raised and completed my education up to, and including, Bachelor's Degree in Koç University (pronounced Coach). I feel like my education in Koç University actually prepared me quite well for USC, as we had a similar class structure such as midterms, finals, discussion/lab sessions, online material, etc. That way I was prepared for my 2 years here at USC. It was also a private school like USC so I was already accustomed to complaining about tuition. I worked at two summer internships - one before my junior year, and one before my senior year - and those were mostly the work experience I had before coming to USC. Back in my undergraduate studies, my major was Computer Engineering, which is similar but a little more general than my current Computer Science - Game Development specialization. The internships I had were not related to game development specifically, but they were helpful in terms of adapting to the workplace and improving general software engineering skills, which were also applicable in my Masters education.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
In my senior year of college, I started to think about getting into a Masters program. I had not studied abroad before, but my older brother had gotten his Bachelor's Degree from Brandeis University in Boston and I would visit him every now and then with my parents. I thought it would be a good idea to check out the CS masters programs in the US. Back then I had three fields in my mind: Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision/Graphics, and Game Development. While browsing through universities in the United States it was actually much more common to come across the first two, but Game Development was much rarer, which was the program I was the most passionate about. Many universities had game programming classes, but it was definitely not common to find entire programs dedicated to Game Development. I've loved playing games since I was little, having spent a lot of time playing Pokemon and World of Warcraft (which I still do!). Considering my love for playing games and my passion to examine and complete every detail of a game led me to pursuing Game Development. After doing some research, I quickly realized that USC is one of the top universities offering the best courses in Game Development in the US. Within my final year, I also got an offer for admission into Virginia Tech, which would've been a focus on Artificial Intelligence, however, as soon as I received my offer from USC for Game Development, I knew that this was the path I wanted to take.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
Photography is one of my hobbies that has been consistent throughout the years, aside from (obviously) gaming. It is both a great excuse for travel and an awesome way to meet new and amazing people. I've met some of my closest friends through the USC Photography Club and the camping trips we've organized all around California. Photography is also great to attend events and get to sit on the front row, as I did while shooting sports for Daily Trojan, or even in my undergraduate years taking pictures of concerts and other performances. It even found its place in my projects (shameless plug) as I worked on finishing our Masters thesis game "Embedded", a Virtual Reality photography game that takes you to the Vietnam War as a photojournalist. A new hobby that I've found while at USC is dancing. I joined Break On 2, the Latin Fusion Dance Team at USC, first through the student club with friends, towards the end of my first semester. After going to club for a few weeks, I was already having tons of fun and later on decided to join the performance team and actually ended up performing at Bovard this past April. The weekly practices were a great way to blow off steam after a long day of work or school, and it just felt so physically engaging and different. I would attend salsa nights that the club organizes every month where people from all around Los Angeles would gather and just dance with each other in a very relaxed and social environment.I play guitar and am constantly practicing to improve. I joined the USC eSports club and participated in collegiate Overwatch tournaments representing USC. At some point I even volunteered at a set for a short film and was the sound guy with the boom microphone for a few days and even that was an exciting different experience. I want to trying acting / voice acting too at some point. It feels like everything that's happening around is so accessible that it only takes that "let's do it" to experience something totally new.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
I would say that our Break On 2 dance performance is definitely one of my unforgettable incidents here at USC. Working week after week perfecting a piece for that one day can get pretty stressful, but is also very rewarding. Being able to show everything you have worked on so far to everyone in the audience and getting that feedback is definitely an extraordinary feeling. It was a similar case when we presented our game "Embedded". We got accepted to show our game at VRLA, which is the world's largest VR convention, and the whole experience was new to me. We had our own booth where we got people from all over the world giving us amazing comments. It was a really proud moment. And last but not least, our Computer Science commencement ceremony was of course an unforgettable day for me. I happened to be the first in line and got to carry one of the flags for Computer Science. My family was there to see me graduate and they could see my name on the commencement booklet as one of the award recipients. It was a way of showing my gratitude to them for everything they have done for my growth and education.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
I love pineapple on pizza.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
It has been an amazing two years. The only problem is that I was just getting used to being here at USC and now I am graduating. I've learned so much in my program simply because of how closely tied it is to the gaming industry. As I was working on my projects, I would constantly get exposure to people from the industry, receiving feedback and advice that also became useful later in the work environment. It was thanks to the USC Gamepipe Laboratory Showcase and the program coordinator Mike Zyda that I was able to show our game to visitors, connect with employers and actually find a part-time job to work at during my last semester. I remember that when I first looked up and applied to USC, I never imagined that I would be deeply involved throughout the program. It was a very different experience studying in a completely different country, seeing people from diverse cultures, and enjoying different kinds of food. Living abroad on my own, away from home, was a challenge, but it taught me to make decisions, take responsibility and I feel that I've matured significantly.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
During my last semester, I've been working part-time at fun-gi, a startup company that focuses on mobile game development. So far it is going great, and I am really glad to see that the courses I took at USC line up very well with my responsibilities at the workplace. Soon I will start to work full-time at fun-gi, and I am excited to see what the future holds.

Priscila Oliveira
Master of Science in Green Technologies

What has been your favorite Green Technologies project that you worked on at USC and why?
My favorite Green Technologies project was the one I worked on in my Renewable Energy in Power Systems course for a few reasons. This was the first course I've taken on renewable energy and on electric power systems and I really enjoyed all the topics that I learned there. I am also very curious about the development and deployment of clean energy technologies toward a sustainable future, which I was able to learn throughout this course. I worked on a team of six students of diverse backgrounds which was an enjoyable experience and a great opportunity to learn from my teammates and exchange ideas with them.

How has living in Los Angeles impacted your experience as a Green Technologies student?
Green Technologies is a highly interdisciplinary degree program that emphasizes green systems and the environment, energy technologies and efficiency, and sustainability and society. I benefit from multiple green energy and sustainable projects throughout the Los Angeles region. I have either studied some of them in my classes at USC or learned about them during my previous internship experience at the Los Angeles Water Quality Control Board. In addition, many of the engineering consulting and energy firms that I would like to work for after I graduate have offices in Los Angeles, and I have had the opportunity to meet and network with some of them at professional events on campus.

As a Green Technologies student, what do you see as two of the most pressing changes our businesses and society must make in the coming years?
Climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges of the modern age in achieving sustainable development. The understanding that climate is changing has been widely received and countries across the globe urgently need to support efforts to further diversify their energy mix and the clean power supply of a rapidly increasing demand due to population growth. Climate change is an obstacle itself to eliminating global issues such as extreme poverty while countries also work to lower their emissions toward net-zero. I'm extremely curious about the development and deployment opportunities of, for example, bioenergy in Brazil. As the world gradually transitions from conventional energy sources to a renewables-dominant future, Brazil remains a global leader in renewable energy generation with its electricity mix made up predominantly of clean sources.

In addition, profit, for any business, is still the primary goal, along with growth being crucial to long-term survival. On the other hand, climate programs and policies not only require a high cost to catalyze but get grudging acceptance because of the lingering belief that environmental regulations - which would help to address the threat of climate change - erode competitiveness. The prevailing view in many businesses is still that there is a fixed trade-off: the environment versus the economy. Society will most likely continue using fossil fuels, which still supply more than 80% of the worldâ€™s energy, and thus, tax policies to reduce GHG emissions, for instance, will incentivize the deployment of new technologies (i.e carbon capture and storage) and lead to innovation that will further decrease their costs. The major sources of soil and groundwater contamination are organic pollutants, among which mineral oil is the most frequent contaminants.

Why did you choose to enroll at USC?
Sustainability is one of the most pressing global challenges today and as an Environmental Engineer, I am uniquely positioned to address this problem. My undergraduate and graduate education, engineering projects, internships and engineering studies abroad have equipped me for service and leadership in this field. Specifically, I took a Sustainable Design course while getting my Master of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University where I learned more principles of sustainable development. It fueled my interest in this field and I really enjoyed everything that I learned in that course, which became a personal passion of mine. This led me to apply to the Master's Program in Green Technologies at the University of Southern California, that has given me knowledge of sustainable systems and clean energy to prepare myself to reach my professional goals, and the tools I need to make a meaningful impact in my discipline.

Looking back, what is an experience at USC that you'll never forget?
Being a Master's student at USC has afforded me a lot of unique opportunities. An unforgettable experience at USC was being a student delegate at the 2019 Climate Forward Conference, which brought together international experts to discuss productive paths for action. I heard from state senators, a former governor, a UN Ambassador, CEOs, journalists and more. Former Secretary of State John Kerry, who led the U.S. in global Paris Agreement negotiations, delivered the keynote speech, and Mayor Eric Garcetti delivered a powerful lunch address on city-level action. Student delegates then went to the post-conference retreat at the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island, where we distilled key takeaways from the panel discussions and participated in workshops. Ultimately, we came away with a resolution outlining actions that are key for seizing our individual climate power.
Another impactful experience was being the Director of Advocacy of the USC Environmental Student Assembly, where I have run a single-use plastic waste reduction campaign that has required me to communicated effectively and develop relationships with USC departments, faculty, students, and startups. I coordinated ten students and my coordination allowed them to have a sustainable practice while working to educate the USC community about the importance of recycling and the benefits of implementing environmentally sustainable solutions on campus such as mapping all water stations on campus and educating the USC community on the benefits of a zero-waste drinking water network. My main goal is to reduce the environmental impacts of the plastic products we design, use, and discard.

What did you enjoy most about living in California?
I was born and grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and I was very connected with nature as I was growing up. I love swimming in the ocean and hiking in the mountains, and you can find many coastal cities that have mountains in California so it really feels like home here. There are also many National Parks that offer astonishing landscapes and unlimited fun.

What are some personal achievements or experiences you'd like to share?
USC has afforded me a variety of unique opportunities. As the Director of Advocacy of the USC Environmental Student Assembly, I worked on a greening initiative to reduce single-use plastic waste that helped foster stronger working relationships between students and USC departments, faculty, and campus facilities by working collaboratively towards campus-wide sustainability goals, especially waste diversion.

What advice would you give future Viterbi students?
My advice would be to try to get involved in extracurricular activities and build relationships with your peers and professors while completing the courses. USC offers many unique opportunities for students to participate in a variety of initiatives/activities outside the classroom such as student organizations, volunteering activities, on-campus student worker positions, ambassador programs, and so on, and from my personal experience, it is rewarding and enriching academically and personally.

Priyambada Jain
Master of Science in Computer Science - Data Science

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I was born and raised in a small town called Dholpur in India. My father being a professor always instituted acquiring knowledge as the most important aspect which inspired me. In 2015, I acquired Bachelors of Technology in Computer Science from Laxmi Niwas Mittal Institute of Technology(LNMIIT) in Jaipur. Followed by that, I joined Bosch Ltd in Jaipur to attain practical skills. In order to enhance my skills, I wanted to pursue masters in data science. During Fall 2016, I joined University of Southern California, as a graduate student and it helped me to become a better person in many aspects during my studies.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
USC offers the best amalgamation of knowledge and skills, having a hold of practical approach towards education is the crucial element in today's world. I always wanted to go to a school where I can learn how to keep myself motivated enough for continuous learning. The world is evolving at a steady pace and always being a student is the key to success. It was well reflected through the curriculum at USC and that's why I chose USC for my masters.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
Interacting with people cultivates our thoughts better; we get more wider prospects and it helps to bring out the better in us. I always worked towards a goal to help my peers in every way possible. While being at USC, I was involved as a senator for Computer Science department at Viterbi Graduate Senate Organization (VGSA). Here I was responsible for organizing technical and fun events for the students. Also having a closer glance at the curriculum, to help fellow students maximize their knowledge, was a core part of the role.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
I remember organizing the Hollywood hike event during my tenure as a senator. It was a great experience, handling all the arrangements, promoting the event and putting up the best efforts to make sure that it was successful. It was an early morning event on weekend and we had lot of people signed up for the event. It was exciting to see people showing up at 6 AM. It was an amazing event and students were happy at the end of the hike. This is one of my best memories at USC.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
Always believe that you can get through the toughest times. All of us have different experiences throughout our journey and we must keep looking at the present moment and try to make the most out of it. This is what I do when things are extremely hard sometimes and people around you will be looking out for you.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
n one word it was "awesome". I came all the way over from another country and found a home here. Friends that are family now, being at USC changed my life. I acquired skills, used them and lived it out beautifully. These two years have changed me and brought out the best in me. Take my words: USC is an experience for a lifetime.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
I would be joining BlackRock in New York as an analyst. I did my summer internship in 2017 at BlackRock and it was an excellent experience.

Prakarsh Upmanyu
Master of Science in Computer Science - Data Science

Tell us a little bit about yourself
am from India and I did my undergraduate degree in software engineering from Delhi Technological University. Then I worked for two years as a software engineer at Info Edge India Ltd. My experience at Info Edge India Ltd. began as a software engineer and the main responsibility involved development tasks. During the stint, I developed interest in analytical tasks and started working on analytical projects. Then I started using big data and analytical tools. The work experience helped me get an admission at USC, as it was more related to the major – Data Science. In the beginning, I mostly focused on data science courses, but later switched to general computer science.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
One of the key reasons why I chose USC is its location – California – which offers a lot of engineering opportunities. Moreover, the flexibility to pursue courses from different majors is another positive aspect of USC.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
I enjoy playing outdoor sports like Soccer and Badminton. I did join the USC badminton club for a short time and even got selected in their team. While at USC, I also went for many hiking trips.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
At USC, I got a lot of international exposure and made friends from all over the world. I learnt their languages and cultural practices, which are memorable experiences that I will never forget.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
When I tell people that I am an introvert, they don’t believe me as I tend to talk a lot.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
would give a 10 on 10 to my experience at USC. It was worth it and I learnt a lot of new things.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
After my experience at USC, I look forward to working in different countries and exploring new cultures. It definitely feels exciting to visit new places and explore jobs that align with my interest.

Quianhui Wu
PhD in Biomedical Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I am an international student from Shanghai, China. I completed my Bachelors degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in New York, and pursued my masters in engineering degree at Cornell University, New York, both in Biomedical Engineering. I joined USC for the PhD program in Biomedical Engineering in fall 2015.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
The main reason is that I found strong interest in the research topic and focus that my advisor, Dr. Stacey Finley has. Her lab, Computational Systems Biology Laboratory, use computational tools to study cancer biology, angiogenesis, and immunotherapy, which can provide insights for design of optimal cancer therapeutic strategies. My research at Cornell was also related to similar topics, which was how I became more familiar as well as interested in the research strategies employed in Dr. Finley's lab. Another important reason is that, the weather in southern California is undeniably nice. Having spent many years in upstate New York, I could really use some nice and warm sunny days. It definitely makes me happy and helps me enjoy life as a graduate student.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
I'm very much into powerlifting. I train 5 to 6 days a week. For the rest of the time I relax so, I can recover from training and be stronger next time.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
I guess the most exciting thing that's happened to me here is that I recently won the outstanding mentor award for school year 2017-2018. I've always felt so happy to meet my two great mentees. I'm normally an introvert and a bit anti-social, but putting myself out there and providing my support and guidance was a great and enjoyable experience. Moreover, I made two great friends.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
I'm pretty strong in powerlifting. I can probably out-lift 50% of all the people who work out. maybe 90% of the girls who work out. I do want to compete but feel reluctant to follow a traditional powerlifting training program, though. So, I train myself.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
It will be three full years in August 2018. I'd say it has been wonderful. I've learned a lot about myself, people around me, and just life in general, thanks to all the resources that are easily accessible to students here. Comparing USC to my college, it's a very different environment, and honestly, I enjoy it more here. I think USC made it possible for us graduate students to enjoy life as much as we can while grinding on the research work. I feel very fortunate and grateful to be here.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
I'm thinking of joining a research team in a pharmaceutical company, to make good use of my knowledge and skills in developing novel therapeutics. It's always been my goal to be able to contribute to advances in science and healthcare.

Shoubhik Debnath
Master of Science in Computer Science - Data Science

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I did my undergraduate studies at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. Then I worked for Microsoft India for two years. That’s when I realized the need to specialize in a specific domain and wanted to explore the field of data science. So, I decided to do a master’s program and chose USC’s Master of Science in Computer Science course.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
I feel USC has a very good course structure and a strong research foundation. For me, personally, I was focused on the research side. During my graduate studies, I was doing research work with Professor Gaurav Sukhatme in the Robotics lab. USC has the top facilities and faculty in the field of Robotics.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
Outside the classroom, research was my major interest. I worked in the Human Robotics Interaction Lab during the first year. Then I started working with Prof. Sukhatme to solve robotic path learning problems. I was also involved with the Graduate Mentorship program and guided new graduate students to make sure they have a smooth transition and get comfortable here. I share my experience and knowledge with the new students to help them adjust well at USC.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
Well, during the initial phase of my journey at USC, I was focused on pursuing PhD. I was always focused on PhD and never thought about getting a job after completing my masters. But after I did my first internship, I thought of giving the job hunt a shot and interviewed for positions in my field of interest. I had PhD offers from USC and Carnegie Mellon University and job offer from Nvidia and a few other companies. I chose the job offer from Nvidia. Two years back, I was thinking only about PhD and now I am working at Nvidia, the American tech company. I believe that when there is a chance to take a risk, you should go for it.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
When people hear my background, studies and work experience, they think I am studious and good in academics, but I am also really good at sports. I maintain a healthy lifestyle – cook healthy food, maintain work-life balance, hit the gym regularly, enjoy running and play a lot of active sports.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
It was definitely worth it. With the amount of exposure and opportunities I got here, I don’t regret any moment or time at USC. USC gives you all the opportunities, but it’s up to you to make the maximum use of it.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
I am working for Nvidia at Santa Clara, CA. Since my background was in deep learning and robotics, my role here is research and development engineer with a focus on robotics.

Thomas Guerra Aldazabad
Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I did my bachelor's degree in geological sciences in my home city at the University of Buenos Aires. I have two years of experience in the oil and gas industry. I worked as a field engineer in Schlumberger in Neuquén, in the Argentinean Patagonia.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
USC has a unique program for petroleum engineering that accounts for the digital transformation that the industry and the world is going through. This includes the use of smart tools and soft computing techniques applied to different aspects of the industry. I found this program very interesting and challenging considering the trends of the industry and my background. Another decisive factor was the location. Los Angeles is a beautiful city and I really enjoy living here as the weather is amazing and many outdoor activities can be done.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
I'm a big fan of outdoor activities such as surfing, hiking and playing soccer. Also, I'm planning to compete in a triathlon in a couple of years. I am very interested in music as well. I play the guitar and I would like to spend more time with it to improve my skills.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
During my two years at USC, I have had several unforgettable experiences after meeting people from all around the world.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
I took bel canto lessons for two years and sang in a choir for one year. I really enjoyed it and I'm thinking about going back and polishing my technique.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
It was a great experience, not only academically but also as a social experience. I feel that the biggest takeaway of this journey is the people I met and had the chance to share a piece of this part of my life. I had the opportunity to make friends from different countries and cultural backgrounds which helped me grow as a person.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
My future plan is to find a rewarding and challenging job in an oil and gas company and also start a family.

Yibo Ma
Master of Science in Communication Data Science

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I did my undergraduate studies in Advertising at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China. Even though I did not have an engineering background or any experience in data science, I chose the Informatics program because I really liked the curriculum design of this major. It helps students learn concepts step by step. Especially for students like me, who don’t have any experience in engineering, it is not intimidating. The curriculum is designed in such a way that it gives introduction and lays down the concepts first, which makes it easy for students to understand.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
Two years ago, I really wanted to get international exposure and educational experience in America. I really feel the quality of higher education is good here. With regards to USC, I was attracted to the degree program and the way they had designed the curriculum.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
was a part of the Graduate Rising in Data Science (GRID) club, a student club for data science. It consisted of students from Computer Science and Informatics majors and also academic advisors and professors. GRID conducts workshops which educates students on the skills needed to excel in the professional world.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
There are two people who I would like to thank for my unforgettable memories at USC. My instructor, Yolanda Gill, taught us the first class on Introduction to Computational Thinking, which is like the Data Science 101 course. She really pays attention to the students and their needs. I also worked at her lab – USC’s Information Science Institute at Marina Del Rey – for a year and learnt a lot. Another person who has been a part of my unforgettable memories is a really good friend, who also took the communication data science course, who helped me a lot during these two years.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
People are usually surprised when I tell them that I took a Data science masters course, without having any background in computer science.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC ?
Coming to USC was the best decision I made in the last two years. It’s worth it. Studying at USC will benefit my life in the long term and it has definitely changed the way I think about my career path and myself.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
I want to be a data scientist and work for a big technology firm.

Zhangzhengrong Justin Feng
Master of Science in Materials Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I finished my undergraduate studies in Mechanical engineering at Boston University. Then I applied to USC for my masters degree in materials engineering. I have completed my graduate studies and now applied to USC’s PhD program in Civil Engineering. It will be starting in Fall 2018.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
USC Viterbi has a very good reputation as an engineering school and it has the top faculty and research opportunities. Moreover, the location – Los Angeles – is great and the weather is really good.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
While one of my big interest is in research, I like playing outdoor sports such as Basketball. I also enjoy skiing. During my free time, I like playing video games.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC?
I was involved with the Viterbi Graduate Student Association (VGSA) and it really helped me make a lot of acquaintances from different countries. Exposure to different cultures helped my overall growth as a professional. I helped VGSA in organizing a lot of events and also helped new students adjust to USC.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
People who know me, never believed that I could do research or even get enrolled in PhD. My family was not much into academics and people thought the same for me. But here I am, all set to begin my PhD journey in a few months.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?
It was fantastic as I got to know a lot of new people. My journey was not only focused on academics, but I could also take up leadership roles. Overall, it was a well-rounded experience.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
I am starting my PhD in Fall 2018 at USC. After completing my PhD, I want to work in the industry and focus on structural materials.

Drew Poulter
Master of Construction Management

Why did you choose to enroll at USC?

I chose to enhance my technical knowledge and to have the opportunity to work on far-reaching projects around the world. I am grateful for my experience at USC, one that, in my opinion, is second to none. The network within USC encourages students to interact with each other which, in turn, builds their confidence and evolves their academic and emotional growth.

What's an experience at USC that you'll never forget?
One of my most memorable experiences at USC was traveling to Greece for the Innovation in Engineering Design for Global Challenges where we worked in teams to develop and implement products intended to help refugees living in camps around the world. This experience changed my perspective on the world and opened my eyes to the suffering and determination of refugees who were trying to better their lives and their children’s lives. It was life changing and I am very fortunate to have been a part of this course

What did you enjoy most about living in California?
I grew up in California but when I started the program at USC I was finishing a long-term work project in New York. During my two years at USC, I made the weekly bi-coastal commute from California to New York. I have traveled to over 30 countries but honestly, there is no place I would rather live than California. First and foremost, my family lives in California and when you add incredible year-round weather and an eclectic culture that is always exciting and evolving with new ideas and events, it’s a win-win in my book

What are some personal achievements or experiences you’d like to share?
I have been employed by a large engineering firm for the last eight years and was not expecting to change jobs after graduation. However, new opportunities opened up after a fellow classmate encouraged me to explore the job market and subsequently, I accepted a position with Turner Construction, one of the largest international construction firms. Turner Construction is involved in some of the most iconic projects in the United States and I will be working on the new Los Angeles Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park. I am honored and excited to be part of a team that is building one of the largest projects in the country.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
The last four years I spent more nights in a hotel than in my own home. My previous job required extensive travel and many people think that I am joking when I tell them that I really did to live in a hotel. It was a unique, sometimes exciting, sometimes exhausting lifestyle that I fully appreciated.

What advice would you give future Viterbi students?
My advice to future Viterbi students is to engage with your classmates and stay involved on campus despite working full time. I worked full time during my two years at USC and during my second year, I made it a priority to become more involved on campus. One of my favorite experiences of my USC Viterbi was participating in the Spark competition in Reno. During the competition, we were given a set of issues on a real construction project and instructed to design creative solutions to remedy the problems within 18 hours. We prepared for this competition for months and were guided by two senior-level project managers who took the time to carefully prepare us for this competition. The extraordinary experience was a valuable lesson in teamwork and staying focused as we multi-tasked towards our common goal.

Adrian Samsel
Master of Science in Materials Engineering

Why did you choose to enroll at USC?

I chose to enroll at USC not only due to its reputable online DEN system but also from all the great things I heard about the university and product development curriculum. From friends and colleagues I met through internships and full-time work, all I heard were positive comments about USC and its community. And they were right! I feel honored to be apart of the Trojan family.

What’s an experience at USC that you’ll never forget?

USC Viterbi has a very good reputation as an engineering school and it has the top faculty and research opportunities. Moreover, the location – Los Angeles – is great and the weather is really good.

What did you enjoy most about living in California?

As a DEN student I have never stepped foot on campus! I told myself that I would visit campus at least once before graduating but time flew by too quickly. I will hold myself to getting down to LA and seeing at least one Trojan victory in the Coliseum sometime soon. #FightOn

What are some personal achievements or experiences you’d like to share?

One achievement that really stands out from my academic career was obtaining a patent from my undergraduate research. While designing and prototyping a nanoliter pipette, the thought of filing for a patent occasionally crossed my mind but I never thought it would become a reality. When the request finally went through, almost 1.5 years after submitting for one, it was very rewarding. Outside the classroom but also in undergrad, my proudest moment was achieving All-American status in outdoor track and field my sophomore year.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?

Most of my friends and coworkers are always shocked when they hear me speak to my family in Polish. Their reactions are hilarious since none of them expect it if they didn’t know beforehand. Although I was born in the US, Polish was the first language I learned and I’m very proud of my family culture and heritage; pierogis are the best!

What advice would you give future Viterbi students?

I think the best advice I could give to future students is to really take advantage of the opportunity to network with your peers. Whether its through class discussion boards or interactions during group work, you can truly take away another level of education from Viterbi classes by talking and listening to others. I know I took away a few lessons and wish I had done so even more.

Fernanda Gushken
Master of Science in Engineering Management

Why did you choose to enroll at USC?

All schools I got accepted, (including medical schools in my home country, Brazil), were very competitive, with excellent academics, hands on classes and personalized curriculum. What struck me the most about USC was the Trojan Family that I would be part of even after graduating. As an alumni, I realize that the time spent as an undergrad and grad student at USC went so fast that I would miss a lot the experience I had. Today, I attend professional, academic and social events with many alumni, current and prospective USC students and feel that we can continue supporting each other anytime.

Looking back, what is an experience at USC that you'll never forget?

As part of the board of Brazilian Student Association (BRASA) and Brazilian Graduate Student Conference (BRASCON), I learned a lot about why we can go faster alone but further together. During my undergrad and grad years at USC, I coordinated professional and scientific conferences and learned a lot with students from other universities who were part of my team. We learned skills that professors try to teach us in school projects, but we only learn after trying ourselves in real life. In the events, my team and I learned about logistics, financials and academic content of the conferences, besides dealing with time management and efficiency that were essential to keep up with our school projects and exams.

What did you enjoy most about living in California?

Before moving to California, I knew that I would have a good balance in social and academic life. All my expectations were met and even more, I was surprised by the diversity of nationalities, personalities, lifestyles, etc. Being immersed in such a diverse environment and engaging with several student organizations and Greek life definitely shaped my years at USC in a very positive manner. The weather is definitely a plus, especially with the possibility to travel to the beach or to snowy mountains in a 2-hour range.

What are some personal achievements or experiences you would like to share?

After graduating with my masters at USC, I had another big dilemma. I received a full time offer to work in a consulting firm in Boston and also got accepted to a medical school in Brazil (which is a 6-year undergrad major). It was a time I followed my intuition; I then decided to go back to Brazil. I want to pursue a career in medicine and management, both in public and private fields, especially working towards improving healthcare access, quality and efficiency in my home country. I feel very satisfied with the choices I made, especially because I understand we feel more grateful by going against the flow and choosing what we want instead of what the majority prefers.

What advice would you give future Viterbi students?

One piece of advice I keep from my family is that, even if you graduate early or choose not to pursue a masters: never stop studying. Keep taking extra courses, maybe for a hobby or to learn a new language or skill. This feeling of constant improvement is healthy not only for our cognition but especially for the thirst for challenges and to meet people from different backgrounds. Another advice is that we have an intrinsic responsibility to support others that don’t have the same privileges as we have - not for the return or for our selfish sensation of feeling good. It becomes natural for me as I get to experience different realities, especially when doing volunteering work in healthcare, that I need to be accountable for helping someone everyday - and we students don’t need to wait to become governors or CEOs to do that.

Lily Lau Hou
Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering

Why did you choose to enroll at USC?

While searching for the best engineering schools, USC Viterbi – School of Engineering was among the top 10 in the US. I chose to enroll at USC because of the uniqueness of the Biomedical Engineering MS program in its courses that build on strong engineering, business, and regulatory training programs, which align to my career goals. As a Fulbright scholar, I suggested USC to Fulbright and I was also awarded a USC scholarship.

What’s an experience at USC that you’ll never forget?
I just returned from an amazing and challenging week at the LeaderShape program where I had the opportunity to share and connect with other 57 amazing USC students from all across the campus. After going through a leadership and personal development, I’ve realized I became more inspired to make an impact in the world. I engaged in a self-learning process that helped me understand that leadership is not about becoming someone else, but about sharing who we are within our communities. As leaders, we build communities, we challenge ourselves to what could be, and we work towards making vision into reality. I was motivated to head and give back to my USC community. It was a life-changing experience!

What did you enjoy most about living in California?
I enjoy the perfect weather California has to offer! There’s plenty of sunshine, easy access to the ocean and delicious food. Another thing I enjoy about California, is the vast presence of biotech and biomedical companies and start-ups. This life sciences and biomedical ecosystem that California has to offer can be taken advantage through networking and career development opportunities.

What are some personal achievements or experiences you’d like to share?
I consider my most notable personal achievement is being awarded a Fulbright scholarship to pursue Master studies in the US. This Fulbright experience had given me the opportunity to make friends from more than 70 different countries and different cultural backgrounds, which has helped me grow as a person. This experience has opened my eyes and mind in new ways. As a learning journey, it is not only helping me pivot toward my specific goal of increasing competency in my academic area but also to new opportunities that I had not considered before. I am invested in leveraging all these experiences in the US into opportunities for both personal and professional growth. I am proud to be a Fulbrighter and thankful for this incredible opportunity.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
If you are in front of me, you would think that I am from China, however, people get surprised that I speak Spanish because I am from a wonderful, diverse, multiracial and culturally mixed country in Central America called, Panama! I also enjoy the diversity and multiculturalism I find in Los Angeles, and I believe that they both bring people closer together through embracing our differences.

What advice would you give future Viterbi students?
To believe in yourselves, to be the hero of your own story! Maintain your goals in mind and be open to new opportunities! At USC, you will find lots of resources and opportunities to build communities and to network. It will be upon you to embrace these opportunities and to take the most out of them. Connect with people, make friends, tell your stories, and FIGHT ON!

Gedi Minster
Master of Astronautical Engineering

Why did you choose to enroll at USC?

I enrolled in USC because it has a top-notch engineering school with a unique space engineering department. USC is situated in the center of the global space industry and many of my peers were already working in the aerospace industry. Prior to enrolling, I visited USC for a few days. I was impressed with the campus atmosphere and with the possibility of working on flight hardware during school at the Space Engineering Research Center.

What's an experience at USC that you'll never forget?
Going on a Death Valley retreat with 30 photographers as part of the Photography Club, sharing an Airbnb with them and playing american college games (King's Cup). Meeting Arnold Schwarzenegger on campus. Hearing the story of an American doctor who treats hundreds of patients in Sudan every day as part of a Marshall Business School lecture.

What did you enjoy most about living in California?
The comedy, film and music scenes in LA. The close national parks (Big Bear, Joshua Tree, etc.) which many student clubs organize inexpensive trips to visit.

What are some personal achievements or experiences you’d like to share?
Designing an artificial gravity spaceship concept for the NASA RASC-AL competition and leading our team to victory for the first time in USC history. Designing and building a satellite for Designing and building a satellite for Vector Space. It is scheduled to go to space in the near future. Representing the Viterbi graduate student body as the Astronautical Engineering Department senator. Winning the 2019 "Rocket Scientist of the Year" Master's award. Writing and performing stand-up on stage. Learning and performing comedy improv in West Hollywood. My first live TV interview on an Israeli morning show.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
I used to Breakdance in the streets of Jerusalem.

What advice would you give future Viterbi students?

Take it easy in the first semester and give yourself time to explore LA. I found an incredible comedy improv theater in the first semester because I took time to explore the city.Attend classes and events by other departments. Visit a few other schools in your first semester - architecture, cinematic arts, Marshall school of business, dramatic arts,... and see if anything interests you there. Try to join at least one club a semester. Student clubs at USC can be surprisingly well organized and can have a huge impact on your degree enjoyment. Engineering students tend to stay in their bubble.Go to a lot of conventions and always ask for funding from the GSG and from your department. They want to help you. This will help you connect with colleagues and find a job.

Abdulla Alshabanah
Master of Science in Computer Engineering

Why did you choose to enroll at USC?

When deciding there were three factors that would lead to me enrolling in any school that had one of them. These factors are: having good alumni network, close to the Silicon Valley and having study-life balance. USC has all of them and this why I chose to enroll at USC.

What's an experience at USC you'll never forget?
Running the 2019 LA Marathon as part of Team USC and raising nearly $10,000 that goes to combat homelessness in LA. Being an engineering student and training for running 26.2 miles wasn't easy at all but having a study-life balance is achievable at USC and this is what helped me to finish the LA marathon among the top 40% finishers.

What did you enjoy most about living in California?
People in the world are divided into either being a beach person or a mountain person, however, I am a mix of both. I enjoyed hiking the most in California and there is no better plan for the weekend than taking a hike in Santa Monica mountains then enjoying the waves of Venice Beach.

What are some personal achievements or experiences you’d like to share?
I was chosen by The Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) to receive the ECE Most Outstanding Student Award which is an award given to only one student out of all the 1000 MS students. I wasn't only active inside the classroom but outside as well as an active member of the USC Community as graduate boards member of two associations on campus, which allowed to have a family away from my family that I can celebrate my achievements with.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
I am admitted into the PhD program at USC but before applying to the program I visited more than 20 campuses in the US and drove in more than 20 states, fortunately, I ended up applying only to USC and most of the schools in the University of California system, except UCLA of course.

What advice would you give future Viterbi students?
Graduate life would be the best period of your life if a study-life balance was guaranteed. flourishing in the classroom is not enough to create lifelong memories and being academically excellent and active in the USC community will surely guarantee you that so until you meet some of the greatest minds in the world at Viterbi School of Engineering, keep fighting on!

Ruchit Gandhi
Master of Science in Computer Science

Why did you choose to enroll at USC?

My main motivation behind Graduate School was to explore the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). USC has some great research going on in this area as well as affiliation to good research institutes like Information Sciences Institute (ISI) and Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT). Which I thought would give me more opportunities for practical experience. Besides AI specifically, USC has a reputed Computer Science Department and a great Trojan Alumni Network which also influenced my decision to come here. Apart from the educational stuff, the weather is another positive aspect about USC. Being in California the weather here is conducive for an International student like me. These were some of the factors that helped me decide that I wanted to be a Trojan.

What's an experience at USC you'll never forget?

My time with the Trojan Bhangra Group! I have always loved dancing and Bhangra is something that is very close to me. Being able to pursue that here in the US was an amazing opportunity. I loved those practice sessions, dancing in the rooms at the Kaufman school (those rooms filled with mirrors are just amazing!). I also got the chance to perform at the Bovard Auditorium once. Performing in front of huge crowd was a different feeling in itself!

What did you enjoy most about living in California?

The weather, Mexican food and the beaches are some of the things that I loved most about California.

What are some personal achievements or experiences you’d like to share?

Achievements I am proud of are:

1) Receiving the Academic Merit Award from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering

2) Being invited for a dinner with Dean Yannis Yortsos of the Viterbi School during his visit to India.

3) Learning to cook, becoming independent and adjusting in a foreign country

Experiences I will always cherish:

1) Studying at a renowned university with smart students from around the world!

2) Those busy exam weeks, late night study sessions in the library, fun spring and winter breaks!

3) The numerous hikes that I did around LA - Hollywood Hike, Echo Mountain Trail, Devil's Punchbowl Hike, etc.

Is there something that may surprise people to know about you?
Family and Friends are the most important ingredients in my recipe of life! Coming away from home, I initially had a hard time keeping in touch with everyone back in India. So I started maintaining a list of family and friends that I love talking to. The list currently has 15 names! I call them all one after another over a period of 3 months. Once the last one is done, I start from the beginning again. Talking to them helped me get comfortable during my initial days in the US, when everything was pretty new for me; also this is how I make sure to regularly keep in touch with some of the most important people in my life.

What advice would you give future Viterbi students?
Explore; try out different things; make use of the diverse opportunities available at USC; try to find things you like doing apart from study which will in turn keep you motivated; make friends; expand your network; see every failure as a learning experience and cherish even the smallest of successes!

Siddhesh Kadam
Master of Science in Engineering Management

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?
I’m from Pune, India! I did my undergraduate studies in Computer Engineering at the University of Pune. While working as a data science intern at a company in Pune, I realized business and management skills are just as important as the technology itself. I learned that business strategy and decision making are all based on facts, generated by using engineering principles. In today’s world where technology touches everything, there is a need for people who understand both technology and business — that intersection is where I feel I can be close to both the fields I am passionate about.

My undergraduate curriculum has given me a stronghold in the fundamental concepts of computer programming and analytics. I decided that I would love to make use of these technical skills to contribute to the business development of tech-based companies. I was sure that by pursuing my master’s in Engineering Management from USC, I would be able to fulfill my dreams.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
Having my undergraduate degree in computer engineering and data science, I was more inclined towards specializing in analytics through the Engineering Management program. The flexible course structure at USC enabled me to choose electives that interested me from a diverse and wide range of courses. Along with that, I also had the freedom to choose courses from other schools. The master's program at USC was exactly as I envisioned it to be. To be honest, in comparison to other universities that provide a similar program, USC offers more flexibility in the coursework. With the right choices, one can streamline their studies to be the way they want, and I really enjoyed that.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
I enjoy playing outdoor sports like soccer and cricket. I am also fond of exploring new places, so I often put on my adventure boots and take treks in the area. USC has amazing grounds for all sports and I make sure I devote time for refreshing outdoor activities before returning to my academic schedule. My hobbies also include dancing — I was able to showcase my interest through a Diwali cultural event at Bovard Auditorium.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC.
In India, I had no clue how popular american college football is in the U.S. My most memorable experience was watching last year’s USC vs UCLA football match and also attending the tailgate before the game. It was a huge fest and seemed like the greatest carnival I have ever been to. What I like about this is people who are both directly or indirectly related to USC meet and celebrate the Trojan pride no matter what the result of the game is.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?
I seem quite reserved and reticent when I meet new people. But once I get to know them, I don’t stop cracking jokes and I’ll laugh with them until the end of the day. So, I do have a great sense of humor, at least that’s what my friends say!

Overall, how has your journey at USC been?

It has been fantastic — surely a rollercoaster ride. Completing assignments just before the deadline, sharing knowledge among your classmates in the library all night long, partying on the weekends and having spontaneous and last-minute road trips all over California — these have all been great experiences I never would have expected.

I feel I have also shared a good rapport with all my professors and my supervisors where I had worked as a student worker. USC has given me a lifetime of memories and Los Angeles is exactly where all the fun is!!

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
After I complete my graduation, I see myself working as an Analyst in top firms. As someone with a keen eye for details and a passion for data, analytics and business, I would love to gather and dive deep into the data, investigate outcomes and present them to my team members in the form of business solutions.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?
I see myself utilizing my analytical skills to discover better sustainable energy solutions for a sustainable future. As renewable energy sources like wind and solar are intermittent and unpredictable, I want to develop a forecasting solution from monitoring and analytics technology so that I can contribute towards an increase in renewable power generation. Sophisticated analytics will enable renewable energy companies to have deeper insights, which will help them better manage the variable nature of wind and solar, and more accurately forecast the amount of energy that can be redirected into the power grid.

Jose Cobena-Reyes
PhD in Chemical Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I am originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador. My bachelor’s degree is in chemical engineering, and after graduating, I worked for a few years as a Production Supervisor at a company called Holcim in Ecuador. I have always wanted to study abroad, so I took my chance and I came to USC.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
It’s a world class university and the research I’m doing here is related to my interests, which is a mixture of chemical engineering and computational research.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

Currently, I serve as the Graduate Student Representative for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Chapter at USC. I plan activities tailored to our Hispanic graduate students. Our most popular event is Painting Night! We gather together to paint on small canvases, it is very relaxing.

Last year, I served as part of the Center of Engineering Diversity Advisory Board at USC. We held meetings were we gave feedback and shared our concerns about the needs of our communities.

During my free time, I play the guitar. I also love watching soccer and movies.

How has SHPE helped you grow?
In so many ways. Professionally, thanks to SHPE I have learned networking techniques, how to follow up after meeting someone either by email or by Linkedin, how to approach people in networking events; in general some social conventions that we should apply when we attempt to grow our network. Socially, there are always opportunities to connect with other Hispanic graduate students during the SHPE events. That helped to make more friends!

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC.

Related to my research, the publication of my first paper was incredibly important to me. I worked for a year and a half on it before I was able to finally publish it.
I would also say that my networking skills have strengthened thanks to many workshops I have attended. I’ve been able to expand my network considerably and meet many new people.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?
I also have a master’s in business administration!

Overall, how has the PhD journey been at USC?
I would say that it has been probably one of the most fruitful experiences in my life. I have grown a lot, both personally and professionally. Studying abroad in Los Angeles and at USC has been a great time learning about other cultures and about myself and learning how to conduct world class research.

What are your future plans after completing your Phd?
My aim is to do research either in the semiconductor or chemical industries.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

The computational techniques that I use are currently moving towards a combination that involves machine learning to either predict material properties or to accelerate molecular simulation. I think exciting times about this are coming.

Ghena Alhanaee
PhD in Civil Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself
I am from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates where I grew up and spent my formative years all the way to completing my bachelor’s degree at The Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi (now renamed Khalifa University). I was always interested in physics and math and after some exploring, found myself intrigued by mechanical engineering which ended up being my maopr for my undergraduate studies. Throughout my studies, I grew more and more interested in the energy sector and had the opportunity to pursue a master’s in energy resources engineering at Stanford University.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
I then decided I wanted to continue working on and pursuing research in the energy and environment field, with a specific focus on my hometown and the surrounding region (the Persian Gulf). At the time, UAE had just announced they were constructing 4 nuclear reactors to diversify their energy sector. This would be the first time any of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries would enter the nuclear sector, and this really shaped my decision on what I wanted to focus on for my PhD research. I ended up finding an opportunity to work on research focused on my interests at the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at USC, which brought me to Los Angeles.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

Outside of the classroom, I love taking advantage of the beautiful Californian weather, spending time outdoors, going on hikes, and enjoying the sunshine.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC.

I am now starting my sixth year at USC (hopefully my last!) and have had the opportunity of meeting people from all sorts of backgrounds and countries and cultures. I have really enjoyed connecting with people from all walks of life and different corners of the world, that I wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to do.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?
Something that might surprise people about me is that I am an avid traveler. Whenever there is a vacation or even a long weekend, you will probably see me in a new city, new state or even a new country.

What are your future plans after completing your Phd?
After completing my degree, I am open to possibilities and opportunities and will see what comes my way (after taking a long much-needed vacation).

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?
I hope to see and be part of finding more sustainable ways to provide energy and protect the environment. I think we can definitely do better.

Muhammad Usman Shahid
Master of Science in Computer Science

Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am from Multan, which is a city in Pakistan. My undergraduate studies were at an institute in Pakistan called the National University of Science and Technology (NUST). I studied electrical engineering, and I worked for some time as an embedded software developer. During that time I was also exploring different courses on Coursera, which introduced me to machine learning. So, I planned to study more about machine learning and decided to come to the United States for grad school.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
The program at USC covered all of the bases of computer science. Since, I did not have a computer science background, I was attracted to this program. Apart from that, I would like to think that I have a little bit of entrepreneurial spirit and USC greatly encourages entrepreneurship. Lastly, I wanted to live in LA.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
Mostly I have nerdy hobbies — I like to code and make apps! I believe that I can create beneficial products so I like to spend time learning new technologies and working on different ideas. I am also trying to learn salsa dancing — I was surprised to learn that I enjoyed it.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC.
I have had a lot of firsts since coming here. I went to my first Halloween party, my first Thanksgiving dinner, my first dance, and it was the first time I dressed up as a character. These things are not common in my country and I participated in them here for the first time.

Overall, how is the two-year journey at USC?
My two-year journey at USC is great. I had the opportunity to meet many smart people, hopefully meet a fellow startup founder, learn about different cultures, work at a huge tech firm, and improve myself not just as a computer scientist, but also as a person.

What are your future plans after completing your degree??
My dream would be to have my own company and build exciting products. I would want to go back to Pakistan and work to alleviate the economic conditions there. I hope to have the development office of my company in Pakistan.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

I want to be a part of space exploration and planet colonization endeavors. I would love to see humanity's first steps on Mars —I am so excited to see that happen!

Mounica Naidu Manyam
Master of Science in Computer Science - Data Science

Mounica Naidu Manyam, grew up in Bengaluru, and received her bachelor’s in computer science and engineering from the Ramaiah Institute of Technology. She was working for Philips healthcare division in Bengaluru as a Software Engineer when she decided to go to graduate school at Viterbi. She chose Viterbi because it was ranked in the top 20 in machine learning programs. In addition, the university’s location in California, appealed to her as she believed it might provide greater opportunities and more vocational control. It also didn’t hurt that a lot of her friends who also studied at USC. Everything just came together.

Having never traveled alone before, Mounica set out with a friend to travel to USC where they both decided to attend school. At first, she was a little scared: it would be the first time that Mounica set foot in Los Angeles and her first time in the U.S. She need not have worried; she found people helpful and friendly. About 15 students from her class at her undergraduate university also came to USC. In total, she imagines about 40 students from her school would end up attending USC.

On campus, Mounica studied computer science with a specialization in Data Science. She learned a lot from the Machine Learning class taught by Professor Victor Adamchik and ‘Analysis of Algorithms’ taught by Professor Shawn Shamsian. Once she settled in, Mounica spent time going to Santa Monica and exploring downtown LA at night. Being a foodie, she enjoyed the famous taco trucks in LA.

One of the projects Mounica worked on caught the attention of AI expert Yolanda Gil, who works at the USC Information Science Institute and is now president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). Professor Gil recruited Mounica for a project analyzing LA’s traffic data. The project took advantage of USC’s other professional schools, the Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism, and Mounica converted vehicle traffic data from around LA into a usable format for emerging student journalists to analyze. In addition, she secured a student job at the school’s Marketing and Communications department where she built out the school’s website.

Her next position this summer will be an internship at Amazon in company’s advertising division in Silicon Valley. She knows that this requires a move to a new place but also knows that she won’t be alone. There are many student interns and alumni from USC who will be working for the same company and in the same location.

Mounica is grateful to her parents, sister, brother, teachers and friends who have encouraged her to pursue master’s and for their continued support.

Fight On!

Rebecca Peer
PhD in Environmental Engineering

Why did you choose the Viterbi School for your PhD program?
I chose to pursue my PhD at USC mainly because of my advisor and her extraordinary visions for potential research projects, but also because of the amazing amount of flexibility I am allowed as a PhD student here. I am able to research a very interdisciplinary project because I have been able to take classes and seek advice from professors in many different departments not only in the Viterbi School of Engineering, but in other areas of the University as well. So far, I have felt encouraged to strive for truly unique and scientifically relevant research with the support of my fellow students, my advisor, and my Engineering department.

What has surprised you most about the USC experience?
I was most surprised about the strong sense of community here at USC. I came from a very small undergraduate institution and was afraid of being lost in the crowd here in Los Angeles, but I have experienced the complete opposite. I have made many new friends who come from all over the world and have genuinely enjoyed integrating myself into the PhD community within the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department as well as many other non-academic communities at the University.

What is your current research project?
I work on evaluating the impact of future changes in climate – such as rising air and water temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, shifts in storm intensities and rising sea level – on the resiliency and reliability of the Western electricity grid. These future changes in our climate have adverse impacts on the power generation sector and often impose complex feedback loops that have not been modeled with scientific rigor. Considering that electricity is critical to maintaining quality of life, human health, and a safe food and water supply, understanding the scale of potential challenges is critical to ensuring a reliable power grid.

Who has been your biggest influence at USC?
My biggest influence here at USC has undoubtedly been my advisor, Dr. Kelly Sanders. Not only has she been an incredible source of information and guidance throughout my time at USC, she has also served as the basis for my personal support system. The relationship between myself and my advisor is one that I treasure greatly. Although she has helped me immensely in my academic career, I would argue that she has had a much greater impact on my personal growth and development, even if she doesn’t know it!

What do you do for fun when you aren’t in the lab or classroom?
I spend most of my free time training with the club triathlon team here at USC. I joined the team when I first came to USC and haven’t looked back! I was a varsity swimmer as an undergraduate and have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of learning how to exercise on land. On top of meeting many talented and interesting new friends, participating in this club sport has helped me maintain a great work-life balance.

What is your favorite thing about living in Los Angeles?
There are so many great things about being a grad student in LA! My favorite things include the incredible food, the eclectic neighborhoods, the beaches, and the lovely, sunny weather, of course!

What are your plans for after graduation?
The dreaded graduation question…How I wish that I was confident enough to say that I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I graduate and where I wanted to do it! Ultimately, I dream of having a job where I am able to contribute to the improvement of our lives and the life of our planet. Although I haven’t decided on a career path, I would say that I am most excited about researching as a scientist or as a professor.

Zumra Seidel
PhD in Chemical Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where have you lived, studied or worked?

I am from Turkey. I lived there until I graduated from college. I studied chemical engineering at Gazi University, then, I moved to Los Angeles for a master's degree with The Ministry of Education of Turkish Government Master of Science Scholarship in 2014.

Before I came to LA, I contacted my current advisor and have been working with his lab ever since! I learned so much and enjoyed doing research — the following year, I applied to the doctorate program. I started my doctorate degree with the Viterbi Graduate School PhD Fellowship in 2015.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

I met someone from USC at the career fair in Istanbul. At that time, I was applying for fellowships so I only kept brochures and contact email addresses. I was planning to contact USC and other schools that I spoke with after I found a fellowship.

When I obtained the fellowship, I followed up with several universities including USC. I always received good vibes and very quick and sincere responses from USC. Since I am an international student, contacting people as soon as I need something is really important. This situation made me feel special and I wanted to be a part of USC.

I really like my advisor’s areas of interest. When I was checking for a laboratory to work for, I found the projects were very interesting and I wanted to have experience in them.

The weather in LA!

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

Each semester, I focus on doing one specific hobby and then switch the next semester. But generally, I love hiking, going to the beach, cooking, baking, watching movies with friends, and reading books.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your time at USC.

My second year of my doctorate degree, I started a Health, Technology and Engineering graduate certificate program which was an interdisciplinary program between Viterbi School of Engineering and Keck School of Medicine. This program had two year classwork and a main project which could take longer.

In the first year at the beginning of the semester, we were supposed to visit CHLA (Children's Hospital Los Angeles) and define “a need” based on shadowing doctors or nurses or just simply by observing. At first, I was sure that I wasn’t creative enough and I wouldn’t be able to create a unique idea to fix a problem. Also, this was a very early morning class at CHLA (we were supposed to be at CHLA by 6 or 7 a.m.)

During a visit to CHLA I was observing things, and started asking questions. When we went to their laboratories, I asked even more questions. At the end of the session, I had not only one but several ideas in my mind.

This was maybe the first time that I felt I am a real engineer. I can engineer necessary materials or items. Fun fact about one of the ideas: I was talking about an idea with one of my group mates and we brainstormed and thought on it — we even drew the prototype’s schematic. After two years, she and I went to a conference together and one start-up company presented very similar prototype. They talked to us, saying this was a real need and the nurses who are using it are so happy with the product. After this conversation, my friend and I looked at each other, thinking that those people could have been us! But we were so happy about that problem was solved.

I have mentored students at my lab through Viterbi summer programs. I can talk about those opportunities if you want. Please let me know about that.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?
People usually study to earn a degree. Graduate school is for people who would like to explore deep learning in their field or specialize in their area of interest. Usually, people count down their days to finalize their studies and earn their diploma. When I started my journey at USC, my purpose was only receive my graduate degree too. But somehow, it turned out great adventure for my life.

First of all, I met my husband at USC. And I have amazing friends who I can totally call as my family. I feel I belong at USC, and I feel like I am home. For me, instead of counting down the days, I am trying to enjoy my journey and use USC resources as much as I can while I am still doing my research.

Overall, how is your journey at USC?
Overall, it is super fun. Every semester, I find something new at USC. I don’t think there is any other university with options this diverse for students. I have never gotten a chance to feel homesick because I’m always doing something or trying something new. I have taken many elective classes in my department and other departments such as biomedical engineering, school of medicine, business school, even from French department or physical education.

Do you have any advice for prospective students?

They should be adventurous and should not be afraid of trying something new. Getting an engineering degree could be hard and the coursework could be intense. But they should definitely be aware of their surroundings, opportunities — and enjoy being a part of USC!

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

I would like to work in R&D department and continue doing research in a leading biotech company by using my current knowledge and learning new skills.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

I would like to be a part of a research group or R&D department for solving real world or urgent global problems.

Omar de Gante
Ms in Petroleum Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you study or work previously, what are you interested in and why?
I grew up in Puebla, Mexico, a city near Mexico City, I did my bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Universidad de las Americas. After finishing my studies, I was hired by one of the biggest Oil and Gas service companies in the world, and I’ve had the opportunity to work in so many different cities — Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Canada, India, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
USC is a very prestigious university, with world class staff and a unique petroleum engineering program that focuses on the digital transformation and the use of soft computing techniques applied to the oil and gas industry. The beautiful weather and the multicultural outdoor lifestyle of Southern California is definitely a plus.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
I was the vice president of external affairs for the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) USC chapter. I used to plan events like technical talks from experienced professionals on campus and field trips to within the industry for fellow students. It was a very challenging but rewarding experience that gave me the opportunity to meet experienced professionals from the local oil and gas industry.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your time at USC.
Many things happened to me during my journey at USC but I will share just a few. After a summer internship with Chevron I got interested in machine learning applications towards oil and gas — this led me to take some computer science classes that were outside my field. But my curiosity and willingness to learn were stronger — I struggled in these classes but I was up for the challenge and manage to succeed.

Another unforgettable experience was that after several years of living apart from my brother, we became roommates in Los Angeles!

Is there something that may surprise people about you?
My brother and I became part of the Trojan family because we did the same master’s program, at the same time. We took the same classes and we were roommates for two years. Fun fact — professors thought we were twins! (We are not, I am the older brother). We also used to play water polo at a competitive level, and we had the opportunity to play again after many years in the water polo club at USC.

Overall, how is your journey at USC?
It was a great experience, and I would do it all over again, it was challenging and rewarding — not just academically but also on a personal level. It was great to share this journey with my best friend and brother because this journey made our ties stronger, and now proud to say that we belong to two families — the “de Gante family and the Trojan family”!

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
I am currently in the process of gathering relevant data so I can start research, I am also thinking of finding a challenging job in the oil and gas industry.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?
There is always innovation in the field of petroleum, but I would like to see more innovation of machine learning applications and new computational techniques towards the oil and gas industry. I hope to see more innovation in alternative energies too!

Daniel Depew
PhD in Astronautical Engineering

Why did you choose the Viterbi School for your PhD program?
I grew to love the ASTE department during my undergraduate years – a close, tight-knit community where I felt I really belonged. More importantly, however, I began doing research with a professor in the department during undergrad, and I enjoyed it so much that he is my advisor now. Staying at USC made the transition to graduate school really easy, as I’ve now lived in Los Angeles for four years and loved every minute of it, while maintaining a number of the connections I have made with people and companies in the area. There’s no better place to be than Southern California when it comes to the space industry!

What has surprised you most about the USC experience?
Again, my situation is unique because I spent my undergrad years here, but I am continually surprised at how well USC collaborates with the surrounding community. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement that has opened doors for advanced research and innovation.

What is your current research project?
I work with the Air Force Research Laboratory out of Edwards Air Force Base to model advanced monopropellant thruster systems. In particular, I’m currently conducting reactive molecular dynamics simulations to better understand the thermal effects on the catalytic decomposition of the propellants. Some of the advanced fuels being developed there are extremely complex chemically, which makes it a challenge to model effectively.

Who has been your biggest influence at USC?
I have been doing research with my advisor, Dr. Joseph Wang, since my sophomore year as an undergrad. He helped cultivate my interest in research and simulation, and it is largely because of conversations with him that I decided to stay here for my Ph.D. I later found out that he nominated me for the Viterbi Fellowship as part of my application for grad school at USC, which has been a tremendous blessing. Dr. Wang also established the connection for me to work with the AFRL, and I’ve never felt more at home working on a project.

What do you do for fun when you aren’t in the lab or classroom?
I’m a die-hard USC sports fan, and I enjoy supporting all of our athletics. The USC football experience is obviously unparalleled, but some of the other teams like tennis and water polo are the best in the nation and really enjoyable to watch. Also, the men’s basketball team is starting to get some much-deserved attention!

What is your favorite thing about living in Los Angeles?
Meeting all the different people! I moved to Glendale this year, and my roommates are in the music industry and currently play for artists like Big Sean and Justin Bieber, so being immersed in the entertainment epicenter of the world is incredibly eye-opening for an engineer. I love being able to go home at the end of the day and hear them make music in the studio!

What are your plans for after graduation?
I intend to work in industry somewhere in Southern California. Graduation is several years away for me, and the space industry is rapidly evolving, so I’m keeping my options open and preparing myself to be a useful tool for expanding our reach in the universe. It’s an exciting time for astronautical engineering!

Laura Bradley
PhD in Chemical Engineering

Why did you choose the Viterbi School for your PhD program?
I was interested in Dr. Malancha Gupta’s work and her lab in the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. USC has a lot of resources, and when I came out to visit, the department did a good job of showing what the department had to offer, as well as Viterbi and USC. Once I got here, it was all true – there are lots of things you can get involved in, and a lot of mentors that will help you to get the resources to do whatever you need to do.

What is your current research project?
In our group, we use a chemical vapor deposition process, which is called initiated chemical vapor deposition, to deposit functional polymer coatings for a range of different applications. Typically, the process is used to deposit thin coatings on solid substrates, like microfluid devices, or coating silicon, as well as paper-based microfluidics. My research is introducing low vapor pressure liquids into this chemical vapor deposition process. We are studying the deposition of polymers into a liquid substrate to make novel polymer and polymer liquid composite materials for a wide range of applications, which could be in separations for proton-conducting membranes, as well as catalyst ports. What we have found is the deposition in liquids is significantly different from those in solid substrates, and we are trying to understand how the process parameters of our system can affect the polymerization to be able to control what’s going on the liquid surface and be able to fine tune the properties of the polymer materials we can make.

Who has been your biggest influence at USC?
Definitely my research advisor. She has been a mentor at every aspect of my graduate experience at USC, which I really appreciate – some other students don’t get [this opportunity]. We started talking about my big picture plans further from graduate school pretty early on and we kept an open communication so that I was always working toward some things. She has helped me with my career plans, and that started pretty early compared to other students.

She has obviously helped me with the scientific details and everything, but she has also mentored me on the women in engineering aspect and how to be successful when facing some of the challenges that women experience. She has also encouraged me to get involved with the organizations supporting women engineers on campus which has been a really positive experience.

On a personal level, I can go to her for anything that I need and she is always welcoming and supportive, but she does challenge me too.

What have you learned at USC thus far that you hadn’t learned anywhere else?
As an undergrad in the research labs, I got a good understanding of experiments: setting them up, data analysis, etc. But coming to graduate school, I learned the bigger picture of academic research: applying to get funding, collaborations within the university, how professors’ works and interactions happen. I learned what academic research is outside of my individual lab. I was able to see more in terms of the seminars on campus and a bigger community working together and sharing ideas and contributing to other people’s research. Just being at USC, I have learned more about independence – just being a graduate student and being away from home.

I really learned how to sell my work and make my research more connected with other people and tell you why I’m doing this on a bigger picture and why it’s important. That’s probably the biggest thing that I have learned.

What do you do for fun when you aren’t in the lab or classroom?
I like to be pretty active and do anything outside: I like to run, swim, depending on the month. I also like to cook – I’m not a great cook, but I’m learning! So on Saturday mornings, I usually like to go on a run or a bike ride.

Favorite class?
I would say Heat Transfer. It is taught by Dr. Sahimi from the Engineering department. I had always liked heat transfer. That was during my first semester here, so it was kind of a shock because he is a challenging professor. I really felt like I had to step up to the challenge. At the end of the semester I was really happy with everything – I felt confident with the material, and I definitely learned a lot. For chemical engineering, I have to take three transfer classes: heat, mass, and viscous flow. They all rely on the same fundamental math equations, so once I got a handle on heat transfer; it was easier to understand the other classes.

Mehran Hosseini
PhD in Petroleum Engineering

Why did you choose the Viterbi School for your PhD program?
In my Master’s studies, I was doing civil engineering. USC has a good program for petroleum engineering, so I wanted to combine them both to address some concerns regarding environmental resources for the U.S. economy.

What have you learned at USC thus far that you hadn’t learned anywhere else?
USC has the SCEC – the Southern California Earthquake Center. My work is in induced seismicities, which is creating earthquakes. There are more than six hundred scientists and students involved in SCEC, and more than sixty institutions all over the world taking part. Its headquarters are at USC. This is an opportunity that I can’t have anywhere else. I can also talk to professors at the Department of Petroleum Engineering. It’s a very multidisciplinary area for me to research on! So I can pick people and knowledge from different areas; at USC, you can use many available resources and combine them into a nice PhD work, and learn a lot in the process.

What is your current research project?
I work at the Induced Seismicity Consortium. There are many things we work on. Shale gas is one of them that affects the U.S. economy. We want to make sure that we address the public concern about safety in terms of seismic activities, and essentially give them a blueprint or a solution to problems that might arise. We tell them, ‘If you do it this way, you may not get induced seismicities’, or the causes and main problems that can affect the public. We also have industry members with whom we work getting the data. It’s a very open forum for concerns. Also, publication agencies and governmental agencies ask us for data on the industry in years to come, and have a scientific discussion on that and address issues that might arise.

Who has been your biggest influence at USC?
The head of the department in the petroleum engineering program, Dr. Ershaghi. He just got an award from the National Academy of Engineers. It’s a high honor, both for the school and for himself. He is a big influence on all the people that are in the program. We look up to him. I think he is a great mentor! He is always caring, and you can always talk to him. He is a very positive person. I am very fortunate to have him as the head of the program.

What do you do for fun when you aren’t in the lab or classroom?
I really like going on hikes or go to the beach. I also like the gym – the USC gym is really good. I try to go there a lot. Just hanging out with friends is nice too. My brother is also in town, so we hang out together.

Favorite class?
Every class you learn different pieces and bit of your field of study. It’s also very personal because I really like Dr. Ershaghi. He has a course onReservoir Characterization. There is a multidisciplinary aspect of the course; you are not just focusing just on one area (a lot of graduate courses can be like that). This course was a larger, broader view from different aspect of reservoir characterization. He has more than forty years of experience in the industry, so a lot of people cannot teach that kind of course because they don’t have that experience. So that course coming from him was a really good and interesting experience for me.

Bill Edwards
PhD in Mechanical Engineering

Why did you choose the Viterbi School for your PhD program?
It was the reputation of the Viterbi School of Engineering for excellent scholarship and academic rigor that initially attracted me to the program. After visiting the campus, however, it was the warm welcome I received from the faculty and the accessibility and proficiency of the academic counseling staff that cemented Viterbi as my top choice for graduate education. It didn’t hurt that the school is in beautiful, sunny LA either!

What has surprised you most about the USC experience?
The most surprising thing about USC has been my experience with the academic counseling staff. Every time I have a question or problem, I’ve been able to pop into the counseling office unscheduled (where I’m greeted by name!) and get my issue addressed immediately on my first visit. Sam Graves [advisor in the Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering department], you’re the best!!

What is your current research project?
My research focuses on measuring, predicting, and reducing the propagation of sound energy through composite structures. I work with aerospace sandwich panels and membrane metamaterials with an emphasis on reducing low-frequency sound transmission through weight-critical structures.

Who has been your biggest influence at USC?
My biggest influence at USC has been my PhD advisor, Professor Nutt, who has provided me not only with funding support, but also with immeasurable insight on research hurdles and effective strategies for navigating challenging interpersonal situations.

What do you do for fun when you aren’t in the lab or classroom?
When I’m not in class, you can find me on the water in Santa Monica Bay racing sailboats, but if there isn’t enough wind to sail, I enjoy building, flying, crashing, and repairing homemade multirotor drones.

What is your favorite thing about living in Los Angeles?
Being able to see a show at the Troubadour on Friday night, going for a hike at Griffith Observatory on Saturday morning followed by sailing in the afternoon, waking up early on Sunday for a day of snowboarding in Big Bear, and being able to make it back in time to be in the lab Monday morning!

Mark Harrison
PhD in Electrical Engineering

Why did you choose the Viterbi School for your PhD program?
For undergrad, when I picked Viterbi, it was a lot about just USC, the school. When I was looking for schools, I got to see a lot of what went on in the Viterbi School. Some of it came down to getting a fellowship award from USC, which allowed me to have more freedom in what I wanted to do here. For grad school, a lot of it comes down to figuring out what research you’re going to be doing or what group you’ll be in. I liked the group of people doing research here, so I thought I would be able to find a group that would be a good fit.

What is your current research project?
There is something that I’m working on more specifically right now, which is a fiber optics stress sensor for measuring the Young’s modulus of tissue samples. The Young’s modulus measures the stiffness of the material – how stretchy something is. Something with a high Young’s modulus is stiffer; you can’t stretch it or bend it as much as something with as lower Young’s modulus.

People have used fiber optics to do stress sensing, but the setup is usually complicated. At the same time, people have done measurements with tissue sample where they can maybe differentiate between cancerous tissue and noncancerous tissue by the stiffness of the material. The problem is, right now, to do that you need these things called lured frames. They’re not difficult to use, but they are big, expensive pieces of equipment. The optical fiber sensors are relatively inexpensive, but the setup is complicated.

What I’ve been working on is streamlining that setup to make something that is more portable, so that we can use it as a tool for researchers.

Right now, I’ve been working more on the sensor and getting all the parts to work, getting it calibrated so we can measure using a material called PDMS – which is a kind of rubbery material that you can change its stiffness. So I’m measuring the stiffness of that material to calibrate the sensor. Once we know it works, we are hoping to take over the Health Science campus and actually measure tissue samples.

Who has been your biggest influence at USC?
My advisor, Andrea Armani. She has been advising me for the past five years. She’s been really great to work with: very supportive, very understanding, and just a great resource. I’m really glad to have her as an advisor!

There is also a professor that has recently retired – Bill Steier. As an undergrad, I had him just once, but I had him a couple of times as a grad student and he was one of the best professors I had ever had. He is not only really smart, but he is also really good at teaching the theory enough so that we could really understand the concept without getting into some of the nitty gritty details.

What has surprised you most about the USC experience?
There is a clean room in VHE (Vivian Hall). Clean room is where you do micro or nano fabrication-type stuff – people make computers in clean rooms. So I’ve gotten to learn clean room application stuff, which is cool as a grad student.

As a graduate student doing research, you really learn to manage your time and motivate yourself. I do have deadlines occasionally and I meet with my advisor regularly, but in terms of the work I’m doing, I don’t have really hard deadlines. So I have learned to manage my time and decide when I want to work and make progress on my research.

There are lots of different possibilities and opportunities at USC. I enjoy listening to people give seminars, just talking about their research, or other events of the sort. If I’m interested in academic research project, there are a lot of workshops about that – how do you go about applying?, how do you write a teaching statement of purpose?… being able to go to all these opportunities and get my work done is something I have learned at USC.

What do you do for fun when you aren’t in the lab or classroom?
Yoga, restaurant hopping, concerts and exploring all the great things LA has to offer

Favorite class?
Nonlinear Optics, which is the study of all the colored weird effects in crystals. Green laser pointers use nonlinear optics. It uses this thing called frequency dublin. For green laser pointers, the usual frequency for that light is 532 nanometers. It is difficult to make! But it’s really easy to make lasers at 1064 nanometers. The problem is that you can’t see that wavelength at all, so it’s not very useful! However, you can use some sort of crystal that doubles the frequency, which halves the wavelength. You shine the laser through a chunk of this crystal and on the other side you get 532 nanometers. The Nonlinear Optics class studies materials like that and how they actually produce that effect and how they can be used in optics.

Kevin Xia
MS in Engineering Management

Tell us a little about yourself — where are you from, where did you study for your undergraduate/graduate degrees?

I am from Shenzhen, which is in Guangdong, China. I received my undergraduate degree from Peking University, which is in Beijing, China, and majored in engineering. I got my master degree from USC Viterbi, and I graduated in 2013. Now I live and work in Shanghai, China.

Why did you decide on USC to pursue your graduate studies?

I picked USC for its excellent academic program, robust alumni network, and its prime location in my favorite U.S. city.

I majored in Engineering Management for my masters degree in Viterbi. It is a subsector within Industrial Engineering (IE). Like every other undergrad, I cared about university ranking in my area of study. And Viterbi was top 10 among all engineering schools and top 5 for IE. I chose Engineering Management to be my major because it is where engineering meets business. So I specifically checked with admission officers about the feasibility of cross-disciplinary courses.

It turns out that Viterbi grants its students a lot of freedom in designing their own curriculum program that best suits the individual’s development. In the end, a third of my courses were taken in Marshall. This really helped me a lot in the job market, because I demonstrated capability from both financing and engineering.

I also admired USC’s strong alumni network. One of my mentors in Peking University, Professor Cai, got his doctorate degree from USC. He strongly recommended USC’s alumni network to me and said it is a close-knit community, even in China, that you will find Trojan is a big family. I felt the warmth when I joined several alumni events before deciding to take USC’s offer. And I really enjoyed Trojan community (and I still do!).

Finally, location was an important consideration when I was choosing between different universities. Given where you pursue your graduate studies is tightly linked with job market, I wanted to be somewhere economically flourishing and abundant with internship opportunities. So USC’s location in L.A., being one of the top cities in the U.S., added significant weight in my consideration for offers.

What did you like most about USC? (Can be anything from a project you worked on, a professor you liked, or a study spot on campus.)

I liked many things about USC — the campus, the people, the courses, the sports, etc. Two professors ended up also being my favorite professors: Professor Thomas Olson from Marshall and Professor Dana Sherman from Viterbi. Both of them have given me so much guidance on courses, career goals, even life. They brought their knowledge of the industry into the classroom by sharing real-life cases and insights they had accumulated over decades. They showed me how to apply my learnings from university to the work. And after years I can still benefit from their teachings. I have so much gratitude to both professors.

Football games are another thing that often comes to mind. Growing up in China, I was actually not into American football. But watching Trojans play in the Coliseum, and feeling the crowd, the emotion, the intensity of the games — that really changed my perspective on the sport.

After USC, what was your path to your current career?

I had been with Bain & Company as a management consultant for three years after graduation and then I switched to the investment sector. My career as a private equity investor began with a local private equity firm. And after two years, I landed in Morgan Stanley, where I work today.

Where do you work now? Tell us about your current position.

I work in the private equity fund of Morgan Stanley in China. As an investment professional, I visit many companies across a spectrum of industries. I evaluate these companies based on their financial and commercial performances and see if a deal could be struck. If a deal is successfully closed and we invest in a company, I closely monitor the development of the company and add value wherever possible to help our portfolio company grow in size. Then in a few years, we sell the stake in the company either through an IPO or an M&A to realize return.

How did USC Viterbi prepare you for your current role?

As mentioned above, Viterbi’s program prepared me with the combination of engineering and business, which was highly valued on the job market. In addition, USC is on almost all major companies’ “target school lists.” With USC on my resume, it opened a lot of doors, both in the US and China. Finally, Trojan’s tenacity and fight-on spirit have always been inspiring me to punch through difficulties.

What advice would you give to prospective students?

USC is like a treasure box. It never fails to surprise you with what you can learn or benefit from its people, its culture, and its community. I advise prospective students to fully explore and leverage the university. Take classes in other departments. Talk to students from different countries, different majors. Join clubs, events, career fairs. Watch sports games, or even play them. It will not only broaden your horizons, but also cement your transformation into a Trojan, who will keep fighting on throughout life.

Gertrude Gutierrez
PhD in Materials Science

Why did you choose the Viterbi School for your PhD program?
It was the reputation of the Viterbi School of Engineering for excellent scholarship and academic rigor that initially attracted me to the program. After visiting the campus, however, it was the warm welcome I received from the faculty and the accessibility and proficiency of the academic counseling staff that cemented Viterbi as my top choice for graduate education. It didn’t hurt that the school is in beautiful, sunny LA either!

What has surprised you most about the USC experience?
The most surprising thing about USC has been my experience with the academic counseling staff. Every time I have a question or problem, I’ve been able to pop into the counseling office unscheduled (where I’m greeted by name!) and get my issue addressed immediately on my first visit. Sam Graves [advisor in the Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering department], you’re the best!!

What is your current research project?
My research focuses on measuring, predicting, and reducing the propagation of sound energy through composite structures. I work with aerospace sandwich panels and membrane metamaterials with an emphasis on reducing low-frequency sound transmission through weight-critical structures.

Who has been your biggest influence at USC?
My biggest influence at USC has been my PhD advisor, Professor Nutt, who has provided me not only with funding support, but also with immeasurable insight on research hurdles and effective strategies for navigating challenging interpersonal situations.

What do you do for fun when you aren’t in the lab or classroom?
When I’m not in class, you can find me on the water in Santa Monica Bay racing sailboats, but if there isn’t enough wind to sail, I enjoy building, flying, crashing, and repairing homemade multirotor drones.

What is your favorite thing about living in Los Angeles?
Being able to see a show at the Troubadour on Friday night, going for a hike at Griffith Observatory on Saturday morning followed by sailing in the afternoon, waking up early on Sunday for a day of snowboarding in Big Bear, and being able to make it back in time to be in the lab Monday morning!

Ulubilge Ulusoy
MS in Astronautical EngineeringRocket Scientist of the Year Award

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I grew up in Adana and Istanbul, Turkey. I only spent six years of my life in Adana, but I really like my hometown for the same reasons I admire Los Angeles: weather, lifestyle, and food culture. I completed my high school and university studies in Istanbul; the astronautical engineering adventure started for me at Istanbul Technical University, where I got a better understanding about the field. Then I came to LA for USC’s astronautical engineering master’s program to gain greater knowledge and experience in the field. I got both from my courses and the lab that I joined during my master’s program, which is USC’s graduate student led Liquid Propulsion Laboratory (LPL) and had privilege became a co-lead. Now, I’m still one of the co-leads for LPL as I start my Ph.D. program in astronautical engineering.

What sparked your interest in astronautical engineering?

I really wanted to be an astronautical engineer when I was in high school. I was interested in science fiction books, especially the ones that included space travel. Reading about the possibilities of space travel gave me the feeling that I needed to help to develop human spaceflight in the real world. That’s why I studied astronautical engineering in my undergraduate and master’s programs — and currently I’m pursuing a Ph.D. focused on human spaceflight. I must add that I love every aspect of astronautical engineering — anything that goes to space or works in a space environment fascinates me.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

USC Viterbi's astronautical engineering (ASTE) department is unique, as it combines both academic and industry level education in astronautical engineering. Most of our professors are somehow linked with the space industry, and that helps students to have a better understanding of the material they learn in class and how these theories work in the real world. That's why the USC Viterbi’s ASTE Department was my one and only choice for my master’s and Ph.D. programs.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

One of my favorite activities is playing basketball; I’ve been playing for more than 15 years and here at USC I can play at the Lyon Center from time to time. Also, I need to say that I've been an Los Angeles Clippers fan for a long time — sorry Lakers! Besides basketball, as I said earlier, I am really into science fiction books, specifically related with outer space. The ancient history of the world interests me as well. I really like to watch documentaries on this topic.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your time so far at USC.

Actually, my favorite USC memory is not in Los Angeles but in Mojave, California, where we ignited the USC LPL's Balerion Engine, which is a liquid rocket engine. That is the first time that I saw a rocket engine fire in person, which is something I’ve always wanted to see.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

This might not be that surprising, but I applied to only one university or program for each time I applied for my undergraduate, master’s and Ph.D. studies. For my career I always had a plan A and no other options, and it’s worked so far!

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

My plan is to help to design, develop, and operate human spaceflight missions, deep space habitats (e.g. lunar bases), or human-rated vehicles. Since high school, I’ve wanted to be involved in these operations and help mankind reach new levels of space exploration.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see or be a part of in the next ten years?

I hope to see and be a part of creating a base on the Moon for the future of humanity. The Moon holds many advantages for future space operations (even going to Mars) and it is up to today’s people to start utilizing these benefits for a better future. Currently, with the Artemis Program, we have a high chance to see the initial steps of the base establishment in the next ten years.

“USC is one of the most diverse universities where you experience different cultures”

Drawn towards University of Southern California’s (USC) highly regarded engineering program and research opportunities, Alejandro Rascovan decided to continue his studies as a graduate student at Viterbi School of Engineering after earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Rascovan was awarded the prestigious Fulbright scholarship to pursue a Masters degree in Computer Engineering (2014-2016).

“I did some research and found that Viterbi is a prestigious school for engineering which offered good financial aid,” noted Rascovan. Choosing USC also meant choosing Los Angeles, a city which -- Rascovan felt – offered promising job opportunities and a chance to explore his range of interests. “It is one of the most diverse universities and I feel I went to class with the ‘world’ where I could experience different cultures.” Rascovan enjoys music and his hobbies, while at USC, included playing and learning different kind of musical instruments. During his free time, he also played soccer on USC’s Cromwell field.

Rascovan also had the opportunity to take part in events and projects organized by other disciplines. For instance, he took part in the USC Science Film competition which is an annual festival that brings together students from USC’s science-based programs and film or journalism programs. “I was one of the writers and helped with production. We got to experiment with science as we were trying to explain a difficult concept through filmmaking,” he explains, adding that conducting auditions for the project was an interesting experience for him.

For Rascovan, USC was not only about enhancing his software skills, but also about meeting like-minded people to collaborate on business ideas. He co-founded PeopleSpread –a marketplace to connect social media influencers with advertisers – with Martina Montana who did her Master of Science in Entrepreneurship at USC Marshall School of business. “PeopleSpread has a powerful search engine that lets marketers and brands find the influencers that best resonate with their target audiences and helps them connect,” he explains. The startup participated in several accelerator programs such as Google Sponsored Manos Accelerator program and the Start-Up Chile's S Factory program. It also participated in the USC Greif Center New Venture Seed Competition in 2016 and received a lot of mentorship during the program.

Currently working as a software engineer at Mulesoft in California, Rascovan recalls that his exposure to diverse cultures and networking opportunities at USC played a significant role in his professional growth.

Alejandro is: Easy-going, Humorous, Entertaining, Adventurous, Thoughtful
Alejandro’s Favorite...
TV Show/Series: Louie
Book/Author: Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
Hangout at USC: Pickup soccer games
Prized possession: My guitar
The one change that USC brought in me: Experience in USC Science film festival
Quote/One-liner: Time flies but you are the pilot
Social cause: Financial aid for education
LA outing: Lot 613
Sport/Activity: Soccer
Stressbuster: Music and/or workout

“Experience of working with people from diverse cultures at USC opens your mind”

For Amarnath Seshadri, University of Southern California (USC) was at the top of his list for Masters studies, given its superior research and innovation record in the field of engineering. After receiving an undergraduate degree in engineering from India, Seshadri worked at multinational information technology (IT) firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). During his three-year stint at TCS, he felt the need to broaden his knowledge and decided to pursue a Masters degree in Computer Science from USC’s Viterbi school of Engineering (2014 -2016).

Since an early age, computers have piqued his interest. Underlying his curiosity to know more about computers is a desire to examine the impact of computers on our daily life and solving problems. “Especially, to see how they can replicate almost all of the real-life entities within such a small chip. At the end of the day, what matters is that we understand not only how they work but also how they can be used to improve our life,” he says. Seshadri was more inclined towards acquiring programming knowledge and experimented with them, while at USC. “While most students would listen to music when they are bored of coding, I would write small programming codes to get rid of my boredom,” he animatedly explains.

During the second year of his program, Seshadri was a part of Viterbi Graduate Mentorship program where he guided and coached new graduate students to adjust to the life at USC and the city of Los Angeles. “Being an international student, it was a good opportunity to share my own experiences of adjusting to the life here, while mentoring the new students,” he says. Along with the opportunity to satiate his curiosity about computers, Seshadri says USC gave a chance to engage in a wide range of outdoor activities and explore the diverse culture of Los Angeles. Having keen interest in sports, especially cricket, he got involved with the USC’s Trojan cricket club and played a few matches. “I was a bowler in Cromwell champs team and played a tournament in spring 2016 where we finished as runners up.”

While Seshadri appreciates the diverse culture and population at USC, for him, the highly concentrated Indian student population was a huge plus. “Because of this, I didn’t feel that I was far away from my home in India,” he says, adding that he also participated in events and festival celebrations organized by the university’s Hindu Students Organization (HSO) and Association of Indian Students (AIS).

For his summer internship in May 2015, Seshadri got an opportunity to intern at data-warehousing and business intelligence firm Teradata’s office in San Diego. The three-month internship widened his network and gave him a chance to apply the skills he learned at USC in the professional world. After completing his master’s degree, he joined as a senior research software developer for City of Hope, a renowned research and treatment centre for cancer and diabetes in Los Angeles. “The experience of working with people from diverse culturesat USC, opens your mind and has changed the way I look at problems, making me realize that one problem can be looked at through different angles.”

Amarnath is: Curious, Adventure-seeking, Logical, Creative, Straighforward
Amarnath’s Favorite...
TV Show/Series: F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
Book/Author: Harry Potter Series/JK Rowling
Hangout at USC: Cromwell track
Prized possession: My Audi A4 which I fondly call 'paalpandi'
The one change that USC brought in me: Experience in USC Science film festival
Quote/One-liner: “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something”- Thomas Henry Huxley.
LA outing: Shatto 39
Sport/Activity: Badminton, Table tennis, Tennis, Golf, Cricket, and Pool
Stressbuster: Class of Clans game and watching Anime

“USC gave me the opportunity to build myself and my dream career”

For many students, graduate school is a phase that defines their career choice. Ankit Singhaniya, however, describes his experience as “achieving the childhood dream job”. Growing up, Singhaniya was fascinated by computers and his dream – since then – was to work for California-based tech giant Google. “It was a dream to join Google but I never imagined myself to be capable. I never knew how I could reach this dream,” he says, looking back at his childhood.

Cut to the present day, Singhaniya is a software professional working for Google Search. Singhaniya credits the resources at USC and his own hard work for achieving his dream job. “It (USC) gave me the opportunity to build myself and my dream career.”

After completing his undergraduate studies at National Institute of Technology(NIT) in Nagpur, India, Singhaniya worked for a year at American software major Oracle’s Bangalore office. Through chance meetings with his friends at Oracle, who had applied for graduate studies at University of Southern California (USC), he discovered USC and its prestigious engineering school – Viterbi. “I knew about western culture but I was a bit worried about taking a big step of moving away for so long. But when I attended the meet ups organized by the fellow USC students, it was relieving to know more about the college and the different perspectives,” he says.

Singhaniya describes his first month at USC as an “eyeopener”. While pursuing his Master’s degree in Computer Science (2014-2016), he realized the scope and diversity of opportunities that USC offered him. “Before coming to USC, I was wondering about what to do and when Icame here, there was so much to do – so many different things to learn, an array of subjects to choose from and a diverse community of people to meet.”

During his graduate studies, Singhaniya got the opportunity to intern for Google in the summer of 2015. “The idea was to get an experience in the global technology industry,” he says adding that the experience landed him a full-time job with the tech giant. The career services at USC and Viterbi, Singhaniya says, were also integral to his achieving the dream job. “They helped me with general application guidance and even reviewed my resume several times. The ease with which I could walk into their offices and get consultation, was something I could not get back in India,” he recalls. While at USC, he also participated in the festival celebrations and events hosted by the university’s Association of Indian Students (AIS).

When asked what he missed the most about USC, Singhaniya’s immediate response is “the campus”. “You could sit there all day long and work, ideate, have entrepreneurial talks with the people around – all this adds different dimensions to your life,” he recounts and paints a mental picture of the two years that changed his life.

Ankit is: Jolly, Optimistic, Independent, Hardworking, and Kind
Ankit's Favorite...
TV Show/Series: F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
Book/Author: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
Hangout at USC: Ground Zero Cafe, McCarthy Quad, and Grace Ford Salvatori Hall
Prized possession: My father
USC Moment: Fridays at ICT (for research work)
Quote/One-liner: Quote/One-liner: Challenge yourself everyday. Keep chasing your dreams and push them farther before you get there.
Social cause: Education and health
LA outing: L.A. Live, Griffith Observatory, Evening at Long Beach/Santa Monica Pier
Sport/Activity: Basketball, USC Football, Indian Festivals
Stressbuster: An evenining walk

“USC has a track record of funding and doing big research projects”

Jeffrey West first visited University of Southern California (USC) in 2011 as part of a research project he undertook during his undergrad. During his visit, he connected with USC professors and learnt more about the university and the research opportunities it provided. “I wanted to go to a prestigious school which invested a lot on research projects and USC, I knew, has a track record of funding and doing big research projects,” says West explaining his decision to pursue graduate studies at USC. A year later, he was a part of the USC’s Trojan family, studying Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Viterbi School of Engineering.

Born and raised in Ohio, West did his undergraduate at Ohio Northern University where he majored in Mechanical engineering. In 2012, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue higher studies and spent the next five years at USC. After getting a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (2012-2014), West then pursued a doctoral program in Mechanical Engineering (2014-2017) and earned his Ph.D. Apart from its reputation as a leading research university, West was drawn towards the emphasis placed by USC on its student population and resources for them. “The university invested heavily on student population. During my tenure at USC, they built several new academic buildings and even opened the USC Village which is beneficial for the students,” he says. For West, it was not just USC but its location too was a big draw. “Los Angeles is a big city with huge prospects. With USC having one of the highest international student population, it was easy to meet people from all the over world and learn about different cultures.”

During his five years at USC, West also took on teaching and research assistantships along with his studies. In Spring 2016, he was a part of Viterbi Graduate Mentorship program where he guided and coached new graduate students to adjust to the life at USC and the city of Los Angeles. He also regularly participated in USC Grace on Campus, a weekly Bible study on campus.

West, who is currently working at the research and development wing of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, Florida, reminisces the last five years and feels he made the right decision of choosing USC. “Looking back, I feel all my goals were achieved -- getting the degree, getting the job and I am where I wanted to be.” The one bond that West still shares with USC is being a part of the ‘Trojan’ family. “Wherever you go, it’s a bond that keeps all the students connected,” he proudly says.

Jeffrey’s Favorite...
TV Show/Series: Love watching comedy (think Jerry Seinfield or Jimmy Fallon)
Book/Author: Reading the Bible Supernaturally by John Piper
Hangout at USC: Spudnuts Donuts
Prized possession: My guitar
USC Moment: Best USC moment is receiving my PhD! Made all the hard work worth it :)
Quote/One-liner: "Fortune favors the brave"
LA outing: Love watching the sunset at Santa Monica
Sport/Activity: Watching Lebron winning championships with the Cavs
Stressbuster: Reading is always a good way to reset my rhythm

“Life at USC is a much broader and interesting experience than just studying”

In choosing to pursue his PhD at University of Southern California’s (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering, Jonathan Sauder feels he got the opportunity to don several hats. From being a senator for the department’s graduate student association to trying his hand at sailing, fencing and mixed martial arts (MMA), Sauder got the best of several worlds.

“As a graduate student, I could get involved in additional classes and activities beyond the typical engineering course work,” he says. In deciding to pursue his PhD, Sauder was drawn to USC for its attractive fellowship program and that the university was set in the dynamic city of Los Angeles. For him, USC was the best chance to work with a faculty advisor in a topic he was interested in and gain access to networking opportunities that could shape his future.

During his four years of study at USC (2009-2013), Sauder utilized the university’s resources and facilities in the best possible way. “The main thing is what is available beyond the classes – clubs or organizations – really give you a much broader experience in your time at USC,” he says. For instance, he explains how the USC career service played an integral role in polishing his resume and making him ready for the professional world. He even took a special effects class at the university’s film school (Cinematic Arts) to understand the mechanics of special effects and camera tricks.

Sauder, who is currently working as a Mechatronics Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Los Angeles, says USC influenced his approach towards engineering problems and solving them. This helped him crack interviews and landed him summer internship opportunities at Mattel and Microsoft and got him job offers from Intel, Mattel, JPL and Apple post his PhD.

True to his idea of maximizing the experience at USC, Sauder did much more than just engineering. Six years have passed and he can vividly describe every detail of his 2011 sailing trip to Catalina that he took as a part of the additional class he enrolled at USC’s Nautical Science program. Sauder, along with six other students from the university’s graduate and undergraduate school, took the sailing trip where they learned navigation and sighting locations using just a compass. “Imagine having no GPS and finding locations on a physical map using just a compass,” says Sauder as he animatedly explains the trip. “I had the chance to meet students from across different departments of USC – something I wouldn’t have done in my day to day classes.”

Living in the heart of Los Angeles, Sauder even got a chance to volunteer as a member of the Mt Baldy ski patrol where he was trained in wilderness medicine to help injured skiers. “Not many universities have nice weather in the immediate vicinity where you can also be at a ski slope within an hour. The fun thing about USC was I could switch seasons so quickly – I would be in shorts and t-shirts in the morning and within few hours would head up for volunteer work and get bundled up, head to toe, in a thick jacket and snow pants,” he explains while reminiscing his volunteer experience.

Sauder still maintains his ties with the USC and now teaches a subject in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the university’s Viterbi School of Engineering.

Jonathan is: Innovative, Hands-on, Resourceful, Enthusiastic, MacGyver
Jonathan's Favorite...
TV Show/Series: Star Trek Next Generation
Book/Author: The Martian by Andy Weir
Hangout at USC: The Lab Gastropub
Prized possession: In school, my TI-89 (it was a lifesaver)... in my personal life a good weatherproof/waterproof ski jacket and pants. It makes life in the outdoors so much nicer!
The one change that USC brought in me: My most memorable USC moment was getting extremely nervous during my Ph.D. qualification exam, and I ended up reading off my notes for over half of my presentation. I passed, although it was barely. This motivated me to take Thtr 421: Public Speaking as Performance. That class and lots of practice completely changed my public speaking ability.
Quote/One-liner: Be the change that you wish to see in the world. ― Mahatma Gandhi
Social cause: This is a little non-traditional, but Design. I believe if we all approached our lives and what we do as designers, we would create a better world and solve many of the social issues.
LA outing: Ski Day (after a fresh rain in the winter) at Mt. Baldy
Sport/Activity: Skiing
Stressbuster: Binge-watching or Binge-gaming

Pranav Shashidhar Karthikeyan has long been fascinated with the healthcare sector and knew he wanted to pursue a graduate degree in Biomedical engineering. He considered some of the prestigious universities in the US, including the University of Southern California (USC). Since his elder brother had done a PhD in Electrical engineering from USC, he had a slight inclination towards USC and hoped his application would get accepted. The admission gods were smiling on him and he was admitted to the Masters in Medical Device and Diagnostic Engineering program at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering in fall 2015.

“Since my brother studied here, he provided guidance on the different masters’ programs that USC offered and suggested the better fit for the career pathway that I chose,” he says. Pranav completed a Bachelors degree in Electronics and Instrumentation from SASTRA University in Tamil Nadu, India. For him, USC was not the first experience of studying in a foreign country. During the final year of undergrad, he undertook a semester abroad program at University of Tennessee, Knoxville where he completed his final year project as a research internship.

The first few months at USC did not turn out the way he wanted as he was down with jaundice for most part of the first semester. But as they say, every dark cloud has a silver lining. “The good thing about this experience was that I learnt how to manage everything by myself; to an extent that nothing seemed difficult for me later,” he says. “Moreover, the professors were very cooperative and understanding. They were considerate to give deadline extensions for assignments and even asked me to submit assignments online,” remembers Pranav, who is now working as Software Quality Assurance Engineer 2 at Smith and Nephew, a medical device company in Austin, TX.

Pranav has been closely involved with the Indian community at USC and actively participates in the activities, discussions and events organized by the Hindu Student Organization (HSO) on campus. “HSO is a very open organization and interacting with people from different faiths at USC is nice,” he says adding that he served as the president of the organization during Fall 2016. “Serving as the president of HSO, I got a lot of experience in organization skills here, different from the ones I gained back home. I also made some great friends for life because of HSO.”

For Pranav, life at USC was much more than studies. He got involved in several extra-curricular clubs and kept himself busy. For instance, he pursued his passion for table tennis by joining ‘Ping Pong Posse’, USC's famous collegiate table tennis club. He also got enrolled in USC’s Trojan Cricket Club and participated in USC’s cricket tournament, Cromwell Premier League. “During fall 2016 and spring 2017, our team was the runner up,”he proudly remembers. During the second year of his program, Pranav was a part of Viterbi Graduate Mentorship program where he guided and coached new graduate students. “The main role of a mentor is to ease and facilitate their (new students) transfer from homeland to here, guide them on course work and introduce them to different clubs and advise them about involvement fairs,” he explains.

While Pranav graduated in May 2017, his ties with USC are still strong and you could spot him actively supporting the activities and events organized by the HSO.

Pranav’s Favorite...
TV Show/Series: F.R.I.E.N.D.S. obviously
Book/Author: Never read many books, but my childhood favorite is Swami and Friends by R.K. Narayan
Hangout at USC: RTCC lounge, University Religious Center
Prized possession: Family and friends
USC Moment: Parents were able to make it for Graduation May 2017
Quote/One-liner: Whatever has to happen, will happen, when it has to happen! It's all for the best.
Social cause: Vegetarianism and Climate change
LA outing: Venice Canals, Mulholland Drive
Sport/Activity: Table Tennis, Cricket, Soccer, and Badminton
Stressbuster: Music and Poetry

After spending five years as a mechanical engineer at an aerospace component manufacturing firm, Sean Dempsey realised it was not his true calling. He moved to Mexico and joined The Anglo Mexican Foundation as an English teacher. “I knew I didn’t really enjoy what I did as a mechanical engineer and wasn’t passionate about it. So, I went to Mexico. I liked living abroad and teaching,” says Dempsey. But that wasn’t his true calling either. After a year in Mexico, Dempsey moved to the US and pursued a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering (Water and Wastewater Management) at the University of Southern California (USC).

During his search for his true interest, Dempsey also spent time as a volunteer with Engineers Without Borders USA. “That’s when I developed an interest in water and wastewater management,” he recalls. Dempsey completed his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After receiving acceptance letters from University of Colorado and USC, Dempsey chose USC for his graduate studies. “USC admissions team was aggressive in the recruitment process and their advisors were very responsive and helpful. They even flew me down to Los Angeles to check out the college and its resources,” says Dempsey. And that’s not the only reason. Having done his undergrad in a “small college town”, as Dempsey puts it, he wanted to do his Masters in Los Angeles which is known for its job prospects, great weather and interesting places to discover.

For Dempsey, graduate studies was a completely different experience and it revealed a different side of his personality. “I was a shy student in undergrad. But I had much better interactions while at USC and got along very well. I enjoyed smaller class sizes and great professors who knew me by my name and gave me constant support,” he remembers. During his first semester at USC, he joined the Salsa club where he learnt the fundamentals of the Latin dance style. In his free time, he also practiced Jiu-jitsu -- Brazilian martial art -- at one of the renowned gyms in Los Angeles.

During his first year at USC, Dempsey worked at the USC Foundation for Cross-Connection Control and Hydraulic Research. “They field-tested backflow preventers. I would put together pipe assemblies of various diameters and test different companies’ backflow preventer prototypes to check that they are in accordance with the standards set by USC.”Later, he also worked with the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering’s Environmental Engineering division. He also completed a fellowship with DIGDEEP, a human rights non-profit which works to deliver clean running water to Americans.

After successfully finishing his graduate studies, Dempsey signed up to take on logistical and water and sanitation projects for Doctors Without Borders USA. Looking back at his decision to switch his line of interest, from mechanical engineering to civil engineering, Dempsey believes he took the right decision at the right time which helped him land internship opportunities and connect with people from different walks of life.

Seans’s Favorite...
TV Show/Series: Rick and Morty
Book/Author: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
Hangout at USC: The USC Village Gym (haha!)
Prized possession: My kindle
The one change that USC brought in me: USC Engineers Without Borders, our trip to Antigua, Guatemala in August '17. We were installing a new pump, electrical, and filtration system for a school called Common Hope that works hard to end the cycle of poverty through education. Upon our arrival at Common Hope in Antigua, Guatemala, this project was a challenge. Different parts than expected, last minute design changes, constant troubleshooting and learning on the fly. To say this was stressful is a profound understatement. BUT, our team persevered. With a pipe burst Thursday night, we were down to the wire. We made corrections and tightened our seal, but had to wait till Friday morning for glue to set. With our flight out Friday afternoon, we could only hope and pray. But when the pump kicked on that morning, the system pressurized and out of their faucets flowed the cleanest water Common Hope had ever seen. We knew we had done something small, but great. One of my proudest moments.
One-liner: I try to look at my life from the following perspective when dealing with difficult decisions: When I'm 80 and look back, which decision do I want to say I made?
Social cause: Engineers Without Borders, DIGDEEP, Doctors Without Borders
LA outing: Hiking at any of the greak hiking locations in the area
Sport/Activity: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Stressbuster: Working out, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Sapphire Lopez
Master of Science in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I am the oldest of six siblings, daughter of a civil engineer, and to many peoples’ surprise — I am even named after a precious material. I attained both a degree in Biomedical Engineering as well as a degree in Materials Science and Engineering from UC Irvine. I grew up my entire life thinking I wanted to be a doctor. But little did I know that a question my dad challenged with at the age of seven would inspire me to be fascinated by materials.

He asked me, “What is the difference between concrete and cement?” This same question would be asked during my first materials course lecture in college, and thanks to my dad, I was prepared to present the answer. Now, my favorite area of interest is failure analysis and if someone asked me, I would say I accomplished my goal to become a doctor. My job is still to determine why a component is unable to satisfactorily perform its intended function within a system and remediate it — but I do this for materials instead of humans.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

It was love at first sight. Out of all the graduate school preview days that I attended, USC’s was the only one where I felt the most comfortable, welcomed, and excited to start school again. The people were very happy, kind, and I felt very at home. As a result, this was the only school that I wanted to attend — I did not apply anywhere else besides USC!

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

Outside of school, I like to go to do high intensity interval training (HIIT) boot camp style classes. I began the same year I started graduate school and I feel it is a great addition to my day. Additionally, I enjoy interacting with organizations such as the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Girl Scouts of America, Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA), and volunteering as a Sunday school teacher at my local church.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your two years at USC.

My favorite USC experience was hands-down attending the Baccalaureate Ceremony and Dinner with my family. It was unforgettable because my youngest sister (in elementary school at the time) was in attendance with me and she said, “I want to come to USC and work really hard studying engineering too, so I can have another USC specialty tart.”

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

Whether it is reviewing colors and the alphabet with three year olds, or helping upper division engineering students with Quantum Mechanics, I love teaching. Therefore, I have a strong desire to continue my education (while working) in hopes of attaining a PhD, as I aspire to one day teach courses on Engineering Ethics. I believe that this is a very fundamental and necessary topic, especially with the evolution of technology and how educational methods have drastically shifted.

Overall, how was the two-year journey at USC?

I learned so much. I was working full-time in industry while completing my degree. About halfway through the program, I could see my progress and how the advanced classes molded my critical thinking and, in turn, made me a more resourceful and effective engineer. I could really see the evolution of how the challenging USC engineering curriculum enabled me to generate multiple solutions to a potential problem quickly. Additionally, I made many friends, mentored undergraduate students, and was able to add to the USC community by being a graduate student representative for the USC Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers chapter.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

My end goal after completing my master’s degree is to determine an area of materials within my current company that I am passionate about which is in need of innovative solutions. I hope to draw inspiration and pursue a PhD in that discipline, while working.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

I really wish an instant transporter device existed for humans. We have proved black holes and the concept of imaging the wormhole theory has existed since 1916. I have hope for this innovative development of technology!

Pavas Navaney
Master of Science in Computer Science

From Delhi’s Exclusive Night Clubs to Data Protection in Los Angeles. A tech entrepreneur from Delhi, protects the US’s 2^nd largest city and is soon to join Oracle

Pavas Navaney’s journey to the University of Southern California (USC) started with an interest in blockchain and he sought out professor Bhaskar Krishnamachari way before he landed on the campus. Krishnamachari’s focus on this topical area of expertise was critical to Navaney’s decision-making while selecting a program of study. Navaney went so far as to study the professor’s academic papers on blockchain given his interest in taking coursework and doing research in this area.

Having completed his undergraduate from the Amity School of Engineering & Technology, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, Navaney launched a startup called Night out, a mobile app to consolidate and publish all the events held by the clubs and lounges in Delhi that allowed customers to make reservations.

Once he arrived in USC, located in Los Angeles, he pursued research in Professor Krishnamachari’s lab –specifically contributing to an initiative that involves developing a secure, “smart city” data-sharing platform for the City of LA and multiple partners including entertainment companies. The platform itself was being developed from the ground up to aggregate data that could be shared with city service providers for improved decision-making and for communities to organize and monetize their own data. Navaney says he worked on the intersection of IoT and Blockchain (in lab) in which blockchain was mostly used to create a tamper-proof ledger and securing the data.

Beyond his work in the lab, Navaney had the chance to intern at Google, contributing to new product features that were introduced at the start of this year.

For Navaney, his studies during COVID-19 went uninterrupted. Navaney says, “Classes were also held in a very organized manner. USC was very well prepared to handle the pandemic and quickly moved to online platforms as soon as they sensed that COVID was spreading at a quick pace. I didn't feel a big difference while attending the classes online or in person. Our classes were held on Cisco Webex and the classes were conducted smoothly. Our class size was small which helped everyone participate and contribute to the discussion.

While he had followed the news about employers being affected by the pandemic and the changes in the economy and hiring, he has received nothing but support from Oracle at which he is starting his new position post graduating in May 2020. “My manager and recruiter were very supportive and they were constantly in touch with me throughout this time. They discussed technologies used by my team, so it also gave me the opportunity to get a head start since he had the time to learn something new during this pandemic,” said Navaney. He looks forward to starting his position at Oracle soon.

Beyond working in the lab at USC, Navaney was a member of the (USC) Trojan Cricket league, hosted across the university in which he was as an all-rounder. He was also a part the Association of Indian Students (AIS) at USC. The AIS used to plan events and various Indian festivals such as Holi, Diwali, Navratri etc.

Aoyan Liang
MS in Materials ScienceMaster's Student Achievement Award

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I am from Shandong, China and received my bachelor’s degree in Materials Science at Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, China. Then I pursued my master’s degree in Materials Science at USC. Now I am an upcoming Ph.D. student in Materials Science. I am interested in large-scale parallel molecular dynamics algorithms and atomistic simulation, which are good ways to investigate the performances and properties of different materials at the atomic scale. For now, I am mainly focused on simulating the sintering of aluminium nitride ceramics.

What sparked your interest in chemical engineering?

I love doing research and enjoy the sense of achievement when I make progress and breakthroughs. Before coming to USC, all my research was completed experimentally and I had no experience in atomistic simulation. Because materials science has so many branches, like semiconductors, metals, and polymers, I was hesitant to choose just one of them at that time. But after taking some courses and doing some research regarding computational materials, I decided to concentrate on computational materials in my Ph.D. program. There are two main reasons why I chose these materials.

First, I found that atomistic simulations were extremely practical and promising since they were time-saving, cost-effective, and more secure than experiments. For example, when I was working at Professor Rehan Kapadia’s lab at USC, poisonous gas needed to be used for chemical reactions. To find the best growth condition for indium phosphide (InP) and indium arsenide (InAs), we needed to try different condition parameters. Once the trial failed, the samples were wasted, and it took a couple of hours to prepare for a new trial. But as computational power has increased, researchers can simulate the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process to find the best preparation conditions to replace the time-consuming process of trial and error.

Secondly, although atomistic simulations are limited by the system size and simulation time, they can probe into the atomistic scale and provide people with explanations and understandings of unaccountable phenomena. The simulations can even help people discover previously unknown properties of materials as well as invent new ones.

These are the reasons I am particularly interested in computational materials in materials science.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

The research in Professor Paulo Branicio’s lab at USC matches my interest. Professor Branicio mainly focuses on simulating materials under extreme conditions, high strength ceramics, and phase change materials by using atomistic simulation.

I joined professor Paulo Branicio’s lab working on atomistic simulations of field-assisted sintering (FAST) of nanoceramic, in which simulations were performed with our in-house parallel molecular dynamics Fortran codes.

The Center for High-Performance Computing (HPC) at USC was another attraction for me, as it provides me the opportunity to run a large-scale and prolonged simulation. Also, I like Los Angeles, where the weather is perfect.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I like to travel during vacations. I went to Fairbanks in Alaska last December with my girlfriend. We saw beautiful auroras every night, which left a deep impression on me. Also, Fairbanks is the “coolest” place I have ever been. I am also a foodie. I enjoy traveling to different places and finding new and delicious food.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your time so far at USC.

My research advisor, Professor Paulo Branicio, invited me and his group members to a barbecue in his house last summer. We celebrated the end of summer and had some tasty grilled meat, which was an exciting and unforgettable time for me. Also, Professor Paulo Branicio is such a nice person who is always supportive and encouraging. Working with him is a great experience for me. That’s another reason why I chose to continue my academic life at USC.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

I earned a 4.0 GPA for every course in my master program. I hope I can maintain that GPA in my upcoming Ph.D. study.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

Upon completion of the Ph.D. program, I would like to be a professor or an expert focusing on the atomistic simulation of materials and its applications. I hope I can contribute to creating and designing innovative materials with high properties and performances to positively impact the world in the future.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see or be a part of in the next ten years?

I hope that the computers will have better performance in calculation and operation speed in the future. Although the calculation speed is much faster than ten years ago, I still need about one week to get my simulation results. Better performing hardware would support more interesting and innovative research.

Naman Munot
MS in Computer Science Outstanding Mentor Award

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you study before USC?

I am from Jaipur, which is the capital city of Rajasthan state in India. I completed my bachelor’s degree in computer science at the Vellore Institute of Technology, which is in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

What sparked your interest in computer science?

Since my childhood, I was fascinated with computers, and by the time I reached high school I was determined to pursue a career in computer science. I am particularly leaned towards data science as it has the power to generate meaningful information that helps in better decision making for different organizations. I realized that with my analytical approach, I would be able to contribute to the data science community with my work.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

USC is one of the best schools for computer science. It has world class resources and well renowned faculties. Also, the safety benefits like free campus rides and free Lyft services provided to students is a plus which led me to select USC as one of the top priorities in my list. Moreover, I really wanted to visit Los Angeles and experience living in a new city.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I play a different variety of outdoor sports such as racquetball, cricket, and badminton. Also, I was working part-time as a graduate student ambassador, as well as a lead student worker in the Engineering Computing Center lab. These jobs were really fun, as I got to meet a variety of people and made many new friends.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your time so far at USC.

One evening, I was headed home from campus. On my way, I saw a huge line of students waiting outside Frank Norris cinema hall. I was curious about it and then found out that there was a premiere show of Spiderman: Far from Home. I was really proud as Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, is a USC alumnus and the premiere was shown because of his help. This motivated me — I also want to make a mark on the world that USC will be proud of.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

I am a very good cook. I like to make new varieties of food whenever possible. I am a strict vegetarian — I don’t eat eggs either! I also have not eaten cakes, pastries, or donuts in the last 12 years (I’m 24 currently). It’s just my habit to stay away from sugary stuff.

What are your future plans in both the short term and long term?

My short term plan is to find a job in the field of data science/analysis and gain some years of experience in an industry. After that I plan to pursue an MBA, which will further develop my managerial skills. I intend to use this knowledge and experience to start my own company in the field of IT.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see or be a part of in the next ten years?

First, I would like to see the vaccine for COVID-19 disease — and if possible, a cure for every disease.

Second, I would like to see that no person in the world dies because of starvation. Around 9 million people die every year due to hunger or hunger-related diseases. I want to contribute to eliminating world hunger.

Eleanor Mina Sung
MS in Biomedical EngineeringAcademic Excellence Award

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

While I was born in Baltimore, Maryland and spent a short time in Denver, Colorado, I consider myself an Los Angeles native, growing up in one of the L.A. County suburbs. I love any outdoor activity including snowboarding, biking, tennis, or surfing.

What is your favorite thing about Los Angeles?
L.A. is one of those places at the intersection of almost everything. It has mountains within a short drive, a beautiful beach within an even shorter drive, great food, and huge amounts of diversity. I’ve been lucky enough to grow up being able to take advantage of each of those things: snowboarding and skiing in the winter, surfing and participating in Junior Lifeguards in the summer, and exploring throughout the year!

What sparked your interest in biomedical engineering?

I’ve always loved the sciences — my childhood dream job was to be a doctor. While medicine was my calling, I enjoyed making things and found wonder in inventions. Upon entering college, I decided to choose the best of both worlds and enter the world of biomedical engineering.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

I actually originally went to USC for my undergraduate studies. My graduate degree is a progressive degree, a wonderful opportunity that USC offers. This means that following an undergraduate degree, students can continue their studies for an additional year and build off their undergraduate degree to obtain a master’s degree. I originally decided on USC because of its strong engineering background, and, while my parents did not go to USC, my mom is an associate professor in the architecture school and my dad is a neurologist at Keck medical center, making them honorary Trojans.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I always love helping others. My club involvements included Associated Students of Biomedical Engineering (ASBME) and Robogals, both of which involved outreach to teach elementary schoolers the wonders of engineering. I also involved myself as a course producer (essentially, an undergraduate teaching assistant) for the BME 101 class at USC with the same line of interest. Outside of teaching, I spent my free time on the Trojan Tennis Club. I’ve also worked in various labs, my most recent including the Biomechanics Injury Research Lab at HSC.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your time at USC.

While not education related, I’ve always loved going to USC’s overnight competitive club tennis tournaments. It’s always a good time to have extensive team bonding and meeting a wide variety of people outside of my major and school. I’ve been part of the club team since my freshman year — tennis has always been a part of my life ever since I moved to L.A., so I didn’t see why I had to change after going to college! My personal favorite tournament was the annual tournament hosted at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The length of the drive wasn’t too long, but not that short, giving the team the perfect opportunity to bond. Most importantly our destination was always picturesque with beaches nearby and a cute college town!

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

At the moment, due to the circumstances, I’m in a bit of a lull, however I do hope to enter medical school in the coming years! The brain has always been a point of interest for me and there’s still much to learn about it. My father is a neurologist and my grandfather was a neuropathologist so I guess interest in the brain runs through my DNA! I hope that I can pursue my interest in the brain while incorporating my education in BME to create new technologies that can help change the world.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see or be a part of in the next ten years?

I’d love to see more steps forward in brain-computer interface (BCI) and brain-machine interface (BMI)!

What piece of advice would you give to incoming students?
Always ask questions. You don’t understand the problem set? Ask for help. You want to make new friends? Ask to be friends. You want to learn more about the new club on campus? Ask to join. It’s never bad to be curious and the worst someone could say is no.

Seung Hee Yoon
MS in Computer ScienceBest Research Award

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hi, I’m Yoon. I came here from South Korea two years ago to study computer science, specializing in intelligent robotics.

What sparked your interest in computer science?

Various classic science fiction movies like the Matrix trilogy, Ghost in the Shell, A.I., and Bicentennial Man were a big source of interest for me to jump into the field of computer science and artificial intelligence studies.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

I found that USC has top graduate programs for robotics in the U.S, and the environmental factors such as good weather and its location by downtown Los Angeles, were other good reasons to choose USC.

After finishing a semester, I used to go out and try some good restaurants downtown. More often, I went to The Original Pantry Cafe to have breakfast and a cup of Dr. Pepper, or to the Regal Cinema at L.A. Live to watch a movie and have some popcorn.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I like to cook and study recipes. Not only the cooking itself is fun, but also it feeds me which means all in all it’s a hobby that takes care of me!

I love cooking all kinds of cuisines — Mexican, Indian, French, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Chinese — all and any! In particular, I like to make paella. It's relatively easy to cook, and a very nice way to eat a variety of seafood. Youtube is a decent source of recipes. A chef like Gordon Ramsay can be a master for anyone.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your time at USC.

Once I had a phone call after working on a hard project all night. At dawn, I was standing in the lobby of the Troy East dormitory, and I saw the burning clouds with gleaming sunrise through the window. It looked like a picture —I have never seen such a landscape.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

People sometimes are surprised when I sing in front of them.
While I enjoy singing various genres, I like 'Soul' musicians of the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Korea the most. Some of my favorite artists are Sam Smith, Boyz II Men, and Brown Eyed Soul. In L.A., I visit the karaoke bars in Little Tokyo sometimes — I’d recommend Tokyo Beat or Lounge Ohjah to sing and relax after finishing a hard task.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

I would like to work in a mega-company in South Korea such as Samsung or LG to contribute to developing intelligent systems and home robots.

In terms of projects, Samsung is proceeding to many intelligent systems such as danger or crime detection in-home, market, and autonomous cars where systems combine many types of perceptions. The systems are relatively state of art, so they are also studying for something new relentlessly. LG is more focused on home robotics: a cooking robot for the kitchen or a more advanced cleaning robot. After some research, I feel that their passions are real and practical.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see or be a part of in the next ten years?
I hope to see more natural and fluent dialogue systems in ten years. For instance, we may see a more advanced form of Google assistant that is even more initiative and flexible than today’s.

What piece of advice would you give to future students?

Every cumulative action you take will lead you to a certain result, so please be careful of your actions. For example, a smaller decision like deciding what kind of project you are going to do should correspond to your purpose and path.

Qin Dong
MS in Environmental EngineeringResearch Award

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, and where did you study before USC?

I’m Qin Dong. I’m from Fujian, China, which is located in the southeast of China. I studied at Zhejiang Normal University for my undergraduate degree.

What sparked your interest in environmental engineering?

My major is environmental engineering. I am interested in it because I care about public health and the functions of the microbial community. Environmental engineering is a good way for me to combine different interests of mine together.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

Being able to do research related to biotechnology in our department attracted me, because it highly matches my interests. During my graduate studies, I got the chance to join Adam Smith’s research group and did research related to food waste treatment based on anaerobic membrane bioreactor. Another thing that attracted me to choose USC is due to the climate in Los Angeles.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

Outside the classroom, I like watching movies (e.g., La La Land) and entertainment shows (e.g., Queer Eye). Also, I am a foodie — my favorite place to go is hot pot!

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your time at USC.

Due to COVID-19, the virtual group meetings I had this year were unforgettable. We would have different themed virtual get togethers. One time we had a hat themed night. Everyone wore a hat that we found meaningful, shared memes we liked most, and did some characteristic testing. It was a really good experience during a time we were spending in self-isolation.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

I will be working toward my Ph.D. study this August at the University of Iowa. After graduating, I hope to become an environmental biotechnology scientist.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see or be a part of in the next ten years?

I hope I can help to find an effective way to degrade emerging contaminants in the environment based on environmental microorganisms and biotechnology and discover the functioning mechanism behind the degradation process.

What’s a piece of advice you’d give to an incoming student?

Interests are things that will support us for our whole career life. Therefore, try to find the real interests within you, beyond what external factors are telling you what you should be interested in. Afterward, find your goal of career or academic, and go for it!

Udit Dangarwala
MS in Electrical EngineeringOutstanding Student Award

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I am an electrical engineer. I was born and raised in Vadodara, which is a city in the state of Gujarat, India. I completed high school and undergraduate studies in my hometown. I have a strong academic background and have always been curious about energy systems and how they function. I am very passionate about renewable energy and sustainability.

What sparked your interest in electrical engineering?

I developed an interest in electrical engineering during my high school years. I entered a national level science competition, in the energy category. My project was related to wind energy and wind farm layouts. After that competition, I developed interest in renewable sources of energy. As I explored that, I started getting interested in power systems and electrical grids.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

There were two main reasons I chose USC — first was the specialized master’s program (MSEE) has an excellent course structure and curriculum. Second, California is aggressively promoting renewable energy, constantly deploying advanced and exciting technology in California’s power system — being at USC would be a great exposure to these technologies and also help me a lot in my research interests.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I am very passionate about sustainability. I actively follow trends in the subject and global policies surrounding the topic. I am interested in how different governments are taking different approaches to attain global sustainability goals. I like to explore the integration of ideas of sustainability in different industries like fashion, transportation, etc. Apart from that I spend my time in activities that help me de-stress — socialize, play video games, watch movies, listen to music, etc. I am a big fan of comedy and love watching stand-up videos and movies in that genre.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your time at USC.

The most exciting and unforgettable incident at USC is about a group project for a renewable energy class. We were required to submit a 30 min video recording of a presentation summarizing our project. We started working in the afternoon and had to do a lot of retakes for each part to get it perfect. As we were about to begin editing and stitching all the parts together, we got an idea that why don’t we add bloopers at the end of our presentation. We wrapped up editing the formal presentation pretty soon but then worked all night to get the bloopers from the unused recordings and stitched at the end.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

Although I am an electrical engineer, I am rarely fascinated by advancements and new features in mobile phones, tablets, etc. I am not very excited about the latest phone or laptop and don’t follow any launch events.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

I want to use my skills to contribute in developing reliable, robust, sustainable, and secure power systems that provide uninterrupted clean power to people. I want to work in the industry and contribute as much as I can. In the future, I would also like to pursue a doctorate degree in power systems and renewable energy.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see or be a part of in the next ten years?

I am really hoping for a shift in the energy industry. In the next 10 years, I would like to see technologies that would facilitate more integration of renewable energy like wind, solar, and hydro powered. I want to see the dependence of the industry shift from fossil fuels towards cleaner resources.

Nicole Fronda
MS in Computer ScienceBest Research Award

Tell us about yourself!
I’m from California! I studied engineering and operations at UC Berkeley for undergrad before coming to USC. I actually worked a couple years in between graduating undergrad, before realizing that I wanted to get some more formal training in computer science, particularly in data science, because that’s what I was doing in my full time job after undergrad. And so I applied to USC for their Distance Education Program, because I was looking for options to take online classes while also working full time. That was a big reason I was attracted to USC, on top of the school being top in computer science programs.

What are some of your interests outside of the classroom?
I took part in a couple of research labs at USC, particularly the Robotics Embedded Systems Laboratory (RESL). I did research with them outside of class and published a couple of papers with the students in the lab there.
But outside of research and school, some of the hobbies I have are cycling around the beaches here in Los Angeles. With the whole lockdown that’s been a little bit harder recently, but I do enjoy that. I also play piano and do creative writing — I’ve recently gotten into perfecting homebrewed cold brew coffee at home! Those are some of the things I do at home.

Congratulations on winning the best research award your graduating year! Was that award related to your research with RESL?
Yes, it was with the Robotics Lab! Actually, it was my co author on the paper who nominated me for that award. That was a great surprise and definitely one of my proudest moments while at USC.

Do you have any other unforgettable or exciting moments you’d like to share?
This past semester has been very memorable in that it’s been sort of very unconventional with the whole COVID-19 situation and everyone moving to online learning. I guess I’ve been very impressed with how the school responded and how students in my classes supported each other through these tough times. Being a distance learning student, I was familiar with taking classes online and being remote, but now there was a feeling of camaraderie, that I wasn’t the only remote student and we were all remote students going to class together. That was a nice feeling of fellowship with other USC students.

Despite the coronavirus situation, what are your short term and long term plans for the future?
Before the pandemic happened, I was planning on pursuing a Ph.D. — I really got into my research work while in school, so I ended up applying! So next fall — which might be deferred to spring with everything going on — I start at Oregon State University to continue my studies in computer science and robotics.

In terms of long term goals, after completing my Ph.D., I hope to continue doing research in the industry of robotics and autonomous systems.

Looking a little further out, what innovations or discoveries to you hope to see or be a part of in the next ten years?
Something that’s been at the top of my mind recently — Space X actually launched their dragon capsule into space, and I’ve been a fan of Space X for a while, my wife worked there for a little bit, and I worked at Tesla prior to coming to USC, and I’ve just been a fan of that space for a while — I’m really looking forward to seeing if I’m going to be a part of it. I want to see humanity become a multiplanetary species.

For incoming students, what is one piece of advice you’d give them?
From my own experience, I got a lot more out of USC than I was expecting. There is a lot that the university has to offer, like research — which was what I was into. But there’s a lot of other ways to get involved and do more than just take classes, which is what I went into my master’s degree thinking I was going to do. But there’s a lot more that USC and Viterbi has to offer. So I’d say to stay open minded and sink your teeth into all that they have to offer.

Xueer Zhuang
MS in Industrial & Systems EngineeringMaster's Student of the Year Award

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you study before USC?

I am an international student from China, and I did my undergrad in Tianjin, China, where my major was engineering mechanics. Then for grad school, I was thinking about going into something different, which could give me a more holistic view of enterprise and engineering altogether. So that’s why I chose to study industrial and systems engineering at USC. I enrolled in Fall 2018 and just graduated this May.

What sparked your interest in industrial and systems engineering?
Before coming to USC, I studied Engineering Mechanics. But then I realized it didn’t align with my interests. I like to interact with people and enjoy viewing companies’ problems from a bigger picture. I realized that sitting in front of my desk, digging into engineering problems, wasn’t really 100% my thing. So I talked to some of the professors from my undergrad and also people I know who studied industrial engineering, and they suggested I try this field. They gave me a brief introduction about this field and I realized that this was probably what I wanted to do, and I was excited to try it out.

Not to mention, Los Angeles is one of my dream cities. I had never been to L.A., and I thought it could be fun to spend a few years here.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
Like I said, its location was a big factor. And also, USC is a really prestigious academic institute. I had a lot of friends who attended USC before, so according to what they told me about the environment and its inclusive community, and all the benefits at USC — that all kind of drew me here. I got other admissions offers from other universities, but I realized this was the place I always wanted to be. USC has a wonderful program, it’s a high ranking program — so I thought, why not?

What are some of the notable courses or professors you had during your time at USC?
I definitely recommend ISE 513, which is about Inventory Management, taught by Professor Geza Bottlik. He’s a really nice person, and he’s definitely experienced in whatever he teaches. I was his teaching assistant for two semesters, for another course. I have been learning a lot, not only academically, but professionally, from him. He’s a great mentor. Whenever I have problems with my job or I was confused about something, I would ask for his advice. Every time, he would help me analyze the situation I was in and provide helpful suggestions.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I like to play basketball, so my friends and I sometimes just go to the Lyon Center, though it can get crowded there. I also enjoy going for a hike or walking along the coastline on weekends. For me, these are the activities that help to destress.

I also spent a lot of time at different cultural centers on campus. As an international student, it is important to feel the sense of belonging and I am glad that USC has various culture groups to offer.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your time at USC.

I think tailgating is definitely an unforgettable experience. Especially games against UCLA. I remember seeing many UCLA students on our campus last semester for the tailgate. Even though we are on opposing teams, there’s an inclusive environment of kindness, friendship, and welcome. Also, the tradition of guarding the statues all night long for weeks shows a certain care and pride that people take in our school.

Another remarkable thing about USC is our powerful networking system. I remember traveling to Texas while wearing a USC t-shirt. As I walked down the street, a woman stopped her car and shouted “Fight on girl! You fight on!” in my direction. This gives me the inkling that the trojan family has my back even in a place that I’m not familiar with.

What are your future plans in the short and long term?

I am currently under employment by SAP North America as a Customer Engagement Analyst. At this juncture, I am still in exploration of the 2 possible career paths ahead of me. I am excited about relocating to the east coast to experience a different adventure. In the long run, I am looking forward to traveling among different continents and hopefully finding a place where I can settle down. I’m also hoping to apply the resources I can get throughout my career to the solutions of some social issues.

What is a piece of advice you’d give to students coming to USC?

First of all, enjoy your life in L.A. Academic achievement is surely important but it is also essential to find the balance between life and study. Life will be so much easier once you start appreciating the landscape and culture out there.

In terms of USC, there are so many incredible and useful resources that we can leverage. Definitely check them out. Whenever you have problems or questions, don’t just sit in your own room, trying to figure them out on your own. There are so many people with skills and knowledge out there that are willing to help.

Niloufar Rajabshirazi
MS in Biomedical EngineeringService Award

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you study before USC?

My name is Niloufar Rajabshirazi. I was born and raised in Tehran, Iran, and moved to the United States about five years ago for school. I have received my associate’s degree at Dixie State university and my bachelor’s of science in biology at the University of Utah.

What sparked your interest in biomedical engineering?

While attending the University of Utah to pursue my bachelor’s degree in biology, I joined a research lab working on cardiovascular devices. Getting familiarized with cardiovascular devices exposed me to the potential of this field and immense effects that biomedical engineering advances have on the lives of patients. Through this experience, I discovered a major that combined my passion for scientific problem solving while allowing me to preserve my focus on engineering with an ultimate result of having a constructive impact on health care. I find this field to be a unique combination of artistry, engineering, and science that can be utilized to advance the wellbeing of others. Therefore, I decided to expand my knowledge in biomedical engineering by completing a degree at USC.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

I originally chose to attend USC because of its reputation of having a strong engineering school. USC would offer me the opportunity to be a part of a diverse student body with a vast alumni network. Furthermore, USC draws research talent from around the globe with its nationally and internationally known research centers and groups and many research seminar series offered within the school. I wanted to attend a school that would allow me to put the things I have learned into practice and develop my skills even further. USC’s outstanding facilities enable students to further develop their laboratory skills and study with the best minds in the country.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I love cooking!!! It’s rather a versatile hobby for me. I listen to music and dance around my kitchen as I prepare dinner. I also usually invite my family and friends over to cook, and spend quality time with them. I love coming up with healthy Persian recipes or any other type of Mediterranean food. It's just so simple to prepare and a pleasure to eat.

I love going on hikes any chance I get. It's a great way to get an exercise in and to also boost my mood. I love the Runyon Canyon Hike and Griffith Park trails. Since they are in the middle of the city they give you an amazing opportunity to sightsee city — views from Catalina Island to the Santa Monica Mountains. If I'm not too busy on the weekends, I also love to drive to Saddle Peak Trails in Malibu. I usually get a nice hike in, and then go lay by the ocean.

I also love to travel. Traveling allows me to adapt to new situations and use my organization and planning skills to ensure I have the most fun I can.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your time at USC.

What I greatly treasure from my experience at USC are the friendships and the strong network I have built. When I started at USC I was so nervous to embark on this remarkable and sometimes rocky experience, but the amazing professors, my advisor, and fellow students made this experience more than worth it.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

In the fall of 2008 I had the privilege to be selected from Iran to compete in an international mathematics competition held in Thailand. The experience still seems surreal, as I had the honor of meeting teenagers from different parts of the world who shared the same passion as me.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

I am planning on continuing my studies on biosensor technology by completing a doctorate degree at USC. I believe that pursuing a Ph.D. would give me an advantage in intellectual freedom, independence, and self direction to pursue research ideas that interest me the most.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see or be a part of in the next ten years?

I hope to be a part of phenomenal progress in technology and applications of biosensors with innovative approaches involving electrochemistry and bioelectricity. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of efficient and accessible testing biosensing platforms is becoming more well-recognized. I am aiming to advance the technical strategies in developing biosensors in order to be better-prepared when battling future global public health crises.

What piece of advice would you give an incoming student?

Try your best to be involved with USC as much as possible. USC offers many resources that not only allow you to build your networking, but also help you discover your passion and strengths to build a stronger resume. Keep in mind that being involved is an ongoing process. I can't tell you how many hours I have spent in my professor’s or my advisor's office hours to benefit from their life advice and professional wisdom. Utilizing USC’s resources definitely made a difference for me.

Sara Stevens
MS in Engineering ManagementMaster's Student of the Year Award

Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I grew up in Santa Clarita, California, which is just north of downtown. I originally went to Claremont McKenna College and did a 3+2 program, where I studied there for three years and got an economics degree, then transferred to USC for two years. I studied industrial and systems engineering. During my time at USC, I decided to pursue the progressive degree program (PDP), in which they allow you to take classes your senior year to fulfill a master’s degree. That’s how I ended up in the engineering management program.

What sparked your interest in industrial and systems engineering?
I am fortunate enough to have two parents who are engineers. And one of them actually studied industrial and systems engineering. So I was exposed at a young age to a mother who did everything on Excel, trying to figure out the most efficient way to do everything. As I grew up, I started to realize that I like to think in numbers and statistics. And a lot of systems engineering is trying to figure out how to eliminate waste and how to improve multiple different kinds of systems, not just in one industry, but in many. This is reflected in my internship experiences — one summer I worked on Capitol Hill, and I learned how to improve some of the systems in government; another internship I worked at Cedar Sinai Hospital, where I worked on a system within the emergency department to improve patient waiting times. Now I’m working for a defense corporation, Northup Grumman, where I’m learning how to do software testing and how to really streamline the process and make it more efficient for my whole software development team.

I think that’s a strength I’ve learned at USC — they encourage students to be interested in many things and I really appreciated that. At my small liberal arts school, it felt like if you didn’t do what everyone else was doing, there weren’t a lot of options. But USC is very open to looking at how you can apply your knowledge and skills to many different industries, not just one. You can do everything you want to do.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

Well what ended up happening is that I had room in my schedule senior year, and I could have graduated early or I could have gotten a master’s degree. I was determined to go to USC because in the industrial and systems engineering undergraduate department, a lot of the professors teach graduate courses, and during my time at USC, I loved my professors. I think they’re all wonderful — I’ve gone to happy hours with them, I had personal relationships with them. And it’s crazy to think of going to a large school but still feeling that small interaction with professors. I’ve never experienced that before, and it’s something not a lot of schools have.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
I’m a huge L.A. sports fan. I’ve been a Trojan fan my whole lids, so being able to watch all of the sporting events was really fun. I think, just being able to interact with other students on campus by going on hikes, going out to eat — I’m an avid food person, I love going to all the good restaurants. And I love working out and hanging out with friends outside by the beach and in the mountains.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your time at USC.
What’s so great about my time at USC is that classes were some of my most memorable moments, which I don’t think a lot of students could say. My professors made every class really engaging, and I never felt like my assignments were busy work — they were there to help prepare me for the real world., What I also find very valuable are all the friendships I’ve made, because I’ve really made some friends for life and I feel very fortunate to have that.

What are your future goals and plans?
What has been useful about me jumping around to different industries is that I‘ve been able to take what I’ve learned from each one and apply it to the next. So I definitely don’t think defense is my only option. And hats off to USC’s alumni networks, because if I really did want to switch from defense to another industry, I know that I could connect to someone immediately and they would show me to at least four different recruiters and it would be a much easier process than from a different school. That being said, I think I see myself working in the charity sector, giving back to the community in some way. I want to focus on improving education — that’s probably my long term goal.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

I think for me, what would be the coolest — this is probably a vague answer — I would love to be a part of something I couldn’t even think of now. Something revolutionary, where it would be taught in a class I previously took one day. They would talk about it as something groundbreaking.

I remember as a kid, everyone had flip phones. Who even thought you could touch and interact with it like my phone now? You don’t think of it until it happens. And hopefully someday I can change the world like that.

What’s a piece of advice you’d give an incoming student?
I would say to invest in relationships. Whether that be with other students, or professors— everyone is always willing to help, you just have to ask for it. I think creating study groups, going to office hours — these are some of the moments in which you can build relationships that will last a lifetime.

Edward Hu
MS in Computer ScienceBest Research Award

Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m from the Bay Area, California, and I studied at USC for both my graduate and undergraduate studies. I had a lot of fun at USC. I explored the computer science industry with internships at Intel and Tesla. I also did a lot of volunteering in an organization called Code the Change, in which we built software for nonprofit organizations. Finally, I discovered my passion for computer science research by working at the USC Cognitive Learning for Vision and Robotics (CLVR) lab.

What sparked your interest in computer science?
Originally, I entered USC as a biology major. But I very quickly realized that computer science was a lot more fitting for me. I had some exposure to it in high school courses, and even back then I had an interest in it.

What attracted you to choose USC for both your undergraduate and graduate studies?
USC was very accommodating of the fact that I wanted to do computer science and offered a straightforward way to switch majors. The environment and culture of USC is a lot more well-balanced and focused on a well rounded education. They want you to have fun, to make friends, and to try out different things, not just focus on academics.

For my graduate degree, what I was looking for was a little more specific. USC Viterbi has a progressive degree program, which lets you take graduate classes earlier, during your undergraduate education, and finish your masters degree in one year. That was a very exciting program for me, because toward the end of my senior year, I decided to switch career paths from industry to academia. It was a great idea for me to stay another year to get my masters, take more advanced courses, and have time to do research.

Congratulations on winning a Best Research Award for Viterbi graduate students. What was the project were you working on?
I work at the CLVR lab led by Professor Joseph Lim, and it was a great opportunity for me. Conventionally, undergraduates are treated as the lowest tier in the academic pyramid, but in this lab I was pretty much almost equal to the Ph.D. students. I got to spend a lot of one on one time with my advisor, interact with the Ph.D. students, and meaningfully contribute to my projects.

In the summer, I focused on a project about imitation learning, where the robots learn to imitate human demonstrations. We wanted the robot to learn to push a block around an obstacle that is not present in the demonstration, so the robot had to reason about what part of the demonstration to follow and what part to ignore. I had a very fun time training the robots to do such tasks. The paper was published to a conference called Conference on Robot Learning, which is a very good conference for robotic learning. Overall, I would say my research achievements were due to the especially welcoming environment of my lab.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
I like to spend time doing outreach, such as teaching kids through the SPLASH program, as well as nonprofit technical consulting through Code The Change. I also play badminton, and read books. Currently I’m reading a book about the economics behind piracy called The Invisible Hook.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your time at USC.
During my senior year graduation, I received notice that my paper was accepted to ICLR, a prestigious deep learning conference which would take place in New Orleans. The problem was that the conference was happening at the exact time of the undergraduate graduation ceremony. But I knew I really wanted to go, since it would be an invaluable experience for me as a researcher.

So I rushed to New Orleans three days before graduation, presented my project, and I actually met my future Ph.D. advisor there. Right after I presented, I got on a plane and rushed back. There was a very big storm incoming, so I was worried I would miss graduation. But within 24 hours of presenting my paper, I was sitting at the graduation ceremony. It was such a surreal experience, shuttling to New Orleans and back in such a short time.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
Right now, I’m pursuing a Ph.D. in computer science, specifically in machine learning and robotics, at the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?
In the next ten years, we’re going to see more applied robotics due to the advances in machine learning. We’re going to see very advanced robotics, not just in the virtual realm, like chat bots, but also in the physical realm. Robots that can do very complex physical manipulation tasks, not just picking up an object and setting it down somewhere else. I think it’ll be very interesting, and I’m looking forward to working on this technology.

Do you have a piece of advice for incoming students?
My advice to everyone at USC would be to go out into Los Angeles and try new foods. LA is really one of the best cities foodwise. Here are my top 3 picks. Baco Mercat, try the Caesar Brussel Sprouts and Hamachi Crudo; Quarters Korean BBQ; and Tsujita, the Japanese dipping ramen even impressed my native Japanese friends!

Aishwarya Sambasivan Iyer
MS in Civil EngineeringService Award

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from; where did you study before coming to USC?
I’m from India — I was born in Mumbai but grew up in different cities. I traveled a lot owing to the nature of my dad’s job, so I grew up in a few underdeveloped areas. So as I was growing up, I thought I would like to build things for such areas. I wanted to develop better infrastructure, and that is something that was lacking in those areas back then. That’s what drove me to be an engineer, and I eventually ended up being a civil engineer. I studied for my undergraduate degree in India. My coursework and projects led me to become very interested in transportation. And to gain deeper understanding, I thought graduate school would be a perfect idea.

Is there a particular moment that helped shape your path to engineering or transportation?
I found myself more inclined towards courses related to highway and traffic engineering during my undergraduate studies. One of the significant projects that I worked on during my undergraduate studies intrigued me and had an influence on my decision to pursue graduate studies. It was a group project in which our design proposed a monorail for one of the busiest areas in the city. It was a very collaborative experience, working with everyone and collecting traffic counts, and performing field studies — it sounds nerdy, but was something I enjoyed. Overall, I would say the coursework and projects really shaped my interest in transportation, so I guess it wasn’t a specific instance but rather a culmination of a lot of my experiences.

During your time at USC, what were some of the notable classes, projects, or experiences you had?
USC has been a very memorable experience — the entire two years. I grew a lot, both personally and professionally.

Personally, I would say it was an overwhelming mix of emotions at first. Being away from home for the first time, coping with homesickness, adjusting to a new culture — it all turned out to be extremely good. I made a lot of good friends, I loved the subjects I was studying, the professors, and classes. Since most of my friends consisted of international students, I found a sense of community — professors were very supportive and understanding that English was not our first language and we had learned some different methodologies in our learning backgrounds. It all helped for a very smooth transition.

Some memorable moments: all those nights at Leavey Library, working the graveyard shift until 7 a.m., finishing a project, going to the Trojan Grounds Starbucks at 3 a.m.

There is one incident that definitely left an impression on me — I almost drowned while trying to learn how to surf at Venice Beach. That is something I’ll never forget!

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.
I like playing basketball! USC is known for its football team, but it has really nice facilities to play basketball too.

I took several courses at a time, which made it hard for me to find time for extracurricular activities. But I was able to attend conferences and meet new people and get to know them. In a new country, you should always try to make new friends!

What are your future plans, both in the short term and the long term?
I plan to work in the United States! I’ve been working on expanding my skills and in the long term, I would like to be known as someone who knows what she’s doing and who has experience in her field. I want to work on notable projects around Los Angeles and all around the USA.

I also want to continue studying — I don’t want to stop learning. I’m considering taking up a business management course in the future, maybe even at USC Marshall!

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?
Connected and automated vehicles are something I’m really excited about. I took this class, which is called “Intelligent Transportation Systems,” and we didn’t have a textbook — it was more of a discussion and a debate, with the professor also sharing his real world experiences. It’s such an interesting field and one that’s heavily debated nowadays — are roads ready for it? Is technology ready for it? Are we ready for it?

This is a direction that transportation is moving in, and I want to be a part of it.

What is a piece of advice you’d give to an incoming student?

Enjoy what you do. If you step back and just examine what you like, you’ll find what you truly want to do and what you can be successful at. Go out there and meet new people, make new friends, and make new connections. They are helpful and help you learn more about yourself and your passions.

I wish all incoming students the best, especially international students, because all of the circumstances in our world today make being an international student a risk. Taking this chance is one that’s not easy, and I wish all of them the best.

Zakiyyah Brown
PhD in Environmental EngineeringOutstanding Mentor Award

Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I’m originally from Maryland, and I studied civil engineering for my undergraduate degree at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
When I came out to USC, I really got into puzzles — I love puzzles! Before COVID-19, I loved going to concerts and the beach regularly. I love reading, listening to music, and learning in general.
Now I’m studying environmental engineering at USC. This is my third year as a Ph.D. student.

What sparked your interest in environmental engineering?
When I was young, my mom said that whatever I decide to do, I should love it, I should be good at it, and it should pay well. I love math, and the highest paying jobs in math, according to my Google search in seventh grade, were accounting and engineering. Engineering stood out to me because it provides the opportunity to improve others’ quality of life using problem solving and critical thinking skills — overall seemed a lot more fun.

My aunt followed up what my mom said by saying that whatever I chose to do should give back to the community, so when I was looking at branches of engineering, civil engineering stood out because it was the oldest form of engineering — just putting a log across a river and using it as a bridge is an example. I figured that civil engineering was one of the best ways to give back.

During my sophomore year in undergrad as a civil engineering student, I took my first environmental engineering course, Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering, and I learned about how many people don’t have access to clean and safe drinking water, which is a basic need for life. This kind of baffled me, that clean, safe drinking water is something that not everyone has access to. It didn’t sit well with me, and I knew I wanted to pursue that major. At my undergrad, environmental engineering wasn’t offered as a major, so I knew graduate school was the next step and I made it happen.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
I knew I wanted to get my Ph.D., and I wanted as much education as possible, because I believe knowledge is power. When I was looking at graduate programs, I knew I wanted to be somewhere warm, because it would be an extended period of time wherever I’d be living. So I looked at California for environmental engineering programs, and USC was the first school to pop up. And I searched the faculty within the civil and environmental engineering department to find my current advisor, who was the only one who had drinking water treatment specifically as a keyword in his research. So I sent an email to him, and he was very receptive and very open when I inquired about his research and discussed my shared interest. He said, “Sure! Let’s Skype; send me your resume.” And from there, we got along really well, so I applied, and here I am!

Tell us about your interests outside of the classroom.
As far as things I do in L.A., I love trying new food, new places; I would go to concerts at least once a week before the pandemic. I love going to the beach and comedy shows too.

On campus, I am the National Society of Black Engineers Graduate Student Liaison. I help graduate students get funding to the national and regional conferences. Now I’m in my second term for the 2020-2021 academic year, and I’m looking to expand the role so it’s more widely known, and trying to make it more established and sustainable before I transition out. The new leadership for the Viterbi Graduate Student Association is expanding that role, so I am collaborating with them as an organization (NSBE) ambassador. I was a consultant for the 2020 Viterbi Summer Institute, which is a program for incoming freshmen to get research experience. My primary role was to advise the leaders within the Center for Engineering Diversity and help coordinate with the Ph.D. research mentors.

Through Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) and the Viterbi Admission & Student Engagement (VASE) office, I became a mentor for incoming graduate students throughout my second year. I had four mentees, two for each semester, and my main priority was to reach out and check in on them regularly. I made sure I met with them at least once in person. I also served as a student ambassador for Viterbi, sharing my USC experience with prospective master’s students. I also volunteered for open houses, sat on panels, and led lab tours.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?
My research is focused on wastewater reuse and identifying and measuring disinfection byproducts, the chemicals that form when we use disinfection techniques, like adding chlorine. With what I’m learning as far as becoming well versed in water quality, I am interested in pursuing a postdoctoral program/position overseas after I graduate, preferably in an Africa country or India to help with providing access to clean water in those areas. If not, I’m open to academia, nonprofits, private industry, or whatever will help me work toward promoting clean water access to those who need it. I also want to make sure I have the opportunity to visit my home and family in Maryland at will.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?
I would like to see a new analytical tool or method to accurately and precisely detect and measure disinfectant byproducts, so that when we switch our techniques we are able to determine whether the new technique is better or safer. That’s what I’m working on right now. I also want to be a part of creating technology that would be accessible to developing countries, or even areas in the U.S. that don’t have access to clean and safe water.

What is a piece of advice you’d give to incoming students?
I recommend focusing on what motivates you to pursue your degree in the first place and reminding yourself of that reason when things get tough.

You’re going to face challenges no matter what route you take to achieve your goals and dreams so it’s good to make sure your decisions align with your ultimate goal. What’s driven me to this path was being told that I should pursue something that I love, I’m good at, and pays well, but also something that gives back to the community. Understanding and staying true to those values got me where I am today, so I highly recommend doing the same.

Katherine Karahalios
MS in Biomedical Engineering

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from, where have you studied and lived, where are you located now?
Hello, my name is Katie Karahalios and I’m from Lake Forest, IL, a northern suburb of Chicago. I am an alumni of the Viterbi School of Engineering Progressive Degree Program and graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s of science in biomedical engineering. During my undergraduate studies I was also a member of the Women’s Division I Lacrosse Team and had the opportunity to travel and compete against teams across the country. Currently, I‘m located in Los Angeles, CA as I take a gap year to apply for medical school.

What attracted you to biomedical engineering?
I was initially attracted to biomedical engineering because I viewed it as a bridge between my love for science and interest in medicine. Also, this major covered a very wide range of topics, offering classes in many other engineering fields. This was important to me because, as a freshman, I was unsure about what I wanted to focus on and it provided the opportunity for me to explore other engineering paths before choosing a focus.

Why did you choose USC for your graduate studies?
I chose USC for my graduate studies because of the close-knit Trojan Family. After finishing my undergraduate degree, I was not ready to part with my Trojan Family. I felt that USC had so many opportunities that I had yet to explore and I wanted to continue my studies in biomedical engineering to become more involved in research and make lifelong connections with my fellow peers and faculty.

What classes, professors, or research during your time at USC had the biggest impact on you?
In the fall of my junior year, I enrolled in BME 404, which is a Biomechanics course taught by Dr. Ebramzadeh. I was not quite sure what I was getting myself into and had a steep learning curve as I had not taken a course based in statics before. This class turned out to be my favorite course at USC. I also started as a research assistant at Dr. Ebramzadeh’s J. Vernon Luck, Sr., M.D. Orthopaedic Research Center the following summer and have been conducting research with them since. Working with Dr. Ebramzadeh and the research team had the greatest impact on me and helped to define my time as a graduate student at USC.

Beyond academics, what were your favorite things to do at USC or in Los Angeles in general?
Game days during football season were by far one of my favorite things to do at USC. Athletics have always played a central role in my life, yet I had never experienced anything like a home USC football game. When attending football games was not an option, I loved getting together with friends to explore different beach towns and to go on hikes. The hike at the Griffith Observatory is a must!

What are your long term goals, both personally and professionally?
My long term goal is to become a doctor and act as a physician in the armed forces. I am very interested in military medicine and aspire to treat the men and women who serve our country. As a physician for the military, I plan to leverage my clinical experience and research activities to discover novel devices and methods of treatment to protect, rehabilitate, or optimize the performance of the warfighter.

What innovations do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the near future?
In the near future, I hope to see innovations that can be employed on the battlefield in order to keep soldiers stable under critical conditions until they can be treated at a hospital. This area of innovation is of particular interest to me as I have both family and friends in the armed forces.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming graduate students?
I would advise incoming graduate students to foster relationships with your professors and learn about their professions outside of the classroom, especially if you are not already affiliated with a lab.

Any advice for students interested in biomedical engineering?
For any students interested in biomedical engineering, I would say go into the major with an open mind. The major itself is flexible and graduates go into a wide range of fields. Even if you think you know what you want to do after college, embrace the wide variety of courses required of the major because you never know — you might discover a new passion within the field.

Bochao Li
PhD in Biomedical Engineering

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from, and where have you studied and lived?
I’m from Hebei, China. I did my undergraduate in biomedical engineering at Northeastern University, Shenyang, and got my master’s degree at the University of California, San Diego in bioengineering. The experience at UCSD brought me great interest in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) research, which led me to study at USC.

What attracted you to biomedical engineering?

First of all, biomedical engineering is an interdisciplinary subject — I could learn about diversified knowledge such as programming, physiology, and electronics, which enabled me to have a more comprehensive understanding of my future study goals. In addition, BME provided me with an opportunity to study medicine that I was very interested in even though I wouldn’t go to medical school.

Why did you choose USC for your graduate studies?
One of the main reasons is that I was very interested in and glad to join the strong magnetic resonance imaging research team, MREL, led by my advisor, Krishna Nayak. MREL has advanced many state-of-the-art magnetic resonance techniques for improving imaging quality and efficiency for various organs and diseases. In addition,USC has a wealth of academic and social resources as well as strong ties to the corporate industry.

What classes, professors, or research at USC have had the biggest impact on you?
I haven't taken a lot of classes but I highly recommend EE483 if you're interested in signal processing. The instructor, Prof. Justin Haldar, is a great teacher and shares his knowledge very clearly, and I gained a deeper understanding of signal processing through this course.

Another professor who has had a big impact on me is my advisor, Prof. Krishna Nayak. He not only gives me important advice on research and study, both specific or ideological, but also gives me a lot of encouragement and an exchange of life lessons.

Beyond academics, what were your favorite things to do at USC or in Los Angeles in general?
I really love the awesome Lyon center where I can play basketball and work out. I also often wander and immerse myself in the USC campus, which has a beautiful collegiate Gothic architecture. As for Los Angeles, there is a lot of nature surrounding campus — I’d recommend Malibu beach for chilling in the sand and Mt. San Antonio for hiking.. Los Angeles is a very multicultural city, and I hope to continue to experience different customs, including countless kinds of food.

What are your short term and long term goals, both personally and professionally?
My short term goal is to round out my MR knowledge and set up an executable project for next year's ISMRM conference. My personal goal is keeping myself energetic even though many outdoor activities are being restricted now.

My long term goal would be advancing MR techniques in at least one application while always keeping a passion for learning new things.

What innovations do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the near future?
Since most of MR is gray-scale map, I hope real colorful information of tissues or organs can be decoded/encoded in the MR images for more accurate diagnoses.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming graduate students?
I have more than one! Here they are:
1. Don’t be afraid of talking to people more experienced in a variety of different ways, like professors, staff or senior students.

2.Take the time to find an area of study that you enjoy the majority of.

3. Meet and get to know students in different majors — they can give you different views of the world.

Any advice for students interested in biomedical engineering?

Be prepared for an abundant, but dazzling selection of courses. You may spend a lot of your time deciding which field you want to get involved in, like wet lab or dry lab, more biological science or electrical engineering.

Zhenlu Huang
MS in Civil Engineering

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from, where have you studied and lived, where are you located now?
I was born in Nantong, a small town in Jiangsu Province of China. I studied traffic and transportation at Southeast University in Nanjing for 4 years. Then I completed my master’s degree in civil engineering at USC in December 2019. Specifically, I studied transportation engineering. Then, I moved to Orlando in February this year to work at the BCC Engineering Orlando office.

What attracted you to civil, and more specifically, transportation engineering?
Civil Engineering was a popular major when I started university, so my parents and I decided to choose civil engineering as my major. There are also many sub-majors under civil engineering. I chose transportation because it is the most related to people’s daily life — it influences people’s decisions of their living place, workplace, travel routes, travel mode and many others. I hope to improve the people’s travel experience in the future.

Why did you choose USC for your graduate studies?
I chose USC based on the US News and QS university rankings, because it ranks in the top 30 for both, which means it has high-quality education resources. The major I was admitted under was transportation engineering, which focuses on the planning, management, and performance of transportation systems. It was the closest to what I was most interested in learning. Additionally, I knew the students in this major have many opportunities to participate in the local professional society, which would have great benefit on my career development.

What classes, professors, or research during your time at USC had the biggest impact on you?USC provides students with precious academic resources, and we learn so much knowledge both in class and out of class. Professors are knowledgeable and well-prepared. They also encourage the students to join professional organizations and sponsor them for some activities, which are useful to connect with professionals and to explore our career interests.

Professor James Moore and the transportation center METRANS had a great impact on my career development. I learned about METRANS events in my first year of studying at USC, and I found them very helpful for learning what is happening in the transportation area. I not only attended METRANS events but also contributed by volunteering at several seminars. I am grateful for the opportunities METRANS events give students studying in the transportation field to learn new transportation technologies and get in contact with professionals. I also joined the METRANS Mentor Program, which helped her learn more about transportation organizations like ITS and WTS Orange County Chapter.

Beyond academics, what were your favorite things to do at USC or in Los Angeles in general?
Los Angeles has lots of tourist attractions and some internet-famous places. I like checking out those places with friends, photographing, shopping and enjoying tasty food.

What are your long term goals, both personally and professionally?
In the long term, I hope to be a technical expert. Now that I am a new hire as a transportation planner, it is time for to accumulate the practical experience of technical skills, communication skills and technical writing, which will make me more confident in my future career. With rich experience, people’s traveling experience will be improved with my effort.For my personal goal, I like traveling, so I hope to travel to different cities at least once a year.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming graduate students?
Figure out what you want to be in the future and be persistent in pursuing it!

Tanay Shankar
MS in Data Informatics

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

Hi, my name is Tanay, and I am from India, but I have also lived in multiple cities growing up. I am an alumni from Viterbi School of Engineering, with a masters in Data Informatics - which is now known as Applied Data Science. I finished my undergraduate studies in Computer Science from BIT, Bangalore, where I studied many interdisciplinary courses that sparked my interest in data science. Afterwards, I worked as a Software Platform Developer at Fidelity Investments. Exposure to the growing volume of data and the open problems in this domain is what steered me towards pursuing my masters at USC.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

Even before I started applying to schools, I had a very special connection with USC. It is an alma mater for many others in my extended family, so the legacy of USC was well known to me at the time of application. The program was a great fit for my interests and covered everything that I wanted to learn. The professors and the topics covered for Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and NLP courses are also what attracted me to wanting to apply.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

Outside of the classroom? That would be the Leavey Library, my second home. Jokes apart, Los Angeles is really a melting pot of so many diverse cultures. I feel lucky to have made friends with people from across countries and continents. I really enjoyed the gamut of activities on campus and what you can do in and around LA. On-campus, I enjoyed using the USC gym and the swimming pool and relaxing at the University Village great lawn. I love skateboarding and occasionally, I spent my time skateboarding at the Venice Beach Boardwalk. Hiking and bouldering are also fun and a great way to rejuvenate.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your last years at USC

I feel privileged to have attended lectures from Professor Leonard Adleman's class on Genes, Memes and Cenes - this is his book on postmodern evolutionary theory which generalizes the work of Darwin and Dawkins and which emphasized the mantle of computers. I also got a lovely chance to see Hasan Minhaj and Rainn Wilson in person, when they were invited to speak on campus. Witnessing USC vs UCLA games, going to USC Conquest concerts, and going to the tailgates were also always an incredible experience.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

People are usually surprised with my capacity to stay awake for as long as 48 hours at a stretch. My friends are also often astonished by my contrasting interests- there are days I am up for a spontaneous adventure trip, whereas other days I would just geek out on chess and science documentaries. I'm also a big time foodie, so my appetite can really double if the food is delicious.

Overall, how is the two-year journey at USC?

It was an amazing journey, I think these 2 years easily have taught me more than I could have ever asked for. The experience of being in grad school, fostered by the facilities, faculty, and opportunities on the USC campus was amazing. I was doing an on-campus job, research, internship, coursework, and working on personal projects all at the same time. Activities on campus, especially the ones hosted by Late Night SC were truly refreshing, whenever I needed a break from academics.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

I have recently taken up a job at Cognistx, an applied AI company which solves business problems using data science techniques. I will also continue to learn more on my own, share my knowledge, and pursue open-source projects and ideas. I truly acknowledge USC for helping me acquire the necessary skills, shaping me into a professional, and helping me build a strong Trojan network through clubs, classes, events, and hackathons.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

Data is changing the way we make decisions. Personalization, automation, and AI models are growing many folds in performance every year. This is really the pivotal point in history where humans have built AI models that have surpassed us in several domains and are catching up in many other ways, like the Natural Language Generation and the Synthetic Image Generation. On the other hand, we are also battling against their side effects like fake news and deep fakes. I hope to play a constructive role in this transformation and work toward creating a sustainable future for humans.

Kayley Cheng
MS in Product Development Engineering

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from, where have you studied and lived, where are you located now?

I am from West Hills, California in the San Fernando Valley. I attended USC for both my undergraduate and graduate degree, during which I lived in Los Angeles. I am living in the San Fernando Valley now.

What attracted you to biomedical engineering for your undergraduate degree and later, product development engineering for your graduate degree?

I was attracted to biomedical engineering because I loved the idea of engineering new technologies that would be able to help people. I knew that I wanted to go into a profession in which I would be able to make a positive difference in someone’s life.

I was attracted to product development engineering because I wanted to take the foundation of what I learned in biomedical engineering in my undergraduate studies and be able to turn that into a tangible product. I liked how product development engineering allowed me to combine a variety of different disciplines such as mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, and systems engineering to give me a well-rounded curriculum. Specifically, I knew I wanted to go into the medical device industry, and product development engineering allowed me to take the courses I needed to be prepared for a job within this industry.

Why did you choose USC for your undergraduate studies?

I chose to attend USC because I knew it would provide me with the opportunities to be successful. When touring USC, I felt like they cared about me and my experience, and I was treated as more than just a number. In addition, I was interested in pursuing research opportunities in college, and I was extremely interested in some specific research labs at USC, such as Professor McCain’s Tissue Engineering Lab and Professor Chung’s Nanomedicine Lab.

What is the product development progressive degree program like, and why did you choose to pursue it?

I started the Product Development Progressive Degree Program during my junior year of my undergraduate studies, and it took me two years to finish. The PDP typically takes anywhere from 1-2 years to complete depending on how many courses are taken each semester. I liked how the Product Development PDP gave me flexibility on the courses that I could take. I had 3 required courses for the program, and then 3 elective courses that I could choose based on my interests. In addition, product development engineering allowed me to combine a variety of different disciplines such as mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, and systems engineering to give me a well-rounded curriculum. I chose to pursue a product development progressive degree because I wanted to take the foundation of what I learned in biomedical engineering in my undergrad and be able to turn that into a tangible product. Specifically, I knew I wanted to go into the medical device industry, and product development engineering allowed me to take the courses I needed to be prepared for a job within this industry.

What classes, professors, or research during your time at USC had the biggest impact on you?

Within my undergraduate courses, I felt that ITP 308: Computer-Aided Design for Bio-Mechanical Systems and BME 405: Senior Projects Measurements and Instrumentation had the biggest impact on me. In ITP 308, I learned how to use SolidWorks, and I discovered my love for computer-aided design (CAD). Knowing a CAD software also helped me secure a job within industry. BME 405 gave me the opportunity to design and prototype a medical device with a team, which gave me valuable problem solving and design experience. Within my graduate courses, I really enjoyed ISE 544- Management of Engineering Teams with Kaz Takeda. Professor Takeda gives valuable insight into how to be a good manager. For this course, we worked in a team for most of the assignments, where I became better with working on a team and collaborating.

Beyond academics, what were your favorite things to do at USC or in Los Angeles in general?

At USC, I really enjoyed going to football games and tailgating! My favorite were the USC vs UCLA football games. Within Los Angeles, I loved exploring and trying different food places: some of my personal favorites are Salt and Straw for ice cream and Pasta Sisters for italian food!

What are your long term goals, both personally and professionally?

One of my professional long term goals is to become an engineering manager. I think my master’s degree has provided a good foundation for me to achieve this goal, but I might also want to get my MBA in a few years.

One of my personal long term goals is to travel more (when it is safe to do so after covid). Some of the places I would like to go to next that I have never been before are Japan, Greece, Australia, and Iceland!

What innovations do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the near future?

I currently work within the medical device industry, so I hope to be a part of future innovations that continue to better the quality of life and allow people to live healthier and longer.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming graduate students?

Pick classes that you are passionate about, but also would be relevant for what you want to do in the future! If you want to go into a specific industry, it would be helpful to reach out to people who currently work in that industry to see what skills they think are useful.

What’s some advice you’d give to a current undergraduate considering a progressive degree?

Make sure to apply at least by your junior year (if possible)! For the PDP, you need a specific range of units to be eligible to apply. Sometimes people wait until their senior year to apply, but by then many people have too many units to be eligible, so make sure to be conscious of this! Also, you need to fill out a course plan in order to apply, and it’s okay if you don’t know what courses you want to take for sure. You can always meet with your advisor again and revise your course plan in the future.

Ameeth Kanawaday
MS in Computer Science

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from, where have you studied and lived, where are you located now?

After completing my bachelor’s degree at Pune Institute of Computer Technology in India, all I wanted to do was to explore the world of data science and machine learning. With that thought in mind I applied to competitive programs in the United States and got accepted to my dream school, USC!

What attracted you to computer science?

I have grown up with computers and I always enjoyed building software, but with the advent of deep learning, the entire field has suddenly reached a new level. Limitless possibilities with simple tweaks to algorithms and the interdisciplinary approaches made me interested in pursuing a master’s degree.

Why did you choose USC for your graduate studies?

USC has led research in computer science through its affiliation with the Information Sciences Institute and Institute for Creative Technologies. Located in the heart of Los Angeles, it offers the perfect balance of opportunities, experiences, and entertainment, all with a suitable and conducive climate all year long.

What classes, professors, or research during your time at USC had the biggest impact on you?

During the Fall 2018 semester, I had enrolled in two intensive courses while also juggling my role as a student worker in the Information Sciences Institute. It was a crucial semester, as I had to secure a summer internship as well. Those months of sleepless nights and extreme workload helped me learn the value of time management and also helped me develop skills to cope up with stress and anxiety. Towards the end of that semester, I was able to secure straight A’s and had good leads for a summer internship. I always look back to those four months, as they helped me become a better version of myself.

Beyond academics, what were your favorite things to do at USC or in Los Angeles in general?

I loved to drive around LA at night. I usually liked to visit places at night to find peace and enjoy the views of the city. Be it Elysian Park or the Griffith Observatory there was always somewhere new to go. Visiting Point Dume on the Pacific coast became a regular thing for me. The serenity of the starry night with a calming breeze and the sounds of distant sea lions seemed like a perfectly orchestrated symphony.

What are your long term goals, both personally and professionally?

I like to keep myself updated with the latest knowledge and read about technological breakthroughs, but I would also like to pick up some artistic skills and try to master a musical instrument. Technology might make our lives comfortable, but art adds value to it.

What innovations do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the near future?

Apart from technological innovations including better understanding of space, renewable energy and self-aware artificial intelligence, I am rooting for innovations and improvements in the education system which will make education free and easily accessible for all.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming graduate students?

USC has a lot to offer and I would urge incoming students to leverage everything that is at their disposal. It’s a great opportunity to learn about different cultures, try out different cuisines, and explore new places. A good education is guaranteed in the classroom but there are a lot of things people can explore only if they are open to trying new things.

Abhilash Pandurangan
MS in Computer Science - Data Science Leadership Award

Tell us a little about yourself.
I'm from Chennai, India. I did my undergrad in Computer Science at SRM University. During my summer internship at the National University of Singapore, I realized my interest in analyzing and exploring data to make data-driven decisions. And this motivated me to pursue my Master’s in data science.

Was there any particular moment that sparked your interest in data science? Was it mostly that, or did you have some interest in it beforehand?
No, it was particularly during my internship at NUS, when I learned about the applications of data science. And it really sparked my interest, when we explored data and visualized it for understanding the problems. I like solving challenging problems, and I feel like data can help me to understand the problem better.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?
USC has a well-reputed computer science department. And it has various research centers like the USC Information Sciences Institute (ISI) and Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) for AI and machine learning. I also like the flexible course structure that USC offers. Moreover, the weather in LA is really nice and pleasant.

Could you also tell me about your interests outside the classroom? Did you work in research, join any clubs or organizations, or pursue any hobbies while you were in LA?
I really like to meet new people, so I actively volunteered in student organizations like the Association of Indian Students (AIS) to organize and plan events. I'm also involved as a computer science senator at Viterbi Graduate Student Association (VGSA). As senator, I had fun organizing a lot of events, like career oriented events as well as social events for students.

Could you tell me about some of the exciting and unforgettable moments from your time at USC?
One of the unforgettable incidents would be watching the fall 2019 USC homecoming football match at the stadium. It was surreal and definitely one of the unforgettable experiences. And apart from that, the Viterbi Ball event organized by VGSA, which was on Halloween — it was my first Halloween party. And it was the first time I dressed up as a character — I was the Grim Reaper. It was really fun, organizing and planning. And it was exciting seeing a lot of students coming to the event and having fun.

In the short term and long term, what are your plans?
After completing my master’s degree, I aspire to work as a data scientist, working on analyzing various trends, and really uncovering the hidden patterns in data.

Does that mean you are looking to go into research? Or into a specific industry?
I would say it's more into the industry, to really get practical experience and to work on industry-level data driven problems.

What sort of innovations or discoveries do you hope to see or be a part of in the next ten years in data science?
Climate change, I think, is one of the greatest challenges faced by humanity. And I would like to use my skills in data science to really tackle climate change with machine learning. And I feel like machine learning can really help in modeling the carbon emissions and help us to improve clean energy systems.

For any incoming students, what's a piece of advice you would give them?
I would say always follow your passion and try to understand why you are doing what you are doing. And to never give up — that is one thing I definitely want to add. There might be a lot of difficulties that you might have to face, like the situation right now. The world is facing a lot of unemployment and so on, but I would say, always try for the best. And it's very important to always strive for excellence.

Is there anything else you wanted to share about your experience at USC?
I would say it was really fun. Not just the graduate courses over here, but also being involved in extracurricular activities — there's always things going on at USC. It's a really large school, and it was really a really fun time.

Vandana Sreenivasa Rao
MS in Computer Science

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from, where have you studied and lived, where are you located now?
I was born and raised in a small town, Hindupur, in the state of Andhra Pradesh in the southern part of India. I did my primary and high school education at Hindupur and secured merit admission into the PES Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, where I studied for my bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Information Science.

I am currently working as a software engineer at Salesforce and I live in San Francisco. I love playing chess and I am an avid South Indian filter coffee fan!

What attracted you to computer science?
I love solving problems. I am passionate about building things and witnessing them in action. After high school during summer, I wanted to learn coding. One of the assignments was to implement different shapes filled with asterisks(*). Post implementation of these patterns, I was awed when I made a computer draw complex various star patterns within a few minutes and it pushed me to dive deeper. Hence, I chose computer science as my major.

Why did you choose USC for your graduate studies?
USC has a humongous alumni network in the tech world. It has rich research, startup, and industry opportunities. I wanted to explore these aspects in graduate life, and at USC, I was able to!

I was able to experience research at the Information Sciences Institute (ISI), where I worked as a student worker. I was able to network with startup folks during many career fairs. I got to intern at Salesforce one summer, and eventually ended up working there — it was the best industry experience any intern can ask for. USC is strong in diverse backgrounds when it comes to graduate experience.

What classes, professors, or research during your time at USC had the biggest impact on you?
Analysis of Algorithms by Professor Shawn Shamsian was the best class I have ever taken. I enjoyed attending this class, because the professor was very experienced at making difficult concepts very enjoyable. Due to this class, I became better at quickly responding to interview questions. It had the most impact on my career as these questions are the bread and butter for getting that dream job of yours!

Beyond academics, what were your favorite things to do at USC or in Los Angeles in general?
I served as the programming chair of the Graduate Family Community Council in graduate and family university housing. I got to organize events for graduate residents who lived in university housing. During this period I organized and participated in many diverse cultural events like Chinese New Year, Diwali, Halloween, Thanksgiving etc. — some of which I didn't even know of before I came to USC.

What are your long term goals, both personally and professionally?
My short term goal is contributing to the tech fraternity on making people’s lives better. Salesforce is one such company where I am getting to do impactful work for a better tomorrow.
My long term goal is to lead and drive powerful products in the tech space.

What innovations do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the near future?
Due to the current unprecedented crisis, driving emergency crisis management for society has proven to be very challenging. How technology can innovate here is something I would really like to witness or hopefully be a part of.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming graduate students?
Graduate life can be difficult, but do not let failure and rejection hold you back. Do not fear them either! I have learned a lot from my rejections. You need to hold on to your determination, passion and commitment to your goals, because at the end of the day they are required for you to achieve your milestones.

Any advice for students interested in computer science?

The field of computer science is so much fun, when you understand the nitty gritty details of programming. It is essential to thoroughly understand crucial building blocks like Algorithms, Object oriented programming design, Operating Systems, Networks, etc. before rushing into the complex concepts like Deep learning and Data science. This gives a holistic understanding of computer science. Engage and connect with USC’s staunch alumni network by attending and networking in various events!

Tanmoy Sil
MS in Biomedical Engineering

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from, where have you studied and lived, where are you located now?
I am from Kolkata, a metropolis in eastern India. I did my undergraduate studies in Instrumentation Engineering from the state university of technology, West Bengal University of Technology. After my graduation, I moved to the US to complete my master’s degree in biomedical engineering at USC. I have since moved back to Kolkata and will be moving to Germany to start my Ph.D. at Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg as soon as the travel restrictions are lifted.

What attracted you to biomedical engineering?
I have always been interested in medical science. I had taken a few electives during my undergraduate studies that introduced me to the field of biomedical engineering. After completing my undergraduate degree, I did a few online courses on biomedical engineering, and that helped me to decide that I wanted to pursue this field as my career.

Why did you choose USC for your graduate studies?
I chose USC for two reasons — the primary reason being I was attracted to the curriculum and the research that is encouraged by the biomedical engineering department. To get a better perspective of my department, I had looked through various research papers published by the professors in BME, and was very interested in their areas of focus. USC’s location in Los Angeles was also a deciding factor in choosing to attend.

What classes, professors, or research during your time at USC had the biggest impact on you?
I would say BME 502 (Advanced Studies of the Nervous System, Dr. Mel), BME 552 (Neural Implant Engineering, Dr. Berger) and BME 620L (Applied Electrophysiology, Dr. Loeb) all had a big impact on me. These subjects laid the foundation of my interest in neuroscience, and helped me decide the kind of research I wanted to pursue in my Ph.D. Every professor — particularly in classes with Dr. Berger and Dr. Loeb — was extremely articulate, from explaining the basic concepts that we tend to overlook to helping students understand advanced scientific principles. They spent a lot of time clarifying all our doubts and that was certainly made easier owing to the fact that biomedical engineering classes have a limited number of students; consequently it was easier to get one on one time with the TAs and the professors.

Beyond academics, what were your favorite things to do at USC or in Los Angeles in general?
At USC, one of my favorite things to do is to hang out with friends at the Village and at the engineering quad. I liked USC’s Romanesque and modern architecture which gives it a very particular flair. I liked the way we celebrated our sweet victories on the football field over UCLA and I also enjoyed tailgates.
Los Angeles is a multicultural city. I liked the variety of cuisines available, especially South American and Korean. I even taught myself to cook a few South American dishes. I loved the abundance of hiking trails and beaches. Los Angeles also has tons of museums from almost all categories which I found to be very interesting and the visiting the La Brea tar pits was particularly intriguing, as I got to see paleontologists excavating sites in real-time.

What are your long-term goals, both personally and professionally?
Professionally, I have always wanted to venture into research and teaching. I will be one step closer to my long-term goal after I complete my doctorate degree which will give me more insight into research methods and ethics. Personally, I would like to diversify in non-academic pursuit! For example, I would like to learn how to fly an airplane.

What innovations do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the near future?
As biomedical research is directly related to medical science and its improvement, I would like to see the introduction of machine learning and AI in some fields. Doctors can make better judgements and diagnosis if provided with better toolsets such as historical datasets and their analysis. I would also like to see the introduction of brain stimulation techniques to mainstream treatments of psychiatric disorders.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming graduate students?
First, I would tell them to never allow self-doubt control their decision making. Unless one tries something, one will never know if they have the ability to achieve the goal they have always dreamt of.
"May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears." - Nelson Mandela
Second, failure doesn’t define you but your willingness to try again does.

Any advice for students interested in biomedical engineering?
My advice would be to go through all the research lab websites, look for the kind of research a professor is into, check the curriculum, if possible, interact with alumnus, lab members, and other current students to make a sound decision.

I would like to take this opportunity to my express gratitude for Ms. Cecilia Olmos (my on-campus job supervisor), Ms. Debjani Sengupta, Dr. Gene Yu (one of my TAs), Mr. Avik Chakroborty, Dr. Dibyendu Mondal, and all my friends from USC who made my experience a memorable one and enriched my personal and professional life.

Kathleen Xue
MS in Computer Science

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from, where have you studied and lived, where are you located now?
I’m from the Bay Area and came to USC for my undergrad to study economics and math before deciding to take on a computer science progressive degree. For most of my life I’ve lived in California (grew up in northern California and went to college in sunny LA), but I’m now located in NYC where I work full time as a quantitative engineer.

What attracted you to computer science?
Originally when I came to USC for my undergraduate studies, I had no idea what I wanted to study (I came in as political science, which I knew within the first six weeks of school was not the right path for me). After switching my major about three times within my first semester freshman year, I decided to try what everyone and their mother was recommending: economics with computer science. I didn’t immediately see this, but gradually I realized that the majority of my waking hours were consumed with studying for my CS classes. Although in my undergraduate years, CS was just a minor that I tacked onto my economics and math degree, it felt as if I was in fact majoring in CS and minoring in econ/math through the time distribution I was giving each subject.

Long story short, spending enough time thinking about data structures, algorithms, and the like forced me to fall in love with CS; if only out of the sheer number of hours I put into studying and puzzling over how to study and puzzle over CS. What I didn’t know until having dedicated so much of my time and mental capacity to this subject was that it is in fact a highly complex, versatile, and endlessly interesting topic which has so much current-day use and future potential, and that I’ve only just scratched the surface. CS is absolutely something for which I can guarantee that the more I learn, the less I know; and to me, that’s what makes it so attractive.

Why did you choose USC for your graduate studies?
Doing a progressive at USC meant that I could graduate within my allotted four years without having to take the GRE or pay the full tuition a normal master’s program would require. I felt that this was as good a way as any to go to grad school.

What classes, professors, or research during your time at USC had the biggest impact on you?
I feel lucky to say that the number of classes I’ve taken at USC which have fundamentally changed or enhanced my perspective is countless. But to name a few, Meg Russett, Ryan McIlvain and Neetu Khanna from my Thematic Option classes helped me fall back in love with literature after a long dry spell; Mark Redekopp, Aaron Cote and Marco Papa from my CS classes taught me that honesty and clarity are some of the best qualities one can have as a computer scientist; and Guillermo Reyes Souto and Andy Manion from my Real Analysis classes taught me that math is crazy and at times feels almost philosophical but is completely worth all the hair-pulling and late nights.

Beyond academics, what were your favorite things to do at USC or in Los Angeles in general?
One of my favorite things about USC was the annual Festival of Books, which regularly drew many famous authors and celebrities to town and gave me the excuse to spend all day perusing through the various pop-up bookstores on campus.

What are your long term goals, both personally and professionally?
I have no idea what I want to do in the long term, but hopefully I’ll find whatever I’m doing to be interesting!

What innovations do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the near future?
Artificial consciousness could be cool but who knows!

What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming graduate students?
Don’t take things too seriously and just enjoy the process :)

Kylie Trettnor
PhD in Chemical Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself, and where are you from, where you have studied, and where are you located now?

My name is Kylie Trettner and I am from New York originally (specifically, Eastern Long Island). I went to undergrad at the Rochester Institute of Technology and majored in chemical engineering with a minor in applied statistics. I'm now living in Culver City and studying Chemical Engineering for my PhD (though the work I do doesn't really fall under the typical "chemical engineering" umbrella - I'm trying to figure out what exactly I am now!)

How did you learn about Ellison Institute and what made you attracted to it?

I learned about the Ellison Institute through my PI, Dr. Andrea Armani. She is actually an affiliate member of the Ellison Institute. What attracted me to EI is the translational focus to their research. The clinic at the building really helps focus the research that goes on there and is something I actively sought to include in my PhD (part of why I chose USC is because of the associated University Hospital). I previously worked on projects that involved consumer trials and it was a really magical experience watching my science and engineering come to life in the hands of a consumer, and I wanted to continue that in my PhD!

What is your favorite memory working at Ellison?

I learned a lot of new skills when I began my work with Ellison. I think my favorite moment is when I finished my first set of experiments and had real data and conclusions regarding the materials I tested for incorporation to the system I am designing. I remember looking at the images that I took after ICC staining and using the fluorescent microscope for the first time and realizing how excited I was and how engrossed I was with my research and my project. I think that excitement regarding learning, applying, and discovering continues to drive me! (It definitely hits different from jobs and undergrad research too since I'm driving every aspect of the project.)

Overall how has your experience been?

My experience has been wonderful! My work with EI has really helped focus my research and is something that continually surprises me. I never thought I'd be qualified to research cancer or be able to drive new research initiatives to better our understanding of such a disease, so my work at EI has been extremely transformational in seeing where I can apply my skill set. The institute is also so welcoming and the culture is incredible; I especially appreciate everyone's willingness to help and collaborate on projects. This is how I work best, and it makes me feel that the possibilities are limitless!

Do you have a big takeaway or lesson that you would like to share?

One big takeaway for me is that, although networking is important, building lasting relationships with that network is not something to take lightly. This is hard for me as I'm naturally kind of shy and find it hard and uncomfortable to go out of my way to build these kinds of connections. But my co-PI, Dr. Jerry Lee, really exemplifies how powerful it is to have a well established network.

Are they innovations that you hope to see within Ellison in the next ten years?

The biggest innovation I see from Ellison is in respect to the overall eagerness to test, prove, and adapt new technologies. There definitely is no (or very limited) fear when it comes to trying something new at EI. I think that this attitude is going to allow for a lot of new systems to flourish, and I hope that these new approaches we adapt will be very transformative to the field of cancer research!

Any advice you would give to incoming graduate students?

I have two small pieces of advice: don't be afraid to explore and always carry a notebook.

Shiva Patro
MS in Electrical Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

I am Shiva Prasad Patro, and I am from Berhampur, Odisha. I did my undergrad from National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), Berhampur. As a kid, I loved science and math. By the time I was in high school, I realized that physics is the exact combination of science and math that I wanted to pursue. Physics then introduced me to the world of electronics and from there, I never looked back.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

USC is a top ranked university in the VLSI domain. From Neil Armstrong to Andrew Viterbi, USC has a lot of successful alumni which inspired me to get here. Being in Los Angeles, it gives you the feeling of staying in Hollywood and is very close to the famous job hub in US, i.e. Silicon Valley. USC has a variety of courses and the content is really up to date with technology. It has the finest Professors and Lab facilities to help you grow beyond your limits along with a strong Alumni network helping students in making connections and landing opportunities.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I enjoy playing Table Tennis, Cricket and Volleyball. I love to go on hikes and explore nature. During my time at USC, I was playing in the Cromwell Premier League (CPL) and had won the finals once. Also, I was a VGSA senator for EE Dept. and organized various events such as hiking, Bowling Night, Movie Night and Career Events.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your last years at USC

Those Sunday meetings for VGSA where all the Senators came together to plan various activities for each department are definitely USC unforgettable memories. Those cultural events like Holi and Diwali made us not miss India much while staying far away. Working in the USC Bookstore for a month was a different life experience for me. I can never forget my graveyard shifts while working in the SAL library. It was fun and hectic at the same time, and it helped me become a Lead worker within a semester. Watching the USC vs UCLA football game was an amazing experience in itself, and the Tailgating was fun. Other great moments were when visiting dtla to feel the rush and visiting the beaches to feel calm whenever we needed a break from our studies.

Overall, how is the two-year journey at USC?

The first month was a little difficult to adapt as I was switching to academics after a three year gap. And to switch from working life to study life is not that easy. But sooner than I thought I found myself busy doing assignments and projects and learning new things in each of my courses. And here I had extra responsibilities other than studies. I had to cook for myself, do laundry by myself and had to work on campus to help with my finances all along with my studies. It was a little hectic in the beginning but I got to learn different responsibilities and managing things in life. I started making new friends and got used to the new style of education here in the US. The advanced labs at USC always made our studies fun. The professors are so talented and the student population is so diverse it adds up to the experience. All the academic and career events, cultural functions and sports competitions made life balanced and fun.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

During my second Summer (May 2019) I got an internship opportunity to work as a Design Engineer at Micron. It lasted till my graduation in Dec 2019. After graduating I joined Qualcomm as a Hardware Application Engineer from Feb 2020. I enjoy working at Qualcomm and I feel proud to be a part of the ongoing and upcoming 5G Revolution. It's so much fun to work on things you enjoy. USC made it easier for me to learn and innovate, and I am continuing the same here at Qualcomm.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

As I said earlier, I am a part of the 5G revolution which is just starting now and will take upto 8-10 years for full realization. I would like to see the use of 5G in Automotives and IoT. I hope to see a world of cars driving by itself (without any drivers) communicating with each other as well as the surrounding things and objects in order to make it safe and secure for everyone. I hope to see the AI growing and blooming much further with the help of 5G. And I hope to see that all the innovations are helping humanity and not the other way round.

Lingquan Han
MS in Computer Science

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

Hello my name Lingquan and I am from Sui Province near Beijing, China. I finished my undergrad studies at Thailand University of Science and Technology. I came to USC under the intention to study aerospace and chemical engineering. However, after taking a few coding courses, I realized I am more interested in computer science. Hence, I decided to pursue my masters in computer science at USC instead.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

In China, USC is well known as being a great university. Additionally, the fact that USC is located in Los Angeles attracted me as well- LA is a great city with great weather. I also really appreciated the USC’s strong alumni network, which also made me interested in applying.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I’m learning how to invest in stocks, and in general learning to manage my personal finances. I also do personal projects in building apps and websites to make use of my current knowledge- this is where I can practice my CS skills. I specifically want to create a gym application to help people create a customized workout plan.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your last years at USC

During my time at USC, I was president of USC Chinese Graduate Association.Through this, I really got to experience USC’s support- they supported the association with many funds to hold activities. One memory I especially remember is our Thanksgiving event where we got to invite many alumni and graduate students to celebrate the holiday. Another unforgettable memory would be going to the USC tailgates- that’s when I truly got to experience the USC family spirit and cheering of “fight on.”

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

I love to cook and have been cooking since the age of seven. I especially like to cook for my friends. My specialities are usually in more authentic Chinese foods, such as the spicy Szechuan dishes.

Overall, how is the two-year journey at USC?

Overall, my journey has been pretty great. If it weren’t for USC’s flexibility and support, I would have not been able to transfer into computer science- only at USC is this possible. I especially am grateful for USC’s alumni network- I got a lot of insightful tips on how to write my resume, and I even got an interview for a job through an alum for Linkedin.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

I want to pursue my MBA degree after two or three years of work experience. With this degree, it can help me start my own business, that will focus on improving the Internet such as with 5G.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

Currently, I have been fascinated with AI technology - I believe the future of the technology industry will be in AI completely. I want to learn logic and computation with further progress in AI and hopefully be part of the innovation. I am also excited about the progress with 5G.

Isha Patil
MS in Applied Data Science

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

Hi my name is Isha Patil, and I am from Bune India. I am an alumni from Viterbi School of Engineering, with a masters in Data Informatics- which is now known as Applied Data Science. Coming from a family that is involved in engineering, I always knew that I would also find myself in the same field, which is why for my undergrad I majored in computer engineering. After undergrad, I was pretty sure that I had to do my masters, and I started researching about different studies near my major and learned about Data Informatics. That's when I also came across USC’s website and decided to apply.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

I knew a few students who were studying already at USC and got positive feedback from them which encouraged me to choose USC. Additionally, when I researched more about Viterbi, many of the courses provided for my interested major were really unique and interesting; I appreciated how USC also kept the syllabuses for their courses updated, so I knew that the resources at the school were very reliable and dynamic. Plus, the location is great for the weather and the fact that the location is close to the Bay, where the Tech. Industry is centered.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I love to be outdoors, whether it is going out to go hiking or playing badminton. I also am a big movie person- I love watching thrillers and mystery films.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your last years at USC

One unforgettable incident I had at USC was during my campus job at the USC housing where I encountered a homeless man jumping on the on campus apartment building’s balcony. At that time I was the only one working in my shift, so dealing with this situation was a whole new conundrum and definitely a USC moment I will not forget.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

People are surprised to learn that I can speak four languages- English, French, Marati ( my native language), and Hindi (India’s national language).

Overall, how is the two-year journey at USC?

Overall, my journey at USC had been very eventful. With working a campus job, following the academic curriculum while applying for internships, I got to experience the grit of hardships, yet all were worth it. I also got to experience a whole world of diverse cultures by meeting so many people from different places that I never would have met back in India. One thing I want to mention is despite the unsafe reputation DTLA has, I have never been unsafe at USC, and to add on to it, the culture at the school is so welcoming that I always was happy anywhere I went.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

One of my long term goals is to apply for a MBA, hopefully at USC Marshall school of Business. Additionally, once we are all out of this COVID- quarantine lifestyle, I hope to come back to have a commencement ceremony for my graduation.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

When I was interning at Amazon in the healthcare biotechnology center, there were a lot of interesting things being produced- this helped me realize that I want to be part of some AI or data science dealing with healthcare, especially with the covid situation now. I want to be part of AI data science that can do, for example, with body scans that can help predict if you will have a body fracture in the next four years. This is only one example, but this just goes to say that the world needs more discoveries and progression with healthcare, which is something I’m excited to be part of.

Dimple Gajra
MS in Cyber Security Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

I am Dimple Gajra, and I am from Jamnagar, India. I pursued my undergraduate studies at G H Patel College of Engineering, studying Information Technology where I was able to study various computer programming languages. However, I first started getting interested in learning about cybersecurity while watching one my favorite television series, Mr. Robot. I started taking classes related to security, and I decided to further explore the study by pursuing my masters in cybersecurity at USC.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

USC is a prestigious school and was always in my top list.The Cybersecurity curriculum is very well known in the industry and has one of the strongest Alumni Network. Additionally, having the opportunity to study under USC Professor Newman was exciting because I studied his work during my undergrad. Another reason that attracted me to choose USC was the location- living in proximity to Hollywood has always been a dream of mine.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I love to hike and explore new places. During my time at USC, I visited the Grand Canyon, Horseshoe Canyon, and many beautiful waterfalls. I have also picked on an interesting skill of lock picking - some of these locks include Master Lock Luggage 3-Dial Combination Padlock, Pin 1 to Pin 6 locks, and the kwikset old lock.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your last years at USC

A few of my favorite memories are working at the USC Bookstore and getting to be part of ‘CYBORG,’ a USC student run cybersecurity club. Through CYBORG, I learned about what is going on in the industry and what companies were looking specifically for in the cybersecurity division.

Overall, how is the two-year journey at USC?

My journey at USC was a roller coaster ride. From celebrating my victories to hunting internships and jobs and facing all those rejections, there were a lot of ups and downs through the two years. However USC prepared me in learning more about working for cybersecurity. Additionally, the two years at USC have not only made me academically educated but also have made me an avid traveler- I got to experience a vast cultural exposure. And I’m definitely going to miss being on campus and finding nice hideout study places on campus such as VPD and USC Marshall building.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

I am currently working at IBM as s cybersecurity analyst, but I am open to working in any Security Operations Center where I can catch the bad actors in computer programs. I also hope to travel to a different place each year.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

I have developed an ability to pick Numeric TSA locks by just listening to the rotational sound of the numbers. Additionally, while I was interning at Activism, I was featured in a ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,” highlighted under the Central Technology credits.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

I’m excited to see the development of Elon Musk’s Neuralink company and how it comes to play in the future. It will be phenomenal to see if there can be a technology that deals with implanting a brain machine that can store our memories. I’m also interested in AI technology, especially with driver less cars, and how in the future people can multitask while driving.

Sarah Orrico
MS in Computer Science

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from, where have you studied and lived, where are you located now?
I’m from Los Angeles, California, specifically the San Fernando Valley. I went to Colorado State University for my undergraduate degree and studied computer science. I got into USC during my senior year at CSU and started the computer science master’s program in Fall of 2018. While I was at USC, I specialized in cyber security and I also worked for the Security Operation Center at USC. During my time in the SOC, I worked as an Incident Response Analyst. I am currently back in Denver, Colorado working as a Cyber Security Analyst II at a managed service provider Ntirety.

What attracted you to computer science?
I have always been interested in computers since I can remember. Typing class and computer basics were my favorite classes in elementary school and high school. When I got into CSU and was deciding on a major I chose computer science because I wanted to learn more about how computers and applications actually work.

Why did you choose USC for your graduate studies?
I grew up in Los Angeles and have always been a USC fan. When I got the news I was accepted into the computer science program I knew I had to go there. After attending the welcome event for admitted graduate students in CS, I knew that this was the right program for me.

What classes, professors, or research during your time at USC had the biggest impact on you?
CSCI 499, Hacking 4 Defense, was a special topics class that was an awesome experience. The class was focused on teaching students how to be a start up and the process to follow to be successful. Our team was lucky enough that we had a cyber focused project and we worked with people from the National Security Agency (NSA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and countless software companies. We put in about 30+ hours a week for this course, but it was extremely rewarding and we met a lot of professionals through the process.

Beyond academics, what were your favorite things to do at USC or in Los Angeles in general?
I loved attending football games with friends and family. I’ve been a USC fan since I was a kid, so it was a dream come true to attend the football games as a student. I also really enjoyed the farmers market on Wednesdays. With Los Angeles’s great weather all year round, the farmers market was a great break from studying and working.

What are your long term goals, both personally and professionally?
Professionally, I want to succeed in the cybersecurity industry and become a cybersecurity engineer or a senior level digital forensics investigator.

What innovations do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the near future?
I hope to see how cybersecurity will advance the technology industry.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming graduate students?
Take classes that make you excited. As a graduate student you’re there to take your education a step further than most, don’t waste it on classes you don’t want to take. I decided to switch my specialization around to take the classes that would help me the most in my career and that were fun!

Any advice for students interested in computer science?
I highly recommend getting to know your TA’s in the class and your professor. They are extremely helpful and are great connections to keep once you are done with the course.

Saurabh Pagare
MS in Engineering Management

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from, where have you studied and lived, where are you located now?

I came to USC in Jan 2020 to pursue a master's degree in engineering management with focus in supply chain management. I completed my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Pune, India. I have lived in three different cities in Maharashtra, India. During my high school years, I was in Nashik, which is also known as City of Grapes. Then, for my undergraduate studies, I moved to Pune which is known as the “Education Capital of Maharashtra.” While I’m currently living in LA, my family is in Mumbai which is known as “the Financial capital” of India.

What attracted you to engineering management?

I was working as SAP Consultant in Accenture, India when I first stumbled upon the concept of engineering management. The ability of a manager to handle multiple engineering projects was something that inspired me to pursue engineering management. In this field I can be flexible and pursue opportunities in supply chain management, enterprise resource management, and project management. The added bonus of being in California would provide me with a great opportunity to learn and practice the trade in the world's most prestigious companies.

Why did you choose USC for your graduate studies?

University of Southern California is among the top universities in the world to pursue engineering management. The course flexibility offered by USC is something that attracted me the most. Along with engineering classes from USC Viterbi School of Engineering, we are also allowed to enroll into classes from the prestigious USC Marshall School of Business. With my graduate degree I can also pursue a specialization and secure graduate certificate from Marshall too. USC is also a part of the MEMPC(Master of Engineering Management Program Consortium), in which there are universities such as MIT, Duke, Dartmouth, etc., and this would allow me to engage with fellow students and faculty members from these institutions as well.

What classes, professors, or research during your time at USC had the biggest impact on you?

I would say one of the classes that were the most interesting for me was ISE 500 with Professor Geza Bottlik. He’s an incredibly experienced professor and learning statistics from him was really wonderful, as he would say he has worked with data and numbers well before any computer software was used to analyse the information from that data. The life stories he tells during lecture with regards to particular concepts truly intrigue me and makes the concept unforgettable, as I can always distinctly remember the story that accompanied it.

Apart from that course, Value and Decision Theory by Professor Detlof was really interesting. He shared a lot about his experience working with the U.S. government and how they made a decision in a lot of uncertain situations — he taught us and enabled us to make informed decisions.

ISE 515, ISE 561, ISE 583, DSO 581, DSO 570 are also very interesting courses taught by highly knowledgeable faculty members that helped me understand concepts in supply chain with ease.

Beyond academics, what were your favorite things to do at USC or in Los Angeles in general?

Apart from academics, I have been involved with the Engineering Management Student Association as Vice President of Operations. I like to organize academic and social events for fellow students to help them better network within the cohort, alumni, industry professionals, and faculty members.

I also like walking around the campus a lot — I am mesmerized by the architecture and historical significance of each of the buildings here at USC. My favourite spot on campus is the Cromwell Track and Field grounds and the USC Village Great Lawn, as I like to play soccer there.

What are your long term goals, both personally and professionally?

In the near future I want to become a Chief Supply Chain Officer at Tesla and drive the supply chain towards sustainability. Personally I wish one day to live in Manchester, UK and support my favourite football team Manchester United. I love travelling, and working in the supply chain field will allow me to travel to any continent and also work there, as the supply chain as a concept is very global. I also want to use my experiences to give back to society as much as possible.

What innovations do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the near future?

The main aim of any supply chain is to reduce the time in between its network and successfully deliver the product to the customer. Hence, as with the increase in technological developments I wish to be a part of a team which is able to deliver products as soon as the customer places an order.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming graduate students?

Make sure you make the most of the opportunity of studying at USC — make a lot of connections and talk with a lot of people. Everyone here is always willing to help in all the aspects of life. Build relationships with fellow students, learn about each others’ cultures — anyone you meet has lived a unique life and try to forge connections which will last forever. And don’t forget to hout “Fight On!” whenever you spot a Trojan anywhere in the world!

Meet Gadoya
MS in Computer Science

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from, where have you studied and lived, where are you located now?
Hello, my name is Meet. I am from Mumbai, India. I completed my undergraduate degree in computer science at Mumbai University, and right now I am located in Seattle and working as a Software Development Engineer at Amazon.

What attracted you to computer science?
In my elementary and high school days, I was always mesmerized by the power of the computer and its unbounded capabilities, and I always wanted to learn more and more related to it. That's what drove me to invest eight years in computer science education.

Why did you choose USC for your graduate studies?

USC is one of the best universities in the world for computer science. Apart from that, USC is also known for a strong alumni network and research work. The other thing to consider was also the pleasant climate of Los Angeles.

What classes, professors, or research during your time at USC had the biggest impact on you?
I cannot pinpoint any particular course or class, all the courses I took at USC were all phenomenal and helped me learn so many new things which I could apply in the real world.

Beyond academics, what were your favorite things to do at USC or in Los Angeles in general?
I liked to hike, mostly to Runyon Canyon Loop or Hollywood hike. I loved to eat various kinds of food. There are a lot of food places to try at USC too, Parkside, Little Galen, RTCC and RTH cafe were my favorite one. I also took active participation in various cultural and academic activities which take place frequently in the USC campus or nearby.

What are your long term goals, both personally and professionally?
My long term professional goal would be to solve real world problems with aid of technology. Personally, I would like to fulfill all my parents’ wishes.

What innovations do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the near future?
The innovation I would like to see in near future or be a part of would be artificial intelligence takeover or seeing the Internet of Things be spread all over the world, where each and every object would be connected via internet and can send and receive any sort of information and its overall potentiality would be endless.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming graduate students?
Believe in yourself, give your best, and everything will fall in place. Do not quit and Fight On!!!

Kristen Nemes
MS in Biomedical Engineering

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from, where have you studied and lived, where are you located now?
I’m originally from Silver Spring, MD, just outside of Washington D.C. I made the jump to the West Coast for my undergraduate work in chemical engineering at USC. Through various internships, I was fortunate enough to live in New London, CT while working at Pfizer, and then in Irvine, CA, interning at Edwards Lifesciences. I graduated with my bachelor’s in chemical engineering (with a biochemical emphasis) and my master’s in biomedical engineering this past May and am now working at Edwards as a Technical Development Program Engineer at their Irvine campus.

What attracted you to biomedical engineering?
I took a biotechnology laboratory class my sophomore year of high school. The class was entirely lab-based, and there were no lectures, tests, or homework. The teacher gave us a list of experiments we could do and let us steer the direction of the course. Although I had never taken a biology class before this, my interest in the biomedical world was piqued. I chose engineering because I was fascinated by how I could use a few basic concepts and some ingenuity to isolate my DNA or design a drug. Most of all, I wanted to solve problems that truly mattered and that would improve (and occasionally save) people’s lives. Studying biochemical and biomedical engineering allowed me to develop the technical foundation I would build on to make this happen.

Why did you choose USC for your graduate studies?
I was a chemical engineering major (with a biochemical emphasis) in undergrad at USC, but I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the medtech space. I applied to the Progessive Degree Program in my junior year, which allowed me to start taking master’s coursework while still working on my bachelor’s degree. I loved how USC’s program allowed me to choose from a huge range of courses, both inside and outside “pure” biomedical engineering. I took a regulatory class in the pharmacy school and an engineering project management class in the ISE department, both of which have served me well thus far in industry. BME is the ultimate interdisciplinary field, as it involves not just core engineering principles, but communication, strategy, marketing, and even human factors considerations. I wanted a program that would offer me the chance to explore those aspects as well, and USC was the perfect place!

What classes, professors, or research during your time at USC had the biggest impact on you?
I got involved with research from the get-go, working in the Lab for Integrative Biosystems under Dr. Keyue Shen. Performing research really complemented my coursework and allowed me to see the practical application of what I was learning. I remember one semester, I was taking BME 410: Introduction to Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering and the coursework was closely related to my research. I would go to class and ask questions that helped me understand why I was having trouble with my experiments, and then be able to go back to the lab and implement a solution. It really cemented the value of what we were learning and helped me work around any roadblocks in my research.

Beyond academics, what were your favorite things to do at USC or in Los Angeles in general?
I loved going to the Griffith Observatory to watch the sunset or hiking the Santa Monica Mountains. There’s so many beautiful places overlooking the city! Round it out with some good Korean BBQ or Thai food and it’s a perfect day!

What are your long term goals, both personally and professionally?
Personally, I love to learn, and I love to teach, so I’d like to end up in a role where I could do both! Professionally, I would love to have a career in medical device R&D and get to watch a product go from concept to actually helping patients. Combining both, I think engineering is a field that relies a lot on experience, so there’s always plenty of opportunity to grow, while still being able to pass on some advice to the next generation, so I’m very excited to reach a point where I can be a capable leader, while also appreciating that there is always more to learn.

What innovations do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the near future?
There’s so many! Medical devices that improve quality of life, not just quantity. Predictive tools that can determine a person’s risk for heart disease or cancer in a more precise way, and better ways to treat those patients proactively. Changes to the healthcare system as a whole, which can reduce the incidence of preventable diseases in vulnerable populations and make hospitals run more efficiently without compromising patient care. There’s so many ways we need to improve, and biomedical engineers are leading the charge on many of them!

What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming graduate students?
Get involved! Join GSBME (Graduate Students of Biomedical Engineering) and take advantage of all the events (and free food) they offer. Find a club that does something you’ve never tried before. Coursework and research can often feel overwhelming and it’s important to have some activities that you do solely because you’re interested in them. You’ll feel so much more fulfilled when you look back on your time as a student, and the friends you make will be your support system when things get tough.

Any advice for students interested in biomedical engineering?
When I was in school, I would always ask myself, “When will it get easier?” The answer is: it doesn’t. Keeping up with classes, demanding research timelines, and trying to stay sane only get harder every semester. It doesn’t get easier, but you do get better at juggling it all. Biomedical engineering is one of the most complex fields out there, and the amount you don’t know can seem daunting at first. Just remember, you’re at USC to learn and you will keep learning throughout your career. All of the challenges you face now are making you a better engineer, a better leader, and maybe even a better person.

Bala Siva Sai Akhil Malepati
MS in Computer Science

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

Hello, my name is Bala, and I am currently working on Blockchain in VMware in Palo Alto, USA. I graduated with a masters in Computer Science from Viterbi School of Engineering in May 2020. While doing my undergraduate studies, I authored a couple of Research Papers related to Computer Vision. I loved doing research and contributing new ideas to the research community. After my undergrad, I worked full-time for a couple of years. During my first year, I worked on contributing to Kubernetes internally- it is a fascinating yet complex distributed system. Later, I worked on developing Serverless Computing Platform for Public Cloud. Also, I published more research papers related to Cloud Computing. I enjoyed the work and wanted to gain more skills to be able to contribute more to the technology field in future. So, I decided to pursue a master degree.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

The courses offered in the Computer Science department of USC were very well rounded, with considerable depth and breadth options. I liked the aspect of the courses and their outline.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I love hiking, running, playing table tennis and regular tennis. I enjoy watching movies and series especially in comedy and thriller genres. I love reading books and listening to music. I enjoy cooking and sketching as well.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your last years at USC

I really enjoyed the Operating System course I took at USC, where I got to further learn how to implement data structure for the actual process, how to thread virtual memory translations, and much more. Towards the end of the course, I had so many parallels drawn and so many exciting ideas for Distributed Systems. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent learning and working on the assignments in that course. I can never forget those times.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

I speak multiple languages (English, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada), and I can understand Tamil up to some extent. I also stayed in over four different parts of India throughout my childhood and college years. It was nice living in so many different places to understand and learn their culture, cuisines, and language.

Overall, how is the two-year journey at USC?

It was an awesome two years of learning and enjoyment. All the courses were very practical and unique in their own way. Professors were also very helpful in guiding the students in the right direction in terms of thinking and approaching solutions. They also were very approachable in terms of new thoughts and discussions related to the same. I learned a lot in those two years, both in my academic and personal life.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

I want to work and contribute to various advancements in the technological field in terms of development, design and research. I’m looking forward to utilizing the learning for a better future for all of us.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years

I hope Blockchain and Edge Computing become major parts of the core systems which have the potential to enhance our life immensely, in almost every sector. Quantum Computing is another such technology (once it becomes practically feasible for large scale deployments). This would be so amazing to see.

Juhyun Lee
MS in Biomedical Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

My name is Juhyun Lee and I am from South Korea. I finished my undergraduate studies at University of Utah as a biomedical engineering major. I wanted to apply my undergraduate learning with further research before entering the job field. I found that USC has a great program, especially with their research on biomedical engineering. I contacted the faculty members in the biomedical engineering field, and I was offered an opportunity to be part of their project. Hence I found myself joining USC for my graduate program.

If applicable - how has your studies at USC supported or enhanced your career?

USC provides great multidisciplinary collaboration opportunities and a high quality research environment with faculty members, people who can help mentor you with interested areas. Unlike other graduate schools, USC has a great flexibility and authenticity to their focus in biomedical engineering. I got to learn insightful notes in applying the engineering techniques and biomedical science knowledge to my career today. Overall, USC BME has helped me communicate between biomedical language and engineering language.

Please describe your role at your current place of employment - what excites you most about this field?

I am currently working at the University of Texas at Arlington and UT Southwestern Medical Center. As an assistant professor, I focus on biomedical technology research, and I get to work on developing optical imaging systems and form biomechanical analysis on the work. What excites me is the fact that I get to continue researching even after graduating. It’s exciting to be part of something that can make a greater impact for people’s health.

What advice would you give to prospective students considering biomedical engineering as a field of study?

Try to make good connections with alumni and faculty members. Although hard work and degrees are important, modern society is complex and it is almost impossible to stand out by yourself. USC people are very nice and helpful, so network and befriend as many as you can.

Nipun Manral
MS in Electrical Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

Hello my name is Nipun, and I am from Bangalore, India. I finished my undergraduate studies from SIT in Bangalore India. After my undergrad, I joined the work field, working from different places in India and even in Germany. This experience gave me a base of what Artificial Intelligence is going to be in the future. And for that particular reason, I wanted to further my studies by getting my masters in electrical engineering at USC.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

One of the most important factors about choosing USC was the great alumni network. Additionally, when I was looking into the programs online, I was intrigued by the AI programming and research that was going on in the school. Not many universities have focus in machine learning, so that also was an attractive factor. It also helps that USC is near the bay, where most of the tech industry is focused.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I love going to the USC gyms with my friends. In my other free time, I watch a lot of soccer and even spend time in finding different strategies in improving my soccer skills (I am a big fan of the Chelsea Football Club and have been for over fifteen years now).

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your last years at USC

I can never forget the USC tailgates. It was a cultural experience for me to see people coming from all different places and uniting as one to support the school’s football team. I never have experienced so much love for being a Trojan than I have from tailgate parties!

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

Something that may surprise people about me is that I like to travel. In one year, I have traveled to over twenty different countries.

Overall, how is the two-year journey at USC?

Overall, my journey at USC is truly unforgettable. The mathematical concepts and skills I learned from my classes ( especially my machine learning classes) have helped me greatly with my interview processes. Not only have I gained an academic learning experience, I got to learn and live in a different culture. I made friends, who like me, came from different parts of the world and got to learn about their culture.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

I plan on getting an MBA, where then I can apply product management skills to my job. I want to understand not only the mathematical and engineering aspects of AI but also the managerial aspect since experience with working with people is key to a good business. I believe that focusing AI with ethics will help improve the quality of life overall on the planet.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

I hope to see more discoveries within healthcare, especially with the help of AI. I believe that AI can help contribute to studies and reduce the number of people in diseases, heart attacks, cancer, and more.

Javier Jesús Macossay Hernández
MS in Computer Science

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you study or work previously, what are you interested in and why?
I'm from Monterrey, Mexico. And before coming to USC, I did my high school in Mexico, and then I started college in Texas. And then I got into USC! I pursued a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a French minor. Now I'm getting a masters in computer science.

What made you interested in pursuing computer science for your master’s degree?
Being exposed to programming as an undergraduate student with the required classes in electrical engineering. That's when I realized--that's when I was first exposed to programming and computer science. And because of that, I already had a bit of experience in it, and realized all the potential opportunities. So, that's why I was interested in computer science.

Do you remember any of the particular professors or classes that you took that sparked this interest?
Yes, I took a course in software design for electrical engineers, which really exposed me to computer science. I also took ITP 109, which is Intro to Java. I also took a class called the “Internet of Things” which was really interesting — I was in the first semester that the class was offered. They later changed the course code to ITP 250.

While you were either an undergraduate or graduate, what were your interests outside of the classroom, like research, hobbies, clubs, or organizations?
I did research with Professor Bhaskar Krishnamachari for one semester. On campus, I was part of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). And I really liked hanging out with the people I met at La Casa. Back then it was called La Casa Chicano but now it's called La Casa. I was also part of the Latino Alumni Association, because I have a scholarship. I'm not from LA, so I did the normal touristy things, like the beach, and Disneyland. I love the beach.

Tell me about an exciting or unforgettable incident at USC.
I met Slash, the guitar player from Guns N' Roses! I have a picture with him, and I got his autograph. It was pretty cool — it was during thanksgiving break, he went to campus to practice with the band, because he was gonna play the national anthem for the football game against UCLA. So I just waited until he got there, then I went to practice to see him. I'm a huge Guns N' Roses fan. That was definitely a highlight of my time at USC.

Overall, how is your journey so far at USC? What are some things you have learned at USC, beyond academics?
In terms of academic and professional development, I think what I’ve appreciated the most is all the events that we have to develop our professional personality, networking skills, and of course all the confidence that you need to navigate the world at the age of 19 or 20, which can be really intimidating. So I think all the resources given to us by the career center, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the entire culture of the school has helped me to really develop my professional skills.

I also got a lot of help from the Kortschak Center. I really liked the resources they have there, because they really help you control your thoughts, whenever you're in stressful situations. When you're stressed with school or you're intimidated at a professional level, it can be hard to perform really well, academically or professionally. I think that those soft skills, like organizational skills, professional development, and being confident are some of the biggest things I’ve learned.

Also, I've realized that my academics have given me a lot of confidence, in being more secure that I can pretty much learn whatever I want as long as I spend some time and have the discipline to learn it. I wasn't aware that I was able to learn so many different topics in different fields like languages, anthropology, international relations, engineering.

What are some low points, or harder parts of your time at USC?
The downside sometimes is my learning style with how a lot of the classes are organized. But I think that varies in the department. Sometimes there is a lack of connection between lecture, homework, and exams. It's kind of frustrating, because there's not a lot of connection between what they lecture on and what they test you on. So it's kind of weird.

In my experience, I've learned more from projects and homework assignments than from exams. So my learning style is more geared toward having more projects, homework, and quizzes without midterms — I think that would be better. I can memorize a lot of facts for a midterm, but then two weeks later I'm gonna forget it.

Going off of that, you gave some really good resources for incoming students. What would be a piece of advice you would give to someone who is an incoming student?
Be wise with your time. Time management is key. Control the stress, control your mind, control your thoughts. You're in control of your mind. And if you cannot control your mind, then that's when you need to seek help, from either the Student Health Center or the Kortschak Center.

What are your future plans?
First of all, I want to get a job and then I want to invest in real estate. I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to keep my engineering job, but eventually I want to make it kind of my side gig just for fun. I want to work as a contractor, or working in small projects here and there just for fun, to keep those engineering skills. I also want to learn more about finance, like personal finances and stocks. Eventually, I want to start a small business too.

Yes, I want to be an engineer. I want to be a technical person. I love electrical engineering, I love computer science, I love programming, I love operating systems. I love all the technical stuff. And I'm a geek, in terms of technical knowledge, but there needs to be a balance between my current professional development and where I want to expand into in the future. Hopefully everything works out.

Fakhar SingheraPhD in Chemical Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself, and where are you from, where you have studied, and where are you located now?

Hello my name is Fakhar, and I am from the bay area in California (Fremont & Hayward). I graduated from high school back in 2010 and went to UC Berkeley for Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, graduating in 2014. Post-graduation, I worked in the pharmaceutical industry initially working at Corium International for their large molecule drug delivery team (2015-2016) and then at Scripps Research Florida for the Lead Identification Team as a High Throughput Screening Robotics Engineer (2016-2019). In late 2018, I was encouraged by the work I was doing to pursue higher education and thus applied to graduate school for a PhD and moved back to California to attend USC.

How did you learn about Ellison Institute and what made you attracted to it?

I learned about the Ellison Institute from Dr. Jerry Lee due to a happy accident where the two of us got connected. During our discussions, pre-interview weekend, I was able to connect with the other faculty at the institute as well and find out about all of the interesting research being done at the institute in the realm of cancer and the role I could play within it. The collaborative nature of the institute encourages approaching the same problem from multiple angles.This provides the most complete picture and leads to the optimal move forward.

What is your favorite memory working at Ellison?

My favorite memory would have to be the two weeks leading up to Christmas where the entire institute came together and had a giant bake-off with everyone bringing in their favorite desserts for everyone to try out.

Overall how has your experience been?

Overall, my experience has been mostly positive. With the advent of Covid-19 this year, it feels like I have only 6-7 months of experience to draw from, and that period of time has been relatively positive. I appreciate that my experience and talent are appreciated by the staff and faculty at the institute and that feeling seems to pervade throughout. People with the most experience in a field are asked for their advice and input before large institute scale decisions are implemented.

Do you have a big takeaway or lesson that you would like to share?

In a collaborative environment, it is important and impactful to reach out to people and discuss projects and processes with your coworkers. By being aware of other projects and process workflows, it is easy to find collaborative solutions to problems that others may already have solutions for and vice versa.

Are they innovations that you hope to see within Ellison in the next ten years?

Moving forward, it is my hope that the Ellison Institute keeps using human samples to curate more relevant information by using actual heterogeneous samples instead of over-reliance on cell lines. I would like to see a strong fundamental engineering pipeline within the institute to help develop and test instrumentation, and workflows to study relevant biological problems in systemic, repeatable, and innovative methods to gain additional insights into the progression of cancer.

Any advice you would give to incoming graduate students?

My main advice to new incoming graduate students would be to prepare for more of a workplace environment than the traditional graduate school experience. With the breadth of experience available at Ellison Institute, make sure that you engage with your fellow scientists and engineers to get the most of the experience.

Jesse Johnson
MS in Biomedical Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

I was born in Texas but I lived my highschool years in Modesto California before I moved to Riverside to finish my undergraduate studies at UC Riverside, where I majored in bioengineering. Growing up, I always wanted to be a doctor. I came to college with a pre-med route, but I fell in love with engineering more and hence switched majors. After my undergrad. studies, I took a gap year and lived in Japan to teach English to have a more diverse launching pad to start up my career in engineering and pursue my masters in bioengineering at USC.

If applicable - how has your studies at USC supported or enhanced your career?

USC has contributed a lot in shaping my thought process in my academics. For example, in my neuroengineering course, I’ve got to learn a really unique structure in how to think about engineering- you are really getting to learn different ways to solve problems and especially with ones that do not have an exact clear right answer. USC has a very collaborative environment where the class encourages you to work with people around you. This is something that I really appreciate because in the work world, it is not only crucial to show your developed skills but also learn to work with others. Additionally, I can not forget how Viterbi has helped immensely in preparing me well for interviews with practice interview preparation with insightful feedback. This really helped me tremendously in building my confidence for job interviews.

Please describe your role at your current place of employment - what excites you most about this field?

I currently work in San Diego for a biotech firm called Illumina HQ. I work in biotech mainly focusing on genetic sequencing, producing next generation sequencing and learning more intricate details on genome empowerment. Before I worked in Illumnia, I previously worked in biotech firms in the bay. Coming just out of USC, I felt really prepared and have developed critical thinking skills, along with my hard skills that I can offer. What excited me in general with being in the workfield is that I didn’t know how much I valued stability. I just think that it is nice to be in a place that is in demand, and bioengineering allows me to go in a positive way to achieve stability while allowing me to do work that is rewarding.

What advice would you give to prospective students considering biomedical engineering as a field of study?

My biggest advice would be to think about your skill set and what you want to do with it. Most part of my experience in engineering (especially in biotech firms) is broken into three main groups: quality, development, and manufacturing. Schools prepare you really well in development, but I would encourage people to look at other fields. Try to connect with people in the industry so that you can see what kind of skill sets they have and learn from them. Overall, be open and be introspective in the things that you want and build from there.

Ruthannah Wang
MS in Electrical Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

Hi my name is Ruth Wang and I graduated USC masters in electrical engineering. I was born in Canada but lived in many different countries growing up. I did my undergraduate studies at UC Irvine studying Electrical engineering (EE), where I began to cater my interest in engineering further. As I got to learn more of how EE is utile and versatile is, I knew that I wanted to further study the subject.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

USC has a wide base of interdisciplinary academic routes that were really intriguing to me. I was very fond of the idea that even as a graduate student, I was able to take other courses outside of my particular school, such as taking piano classes at the USC Thornton School. At other universities, taking courses outside of your major is really difficult to get by, whereas USC creates such flexibility just goes to show how much they will care for each student’s interest.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

In my free time, I love to play piano leisurely. As someone who has lived in different countries, I love to pick up and learn new languages when I have the time.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your last years at USC

One of my unforgettable memories at USC was when I got to intern at the USC Stevens Center for Innovation, where I got to experience and learn the technology developed by professors, and the research and market to outside companies. It was really cool to learn about intellectual property and how USC develops relationships with outside companies.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

People are surprised that I lived in different places from Canada to even living in France at one point. I can also speak four languages: Mandarin, French, Spanish, and English.

Overall, how is the two-year journey at USC?

At USC a lot of things can happen that you don’t expect, I didn’t expect that I would get to learn so much.The experience has prepared me really well for my current career route. The mix of rigorous studies and fun courses kept my student life feeling balanced. Moreover, it allowed me to have an advantage experience that I would not get at any other school than USC.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

I am currently working in LA at ARUP Laboratories, where I get to focus in environmental work with the client's of the company. I most likely want to stay in LA because many things happen all the time, and this happens on many horizons that I can be a part of. I want to work toward getting a professional engineer license(PE), but I need to first have a year worth of work experience.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

One big issue that a lot of people are talking about is climate change, especially with the many fires that have happened in California. I’m interested in the development of the electrical grid and how this technology can help with climate change. Additionally, I am interested in how we can transition in using more solar power or water and wind instead of using natural gas and oil as energy sources- this can help produce a more sustainable economy and reverse climate change as well.

Evan Cohen
MS in Systems Architecting and Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

I was born and raised in Nashville, TN, and moved to Los Angeles when I started at USC in the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences (yet to be named Dornsife back then!). One reason I wanted to go to USC was that my mother also went there. It's since turned into a family affair of my mother, myself, my sister, my wife, and my mother-in-law (the Trojan Family really is a fun thing, Fight On!). I started at USC as a pre-med neuroscience major before switching into biomedical engineering when my interest in a career as a physician waned. Biomedical engineering retained a lot of the pre-med coursework I found enjoyable but also opened up career opportunities I was immediately interested in without necessarily going to graduate school (which I came back to USC for a bit later).

How have your studies at USC supported or enhanced your career?

USC is academically challenging and certainly provides a robust engineering education, but I think one of the biggest advantages to pair with formal education is the availability of research and projects that students can work on. I was lucky enough to work in a lab at the Health Science Campus for my entire undergraduate career, and it provided great ways to synthesize my classroom learning with bench-top practice. If anything, I underutilized the richness of the USC research opportunities during my time there. Via that unique set of circumstances, USC helped me pair theoretical scientific understanding with concrete application in the real world. While Viterbi tends to be a 'theory heavy' curriculum, I felt pretty well prepared to bridge the gap into engineering practice upon graduation.

Please describe your role at your current place of employment - what excites you most about this field?

I currently work for a small medical robotics company in Silicon Valley called Auris Health. I joined a few years ago when it was a startup, and we've since been acquired by Johnson and Johnson. I currently work in R&D on the team responsible for the development of robotically controlled medical devices. My responsibilities deal with device design, performance characterization, and test/automation development to help take our devices from the R&D arena to the commercial market. The field of robotics applied to medicine is an extremely exciting, innovative area to be. Using cutting-edge technologies to solve unmet clinical needs is a dream come true for me. I get to surround myself with hard problems, smart colleagues, and have a lot of fun doing it!

What advice would you give to prospective students considering biomedical engineering as a field of study?

For those planning to join BME, my biggest piece of advice is to have a specialty. Your colleagues (and competition) in the engineering workplace will likely be predominantly 'Big 4' engineers (mechanical, electrical, chemical, computer science and to compete with them, you'll need to be good enough in one of those disciplines to do the job. I think BME tends to favor engineers more in the long run where you have a great perspective and breadth of the medical landscape and how technology interfaces. But it can make starting out tough if some other engineers have spent more time dedicated to particular engineering skills such as CAD, circuit layout, or programming.

Alina Garcia Taormina
MS in Chemical Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

My name is Alina, and I am from Los Angeles, CA. I studied Chemistry at Loyola Marymount University and received my B.S. in 2016. My dream from early on in high school was to go to film school and become a filmmaker. I applied to mainly film schools and got into one of the top programs but couldn't afford to go. So I chose LMU at the time and studied film for a year and then decided to eventually switch to chemistry. I love film and creating content, but I also enjoyed chemistry and saw a lot of parallels between the art of filmmaking and the fundamentals of chemistry so I eventually switched over. I wish I had one of those stories about growing up and always wanting to be an astronaut or always wanting to work on rockets, but I don't have that story that a lot of engineers have. I guess I am in the middle of making my story right now; I hadn't been exposed to engineering until my senior year of college, so I am a little late to the game but am doing my best to build the foundation I need for my future in the industry.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I love photography! I guess it was a dribble down from my love of filmmaking, but there is something so grounding about photography for me. One of my favorite places to take photos is the Venice Beach Skatepark; it has been some time since I have picked up my camera but I am hoping to get out there again one day soon. I also love outreach and mentoring. To give back and guide is something that I derive a lot of joy and happiness from. At the beginning of grad school at USC, I had to quit my job as a tutor for first-generation students at my high school per fellowship guidelines, so I decided to create a scholarship for the students and give back to them as much as I could and provide them a platform to share their story and their motivation for pursuing a college degree.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your last years at USC

Passing my qualifying exam was definitely something I was excited about. I always get stuck in the headspace that I don't measure up to my peers and tend to put down myself and my abilities. But I felt excited that I passed the qual, and it instilled some confidence in me. I still have a long way to go but in time will truly believe in and own my abilities and accomplishments.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

I love to crochet!

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

On the engineering front, I honestly have no idea! I just hope that once I finish my PhD I am able to contribute and do my part in advancing meaningful innovations and discoveries in the future. But as a queer, female, latinx, engineer in the next 10 years I really hope to witness and be a part of dismantling systemic inequities and racism within our broader community, but also within STEM.

Katie Chak
MS in Communication Data Science

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m Katie! I’m from Hong Kong and I moved to Los Angeles for my undergraduate studies — I was also an undergraduate student at USC. I was in the Annenberg School, majoring in Public Relations. I found the Communication Data Science program through Annenberg. It's a joint program between Annenberg and Viterbi. When I found out about the progressive program, I applied. I'm graduating this May.

It's very unique that this is both an Annenberg and Viterbi program. Can you talk about what interested you about it and why the shift from public relations to communications data science?

Studying PR, I always wanted to get more technical with what I do. PR is fun and interesting, but I also wanted to get that analytical side. I also wanted to pursue a career in a more technical field. So I think this program is a good combination of both. And the Viterbi classes are a good start for people who have not had any technical background. I think it's a good learning curve.

Can you speak about any of the classes that really interested you or that you'd recommend for future students?

For the Viterbi classes, I've taken the introduction to data science, which is the very high-level overview of what data science is, and what different things that it can do. I also took a programming class that specifies in Python. Specifically, how to use Python to do data science modeling and work. This semester, I'm taking a machine learning class, and a big data class, which is about what is big data, and how to deal with big data, huge amounts of data. Like government data, or healthcare data, would be considered big data

What are your short-term and long-term plans?

Short-term, I'm really focused on the classes this semester. They're kind of hard! I'm also interning at Tencent Games, as a data analytics intern. And that's also quite time consuming. Short-term, I just want to focus on studying and getting all the concepts. After that, I want to start working and probably pursue a more data science focused career path.

What does that mean? Are you looking to do data science for a tech company? Or still within media?

Right now I'm kind of in between. So the gaming company also has a media side, where they publish an online magazine for games. So I'm on the data team for the media team of that gaming sector. It gets pretty data sciencey and pretty technical. Right now I'm working on a natural language processing project, where we need to automate tagging these articles on the website. So I'm not really limited on what I do with the knowledge I have, and quite frankly, I don't have enough knowledge to solely work on the data science project by myself. So I'm still learning, and exploring, and seeing what kind of opportunities are out there.

Beyond academics and your internship, what are some of your interests at USC?

I took one clowning class in undergrad in the School of Dramatic Arts. That was really interesting. You learn how to clown, and you go to a hospital, and you perform as a clown. It was quite fun. I think I want to keep doing that after the pandemic. Other than that, there's a lot of nature Los Angeles, and a lot of places to road trip to, so I like doing those things too. I like the Palisades and Will Rogers State Park. They’re both really nice open areas.

What's a piece of advice you'd give to an incoming student?

I would advise them to take more challenging classes. I realized there's not a lot of opportunity in the workplace where you can ask to take on a more technical project, because you really need to pre-possess that knowledge before people can assign a project like that to you. So I think a good time to challenge yourself, especially in learning more technical knowledge, is in college, or your spare time.

Monica Boss
MS in Product Development

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

Hi my name is Monica and I am from San Jose, California. I did my undergrad at USC and through the progressive degree program, I finished my masters in product development at USC as well. When entering my undergrad, I was an undeclared engineering major but eventually found myself in industrial engineering. During my junior year of undergrad, I worked in a product development industry and became interested in the product development masters degree at USC.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

What attracted me to choosing USC is the versatility that the school provides. I get to be part of a giant football school while going to a top-tier academic one. USC has so many passions and interests from different fields and getting to be part of such a diverse campus, I got to have unique conversations with students studying vast majors- something you can’t do anywhere else.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I used to volunteer at a nearby cat shelter where I would spend 2-4 hours a week. I got to help vaccinate kittens and even go down South Central to vaccinate cats. I ended up rescuing one of the kittens I found at the colosseum, near USC.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your last years at USC

During my last year at USC, I was doing my classes from back home in San Jose. But for my final presentation, I decided to drive down to do my presentation in person. I drove five hours down, did the presentation, and then drove right back ( it's an adventure on its own).

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

Something that may surprise people about me is that when I was applying to colleges, I also was simultaneously applying to fashion schools. Similar to engineering, in fashion design, I loved the process of making a dress. The entire process was so fascinating to me.

Overall, how is the two-year journey at USC?

It has been simply incredible. I loved every second of being at USC, with the homecoming games, walking on campus, the fun concerts, and classes. It ended up landing me to get a job at Southwest Airlines in Texas where I can take a plane and come back to visit anytime I have free time.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

In terms of future goals, I hope to become a VP at a product development company (a long career goal). But on a more fun note, I hope to move into a bigger place where I can foster kittens!

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

One of the reasons I chose to work for Southwest Airlines is rooted in their value in customer service. I hope to be part of something that continuously focuses on customer service in their products to better the customer. I want to continually put myself with people who are entirely creative and innovative.

Jessica Holmes
MS in Environmental Engineer

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

I am a California native! I grew up in Northern California, born in Sacramento, and moved to the Bay Area when I was 15. I got my undergraduate degree in Biological Engineering with a concentration in Biosystems from the University of Florida (Go Gators) and had a great four years there. I have always felt a draw towards environmental studies and conservation. Growing up (and still today), the work and passion of people like Jane Goodall and Steve Irwin inspire me to follow my passion for protecting natural resources and the environment.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

You often hear about the strength of the Trojan alumni network. As I began to consider schools and different programs, I noticed that the same care and compassion for one another that USC is known for in its alumni network is deeply rooted in the culture at Viterbi, that students get to experience every day. Every professor I had, not only taught me such valuable information but also genuinely cared and believed in me. Without the relationships with my professors, helping me grow, and investing in me, I would not be where I am today. So definitely the amazing professors in the Environmental Engineering department had a major part in why I chose USC. When I came to visit USC for the first time, at the newly admitted student event, I sat next to Dr. Soibelman. Coming into that weekend, I was still deciding where to go. But after hearing about the work and investment that Dr. Soibelman and many others have put into the Environmental Engineering program, I knew that I wanted to be a part of it. There is an underlying sense of stewardship and a greater purpose embedded in the program, and that definitely made me feel at home. Also, being in Los Angeles, there are many opportunities to apply your education in the early stages of your career and that was important to me. I secured two incredible internships out of my time at USC, and I think the location and prestige of USC had a lot to do with my ability to find work so easily.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I am a huge soccer fan. Since I have retired from the game, I have become even more of an avid fan of the NWSL, MLS, Premier League, etc. I coach soccer to children aged 2-6, which brings me such joy! I also am a big supporter of animal shelters and volunteer as a dog-walker when I can. I love hiking, doing yoga, and being connected with nature.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your last years at USC

Through my involvement with the Viterbi Graduate School Association (VGSA), my fellow CEE Department Senator and I put together a hiking event in Rancho Palos Verdes. It was such an amazing time with my classmates. With many of the students in our department new to Los Angeles, it was important for us to build those relationships and a sense of community. I also will never forget our field trip in one of my classes to the Orange County Water District and Sanitation District’s Groundwater Replenishment System. We got to see the transformation from waste into a resource and the remarkable technology involved. In addition, I will never forget the group projects I participated in and listening to those my peers participated in. Every class I had involved a group project, and it was always so inspiring and fulfilling to not only work on something I am passionate about with others but also to learn from others and their unique passions.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

I was a student-athlete during my first year at USC! It was such an amazing opportunity to play for the USC Women’s Soccer Team while doing my graduate studies. Within the first few games, I suffered a career-ending injury. That was a very hard time for me as I had to close that chapter of my life, but because of my professors like Dr. Soibelman, Dr. Childress, and Dr. Sanders who believed in me and my academic and career goals, I was able to turn that hardship into a positive.

Overall, how is the two-year journey at USC?

It has been unforgettable and life-changing. Not only did I gain an exceptional education, but the investment from my professors helped me realize my strengths and work on my weaknesses. I was able to fine tune my passions and realized how I want to shape my career.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

I just finished my first semester of law school at Lewis & Clark in Portland, OR! Environmental issues are complex and involve many facets of society. I plan on using my technical background and my law degree to help build the bridge the gap between science and policy.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

Converting waste into resources is a critical concept, and it has been amazing to learn about and work on remarkable technology in wastewater research that can convert sewage into drinking water. I hope that in the next ten years, the developments in converting waste into resources continue to grow and solutions are developed for capturing and converting waste such as microplastics, into usable resources. However, the solution does not stop innovating the technology. We also need to implement the solutions into society. I hope that in ten years, every person in the United States (and hopefully the world) has access to clean drinking water and sanitation, and I hope to be a part of it. I also hope that mitigation solutions are developed for communities that will face disproportionate impacts from climate change, such as in the Pacific Islands. This will involve an international collaboration between policy and science, and I hope to be involved in the solution.

Daniel Kwon
MS in Medical Device and Diagnostic Engineering

Tell us a little bit about yourself — where are you from, where did you do your undergraduate studies, how did you find your academic interests, etc.?

I’m from Portland, Oregon. I got my undergrad from USC as a biomedical engineering major. I chose biomed. engineering because I have always been very into math and I have always been inspired by how the medical side can improve someone. I got my masters at USC through the progressive degree program, and the fun fact is that I actually got into the bioengineering program but switched to the product development program. I transferred out because I wanted to get more experience in the industry by working in different companies- I learned especially through the internships I did through my undergrad years.

What attracted you to choose USC for your graduate studies?

The location at USC is great, with many opportunities within any field of engineering in the industry. USC likes to network with companies and has strong connections, so recruiting processes were rather more insightful, and I got to learn how to network and work on interviews. Also, USC is special with the case that they offer progressive leap programs to their undergrad so that students can skip steps such as taking the GRE, writing essays, to get a masters at USC.

Tell us about your interests outside the classroom.

I love sports, playing basketball, and any intramural sports. I was in the swim and tennis club. I like being active and it’s shown mostly through sports- I love meeting through the activity. Outside of academics, I also did a lot of clubs associated with engineering: as a VARS tutor, I coached the incoming Viterbi freshman class, where I taught and mentored students about the resources provided at school and connected the engineering school faculty- it was rewarding to see the students learn and grow.

Tell us about some exciting and unforgettable incidents from your last years at USC

I think one of the exciting and unforgettable moments is really the process of creating the lifelong friendships I have today. Through the product development engineering program, I met so many people, even a few that I live and work with. I learned both hard and soft skills as well. One memorable class was where we got to use 3-D printing to help create foot blocks to prevent foot injuries to transform the way athletics wears shoes. Additionally, I took even classes related to management, where I got to practice presentations with themes.

Is there something that may surprise people about you?

People may be surprised to learn that I was actually scouted to become a kpop star. I used to be an active singer/musician back in highschool.

Overall, how is the two-year journey at USC?

Overall, it’s been great. I got to make great relationships with the students and both faculty and even got to mentor others in Viterbi. I want to emphasize the masters program and how diverse and flexible it is. I was very fortunate to get help in switching majors due to the willing staff at Viterbi. And through my program, I got to meet many people from all over the world- you also get to interact with people with different majors due to the diverse classes. Translating to company standards, you meet people from different majors and fields, so it’s good practice before getting in.

What are your future plans after completing your degree?

I currently work at Electronic (a medical device company), where I get to work with mechanics such as SGM sensors. These help limit diabetic patients by constantly revealing glucose levels. In the future, I see myself still in engineering but hopefully in a managerial position. I’m thinking about getting an MBA at some point. I do think that my talent and experience do lie in the medical device industry, but I am open to different places in the industry.

What innovations/discoveries do you hope to see (or be a part of!) in the next ten years?

I really believe that the Apple watch is going to become the new medical device while being a casual entertainment technology. Technology like this indefinitely will improve and do better. I even believe that the watch will be able to track glucose levels. Medical devices are highly regulated, but when it’s something like the watch that is worn every day, one can combine the purposes and think of health within consumer and quality products. It’s very interesting to see where the watch will be in the next decade or so, and I hope to be part of the process.

Anmol Chawla
MS in Communication Data Science

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from, and where have you lived, studied, or worked?

Hi, my name is Anmol! I am originally from India. I studied at Symbiosis Institute of Technology for my undergraduate studies, where I completed my bachelor’s degree in electronics, with a specialization in robotics. And then I went on to work for some time in India for a year. Then I came over to USC, where I pursued a joint master’s in communication and data science. I graduated in 2019, and now I've been working for a year and a half.

Where do you work now?

I work at a startup called Omaze. We partner up with celebrities to fund charities. We're a tech company. And in the process, we basically crowdsource charity.

What attracted you to come to LA, and specifically USC, for your graduate studies?

There are two aspects, one is a cultural aspect, and the other one is technical. The cultural aspect is the image of the U.S. is partly defined by either New York or Los Angeles, all across the globe. That was a huge factor for specifically coming to L.A. Like, there's the Hollywood sign. Plus, my specialization was in entertainment. And USC was ranked number one in that field. So that was the cultural reason. If you want to study entertainment, study it at Hollywood, which is the heart of entertainment across the world. The second aspect is more pragmatic. It revolves around USC Viterbi School of Engineering. It has a lot of good professors, and a lot of the alumni who had graduated before me had gone on to create things in industries from entertainment to the tech field. These two factors contributed to my decision to come to USC and LA.

What interested you particularly about the communications data science program?

There are two ways to look at it, I feel. The first one is to think about what core skills you require. The second is a more realistic approach. When you look at a ten-year timeframe — roles are constantly evolving in companies and in the industry. It is no longer good enough to just have a single skill set that will get you a job and it’s uncertain you will be happy with that job and you will get to do what you want to do. You have to have a very well-rounded approach. I thought that pursuing the joint master’s would shape me up perfectly for the career goals I wanted to pursue, and kind of future-proof me, and also give me an edge in my education background, as opposed to someone who just took software or someone who just did data science.

Can you speak about any courses or professors that shaped your time at USC?

Our machine learning professor, Mohammed Reza Rajati, is one of the biggest inspirations for me sticking with machine learning, even though I find it a bit hard. But the way he taught the class, the way he kind of motivated students in and out, gave me the strength to stick with the program and not have second thoughts.

Outside of the classroom, what other things did you do in your time at USC?

I was in a unique position because a lot of people who go to Viterbi generally stick to Viterbi crowds, which are mostly international students. I had this international community, but also with Annenberg, a huge local populous and friend circles. That was a huge cultural benefit, which I think not a lot of people in engineering, at least in a master’s program, get to experience. I also volunteered a lot. I volunteered with the AIS (Association of Indian Students) at USC and I participated in the Viterbi Teach program. We went to teach kids from a local school about math and business. There are also a lot of places in L.A. which I think are worth exploring. But one of the big ones is Big Bear. I love snowboarding and skiing and having it so close to homemade is a huge hangout place for me. Out of all the things in L.A. that you can get, I think snowboarding is unexpected. There are also tons of beaches — I went to every beach, and half of them I visited late at night, after studying at Leavey library for long hours, just to take a break.

What are your long-term plans?

I have two major inspirations that I want to pursue. One of them is to do something in the field of entertainment and content production. The second one is to do something more entrepreneurial in the tech space — I recently started attending a startup school! Those two things really excite me for the future. Don't get me wrong, I love my company and the people, but if you're talking about a five-year vision or ten-year vision, I think it looks way more entrepreneurial for me.

What is a piece of advice you would give to an incoming student?

For grad students, I would say don't take it too seriously. I know the stakes are high, the pressure is high to keep up with the coursework and finish assignments on time and get good grades. And on top of that, you're looking for internships, juggling an on-campus job, and looking for a full-time position later. But don't take it too seriously. Stressing out did not really help me much in those situations. I started meditating and stuck to a routine. Have a solid routine, don't deviate, don't break the routine, and become stressed.

Adrianna (Yichen) Zhang
MS in Communication Data Science

Tell us a little bit about yourself! Where are you from and where have you lived, studied, and worked?

My name is Adrianna, and my Chinese name is Yichen. I was born and raised in Shanghai, China up until I graduated from high school. Then I came to the United States and went to the University of Missouri for my undergraduate degree in journalism and strategic communications. After four years, I graduated from Missouri, and I came to USC for my master's degree in communication data science.

What attracted you to USC?

Well I love Missouri, and I loved everything about it. I loved my school, and it was something — for someone who's not American, it's like an American college campus that you would see in a movie or TV. I loved my four years there. The one thing that attracted me to USC and this degree is that when I was an undergrad, I wanted to go into strategic communications, and wanted to work in an advertising agency or firm, something like that.

One thing that we were doing in our group projects during my undergraduate studies was analyzing customer needs, their behavior, in purchasing or social media posting. And a lot of the projects that we did just made me think, "We're building up existing online research. There are things that you would find on a library website, things already existing out there. But there's so much more data out there — what if we could come up with a way to get our own data, do our own research, and come up with our own ideas? At that time, nobody knew how to do it. Our program did not offer a class on that.” That's why I looked outside of Missouri and found this program at USC, which was the perfect choice, a blend of learning that I wanted.

It's very unique that the communication data science program is both Annenberg and Viterbi. Can you talk about any of the interesting classes that you've taken so far?

My absolute favorite class that I tell everybody about is Informatics 556. It's a user experience design class taught by Professor Jaime Levy. She wrote her own book on user experience research strategies, and she teaches her class after her book. What I love about the class is that the entire structure of the 16 weeks of the class end with you having a portfolio on a project or a business idea that you have done significant research for. We went out and talked to customers, and then we got competitive research, made our prototypes, made our presentations all around, and finally we had a complete project. My project brought me into the world, actually, of product management.

Initially, I thought I wanted to do more consumer insight analytics, but then, I took this class and thought that it was so cool, that this is something that I could do. So I work in product management now. My manager now graduated from USC two years before I did. She also took this class, and she loved it too, and now she's also in product management.

Would you mind sharing where you work and where you're located?

I work for Tunnel Digital. We are a vendor for the Walt Disney Studios. Our office is in the Disney Studios in Burbank, and we work alongside all the studios.

So right now, are you in product management, and for your plans do you hope to stay in that space?

We manage internal tool software that the Disney Studios use for digital distribution, like Disney+. I have been able to utilize what I've learned from not only just my UX design class but also from my data management class, where I learned SQL and Python, which we use all the time, because our database is based on it. I loved all my courses and my electives, even though at a job, you don't always use everything you learned at school. But they really gave me a great perspective on what's going on in the industry. And gave me the foundation not just how to use this programming tool, but something to think about, like what we're going to do with our careers. I discovered my interests throughout this program, and I know that I have classmates that are doing something else; some people are doing data science, software engineering, analytics too. So it's not like a one size fits all kind of program. You kind of figure out what you want to do for yourself.

Outside of class, what sorts of things were you interested in?

I love USC football. I love, love, love- it — I started watching football after I came to the U.S. I watched Missouri football for four years, and learned a lot about football. And then I came to USC, and I just fell in love with the team. I think it's a routine kind of thing. Every Saturday, you tailgate, and then you just go to the games. And it's something that's very American. I love it, and I love sports in general. I wanted to do sports journalism, actually. I think I made friends because of my love for USC football, and even after I graduated last year, when I was working, I still went to every home game and three away games. It's definitely something that is so amazing. I also watch a lot of basketball, but football, I just love it.

Other than that, in LA there are just so many things to do in LA — like a normal day in LA, when you're not in class, you could go to Malibu and just sit on the beach and walk along the beach with your friends. Or you could do a little hike. Not my big thing, but I think what's important is spending time with your friends. There are so many places to eat, to have a drink, to shop, something that wasn’t possible in Missouri. And I'm from Shanghai, so I'm more used to being in an urban center — it kind of feels like I'm at home.

What is a piece of advice you'd give to a graduating student?

Make the most out of everything that this program is offering. Both Annenberg and Viterbi have such amazing connections, networks, workshops, even just info sessions that they do — just go and sit in on a few. It's okay if you don't know from day one what you want to do. Or if you thought you knew, but then you changed your mind. It's all okay. I think it's all about discovering. And also, it's not just about studying, it's not just about going to classes. There are so many more things you can do at USC, in L.A.

Lily (Shiyun) Zheng
MS in Communication Data Science

Tell us a bit about yourself! Where are you from and where have you lived, studied, and worked before coming to USC?

Hi, I'm Lily. I'm from China, and I completed my undergraduate at the University of Washington, where I double-majored in psychology and communications. Before I came to USC, I did several internships related to PR and marketing. I've already got an offer from a Chinese technology company, so I'm going into social media marketing in the future.

What attracted you to USC?

At first I wanted to keep on learning communications. And you know, USC Annenberg is the best school for communication students in Los Angeles. There are lots of relevant industries located nearby too. I didn't learn a lot of math or data science stuff in my undergraduate studies, and I thought that was a trending thing I should learn about, and I should at least learn about the fundamentals of data science. And I checked a range of programs of the schools I applied for, and I found USC met my needs, so I chose this program.

What attracted you to the communications data science program in particular?

Through studying at USC Viterbi and Annenberg, I learned to look at things from a qualitative perspective. So I think it is a good program for people with a social science background to learn about things like data science. I had lots of friends studying pure computer science or data science in my undergraduate years. Their studies were very scientific and I think what they did can truly improve the work efficiency. And throughout my past studies and internship experiences, sometimes I had to deal with programs like Excel. If you just barely do something in Excel, your work efficiency is not that high. And you're still doing some repeating functions. But after I learned Python, I can write some code to improve my work efficiency. I also always wanted to get into some technology companies in my future career. So learning about technology or artificial intelligence from a qualitative side could be helpful for my future career.

Tell us a little about your interests outside the classroom!

I didn't join any organizations at USC, because of the pandemic. But I think I was able to do a lot in L.A. during the pandemic — I went to a lot of places for hiking and to be outdoors. I think LA is a great place to live, compared to Seattle, where I lived for four years — It's raining there always. But L.A. is always sunny.

What are some exciting experiences you’ve had so far at USC?

I think the courses I've taken at USC are the most unforgettable things. The first one is the introductory Python course I took. I think Python might be a really basic class for those math or pure data science students, but for someone who just majored in social science, and who hasn't touched math for the past four years, I think Python is a little bit hard to learn in the beginning. But once you learn it, you can suddenly feel how useful it is. And once you understand and get familiar with all those principles, you can use them to do a lot of data analysis. I think I participated in a project that was held by AB-InBev in China this summer. We were going to analyze a range of data. The firm gave us a lot of raw data in Excel, which is a lot of stuff. But I wrote a few Python things, and we filled it out quite quickly, thanks to what I learned from that Python class. This past semester, I took a web organization and development class, and we were asked to develop a website by ourselves completely. From that class, I learned not only how to develop a website, but also how to develop a website from a branding or marketing perspective. That class is the best class I've taken at USC. Also, that instructor shared some job interviews and networking skills we can use in our daily lives. So I think that class was an unforgettable one for me.

What are your future plans?

In the future, I'm doing social media and marketing, but I may want to do a wider range of marketing in the future. Which includes, but is not limited to, marketing analytics or product marketing, which are both important for technology companies in China right now. Taking the communication data science program helped me develop a lot of insight into these fields.

What is a piece of advice you'd give to people interested in communication data science, and to grad students in general?

I think graduate studies are very different from undergraduate. Because in undergrad your advisor will help you arrange which classes you should take, and which projects you should do in a semester. At the graduate level, you have to self-learn a lot of stuff. You have to do a lot of research for yourself and decide what is best for you. For me, in the communication data science program, there are other pure data science classes, like machine learning and statistics. I think those are all very good classes, but for a person who doesn't want to do data science in the future, like me, these classes might not be aligned with my career path. So I want to do a lot of research and talk a lot with the advisors, and I want to choose something related to marketing, basic coding, and UX UI strategies.

Grady Gu
MS in Communication Data Science

Tell us a bit about yourself! Where are you from, where have you lived, worked, and studied?

I grew up in Shanghai and came to the US for college when I was 18. I graduated from USC Annenberg with a bachelor’s degree in communication in 2016. After that, I joined one of the biggest advertising firms worldwide and started working as a broadcast manager in West Hollywood. Working in the media industry has taught me a lot about maintaining client relationships, telling good stories, and working in a fast-paced industry.

What attracted you to come to USC and the communication data science program?

After working as a broadcast manager for a year, I realized that my passion is still around technology and innovation. However, I was nervous that my B.A. degree would not be the best step towards a MS program. After doing some research on the USC website, I found the Communication Data Science program, which is perfect for students who want to study STEM without a STEM background. I was able to keep improving my knowledge in the communication field while learning new knowledge on the data science side.

What are some classes or professors that shaped your time at USC?

I strongly recommend COMM528, Web Designs for Organizations, taught by Professor Freddy Nager. He is one of the most inspiring professors I have met. He always encourages students to speak up in class and he teaches very practical knowledge, like how to optimize your Linkedin profile to attract more recruiters, how to boost website traffic through search engine optimization, and how to improve website usability to facilitate more transactions. I still utilize these skills at work frequently.
The second class I highly recommend is DSCI549, Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science. I was very nervous to study data science at first because I did not have a bachelor’s degree in science. However, this course has taught me all the fundamentals of computer and data science and I was able to “speak their language” after one semester. I would say this course is a “get your foot in the door” course.

Outside of class, what did you do at USC? Were you involved in any organizations, did you spend a lot of time exploring LA, or did you do any extracurriculars?

I started working part-time as an associate product manager for a tech startup when I was still in school. The program was very helpful as I was taking web design, app design, and coding classes and these are exactly the skills I needed for that role. It was the most fruitful period of my life, as I was learning new skills from school while practicing them at work.

What are your short-term and long-term plans?

Short-term plans: work on as many projects as possible to maximize my learnings at this current stage of my career. Long-term plans: develop a disruptive product that benefits society.

What's a piece of advice you'd give to graduate students?

Be open-minded. I had no clue what my dream job was during my first year in grad school. I started an internship as a project manager at a tech startup and the co-founder (who is also a Trojan) saw the potential in me of developing good products. He offered me this associate product manager role, when I didn't even know what developing a product was like. However, after thinking about it for one day, I chose to take the challenge and step out of my comfort zone. After a few months of learning, I realized that being a product manager is my dream job and it was the wisest decision I had ever made.

Rutuja Rane
MS in Computer Science

Could you tell us a little about yourself — where are you from, where have you lived and worked? Where did you study in the past, and what did you study? Any fun facts you’d like to share about yourself?

I am from Mumbai, India. I have always been passionate about computers and find the challenge of analyzing big data using modern machine learning technologies particularly interesting. I completed my undergraduate degree in computer science at K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering, which is affiliated with the University of Mumbai. I worked in Barclays, India for a year before deciding to pursue a master’s degree in Computer Science. A fun fact about me is I like writing poetry and in an interview with an institute, I was asked to write a computer program that could detect and write poetry, which would be a fun project in the future!

What attracted you to USC for your master’s?

USC is well known for its phenomenal coursework and amazing professors. The alumni network of USC is also quite strong. All these factors attracted me to apply to USC. The projects at the Information Sciences Institute also inspired me to explore the diverse aspects of the field and were one of the strong reasons why I chose USC.

Can you tell us a little about your work at the Information Sciences Institute? What is your project or areas of research?

I worked under the guidance of Dr. Craig Knoblockand Dr. Pedro Szekelyin the Center on Knowledge Graphs team. I worked on the bridge of machine learning and web semantics on the information integration tool called “Karma.” The professors were truly motivating and they encouraged me to conduct individual research with weekly meetings to get their insights.

What are some achievements or exciting moments from your time so far at ISI?

We were able to develop the machine learning framework for semantic labeling prediction during my time at ISI and it involved a lot of research efforts and trial and errors. This entire process taught me that no result is a failed result — even if sometimes the results aren’t as expected, they are still valuable in the sense that you know what you don’t want to do in the future. If you just keep trying different things, eventually you will reach your goal.

Beyond your work and research, what are things you enjoy to do on campus or around L.A.?

I used to love roaming around the USC campus with a Starbucks coffee in my hand. I have spent afternoons at the Leavey Library and evenings on the steps outside the Bovard auditorium. I loved the vibe present on the university campus — students walking around, going about their day, statues and sculptures speaking their stories. Apart from campus tours, I used to rent a car and visit all the scenic beaches in and around L.A. and Saturdays were well spent at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

What are your future plans, both in the short and long term?

I am a data science enthusiast working at Goldman Sachs in the surveillance analytics department. The world is moving towards big data and I believe that there’s still a lot left unexplored. Being entranced by the interconnection between big data, machine learning, and deep learning and their applications in AI, I yearn to diversify my knowledge and contribute to research in this field.

Yifei Chen
MS in Communication Data Science

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? ?

I grew up in Beijing, China. I went to Zhejiang University, in the southern part of China. Beijing is the capital of China, and most students in Beijing end up going to school there because there are tons of universities there. But I wanted to live in a different place for a couple of years. So I went to Zhejiang University, and my major was purely engineering — it was called systems engineering and automation. That was a lot of different, there were more engineering subdomains. In my major, there's some software engineering, but also hardware engineering. It was pretty cool. It gave me a broader view of things instead of being really focused and being a purely computer science student. When I was choosing my major, one of my goals was to try to be as inclusive as possible, because when I was choosing, I didn't really have an idea of what I wanted to do in the end. So that kind of gave me a good foundation.

What drew you to USC and the communication data science program?

This is actually my second masters program! I came to USC in 2017 for another program in Annenberg called communication management. At that time — as I said, I did engineering an undergrad — and it turned out I can do engineering, it's okay for me, but I'm more interested in things that have more to do with people. I find myself to be a people person, and I love storytelling. I love to go around the world and see how things work. I hoped that the work I would be doing would have a more direct impact on end users, and really have an influence on what people do and how they think about the world. So that is why I wanted to do communication in the beginning.

I ended up in a couple of internships in marketing, PR, at some great agencies like Edelman, and some startups. I was doing social media marketing for them. That was fun, and I enjoyed that. I also wanted to go abroad for my graduate studies, so that's kind of why I chose USC in the end. USC has the best — not to brag, but literally the best communication school in the world. And I thought that would be a great start, to build up a better foundation in the field of communication. I know that USC has a strong alumni network, and I love how united we are as Trojans. I think I was surprised to see so many other graduates from USC to be working in great positions, and also they are just super nice and super helpful. They'd be so responsive to you, and really helpful.

I just think that communication data science is a great combination of two fields. We're still a very young program, but it's a great effort in trying to bring these two fields together. I've heard people in product marketing, or growth, that they are pretty interested to know that there's such a program, and are interested in talking to the students from this program.

In terms of how the program is constructed, you can take courses from Annenberg, and you can take courses from the Viterbi, which has very practical courses like machine learning, data mining, data visualization. There are many students taking classes from the data science school that have a very diverse background. Many of them are data science students, but they are also computer science students. They think the machine learning courses from their own schools are too theory-focused or too mathematical, and they want to focus more on the application side of things, they would come to choose courses from the data science school. I think it's just super cool to have the access to courses in both the hardcore data science techniques, but with an eye into how it really applies in the real world. And also access to courses that have more user-driven--like there are user interface courses, user experience courses, taught by top-notch professors.

What are your future plans in both the short term and long term?

In the short term I'm going to join Facebook as a data scientist next year. Long term, I wish I had a clearer path for myself right now, but unfortunately, I think I'm still very open to things I could do. So now I'm taking a data science job, but I think that's also what my program, communication data science, is doing, right? It's bridging between the entire engineering world and data science world, with the communication world. I think like a data scientist, it's important to understand not only the numbers, but what people are actually thinking in their head, and understanding their behavior. In the long term, I'm going to do work that still uses data science as a tool, but leaning more towards the strategy side of things, maybe even user research. I'm just trying to be open.

Any particular classes or professors at USC that really shaped your experience?

I think USC has a pool of great professors. I think I've met some really cool people. There's one professor, his name is Dmitri Williams, he is faculty at the Annenberg school. I took a class of his in video games. He's just the ideal professor who has the expertise across the academic side, the industry side, and he also has his own company doing data science for game companies, and that's super cool. Entrepreneurship is a different thing from working at a company or being a faculty. There are also professors who taught me more on the academic side. I'm in a lab with Dr. Emilio Ferrara. He's a researcher at the Information Science Institute. He has done a lot of cool research on misinformation and disinformation in social media. He has this lab with a lot of Ph.D. and some master’s students. I've been in his lab for a year. It's super awesome to see what they're doing. They look at some topics like how social media is shaping people’s minds, and how to use data science to model or understand that. I think that's super cool. This semester, they are doing a series of projects studying how misinformation dissemination through social media, or political dynamics in general, is evolving related to the election.

During your time at USC, what were you interested in outside of the classroom?

I'm an active member of an organization called Lean In USC, which is the USC chapter of the global organization Lean In Circles that was co-founded by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Her book, "Lean In," is about how, as females, we can really lean into our potential and be successful, both personally and professionally. That's kind of what our organization wants to do. I am the VP of Operations of the club — until this semester, I was the only grad student on the executive board. It's cool, both in terms of what we're doing, and the people I'm working with. We are trying to build a community within USC — we have members from undergrad, from grad, PhD students. We have students from different majors. It's a diverse group of people. We run some programs to try to connect students to professionals in the industry and we have a year-long mentorship program called Mentor Her, and all of the mentors are awesome, very successful in their own careers, that range from entrepreneurship to professors. They're all very passionate and inspiring role models for young females. We also do different events and panels for successful women to come to campus and talk to our members. They share advice on not only to be successful in your career but also your personal life, like how do you deal with your mental health? How do you brand yourself? Those are very different topics. The people I'm working with — all of us are young, and we're ambitious. We run our student org less like a student org, and more like a start-up. Everyone is trying to wear different hats, and we collaborate strongly with each other. Working as VP of Operations, it's a lot of work, there's a lot of different things I have to handle. Looking back at my whole year working here, it's been a very fun ride.

What's some advice you would give to incoming students?

Try to network as much as possible. It really works. Annenberg is a super talkative school. We value people so much. Especially if you are working in LA, there's a high chance you're going to meet other alum from USC. Use that strong advantage — relationships really matter in the long term, in a good way.

Kartik Lakhotia
MS in Computer Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Best place I've been to is Phi-phi island. It's a thin strip of land with mountains, a jungle (sort of) and white sand turquoise water beaches. Extremely laid back and great Thai food.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Finishing the PhD would be a great accomplishment (hopefully happens in Fall 21). Two-three years down the lane, I felt stuck and couldn't generate new ideas to work upon. I almost quit the PhD, but my wife insisted that I continue and create a broader perspective. Thereafter, I published a few papers, two of them being in one of the highly sought after Computer Science conferences. Those two papers were great achievements given where I was coming from.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Car - I bought a Passat Diesel premium in a day. Went to dealerships, test drove some cars and got turned down on the car I actually set out to buy. Got a phone call in the evening about some deal on this other car and bought it the next morning. It turned out to be good because you get renewable diesel in California which aligns with my environmental friendly goals (still try to take public transport as much as possible).

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it

I work on parallel algorithms for graphs that model relationships in data. The algorithms I develop make it feasible to mine useful information from these abstract structures in a reasonable time. Recently, I have worked on some notorious analytics that are very difficult to parallelize. Finding new insights in them and coming up with these ideas that nobody else thought of really excites me. I also love to work on parallel computing platforms and am really amazed by how large-scale systems are built on top of them. Those are some really complex hardware+software collaborations.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

My pick for an alternate profession would be a Forest Officer in India - love outdoors, love forests andtropical forests have a lot of animal biodiversity

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I was a hardware engineer and wanted to move up the computing stack - more towards algorithms or high-level optimization. My advisor works on this mix of FPGA (hardware) + high-level optimization techniques which was quite a fit. Although in the end, I did not do any FPGA stuff in my PhD.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I love California and absolutely love Los Angeles. Three must go places for me would be Venice beach (it's a really cool and hip place), Joshua Tree national park (best night sky I've ever seen in my life) and Idyllwild (mountains, snow, hiking, skiing, small bistros, what more does one want).

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I will certainly remember my Teaching Assistantship under Prof. Puvvada Gandhi. He works really hard for his course and expects you to do the same. Initially, it can feel like way more work than fellow TAs, but the response from him and from the students in the class is extremely rewarding. I actually used to look forward to my TA work as a source of joy.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

My love for adventure activities would surprise anyone who knows me. I am a really easy person to scare. I shout and scream when watching a horror movie or when on a(mini) roller coaster, at times to the great embarrassment of my wife. But I still love doing all of that. I mean I regret immediately once I am in that situation, but before that I really want to give it a shot. That, and tattoo :P

What are your plans after graduation?

Not much to be honest. Taking a couple of weeks break to help with my wife's residency applications and then I will be joining Intel labs. I plan to go home soon, my dog back in my hometown is growing old and I want to spend some time with her.

Hometown (city, country)

Sumerpur in Pali district, India.

Personal Website (if any)

https://kartiklakhotia.wixsite.com/mysite

Faculty Advisor

Academic Advisor - Diane Demetras
Thesis Advisor - Viktor Prasanna

Ragib Ahsan
MS in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

If you are not having fun doing what you do for your research, pursuing a PhD is a terrible idea.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I feel that I have improved my ability to think critically about any given problem or issue, be that research-related, anything personal, or about life in general. I think I will cherish this as a great accomplishment.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I bought an electric scooter for no reason!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

The short answer would be that I work on semiconductor device physics. I study the interesting properties of semiconductor devices and then try to find a way to use them for technologically interesting applications. To name a few projects, I work on electron cathodes, photoelectrochemical cathodes, and lately, we have been working on making artificial neurons for brain-inspired computing architectures. Rather than just making guesses about what might happen if we were to try something new, we make things happen and that is what excites me most about my research.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I have never given this a proper thought. I guess I could probably be a good teacher.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I felt that my advisor and I have a similar way of thinking about research problems. And he made it clear to me that I will be a welcome addition to his group. I would say that it was the most important reason why I came to USC for PhD. In addition to that, I love city life and Los Angeles is a pretty exciting city to live in.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I have not visited a lot of places here in California. My picks would be Sequoia national park for the natural beauty, beaches of Santa Barbara for serenity, and Hollywood walk of fame for the street performances.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

My advisor came to our office with a big smile and told me that my paper got accepted in Nature Photonics. That's one hell of a happy memory.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I can talk all day long about anything and everything with anybody and everybody!

What are your plans after graduation?

Doing something I would love to work on. Haven't been able to figure out what that might be just yet.

Hometown (city, country)

I am from Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Personal Website (if any)

Don't have any.

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Rehan Kapadia

Jeffrey Santoso
PhDin Biomedical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Don’t romanticize overworking and don’t confuse working hard with overloading.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I find research mentorship very rewarding, so I take a lot of pride in working with undergraduate and high school students in our lab. I consider my greatest accomplishments to be working with them to build strong research foundations for the successful pursuit of graduate or professional studies.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Waffle iron.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it

Neuromyopathies result in the death of motor neurons responsible for muscle movement, leading to muscle atrophy and eventual death. Due to the immaturity of traditional laboratory models, understanding disease pathology is hindered and developing therapeutics is slow and expensive. By combining advancements in stem cell culture, micro-fabrication, and next generation sequencing, my research involves probing the degeneration of the neuromuscular junction in engineered systems, paving the way for neuromuscular disease modeling on a chip.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Some kind of teaching position, or escalator installation and repair.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

It’s hard to beat the combination of stability of weather, diversity of food and culture, and variety of recreational activities available within a short trip throughout southern California.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Howlin’ Rays in Chinatown for Nashville hot chicken; The Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino; Angel City Brewery in the Arts District

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Going to the UCLA @ USC basketball game with my colleagues and watching Lonzo Ball miss two free throws in a row in the second half, winning everyone in Galen Center free Chik-Fil-A sandwiches.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I don’t enjoy sleeping in.

What are your plans after graduation?

Postdoctoral studies. I am especially interested in the role of immune system components in engineered tissues and the development and market translation of edible, renewable, and (most importantly) good-tasting cultured meats.

Hometown (city, country)

Diamond Bar, CA, USA

Personal Website (if any)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwsantoso/

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Megan L. McCain, Department of Biomedical Engineering

Sumedh Anand
MS in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The best piece of advice about research (and life in general) I got was actually from a close friend and fellow Ph.D. student (quite a lot older than me) who I met at USC. He said - whenever you're about to jump to a conclusion, step back and take a breath. Think again. And again if needed, until you're sure of what you're about to say. It pays to be right, not fast.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Doing research during the pandemic haha! Jokes aside, I think my greatest accomplishment is teaching myself to be excited about receiving criticism, no matter how scathing it is. I think most of us fear being told about our shortcomings, and understandably so - it's painful to hear your lacunae! But one of my collaborators once told me, well-thought-out criticism is gold. If someone offers you intelligent criticism, it's because they care! So accept it and learn from it.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I had been wanting to record my voice in addition to the guitar in my home "studio" (it's really just my desk haha) and I bought a rather expensive, but fantastic compression microphone. I'm really enjoying the process of recording, and I'm using the mic as a feedback mechanism to figure out how I can improve my voice. :)

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it

I work on trying to build robots that exhibit innate curiosity about their world. Recently, we developed a method by which robots can exhibit scientific curiosity about their world and perform experiments to figure out the physics of their world. Mimicking how we think is so exciting! Besides, if robots can be scientists, then I can take all the "power naps" I want at work!

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I really wanted to be a musician when I was in high school (I wasn't good enough to make a living). But if I could do it all over again, I think I'd be a History teacher. I loved the subject growing up and I enjoy reading and telling stories.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The biggest factor when picking USC was that I was offered the Annenberg fellowship here - which meant that I could essentially explore all I wanted during the first year of my Ph.D. I started my Ph.D. straight out of undergrad, and so while I thought I knew what I wanted to study (I really had no idea haha), I spent the first year taking courses in EE and CS. I also met many extremely intelligent and wonderful professors in not just EE and CS, but also the School of Education and Psychology! This helped me develop a sense of what it was that made me curious. I think another factor is the diversity of problems people are working on! There's a ton of interdisciplinary research happening here.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Kogi Taqueria in Culver City has the most mind-blowing Mexican-Korean fusion food! After, you might want to nurse your food baby on the beaches here - Redondo and Hermosa are my favorite. Some exercise to work off those calories might be a good idea - head over to the Millard Canyon Falls in Altadena for a hike! :)

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

A quiet dinner with friends after a long hard semester. I think those moments of peace are rare and wonderful.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I make a mean Chicken Tikka Masala. I grew up in a vegetarian household but I think I've caught on pretty quickly. :)

What are your plans after graduation?

I came to USC very sure that I was going to graduate ASAP and go into the industry. But the longer I spend in academia, the more I'm warming up to the idea of being a Professor. I enjoy teaching and mentoring my students. I also find that being a professor is like running a startup - with the added advantage of having the best minds in the world working with you to execute your vision. So I'm leaning towards trying to stay in academia.

Hometown (city, country)

I'm from Pune, India but I moved around a lot while growing up. I've lived in 7 different cities throughout my life - Jaipur, New Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Nashik, all in India and Charleston, SC, and currently LA.

Personal Website (if any)

https://sumedh7.github.io/

Faculty Advisor:

I'm extremely fortunate to be advised by Prof Laurent Itti. He's the smartest and most unassuming person I've ever met.

Mahammad Valiyev
PhD in Petroleum Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

It is hard to pick the single best one. Probably, the following one: whatever the situationis, maintain your confidence and values.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Ability to walk away from lucrative and lower-risk industry jobs that I have been offered,to pursue a much riskier plan that involved extensive self-study and studying for a not-so-desired MSc degree with the aim to eventually get admitted into a top PhD program in the US and making this plan actually, work.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Probably, the fitness tracker watch. By the way, with the availability of so many great products and very fast deliveries, it is really hard to resist impulse buying in the US.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it

I currently work on two projects: the first one is about the development of new model calibration workflows using deep learning and the second one is on developing predictive models for hydraulic fracturing operations using again machine/deep learning models. I would say there are several aspects to my research projects that make them exciting. Model calibration research is exciting because it is a general problem, that spans many fields, not just being limited to petroleum engineering, whereas hydraulic fracturing project is cool because it is one of the most widely used methods for optimizing oil and gas development in the North America. Therefore, they are both high-impact and relatively easier to justify research projects which do matter, and these features make them very exciting. Also, the fact that we address those problems with modern deep/machine learning algorithms makes them even more fun to work on, since I enjoy statistics/probability, coding, and being on the cutting edge.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

If exclude engineering and computer science, I’d again go for highly quantitative majors such as applied math or economics.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

My research advisor, reputation of university and program, the location and weather.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Since I have arrived in the US just 2 months ago, I have not been able to go outside of LA, therefore I would stick to LA for my recommendations. The first thing I did just after settling down after my arrival to LA, was to go Hollywood walk of fame. Maybe I am somewhat biased, but I think it is a landmark, cultural icon, thus a top attraction in LA. Then, probably, it would be nice to visit Universal studios and one of the many cool beaches. Generally, LA and California have something to offer for everyone!

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Considering that I am just in my 2nd semester, I think most of the memories to be cherished are still waiting for me!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Maybe the fact that I am not a fan of dogs. It is not like I do not like them, I am just indifferent.

What are your plans after graduation?

To work in industry as a Research/Applied Scientist.

Hometown (city, country)

Baku, Azerbaijan

Personal Website (if any)

No, but I can share my linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahammadvaliyev1/ and
facebook profiles https://www.facebook.com/mahammad.valiyev1/

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Behnam Jafarpour

Johnny Wei
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

One of my best friends told me "some friends you have to carry" and that really stuck with me. I'm not sure what the takeaway is - people have issues? You have to be there for others? For me, I think it means that when I'm dealing with people, I have the responsibility to do the right thing.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My most recent paper! My advisor and I applied statistics to explain an unintuitive phenomenon. I hope a "greatest" accomplishment comes again soon enough.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I haven't impulsively bought anything recently. I did impulsively give away my second bike to my brother recently.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it

I'm interested in methods for adaptive data collection. So, how can we best collect data to complement our machine learning algorithms? I studied statistics in my undergraduate, and I think there will be statistical solutions here, and that those methods will be impactful for a long time.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would go chase UFOs.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I was in rural Massachusetts for a long time, and I wanted to be in a city. My advisor is great too!

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I recommend biking along the LA river from Vernon to Long beach, at least once. I would also recommend going to radio hill gardens, because it is not easily accessible by car. I would also recommend going to the culver city stairs

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

In my two years here so far, I really liked the calisthenics parks on campus (one near Parkside, one near Leavey, and one in the track, in descending order of preference). I even made a really good friend there!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

In my everyday life, some people are surprised that I can speak Chinese fluently. I also can write with both hands, because I had to learn when our family moved to China when I was 8.

What are your plans after graduation?

I don't know.

Hometown (city, country)

Amherst, Massachusetts.

Personal Website (if any)

https://johntzwei.github.io/

Faculty Advisor:

Robin Jia.

Parisa Pouya
PhD in Astronautical Engineering/Systems Architecting Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Never give up and just keep going and exploring until things start working for you!

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I worked as an intern for General Motors company in 2020 and I was able to successfully demonstrate my research abilities and skills, which resulted in an ongoing collaboration between me and the research team at GM. As a PhD candidate who works on autonomous vehicles and their applications, it's always been my dream to join this industry in the future and I would consider my ongoing collaboration with GM as one of my biggest achievements.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

3 pairs of colorful leggings for workout! The leggings (mostly the colors) really motivate me to workout. This has been really helpful in terms of both physical and mental health

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research focuses on developing models and techniques for real-time planning and control of autonomous systems (e.g. quadcopters and autonomous vehicles) that operate in uncertain and noisy environments. Being able to develop models and techniques from scratch, experimenting with these models on real systems, and getting to see that the techniques and models actually work on real systems is what excites me about my research!

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Probably a dentist!

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

USC is well-known for its diversity, which makes it a great school for international students! In addition, the school's engineering programs/departments are always ranked high not only in the country, but also in the world. Finally, most of the professors at USC support their students with research and/or teaching assistantship funds.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

1- Balboa island in NewPort Beach (California)

2- Hiking places in Bay area and San Francisco (Fort Funston in Bay Area and Land's End trail in SF)

3- Griffith observatory

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Celebrating Persian new year with friends at the Electrical Eng. department

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I am very adventurous and love any kind of (positive) activity that boosts Adrenaline.. For instance, I love hiking in the dark, riding motor bikes, riding roller coasters, etc.

What are your plans after graduation?

I am planning to join the industry, especially the automotive industry and my plan is to become a technical manager as soon as possible!

Hometown (city, country):

Oroumieh (or Urmia), Iran

Personal Website (if any):

https://www.linkedin.com/in/parisa-pouya-b434b4144

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Azad M. Madni (Astronautical Eng. Department)

Duy-Tan Pham
MS in Biomedical Engineering (Neuroengineering)

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Struggle is not a sign of inadequacy or failure, but an opportunity to learn and improve yourself.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Not getting COVID-19.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Oculus Quest 2... It disguises exercise in the form of video games xD. I recommend the game Thrill of the Fight if you're trying to get your sweat on!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I work in Dr. Theodore W. Berger's Center for Neural Engineering (CNE) lab. My research involves developing input-output computational models of neural systems which will be used to bridge hierarchical gaps that are inherently found in multi- and large- scale simulations of the brain. This research excites me because it has potential in improving our understanding of how micro-level changes (e.g., molecular) in neurobiology might propagate up the hierarchical chain and cause changes in high-level observables (e.g., cognition). This has implications in discovering neurological therapeutics using in silico experimentation. Moreover, input-output modeling has great value in developing brain-machine interfaces and neuro-prostheses (as demonstrated in the CNE's hippocampal prosthetic) as it can be used to create biomimetic devices that can reproduce the spatio-temporal input-output transformations of neuronal firing patterns in certain regions in the brain. I believe that these neurotechnologies will emerge quickly in the near-future, and they will have profound impact in shaping the quality of our lives.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Psychology. I think studying the human mind is an endless source of fascination.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

There are two big factors. The first is finding a subject that you enjoy studying that is offered by one of the labs. You're most likely going to be dedicating several years of your life to that one subject, so you better actually enjoy it! Luckily, I already had interest in neural engineering so it was natural for me to gravitate toward the Center for Neural Engineering at USC. The second factor is finding faculty that you get along well with. Again, they will most likely be advising you for several years, so it's a good idea to have someone you meld well with as your advisor. I was fortunate enough to start my graduate studies as a Master's student and work with a professor to test the waters. I enjoyed collaborating with him and he is now my Ph.D. advisor.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

1) Little Tokyo/Arts District - Lots of great Japanese restaurants (Pasta e pasta, Sushi Gen, Tea Master Matcha Shop) and other unique places like: Wurstkuche (exotic meat sausages!), Salt & Straw (great and unique ice cream flavors), and Angel City Brewery (fun to hang out). Little Tokyo also has a lot of cool Japanese shops.

2) The Getty - Giant museum to see A LOT of different things.

3) Echo Park - Scenic park that has a lake in the middle. Fun to walk around and you can also rent swan boats to pedal around in the lake. There's also a ton of good food options nearby on Sunset Blvd!

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Drinking cold ones with strangers at USC tailgates where the only commonalities are wearing red and shouting "Fight On!" while holding the peace symbol.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I'm kind of high ranked in FPS games. Supreme Master First Class in CS:GO, Master's in Overwatch, Diamond in Valorant. Come 1v1 me ;)

What are your plans after graduation?

I want to work at a neurotechnology company that develops brain-machine interfaces. Oh and get a dog.

Hometown (city, country):

Henderson, Nevada

Personal Website (if any):

https://sites.google.com/usc.edu/duytanph

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Jean-Marie Bouteiller

Timothy Greer
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

My mother once told me, “Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Your actions become habits, which defines your character. Your character becomes your destiny.” That stuck with me: I believe our inner thoughts are reflected in who we are and what we do. Having a good mindset is supremely important!

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I was very fortunate to have my research at USC covered by news sources from all over the globe. Some research that I worked on a few years ago was featured in the New York Times; it was surreal to see my team’s work on studying beatboxing highlighted by such a prestigious institution!

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I recently bought a hula hoop to see how quickly I could learn it (I never could get the hang of it in elementary school). It’s so much more difficult than I thought it would be! After several frustrating hours and YouTube tutorials, I can now waist hoop; and I’ve found it’s a fun and healthy study break!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I study music perception through application machine learning principles. This area of research is so exciting to me because it combines two traditionally disparate fields of study--music and engineering--both of which I love! With our increasing access to music and the lower barriers of entry for music creators, it has never been more important to understand how music affects us. I’m very fortunate to be working on such an interesting (and challenging) problem!

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would choose professional musician! I have been playing gigs since I was 14 years old, and I’ve made it a point to continue practicing during graduate school. Los Angeles attracts talented musicians from all over the world, so I’ve been constantly inspired to improve my craft as well. In my spare time, I make indie pop music in a band called Saticöy, so it’s safe to say music is a huge part of my life!

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I came to Los Angeles to visit USC for a weekend in the dead of winter. In that weekend, I attended a jazz show with my future advisor, played volleyball on the beach with friends, and enjoyed street tacos near USC’s campus. Because I had come from Boston to visit, I was blown away by the sheer number of activities that Angelenos could enjoy year-round. I was also impressed by the rich diversity of Los Angeles. From a few days visiting, not only did I get the sense that USC was a terrific fit for me; I also knew that LA would be a great city to spend my graduate school years.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

1. Revolutionario Tacos on Jefferson (recently moved to 4th and Van Ness). Owners Chef Zadi and his wife Susan are modern-day saints and Zadi’s merguez is to die for.
2. Museum of Jurassic Technology. The weirdest museum you’ll probably ever go to. As strange as it is, people have their weddings at this museum all the time. I won’t spoil anything for you though! You’ll have to go so you can see for yourself.
3. Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine in Malibu. This may seem hippy-dippy, but this place always relaxes and distresses me. The shrine was built by a prominent yogi in the early 50s, and it still attracts people from all over the world today. There’s a nice hike nearby called the Los Leones Trail, too!

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I’ll certainly cherish the friends that I’ve made along the journey. My first conference was extremely memorable for me: I was given the privilege of speaking in the auditorium where Nobel Laureates give their acceptance speeches, and I got the chance to network with other researchers in my field and meet many people whom I now consider family!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I play on USC’s club water polo team, and in the off-seasons I play with a Masters team based out of West Hollywood. Both teams are incredibly talented--USC’s club earned second place at Nationals in 2019 and WeHo’s team has won international tournaments--and wonderful support systems!

What are your plans after graduation?

My plans after graduation are simple: continue conducting research that I love conducting! Larger companies such as Spotify, Apple, and Pandora are appealing to me because of their music research groups. However, I’m not ruling out the possibility of joining a start-up that is working in similar domains.

Hometown (city, country):

Philadelphia, PA

Personal Website (if any):

https://sites.google.com/site/timgreersportfolio/

Faculty Advisor:

Shrikanth Narayanan

Abdul Qadeer
PhD in Distributed Systems

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The process of doing novel research has its specific character.Many of the incoming Ph.D. students are unaware of this process and at times no one tells us about it except leaving us to experience it head-first. Uri Alon brilliantly explained the nature and character of producing novel research in his famous Ted Talk: Why science demands a leap into the unknown (https://www.ted.com/talks/uri_alon_why_science_demands_a_leap_into_the_unknown/transcript?language=en)

Uri's advice helped me a great deal to go through research challenges and to face them with the right mindset.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My Ph.D. advisor taught me how to identify a good problem

to work on, and how to attack a problem to find possible solutions. I feel empowered because the problem-solving toolsets that we learn during our Ph.D. are also helpful in navigating the world better, and appreciating the subtle complexities of everyday problems. This new way of thinking is one of the big achievements for me.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Fortunately (or unfortunately) many Ph.D. students don't afford impulsive purchases.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research enables multiple teams of an organization to collaboratively solve bigdata problems where our system first provides a shared canvas for easy collaboration (without the need for team members to be present simultaneously), and then automatically finding duplicate processing and data production across all users. Our system removes all such duplicates, runs processing once, but gives end users an illusion as if they have their separate data. Our system also provides multiple processing abstractions that collectively enable end-users to develop a broad range of applications within a single framework. Collectively we save an organization a lot of compute and person-hours and to do more with less. (See my dissertation at: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/digital/collection/p15799coll89/id/434881/rec/5). When I look back it excites me that how far our research has come and our software (Plumb framework) is now in production use for USC/ISI's B-Root DNS post-processing analytics.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I might be a National Park Ranger and wandering in the wilderness and appreciating the natural beauty.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Earlier I did my Masters from USC and did directed research with my current advisor (Prof. John Heidemann). When I decided to go for a Ph.D. it was an easy decision for me to go to USC due to my earlier connections and research experience.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

(1) Scenic route along Tioga Road, stop by (or swim) in Tenaya Lake

(2) Mist Falls hike at Kings Canyon National Park (its 8 miles round trip hike) Your pay off is when you reach the mist falls

(3) Los Leons trail in Pacific Palisades and then breakfast at Malibu Farm Cafe.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I spent seven magical years here and there are so many great memories and friends made here. I will miss the USC environment.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

There are very few full-nighters that I had to pull during my

tenure here as a Ph.D. student. It is a common belief that Ph.D. students need to put in as many working hours as possible, even sacrificing sleep and health. I firmly believe that a good night's sleep every day is crucial to get you going for the long run.

What are your plans after graduation?

I just graduated (May 2021). I am joining an EdTech startup (Educative Inc).

Hometown (city, country):

Lahore, Pakistan

Personal Website (if any):

https://www.linkedin.com/in/abdul-qadeer-15aab613/

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. John S. Heidemann

Thomas Choi
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The best advice I received was not to compare myself with other people. It is easy to feel disappointed or frustrated with yourself during your PhD; your paper with a lot of effort can be rejected, rival groups may publish a better paper with a lot of citations than your paper, students who came after you might graduate faster than you, or you can feel lonely or behind in life when comparing with your friends in the workforce with high salaries. However, PhD is a rare and valuable opportunity when you can truly explore open problems which have not been addressed yet, under an advisor with extreme wealths of knowledge and experiences. While it is difficult to do so, I now try to enjoy the "process" of research as best I can, instead of focusing too much on end results - which actually improved both my everyday research quality and life quality.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I would like to think my greatest research accomplishment is still yet to come. From a career perspective, while I was never a full-time employee, I had privileges to intern in three different workplaces: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, SpaceX, and Facebook. I take pride in that my research topic is pragmatic, and I hope my research can also see its practical use in the future.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I wouldn't call it an impulse "purchase", but adopting my puppy Noir from a shelter was the best decision I have made during COVID days.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is focused on antenna deployment strategies for future wireless communications. Basically, I try to study if there are any benefits to modifying the current base station systems from being centralized (on cell towers) to distributed, experimentally. I get to design cool antenna systems and fly the drone around the campus running measurements - what else can be more fun than that?

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Probably a statistician in the field of sports statistics.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I did my undergraduate in electrical engineering at USC, and went to Georgia Tech to pursue a PhD degree in aerospace engineering. By my second year, I knew aerospace engineering was not a good fit for me, and also wanted to come back to Los Angeles to end the long distance relationship with my fiancé (girlfriend at the time). So USC was an obvious (and only) choice.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

a) Drive Sunset Blvd from downtown LA all the way to Santa Monica - you can see different parts of LA like Silver Lake, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, etc.

b) Watch sports games at Dodgers Stadium/Staples Center/Coliseum! No need to watch UCLA Bruins though.

c) Ride bikes from Fisherman's Wharf across Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito in San Francisco.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Playing intramural soccer with my lab members was very fun.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I was born in Moscow, Idaho.

What are your plans after graduation?

I would like to pursue my career in industry; I am especially interested in startup opportunities.

Hometown (city, country):

Daejeon, Korea

Personal Website (if any):

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaschoi6/

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Nf-oT6IAAAAJ&hl=en

Faculty Advisor:

Andreas F. Molisch

Hefei Liu
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Care more about self-evaluation than others’ thoughts.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Raised a fund to help the stuff of my dormitory upgrade their facilities during my undergraduate.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Noise-cancelling headsets. They saved my ears from the noise in my lab.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I’m working on novel nanofabrication techniques of 2D materials, like graphene. 2D materials have a lot of unique properties so that we can process them like playing paper folding. To create microscopic patterns like folding, rolling and wrinkling structures with novel functions is very intriguing to me.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Actor. I think being an actor may allow me to experience “others’ lives”.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Mainly the research topic. Also, school ranking, food, salary, weather…

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Restaurants in LA, Chinese, Peruvian, Ethiopian, and so on, all authentic.
Yosemite national park. I love the waterfall there.
Santa Monica beach, beautiful sunset

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

All members of my group attended a research festival held by the EE department. We worked together designing the poster and introduced our research projects to others. I also learned a lot of interesting ideas from others’ poster.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I started learning how to play the saxophone since last year, as a complete beginner. Currently I practice the saxophone at least one hour every day IN MY OFFICE, because the instrument is so loud that would bother my roommates. I play with it in my office at night when all my labmates have left.

What are your plans after graduation?

I would like to continue my research life, and will apply for a postdoc position.

Hometown (city, country):

Harbin, China

Personal Website (if any):

I don’t have a personal website, only google scholar.

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Han Wang at the EE department

Bryon Tjanaka
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

I was once told to never self-reject myself, whether it is applying for a job, grad school, etc. Whenever I think I might not be "good enough" for something, I realize that that is not for me to decide. Rather, my job is to present the best version of myself and let someone else decide whether I am suitable.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I don't think I have a good response to this question!

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Prescription sunglasses. For the first time, I can put on my own sunglasses instead of wearing other sunglasses over my current glasses.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I research quality diversity (QD) algorithms and their applications to robotics. QD is a relatively new class of algorithms which seek to find many good solutions to a problem, rather than just one. I find QD exciting because it is often important to know how to do something in more than one way. For instance, a robot should know how to work with many kinds of humans, not just one human.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would likely be a bartender, whipping up intoxicating drinks while dispensing sage advice.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I chose USC primarily for its vibrant robotics program. We have a dozen or so professors in robotics, so I was excited about the opportunities for learning and collaboration. Naturally, I also considered USC's prime location -- nothing beats Los Angeles weather!

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

First, since there are so many sights along it, I would recommend biking along Figueroa Street, starting down at Exposition Park and going all the way up to 1st street and eventually Union Station. Second, I would recommend The Grove -- the farmers market there has some great food! And finally, a visit to the Hollywood sign would give an inspiring view of LA.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I'll definitely cherish my visit day, as it was the first time I got to see USC and learn about life as a robotics PhD student here.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Many people are surprised when they find out my age; I guess I'm pretty young for a PhD student.

What are your plans after graduation?

Like many PhD students, I believe I will ultimately choose between becoming a professor and joining an industry lab. I used to think I wanted to become a professor, but more recently, I think I may be targeting industry. Who knows, maybe I'll switch a few more times over the next few years?

Hometown (city, country):

Santa Clara, California, USA

Personal Website (if any):

https://bryon.tjanaka.net

Faculty Advisor:

Stefanos Nikolaidis

Mingxuan Yue
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

"Think big but start with small." This works in many aspects. I developed a habit of running every morning because I told myself you just need to talk a short walk every day and enjoy the morning air.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I got married during my Ph.D. :)

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I bought a whiteboard during the time I worked remotely. Before buying it, I always believed I can rely on the notes on my phone and laptop to track my TODOs. But the fact was I never checked them. The whiteboard is super useful as it stands in front of my desk and it's hard to ignore it. I rely on it a lot to make plans and clear my mind when dealing with multiple and complex tasks.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is mainly about how do we use machine learning techniques on spatial and temporal data to mine knowledge and benefit real-world applications. An example is how to automatically label a human trajectory as behavior such as a work commute. My research mainly excited me because most of them came from real-world demand during my discussion with my collaborators in different domains.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

A novelist.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

- why Ph.D.: I felt it would be a unique experience in my life and it's hard to have another chance to experience it.

- why USC: I love the weather here :)

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

- If this is your first time visiting the U.S., Universal Studio is a must-go.

- San Diego Zoo and Seaworld are fun if you like animals.

- Arrowhead Lake is perfect for a casual weekend.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

The time when I lived with four nice roommates.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I'm graduating soon but I haven't got a chance to watch a football game at USC!

What are your plans after graduation?

I will join Google as a software engineer.

Hometown (city, country):

I was born in Shenyang, China. People living there are super funny and friendly.

Personal Website (if any):

http://www-scf.usc.edu/~mingxuay/

Faculty Advisor:

Cyrus Shahabi

Aleksei Petrenko
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Don't be intimidated into doing what everyone else is doing. There is unique value in being the weird person that you are.

Don't read top-50 "must-read" books of all time if you don't want to; read 50 books no one else had read. Talk to a person who is not popular and learn from them. Become really good at something no one else wants to deal with.

Another one. Define your 10-year goals and ask yourself: what can I do to achieve these goals in 6 months? I believe this one is from Peter Thiel.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Probably taking 2nd place in a Red Bull go-karting tournament against much more experienced racers. Seriously hope my greatest accomplishments are still in the future. Getting into a competitive PhD program and publishing at top conferences was hard and I am proud of it, but I consider these as steps towards bigger things.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I almost never do impulse purchases. Usually, I mean to buy something for a while before I finally go and get it.

From the recent purchases the best one would definitely be my red Dodge Challenger. I had so much joy with this car, it's hard to even compare it to other things. Best smiles per gallon ratio of anything I owned.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is on accelerating simulation and training in the context of reinforcement learning, as well as applying large-scale reinforcement learning to new domains.

Essentially we're doing our modest baby steps towards a great goal, the AGI. The goal is so big and daunting, and the steps are so tiny that it is sometimes hard to find motivation, but I believe advanced AI is a key to humanity's survival and success in the future.

Someone has to do this work now and this makes it meaningful for me.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would say the study of gerontology and radical life extension, but those are so intricately intertwined with computational biology that it is hard to consider them as being outside of computer science.

Other than that, it would be cool to be a racing driver or a pilot. Or perhaps a futurologist and a sci-fi writer.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

My advisor gave me almost complete freedom to choose research topics, so I could really focus on what interested me most. Also, access to resources, wonderful colleagues, and the unique climate & nature of California.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I love nature, so definitely explore lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Tuolumne Meadows, Big Bear. In LA, check out the cliffs of Palos Verdes and Abalone Cove Beach. Calspeed in Fontana is the best go-karting track in SoCal!

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Rooftop computer science PhD parties and the lab retreats were the best.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Hard to find a thing that would surprise everyone. I routinely work until 5 in the morning and then sleep late. 9am meetings ruin my day. But is it so unusual among PhD students?

What are your plans after graduation?

Sooner or later, I want to start a company to transform the world further with AI. Particularly interested in energy, productivity, biotech and life extension.

If I tell this to enough people I'd be embarrassed not to do it, which might motivate me to sacrifice the comfort of a corporate job.

Hit me up if you want to discuss ideas!

Hometown (city, country):

Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. 1.4M people, 300 miles east of Moscow.

Personal Website (if any):

http://alex-petrenko.github.io/ update long due

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Gaurav Sukhatme

Bowen Song
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Making a breakthrough in research is about keep going at it knock your head against that wall until the wall breaks.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My next goal.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A 2k Jura coffee machine. Worth every penny!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I study every aspect of cloud and distributed computing including the systems, networks and communications, security, privacy, etc. There’s a term in the cloud community called container orchestration, every part of the system working together to create a symphony. Working in this area, I get to orchestrate each part of the system so that it fits with the others like puzzle pieces. When you think about it, it is hauntingly beautiful. I love the feeling that an idea in my head becomes reality, much more so when the design joins all the disconnected parts together and creates a beautiful image.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

History. I love a good story. Every bit of it shapes the world we live in. (Too bad it doesn’t pay.)

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I love LA. I first visited LA back in 2012 with my best friend. I fell in love with the place ever since, and every time I visit I love it even more, the weather, the beaches, the flat city. Everything about LA is so lovable.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Santa Monica Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Huntington Park.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Talking with my prof. and my postdoc. Cherish + Enjoy + Love!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I run 6 - 10 miles per day. Plus, now that I moved back to the west coast in LA, no more rain/snow days!

What are your plans after graduation?

I don’t know. Surprise me world! I am confident I can handle anything thrown at me.

Personal Website (if any):

Nothing other than LinkedIn.

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Leana Golubchik

Abdullah Aljasmi
MS in Chemical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Do not stop research!

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment in life, is completing my PhD in chemical engineering at USC with a time period of 3 years.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My favorite impulse purchase over the past 12 months is my new car, that I was planning to purchase from 4 years ago.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

Advances in instrumentations, together with rapid increase in the speed of computations, have made it possible to begin simulation of multiphase flow in 2D and 3D images of heterogeneous porous media, hence avoiding altogether the assumption and approximations that are involved in the development of models of porous media. However, as image-based simulation of multiphase flow in heterogeneous porous media becomes more practical, one must still address the issue of its high computational cost. In this chapter we described a new methodology to address the issue, which is based on curve-let transforming the image and denoting it by removing those details of the image that do not contribute significantly to the simulation. The computations in the less noisy, and hence more coarsened images yield results that are as accurate as those in the original ones, but with a very high speedup factor. Thus, the methodology represents a significant step toward achieving the ultimate goal of such simulations, namely, making image-based simulation of multiphase flow in heterogeneous porous media a standard practice. What makes me excited about my research is its novelty. As it is a new methodology for efficient simulation, and I was very excited to discover new ideas and approaches to tackle one of the most challenging problems in my field of study.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I am really into legal law, so if I would choose another profession for sure I will go to the Law school.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

There are many factors that helped me to decide to pursue my PhD at USC. First, USC is considered one of the world class prestigious universities. In addition, it is located in one of the most wonderful places in the world, Los Angeles. Also, the staff and faculty members are very helpful supportive and knowledgeable.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Of course, Disney Land, Hollywood Universal studious and San Francisco golden gate bridge.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

My greatest memory is my wonderful time that I spent with my friends Saleh and Hatem and enjoying the hot coffee with them.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I have never went shopping, I buy all my stuff online!

What are your plans after graduation?

I have returned back to my home country, to join the Faculty at Kuwait University.

Hometown (city, country):

Zahraa, Kuwait

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Muhammad Sahimi

Jeffrey Asher
PhD in Astronautical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Before coming to USC I was working full-time at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. I
recall having just graduated from undergrad and being pulled into several working groups with
senior staff. I was usually quite shy in these meetings and rarely spoke up. One day one my
manager took me aside and told me “Jeff, you’re invited to these meetings because we want to
know what YOU think. You need to make sure your voice and opinions are heard.” I feel like I
really needed to hear that in that moment and really respected my manager for it. It’s
something I keep in mind.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I think once I finish this degree, I’ll consider it my greatest accomplishment, but until then, I’d
have to say my work designing and building a CubeSat during undergrad. The spacecraft was
called ELFIN, which stood for Electron Losses and Fields Investigation. I was the lead thermal
engineer and lead systems engineer. Working with the small team of students and faculty on
that project really gave me my start in the space industry. Working on that project got me my
job after undergrad, and I’m sure it helped with my application to USC. It was amazing to be
witness this spacecraft slowly come together over the years. The big culmination was when we
all drove up to watch it launch out of Vandenberg Air Force Base. As of today the spacecraft are
still healthy and providing critical scientific data.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I bought a DIY mechanical watch making kit. The funny part is that it was 100% a specifically
targeted Facebook advertisement that got me to buy it. I’m sure the advertiser was like: 20-
something, male, engineer? – CHECK. Anyways, I really enjoyed assembling it and its still one of
my favorite watches.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is investigating the plume dynamics of a new type of spacecraft electric propulsion. These thrusters are called ionic electrospray thrusters, and what makes them special is that they offer a small, low power, and clean means of propulsion. This enables small spacecraft, like CubeSats, to maneuver while on-orbit. The plume that these thrusters generate consists of complex molecular ions of varying sizes and composition. This technology has little flight heritage currently, but several companies are beginning to invest more into it which is exciting.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I’m assuming for this question that I’ll have to forego the space industry as well. In that case, I’ll say something like a board game designer. We are currently in a golden age of board games, and I think it would be fun to try and make a fun and interesting game. Maybe it can be space related?

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I’m local to Los Angeles, so pursuing my degree somewhere close to family was a big factor. I chose USC specifically due to its unique Astronautical Engineering Department. Most schools do not have a dedicated department for space. The thought of a department of coursework and expertise just dedicated to spacecraft engineering really excited me.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Yosemite National Park – I’m big into the outdoors and hiking and cannot recommend Yosemite enough. It is beautiful.
Griffith Observatory – A great place to hike, gaze out at the city, and learn some cool science!
Simply Pho Noodle House in Orange, CA – My fiancé and I love pho. We have sampled a lot across LA and both agree this place is the best. A close second is Pho Show in Culver City.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I will forever cherish the opportunity to present my final project to Buzz Aldrin. As part of my ASTE-527 final we had to pitch an innovative or disruptive concept for the future exploration of the Moon and Artemis missions. Little did I know that we would be having a special guest for the final! Being able to interact with such a meaningful figure in my career field is definitely something that will be with me for the rest of my life.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I’m an avid runner. I’ve trained for and competed in 3 marathons in: Chicago, Huntington Beach, and Washington, D.C. Running in the LA marathon is still on my list.

What are your plans after graduation?

After a long vacation, I plan to go back to full-time employment at my current job with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, supporting the US Space Force at LA Air Force Base. In addition, I hope to pursue opportunities for guest lecturing at USC within the ASTE department or other local colleges and universities.

Hometown (city, country):

Valencia, California, USA (just north of LA near Six Flags Magic Mountain)

Personal Website (if any):

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-asher-923497134/

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Joe Wang

Jonathan Wang
PhD in Biomedical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

I would say the best piece of advice given is that: there is never a “perfect” time to start reaching for a goal. It will always be fruitful to start consistent progress towards a target, instead of waiting for a “perfect” scenario. This shifted my mentality to accept difficult times and problems that arise, and recognize it is a normal part of life. The successful ones are the people that just don’t quit on their goals.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I would say a very recent one, which is obtaining my PhD. I am the first PhD student under my advisor, Professor Eun Ji Chung, so I started my project from scratch and followed it through until publications. I was able to switch from a mechanical engineering focused undergrad into a biomedical engineering topic while learning all new skills and scientific workflows. In the end, I won the “best research assistant in biomedical engineering” award from Viterbi, which demonstrated that my contributions to the lab were recognized by the whole department. It was a great feeling to have that recognition, and put the lab in a position for future success.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Not a very expensive one, but my girlfriend and I wanted to buy some Pokemon cards that were getting popular during COVID. We suddenly decided one weekend to look for them, and we went to 4-5 stores before finding them. A Target had them restricted behind the customer service desk, and we bought all three packs they had left that day.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research aims to use nanoparticles to treat disease, specifically a genetic condition called polycystic kidney disease. Nanomedicine in general was once very obscure in the eyes of the general public, but now it is reaching more widespread appeal due to the COVID vaccines being nanoparticles. I think many industry research and development roles are now realizing the potential of nanoparticle drug delivery platforms. During my time at USC, I saw the landscape of PKD treatment shift dramatically, which is so exciting to see that I work can directly impact patients receiving treatment in the future.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Ideally, (if money weren’t an issue, and I were talented enough), I would want to be on a professional urban dance team. The team I admire the most is called Kinjaz; they are based in Los Angeles so I would strive to make it as a member.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Definitely my advisor, and the energy she brought to all the research topics she presented on. The chance to directly head my own project was a huge draw, as I would be working on the chemistry, cell work, mice work, and all steps in between. It turned out to be true that I gained a huge breadth of skills for my target industry of biologics production.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I would recommend: The Grove/Farmers Market for upscale shopping, Little Tokyo for Asian food, and Santa Monica beaches.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I would say going on each of my academic conferences, particularly the year Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) trips. It would always be fun traveling with other lab members, and touring each new city.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I ride a motorcycle, and think it is one of the most thrilling/liberating feelings I can have.

What are your plans after graduation?

Working in the biologics and pharmaceuticals industry in California, I am currently interviewing with a couple companies.

Hometown (city, country):

San Jose, CA.

Personal Website (if any):

Not personal, but our lab website can be found here: https://chunglaboratory.com/

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Eun Ji Chung

Rimita Lahiri
PhD in Electrical

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Once my father told me, "Do your own work, what you are supposed to do, the rest will eventually fall in place, sometimes early, sometimes late, but it will definitely", this is something I strongly believe in.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My family was going through a financial crisis during my undergrad days, so coming out strong after that and continuing my education was my greatest accomplishment so far.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I got myself a pair of dumbbells for training during the pandemic.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research interests include deep learning and machine learning with applications in speech and language processing related tasks. Currently I work on developing solutions based on machine learning and deep learning algorithms for understanding human behavior in a better way. I work on creating computational systems for discovery and translation in Autism Spectrum Disorder, for doing my research I actually go through a lot of video segments of children with an ASD diagnosis and a clinician for analyzing those video sessions. In the process, I always end up getting to know different aspects of the communication difficulties associated with ASD and understand them.The kind of research I do actually helps me in understanding different human behavior and also develop empathy for humankind.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

It has to be something associated with food, may be a chef, I still want to start a restaurant someday.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Honestly, the research work carried out in the labs, the course and the exposure were definitely important factors, apart from that, southern California weather and obviously staying in LA was also a factor.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Santa Monica and possibly watching the sunset there, hiking to Griffith observatory and watching city lights, Santa Barbara.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Research festival in MHI, I got to know a lot of folks and their journey so far.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Initially it takes time, but once I am familiar, I usually talk a lot, not sure if that is enough surprising...:P

What are your plans after graduation?

I would like to continue working on diverse problems that can actually help the society to grow.

Hometown (city, country):

Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Faculty Advisor:

Shrikanth Narayanan

Wei-Cheng Wu
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Don't make big decisions because of someone else (like your girlfriend etc), cause you'll probably regret it.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

None. Stay hungry stay foolish.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I bought a LaunchPad! A whole new way to make music.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research focuses on computer security, specifically binary analysis. I think it is exciting as it really pushes us to think outside of the box. Companies or software developers always try to provide a perfect system, while hackers can always still find ways to comprise it. Then people will come out with new techniques to mitigate the vulnerabilities. As a security researcher, we must have the mindset of both sides and keep challenging the current technology.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I guess a guitarist. Although I feel like making music is also engineering in many ways

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I think the only factor is the research area. I am accepted to a lab that does research I am really interested in.
And I am still happy about the decision so far.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

(1) Dockweiler beach: You can have bonfire aside the beach
(2) OUE Skyspace LA: Must see, the DTLA night view
(3) Bike from Venice beach ~ Santa Monica

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I think it's a bit hard for me to answer this question at the current stage. Let me save this question till I graduate.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I practice Aikido.

What are your plans after graduation?

For career I definitely plan to work in a US Tech company for a while. Honestly no further plan for now (well who knows how the world will be like by then). I've always just prepared myself as best I can at anytime. When chances come, I will know what to do.

Hometown (city, country):

Taipei, Taiwan

Personal Website (if any):

https://steel.isi.edu/members/weicheng/

Faculty Advisor:

Jelena Mirkovic

Avijit Thawani
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Every year, pick up to five idols (living, dead, or fictional) and try to emulate them, e.g., reading books that they’d like or practicing skills that they possess. You’ll eventually get closer to their personality and aptitude.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

In my technical field, I’m yet to make an impact that I would like to boast about.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

An illustrated version of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” I otherwise prod through reading any fiction so it helped me appreciate the masterpiece without much effort.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I work on AI, particularly on text inputs such as when Google needs to answer a question by reading lots of documents on the internet. More specifically, I'm helping such text-reading systems get better at understanding numbers, say when counting, adding, comparing or approximately measuring quantities.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

A writer perhaps. I’ve written short stories and a sci-fi novel when I was in high school, and am writing another sci-fi short story these days.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

(1) A vast number of amazing faculty members relevant to my research area - as opposed to smaller niche research centers in case you later discover you’re interested in something else entirely (2) excellent location - I attended around a dozen top tier conferences only due to proximity to Los Angeles - all in the six months before the pandemic.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

(1) The Vista theatre which screen vintage masterpieces from time to time.
(2) The Dish hike near Stanford University.
(3) the road to northern California.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Lots more to make once school re-opens, but so far I’ve loved attending arbitrary events open to all students, whether it be a talk on Brexit, an industry connect session, a research talk, a festive celebration, or a halloween movie screening!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

While studying Computer Science and conducting research in machine learning in my undergrad, I spent two good years to learn to write and direct a short film. It was an amazing experience with a rewarding release - it has been watched over 60 thousand times last I checked.

What are your plans after graduation?

I intend to join either an industrial research lab or a technical startup where I can build real usable products related to my research expertise.

Hometown (city, country):

Lucknow, India

Personal Website (if any):

http://avi-jit.github.io/

Faculty Advisor:

Jay Pujara

Shariq Iqbal
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

When I started undergrad, it was common to hear "You don't need to know what you're going to do after college. Make sure you take the time to explore all of your options." and I wish I had taken that advice more seriously. I spent all of my college years on the pre-med track without seriously considering anything else until I started working in a research lab after graduation. I think that advice can be equally applied to graduate school. It's good to have a general idea of what kind of research you want to do when you start, but it's extremely important to keep your mind open and to allow yourself to explore a bit.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I'm proud of having made it this far into a PhD! I began the program with doubts as to whether I was cut out for academia, but now I am on track to graduate.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I've started brewing coffee at home a lot more since COVID started, and I recently bought a nice coffee grinder which I've gotten a ton of use out of.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I work mostly on cooperative multi-agent reinforcement learning. I like the problem, as I think most of humanity's most impressive accomplishments have come as a result of collaboration. I feel that one of the key components to achieving strong AI is to design agents that are capable of collaboration and specialization, such that their combined capabilities become greater than the sum of their parts.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I worked as an audio engineer at a student-run music studio during my undergrad, and I think I would enjoy that quite a bit. I guess that still has "engineer" in the title, but it's the best I can do :)

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

In general, I think there is a strong spirit of collaboration and friendliness across labs that isn't present at all schools. I chose my specific lab because they were working on an interesting variety of problems within the machine learning space. As such, I felt like I would have the freedom to discover a sub-field that aligned closely with my strengths and interests.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Koreatown - Incredible food and a lively atmosphere. My favorites are Sun Nong Dan, Oo Kook, and Somi Somi (dessert).
Sawtelle - More great food (mostly Japanese). My favorites: Tsujita, Killer Noodle, Chinchikurin, B Sweet (dessert).
Angeles National Forest - Sometimes it's nice to get out of the city, and this place is surprisingly accessible while still feeling far away from the noise and commotion.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

While they were certainly stressful at the time, I will look back fondly on the all-nighters prior to paper deadlines spent with my labmates. The feeling of camaraderie and shared struggle brought out by these moments would be hard to replicate in any other work setting.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I never did any form of research during my undergrad! I think it's worth mentioning because the prospect of getting a PhD can seem really intimidating, and it's good to know that it's never too late to pursue something you're passionate about.

What are your plans after graduation?

I am hoping to work in some sort of research role at a company and potentially transitioning to more applied work down the line.

Hometown (city, country):

Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Personal Website (if any):

https://shariqiqbal2810.github.io/

Faculty Advisor:

Fei Sha

Souvik Kundu
PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

If you don't give up you can't fail.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

To have a mindset of continual learning without having the hindrance due to the pride of success, superiority (or depression of failure), or lethargy of aging. From a materialistic aspect, I have a few: 1. USC Annenberg Fellow, 2. USC MHI scholar finalist, 3. USC research festival best poster award winner, 4. Departmental topper at IIT Kharagpur, India. All accomplishments are close to my heart, so could not rank them :(

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A flight ticket to Salt-lake city (Utah), for a trip to Yellowstone National Park. The trip was made during the beginning of Summer 2021. FYI, it was one of the best national parks I had ever visited. A must-go place in the USA for nature lovers.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

With the ubiquitous deployment of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) enabled devices in our surroundings, three major issues are getting more and more prominent :1. The arduous energy demand of such devices makes a heavy carbon footprint in our environment. 2. The reliability and robustness of these devices, particularly, for safety-critical applications (for example military drones, autonomous vehicles), 3. The privacy-preserving aspect of these devices while deployed for private applications (for example medical usage). My research on "Hardware-algorithm co-design for energy-efficient and reliable Machine Learning (ML) accelerators" using both conventional and brain-inspired neuromorphic approaches aim at addressing all the above-mentioned issues. In particular, the potential to make an immense and significant impact on improving our own day-to-day life and making a sustainable future really makes me excited and motivated in my research. For further details and collaboration opportunities, I am reachable through email: souvikku@usc.edu.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Maybe a park ranger, given my huge love for national parks and traveling in general.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

USC has one of the best Ph.D. programs in Electrical, Electronics, and Computer Science in the world. The research community here at USC is pretty strong and extremely motivated. Also, various collaborations with both Govt agencies like NSF, DARPA as well as Industry leaders like Amazon, Intel, Microsoft, Nvidia makes USC provide us a truly world-class research platform. And last but not the least, the wonderful weather and beaches of Southern California. :)

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

It is a pretty hard job to limit my choice to three. So, I will mention two and keep the third one as a journey instead of a destination. 1. Yosemite National Park (CA) -- a wonderful place for camping as well, 2. Venice Beach, LA -- a must-visit place for summer chill-out (there are many others.. haha.. :)), 3. A drive along the pacific coast highway -- one of a kind experience, particularly, for long-drive lovers.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

"My time at USC". The whole Ph.D. journey, the success, the failure, the learning will remain as memory and give me strength for my future endeavor.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I have a unicorn at my place. Lol, kidding! I don't really have anything to surprise as such. However, one fact about me is that I never thought of doing a Ph.D. till 3 months before my application for Ph.D. at USC.

What are your plans after graduation?

Working as a researcher in Industry with close collaboration with Academia or vice versa.

Hometown (city, country):

City: Kolkata (renowned as the city of joy in India)
Country: India.

Personal Website (if any):

https://ksouvik52.github.io/

Faculty Advisor:

I am advised by two extremely supportive and prolific professors of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at USC: 1. Prof. Peter A. Beerel and 2. Prof. Massoud Pedram.

Kegan Strawn
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

I subscribe to the "next right step" advice. Life can be overwhelming at times, especially during your studies, and focusing on the next right step rather than the entire mountain you are trying to hike up has really helped me every day.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I come from a family where no one has been in academia and I was not exposed to anything close to it growing up. Research, and even college, felt like this scary gated community that only a certain few could participate in and I'm very grateful to those in my undergraduate studies who helped open the gate for me and showed me that anyone can do this. Don't get me wrong, I have many privileges in my life, but I'm very proud to be here at USC and working hard among some very smart peers every day.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Last week I bought an LA Dodgers hat at the game against the Giants. I think this means I can officially say I live here now.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I work in multi-robot coordination and collaboration. I'm very interested in how robots can work together with other robots and humans as part of a team to help improve our lives. It's slightly different from the majority of current work that is about training a robot to beat us at a certain game or to replace a job completely. I spend a lot of my time thinking about how we can improve the algorithms they use and the way they learn to work together and I find it incredibly fun and rewarding work.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I always wanted to be a veterinarian when I grew up. I love animals and find biology and genetics fascinating. So, I think I still want to be a vet when I finally grow up.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The Professors here and the Professor I came to work with is what led me to USC and to choosing USC. Outside of academics too, the robotics group here is really great, social, and supportive. Then you combine that with the incredible weather and outdoor activities you can do here in LA and it helps you stay healthy both mentally and physically as you go through this challenging experience.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

If they are looking to live somewhere I highly recommend the Culver City area. For things to see, I really like the Getty Center for not only the art but the cool architecture and outdoor garden. I also love cruising up and down the pacific coast highway and going to any of the beaches (although Hermosa beach down south is my favorite). Finally, I'd recommend some Korean BBQ in Koreatown.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

The people here are fantastic and I will always remember working with them and spending time with them outside of work. There are too many good memories with them to choose one.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I only applied to drama colleges for college. I was fully expecting to only ever be in LA for acting, but now I'm here for my Ph.D. working in computer science and robotics. Life has a crazy way of working out!

What are your plans after graduation?

Currently, I am interested in continuing in academia with a postdoctoral position.

Hometown (city, country):

Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

Personal Website (if any):

https://sites.google.com/view/kegan-strawn

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Nora Ayanian

Jiali Duan
MS in Electrical and Electronics Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“In life, it’s not how much we achieved, it’s how much we’ve gone through the tough days and mistakes”.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Earning a PhD degree.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I purchased virtual attendance to ICML out of impulse, and I really enjoyed being part of it.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is related to human-robot interaction and representation learning. In my 2nd year of PhD,

I worked on a cool project on teaching robot with adversarial users, which won best paper finalist in IROS.

In my 4th year PhD, I developed a teacher-student training pipeline for representation learning, accepted in CVPR.

I’m excited about getting recognized academically.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Artist. I love piano and the peace it’s able to bring.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The inclination to experience a different life style and learning environment are the most important reasons.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Rancho Palos Verdes, Catalina island, Huntington Park.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I still recalled the very first days as a PhD when I had to take different courses. They turned out to be the best memories that I have, because I don’t have to worry about paper deadlines.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I eat all kinds of snacks without gaining weight.

What are your plans after graduation?

I’m considering getting a driving license and getting married.

Hometown (city, country):

Guiyang, China.

Personal Website (if any):

https://davidsonic.github.io/index/

Faculty Advisor:

C.-C. Jay Kuo

Sasindu Kangara Mudiyanselage
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

To believe in me through the ups and downs in life. Because if I don’t believe in myself, then no one will.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I received a full scholarship to pursue my education at a top middle/high school in my home country at age 10. It gave me a chance to shape my future as it is now.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Fitbit.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My current research involves developing parallel algorithms for applications with a bottleneck in accessing the memory. I mainly focus on application areas with sparse algebra, including tensor decomposition and graph analytics. I also map the parallel algorithms onto accelerator platforms such as FPGAs and GPUs. The usability of this work in real-world applications is the most exciting factor in my research.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

A Cricket player (Even though I have zero talent in this sport).

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

As an undergraduate student, I read some interesting papers published by the FPGA/Parallel Computing Lab, USC. Also, I found out the unique exposure that USC graduate students have towards experimenting with cutting-edge technologies. Those factors pushed me to pursue my PhD at USC.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

1. Yosemite National Park
2. Los Liones Canyon Trail + Santa Monica beach
3. Dinner outside In-N-Out, next to LAX (Remind me of how nervous I was when I first land in LA)

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I cannot pinpoint a single event. But I like to make friends with students from all around the world. In general, I love to listen to their experiences and stories.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I am good at making traditional Sri Lankan food.

What are your plans after graduation?

I have several ideas in my mind now. In all those cases, my ultimate goal is to make significant contributions to my current research field.

Hometown (city, country):

Country: Sri Lanka
City: Kegalle

Personal Website (if any):

https://kangaram.wixsite.com/personal

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Viktor Prasanna

Bianca Costa
PhD in Environmental Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“Develop an interest”- I got this piece of advice in undergrad when discussing the difficulties of some tedious classes with a senior student. Though I got this advice when discussing about classes that might not catch my attention initially, I have been able to apply this to other aspects of my life. There might be things that might seem boring, tedious or seem superficial to what you are trying to accomplish at first, but if you develop an interest about them- you find the right angle in which you can find the motivation to learn and discover new things you can pull through even the tasks that seem the hardest at first.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Getting accepted to a PhD program and getting awarded the National Science Foundation fellowship (GRFP).

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A scrub brush drill attachment.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), sometimes referred to as forever chemicals given their degradation resistance, bioaccumulation in food chains, and long half-lives, have called for a national emergency. Associated with low birth weights, thyroid hormone disruption, cancer and immune system effects, they pose a risk for human health and the environment. The CDC has reported that almost every person living in the US have PFAS in their bloodstream. Their widespread use in fire-retardant, foams, coatings, paints, lubricants, food packaging, and cosmetics make their use pervasive and exposure unavoidable. PFAS enter our waste streams (landfills and wastewater) due to their molecular structure they are very hard to degrade. While alternative physicochemical methods exist for their removal, they remain costly , energy intensive and produce significant residuals. Biodegradation of PFAS is thermodynamically favorable under anaerobic conditions, few studies have studied anaerobic biodegradation of PFAS and other halogenated compounds are able to be biodegraded after a long term assumption they were recalcitrant to biodegradation. Just recently defluorinating bacteria were isolated implying other microorganisms capable of PFAS degrading metabolisms are yet to be discovered. My research focuses on culturing PFAS degrading microorganisms from highly polluted sources to be applied in biotechnologies like Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors. I am excited about learning the factors that influence biodegradation of these chemicals, possibly discovering novel microorganisms and the impact they could have in applied sustainable technologies.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Medical doctor.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Community, amazing faculty, great facilities for research, and location.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Griffith observatory, Abbot Kinney, Santa Monica.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Going for lunch with lab mates at the Village.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I have gone paragliding.

What are your plans after graduation?

Still figuring out.

Hometown (city, country):

Lima, Peru.

Faculty Advisor:

Adam Smith

Kushal Chawla
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

One should never judge their own or someone else’s decisions based on the outcomes (that is, in hindsight). That’s just unfair! Instead, think about whether the decision made sense, given the situation you were in. If you are in a similar situation again, how can you make a better call?

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

That has to be the network of friends and colleagues that I could build from a variety of professional experiences in both academia and industry. Life is a bit easier with folks you can always turn up to for some advice and of course, for referrals!

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Minion-shaped slippers with button eyes that move when you walk.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I am currently working on enabling human-machine negotiations in natural language such as in English. Think about buyer-seller price negotiations or salary negotiations. Automated systems that negotiate with humans can be really helpful in advancing conversational AI and for teaching social skills to humans. Most practical systems in this space are based on restrictive communication protocols such as a predefined menu of options. Instead, I am trying to incorporate more natural means of communication such as language so that these systems can be more useful in the downstream applications. This area opens up exciting avenues for interdisciplinary research between NLP, Affective Computing, and Psychology. For a glimpse of what I do, here is a TechXplore blog that covers our recent work published at
NAACL-HLT 2021: https://techxplore.com/news/2021-05-casino-campsite-based-dialogs-
automatic.html

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

A full-time host for grand cultural events! I just love the job and the feel that comes with it! Even now, I grab such opportunities with both hands.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

First and foremost, my interactions with the lab that I am joining. I would definitely recommend that to all the prospective students. Secondly, the ever-increasing research opportunities and a helpful environment over here at USC. Lastly, it would be unfair if I don’t include this but the nice LA weather was always there at the back of my mind.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

- Weekend getaway at Big Bear
- Manhattan beach
- Hikes in Malibu

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I am a part of a religious organization at USC called the Bridges International. In Fall 2019, we went to Big Bear for a weekend, in a group of nearly 30. We rented out two huge houses near the lake, danced and sang songs from different cultures around the globe, and went for a hike! Amazing experience!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I have an OCD of repeatedly checking the locks and always making sure that everything is locked. It is so bad that once, during my undergrad, I preferred to calmly lock my door first, when everyone else was vacating the building due to a strong earthquake. As a side note, I later got to know that my friend ran with a laptop in her hand: the most expensive stuff that she could find in her room. People have weird priorities!

What are your plans after graduation?

I am keeping it wide open for now, although I am slightly inclined towards joining the industry again, given my previous experience as a full-time researcher at Adobe for a couple of years.

Hometown (city, country):

Delhi, India.

Personal Website (if any):

https://kushalchawla.github.io/

Faculty Advisor:

I am jointly advised by Gale Lucas and Jonathan Gratch at ICT, USC.

Amir Minoofar
PhD in Optical Communication

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Trying to pursue different approaches and do not stop hard-working until reaching the final results.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Among my most recent publications in collaboration with my colleagues on different journals such as Nature Photonics, Scientific Reports, etc.., having my own paper accepted as highly-scored on ECOC conference as a famous international conference on optical communications has more value in my mind.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Working at home may also be helpful providing a big opportunity to deeply and carefully think about real issues of research and life, which was not available or at least could not be considered before the quarantine due to covid.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

To avoid a "capacity crunch", other aspects of free-space optical communication
(FSOC) is worth investigating on how to increase the transmission throughput. Considering this my research is based on using mode division multiplexing for FSOC to improve the data rate.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I really like to work as a professional soccer player.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Previous graduate students who got the same position as research assistants in electrical engineering helped me to find my path toward this position.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I didn't have too much time to visit such places but I would probably recommend visiting Santa Monica, Downtown LA, and Griffith observatory.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Our trip to palm spring with all electrical engineering students in Summer 2019 as the USC EE retreat program was wonderful and amazing.

What are your plans after graduation?

I am not sure yet.

Hometown (city, country):

Tehran, Iran.

Personal Website (if any):

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vuh9IqwAAAAJ&hl=en

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Alan E. Willner

Agnimitra Dasgupta
PhD in Civil Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Make a choice and commit to it.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I once won a bet of having ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
On a serious note, I am proud that I have published before.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

An ergonomic chair. It was expensive, but has really helped with back pain from working long hours in front of the computer, and in hindsight completely worth it.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

The core theme of my research is quantifying uncertainties associated with inverse problems. More specifically, I am trying to characterize material heterogeneities from noisy response measurements, I believe my research has philosophical implications and has wide-ranging applications ranging from medical imaging (dealing with things that are hard to see) to structural health monitoring (where the scale is many times larger).

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Growing up, I wanted to be a chemist. I still harbor that interest.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Briefly, the ongoing research in my department, my advisor, the security of the Fellowship I was offered and the location of the University.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

If you are in California, you should not leave without visiting Yosemite.
I would also recommend San Francisco, I think the city has an interesting vibe. Catch the sunrise or sunset from Battery Spencer with a view of the Golden Gate bridge, and later you can either take a sip of Irish coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe or enjoy some ice cream or chocolate at Ghirardelli square.
More locally, Santa Monica beach is a nice place to enjoy sunsets.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I will miss my friends and roommates from my time at USC.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I have a superpower; I can chop onions without tearing up

What are your plans after graduation?

I wish to remain in academia after I graduate. I will probably be looking for post-doctoral opportunities.

Hometown (city, country):

Kolkata, India.

Personal Website (if any):

https://adasgupta94.github.io/

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Erik A Johnson, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Jia Hao
PhD in Biomedical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Whatever you plan to do, start it early. Don't wait till everything is fully ready because it may never happen. This advice really helped me to fight against procrastination and better manage my time, especially through multitasks.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

It would definitely be the successful completion of my first PhD research project. I was a materials science major for BS and MS, and starting my PhD in a highly bio-based lab was very challenging for me in the beginning. I literally had to google what everything means when I started reading papers in this field. Throughout the three years of this project, there have been countless trials and errors. And when I finally got this project completed, I realized I myself have grown quite a lot along with it.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I got a mini blender last summer and loved it! Just throw in yogurt, frozen fruit and water, and you get a great smoothie in one minute!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I design innovative microdevices to study how hematopoietic stem cells interact with their bone marrow neighbors. I have always been fascinated by stem cells because of their endless potentials. What excites me most is that I get to be creative and innovative and utilize my knowledge in both biology and engineering. The knowledge we gain from my research can inspire novel treatments for blood and immune diseases.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

A singer!

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

First, USC is a prestigious university, and I was attracted by the research projects that my lab has. And secondly, definitely the city itself. We know PhD programs are usually long (4-5+ years) and it is essential to have a life outside your lab or work in order to keep your mind fresh. Los Angeles boasts cuisine from all over the world, mountains and beaches if you love nature, and all kinds of city activities. You will never be bored studying at USC :)

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

1. BCD tofu house (my favorite restaurant in town!)
2. Abalone cove shoreline (a unique beach park with clear shallow water and so many crabs on rocks);
3. East fork trail in San Gabriel mountains (best hike for summer: get ready to cross shallow rivers)

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I have been attending Zumba classes hosted at the USC gym every week for two years now. I am so grateful that even during the pandemic, USC still managed to keep workout classes available for all students- although Zumba becomes Zoomba :) I highly recommend our instructor Shira. She has the best energy and the funniest class. Working out with her has been my best way to release any stress from my work.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I am expecting a baby! Looking forward to having her in my arms during my Ph.D. hooding ceremony (Yay!)

What are your plans after graduation?

I plan to keep pursuing my passion in the biotech industry and work as a scientist (ideally in Seattle; that's my next destination).

Hometown (city, country):

Changchun, China.

Personal Website (if any):

www.linkedin.com/in/jia-hao-usc/

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Keyue Shen

Aniruddh Puranic
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

My parents have always told me to focus on the process and not on the results, and to be persistent in whatever I do.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Last year, I published my first paper as a PhD student at one of the top robotics conferences - Conference on Robot Learning (CoRL). It immediately received media coverage by the Viterbi news and I was thrilled to see it on the main USC webpage. Soon after, it also appeared on other very reputable news platforms – ACM TechNews and RISKS Digest (a periodical that is edited by Dr. Peter G. Neumann, a pioneer in computer science).

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I bought some limited-edition merchandise from one of my music and technology idols Richie Hawtin, a highly distinguished electronic music producer and DJ. It also included a personal handwritten note from him, which made it even more special.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research revolves around learning-based human-robot interaction (HRI) systems and is cross-disciplinary as it involves formal methods and robotics. Specifically, I work on verifiable and safe HRI systems wherein robots can learn from humans showing them how to perform tasks. As robots are becoming more commonplace (such as robots in warehouses, households, autonomous cars, etc.), it is laborious for humans to program them for each task and deduce the behavior for new tasks or environments that the robot may encounter during its lifetime. It is rather easier for humans to show the robot how to perform these tasks and thus, the robot can learn to mimic or imitate the demonstrated behavior – this programming paradigm is called Imitation Learning or Learning-from-Demonstrations. With the recent evolution of deep learning, many techniques require large amount of data, whereas we, as humans, can learn to perform tasks only from a handful of data. Moreover, it is difficult even for experts to understand what the robot is learning as this internal learning process is not easily interpretable. Further, this may lead to the robot learning unsafe or undesirable behaviors that may have dire consequences such as the robot causing harm to the human or getting damaged. Hence, developing safe robots that interact with humans is a very exciting research area with huge impact on improving human lifestyle and I hope to make a great contribution to this field. Various promising applications of this are medical assistants (for rehabilitation, elder care, assistive surgery), industrial robots (such as those in manufacturing and warehouses), households (helping with everyday chores), autonomous vehicles, etc.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would choose to pursue a career in tennis as I used to play competitive tennis since I was 7 years old.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

There were several factors that aided my decision to enroll in PhD at USC. Firstly, it is the great reputation of USC, especially the Viterbi School, in academic research, and home to the highly reputed industry-focused research institutions: Information Sciences Institute (ISI) and Institute of Creative Technologies (ICT). USC has very diverse research areas, esteemed faculty and allows students to easily collaborate with others from different fields (specializations) within and across other departments. I first joined USC as a masters student specializing in intelligent robotics and got the exposure to projects in various robotics labs, including the Intuitive Surgical Da Vinci robot at the Keck Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. I also got to know about and understand faculty collaborations with R&D departments in the industry. During my masters, I worked with Prof. Jyotirmoy Deshmukh, who had several years of industrial research experience at Toyota R&D North America, on a few interesting projects which also introduced me to academic research. It was then that I decided to pursue my PhD under Prof. Deshmukh. Another factor that influenced my decision was USC’s location - Los Angeles, which is close to not only tech start-ups, but also big companies, thus providing ample opportunities for collaborative research. After completing my masters, I interned at Toyota R&D in Mountain View and enjoyed working on a few patents, which motivated me further to pursue a PhD.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I’d recommend visiting (1) Santa Monica Pier and Beach, (2) Hollywood Boulevard and studios and (3) Palm Desert, especially for tennis and golf enthusiasts.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

USC has given me numerous memories over the past 5 years. Working with Dr. Andrew Hung at the Keck School of Medicine in the field of robotic surgery and having the opportunity to experience operating a highly sophisticated state-of-the-art surgical robot (not on a real person, of course!) is one of my most memorable experiences at USC.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Besides academics and tennis, I am very passionate about electronic (techno) music and am a novice DJ, mainly influenced by my friends who are music producers and/or record label owners.

What are your plans after graduation?

I am open to various options in the academia and industry. I had a successful semester as a teaching assistant for my advisor’s class and received exceptional feedback from him and the students on my teaching abilities. I am keen on applying my research to the medical domain at the Keck School of Medicine and would also like to work in industrial R&D at pioneering institutions such as USC-ICT, USC-ISI, SRI International, etc.

Hometown (city, country):

I’m from Bangalore, India.

Personal Website (if any):

My webpage is available at https://aniruddh-puranic.info

Faculty Advisor:

My advisor is Prof. Jyotirmoy Deshmukh of CPS-VIDA group. I am also closely mentored by Prof. Stefanos Nikolaidis from ICAROS group.

Nathan Dennler
PhD in Robotics

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

I am not sure how applicable this is to anyone else, but the best advice I have personally been given was to try dying my eyebrows. Obviously, this is a rule-of-thumb for an inherently indeterminate thing such as physical appearance, but it really opened my eyes to a measurable and specific way to try experimenting in this design space. By hearing this rule, I was suddenly able to put into words something that was previously incredibly confusing, and once I was able to identify it, I was able to consciously make the choice of subverting the rule. This kind of thinking has been particularly useful in research for real problems because many "truths" that I have learned are not universal. By identifying how choices both shape and are shaped by specific problem contexts have helped me make sense of different approaches to different problems, and make better choices in my own problems.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

In undergrad, I was part of a community service group and for one of the semesters I was responsible for planning community service events with my friend. At the end of the semester, we were able to plan over 3000 person-hours of events where we helped local communities and national non-profit organizations.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I bought a MIDI keyboard on a whim to learn how songs are made! I've been experimenting a lot with making my own samples which has been super fun!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is about learning how different aspects of the design of robotic systems (physical design and algorithmic design) can affect end users of these systems in different ways. Then the goal is to adapt systems to align with how users expect and want the system to behave. I am particularly excited by this because learning about how systems can adapt to users, I also learn more about the users themselves.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Unfortunately I am too easily interested in trying many disparate things--I think I'd also be happy to try to be a fashion designer, 3D animator, (medical) doctor, or teacher.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I really liked the sense of community that the students here had when I came to visit--I liked the research that was done here too, of course. I also personally wanted to live in a well-populated city since I grew up in a small town.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

The great thing about LA is that there is a little bit of everything for everyone! Personally, my favorite places to go would be to go hiking in Malibu (or the beach, if that is more your speed), Koreatown for dinner (specifically Gol Tong Chicken which is the most chaotically delightful food I have ever had), and West Hollywood to go dancing (they also have drag brunch which is super fun)!

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

As silly as it is, my favorite thing to do was to go to the campus center for lunch and get Panda Express and iced coffee with my other friends after our seminar class.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I used to compete across the US as a pairs figure skater! I really liked (and still like!) skating because it combined athleticism through doing specific jumps and spins and storytelling through emoting through the different parts of the songs.

What are your plans after graduation?

After graduation, I hope to work in industry for a few years to get a sense of what technology is actually used, and what works best for different markets. I hope to eventually transition into a teaching position later on to give back to the next generation of students!

Hometown (city, country):

Lunenburg, Massachusetts (about an hour from Boston).

Personal Website (if any):

https://ndennler.github.io/

Faculty Advisor:

Maja Mataric and Stefanos Nikolaidis

Yun Cheng Wang
PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I consider pursuing a PhD degree as my greatest accomplishment right now because it requires lots of work but the rewards are also satisfying.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I decided to spend less money at Starbucks and bought a portable coffee machine but I still went to Starbucks once in a while.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is to use mathematical tools and machine learning models to discover underlying facts in relational data, such as web pages and user profiles. There are a lot of applications in my research. For example, Google uses it to rank web pages for Google search. Another more exciting application recently is that scientists are developing Covid vaccine by modeling the Covid spike protein as relational data.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I once had the impulse to be a physicist and an astronaut after watching the movie “Interstellar”. I was fascinated by space travel and I wanted to discover the mystery of the origin of time.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

First of all, I think finding an advisor that you have a good time collaborating with is very important for a PhD student. I like how my current advisor runs the lab and I am interested in the research topic we are working on. Secondly, I like LA.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Griffith Observatory is definitely the first place to visit when you are in LA. You can enjoy the best sunset and night view there. There are also many hiking trails to go on the weekends. If you like to spend time in art museums, I recommend the Getty Center. They also have a beautiful garden to take pictures in. If you want to enjoy some local foods and shopping, you should visit the farmer’s market and The Grove.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

What I like about USC is the diversity of the students. I have friends from Korea, China, India, and Vietnam. We study together and we like to hang out on the weekends. My Korean friend always shows us authentic Korean foods in Korean Town.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I like to sing rap songs lol.

What are your plans after graduation?

I would like to join the industry first because I think it’s the most direct way to contribute to human society. Besides, it’s important to know the trends and needs of the customers in my field. After several years, I might consider becoming a professor in my home country, Taiwan, to educate the next generation.

Hometown (city, country):

I am from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, a beautiful port city.

Personal Website (if any):

https://yunchengwang.github.io/

Faculty Advisor:

Professor C.-C. Jay Kuo

Nathaniel Sands
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

A Professor once told me, "Don't try to do too many things. Focus on one of your interests; the rest will fall into place." Unfortunately, I've mostly ignored this advice.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Becoming a Detective with the New York City Police Department.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My instapot.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

Part of my research involves the development of tools that will help software engineers write safe and secure code. Since our lives are pretty much mediated by software these days, it is critically important to have these tools, particularly in fields like medicine or industrial robotics.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

A veterinarian.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I wanted to be at a large research university with a top-notch school of engineering - not just in computer science, but in all sub-disciplines. In fact, I hope at some point to work in collaboration with people from the mechanical and electrical engineering departments. Also, I wanted to live in Southern California. Best climate on the planet.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

The city of Healdsburg in Sonoma County for the wine, San Onofre for the waves, and Koreatown in L.A. for the BBQ

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I think going back to in-person classes and socializing with other students will be a pretty memorable experience. Being cut off from other people has been one of the most difficult things about the pandemic, even for introverts like myself.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I'll probably look for a job in industry, but it's too early to say! Right now I'm just enjoying being back in school full-time and learning new things every day.

What are your plans after graduation?

I'll probably look for a job in industry, but it's too early to say! Right now I'm just enjoying

being back in school full-time and learning new things every day.

Hometown (city, country):

Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Mukund Raghothaman

Emir Ceyani
PhD in Electrical and Electronics Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

If you aren't satisfied with yourself, be brave and bold to change it! Go beyond your limits, Stand firm, and never give up! Resolute perseverance is the key to conquer your limits and everything else in the world!

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Starting my Ph.D. at USC during COVID-19 times & uncertainties with the US Border in December 2020. These uncontrollable events solidified my determination more than ever it is. When you accomplish things that are beyond your control, rewards are beyond your imagination!

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Interestingly, nothing.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is about understanding a new machine learning paradigm, federated learning, pioneered by Google, from a probabilistic perspective. This new paradigm allows practitioners to deploy their algorithms under challenging scenarios where privacy and decentralization of data are absolute such as smartphones, IoT devices, and hospitals. The exciting part of my research is that the years of knowledge and notions accumulated for machine learning research are not translative to my research field. That is, you have to defy common assumptions in the classical works and have to think from different, yet unexpected perspectives. Things deemed to be inefficient or unpopular may shine in my field.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

A singer in a rock band. You have to convey your enthusiasm even in challenging times. You have to rise and shine like a phoenix. (Note: My favorite band is TOOL)

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

First reason is thanks to my advisor, Prof. Salman Avestimehr, and his vITAL lab at USC. Being able to contribute to a new field with an innovative role model was and still is one of the breakthroughs in my life! Second and my final reason is Los Angeles itself, the city that I wanted to live in for a long time!

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

1. Griffith Observatory
2. Malibu
3. Venice Beach

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Going to dinner at Prof. Annavaram's house to celebrate my first paper submission to a top-tier machine learning conference in June 2021.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I used to have a red-black belt in Taekwondo.

What are your plans after graduation?

To be a role model, conveying my enthusiasm to solve challenging problems and being a real example for many people who had many struggles in their lives. I want to show that pure determination can change ourselves and the world we live in! For this, I still haven't decided on whether I want to be an academician or a research scientist. Why not both?

Hometown (city, country):

Izmir, Turkey

Personal Website (if any):

https://ceyani.io

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Salman Avestimehr

Mert Oytun
PhD in Civil Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Never think about what other people might say when making a decision.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Some can assume that granting one of the most prestigious scholarships, the Fulbright scholarship, must be the greatest achievement in my life; however, it is not the case. One of my greatest accomplishments was transcending Bosphorus from Asia to Europe by swimming around 6.5 km. I firmly believe that these challenging activities pave the way for exploring oneself and ease reaching the other achievements in life (e.g., academic and social success in life).

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Car and air fresheners because they make my memories more permanent.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

To put it briefly, my research focuses on the acquisition, modeling, and analysis of the data needed for user-centered built environments by developing novel algorithms and visualization techniques. More specifically, I focus on the Human-Robot interaction and related technologies in Civil Engineering. What excites me in my work is that I strive to explore the unknown with an interdisciplinary approach.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

It would definitely be a finance-related field because (1) I am delighted with making good guesstimates, and (2) the world revolves around finance, whether we admit it or not.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

One of the most important factors is that our university had a very strong and competent academic staff. In addition, the strategic privilege of our university's location has also played an essential role in my decision to pursue a Ph.D. at USC. Thanks to this privilege, USC offers us the opportunity of networking with leading institutions and organizations in many fields, primarily in technology.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Highway 1, Beverly Hills, and San Diego.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Exploring the statues at USC. I also like the Fight song, which is the basis of our universities' motto, "Fight on!".

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Although I am a realistic person, I love to dream.

What are your plans after graduation?

I am open to the opportunities that life offers me. For this reason, I believe that plans should not be static.

Hometown (city, country):

Ankara, Turkey.

Personal Website (if any):

http://www.mertoytun.com/

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Lucio Soibelman & Dr. Burcin Becerik-Gerber.

Siyuan Yao
PhD in Industrial Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Hard work may not pay off, but laziness pays nothing.

My advisor mentioned it during a group meeting to encourage us during the pandemic. Coincidently, a calligraphy decorated in my father’s office shares the same meaning. I personally consider trial and error as a big part of the research process. When I face challenges, I always try many different approaches to tackle the problem as I believe that diligence will be rewarded.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My marriage is my greatest accomplishment. I met my wife at USC and we have been married for two and a half years.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A Montblanc Meisterstuck fountain pen.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

Traffic congestion is an urgent social issue calling for solutions, especially for metropolitan cities. My research is driven by the needs. Specifically, I am currently working on drayage operation optimizations including empty container repositioning problems, vehicle scheduling problems, and simulation-based truck routing problems. As a daily commuter living in Los Angeles, I understand how important it is to alleviate traffic congestion: improving traffic conditions saves time, and “time is life”.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I love music. If I am not going to be an engineer, I would like to be a street artist (a saxophone performer or vocalist).

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The most important reason for me to stay at USC is my advisor. I met Prof. Maged Dessouky in one of my master classes. I feel so lucky to be his advisee because he is an amazing and caring mentor who provides insightful research suggestions and solid support to students. The second reason is my wife. She just graduated from a doctoral program at Annenberg Communication School, who also loves USC and encouraged me to apply. Thirdly, I completed my master program at USC too, and I have always been fascinated by the quality of education and diverse culture.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

The first place I would like to recommend is the Hahn Plaza on Campus. Especially, during the football week versus UCLA, you can feel the school spirit and pride.

The second place would be Doheny Memorial Library. The first time I went into the library, I was so moved by the weight of knowledge.

The third place would be Staple Center. As a basketball lover, Staple Center is the holy land. There is also a statue of Kobe Bryant. Mamba mentality will always inspire me to keep improving.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I have had so many great times at USC. If I had to choose my favorite, I cherish all the time that I have spent with my wife at USC. In the past four years, we have studied at almost every library, walked on every campus path, and enjoyed the food in every dining place.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I once lost 70 lbs in three months before I came to USC. But after one year of quarantine, I have gained all the weights back.

What are your plans after graduation?

My plan is to get a job in one of the leading tech companies. I might start my own business after accumulating enough working experience.

Hometown (city, country):

Yuyao, China.

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Maged Dessouky.

David Johnson
PhD in Materials Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The best piece of advice I have ever been given is as follows: "Time spent building relationships is time best spent."

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment is making it into USC for their Materials Science PhD program!

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My favorite impulse purchase, even though it happens quite a bit, will always be a double scoop from Salt and Straw, an ice cream shop here in LA.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My main research goal is to better understand protein-cell membrane interactions through the use of model membranes, some biophysics, and a lot of nonlinear optics. I think it is an exciting field because much of the basic research that we do contributes directly to a greater understanding of how to combat neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinsons or Alzheimers

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

If I had to choose a profession outside of my current field, I would be a confectioner working in an ice cream shop or a candy store. Everyone leaves with a smile when they are getting sweets, what better profession could you ask for?

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

A big factor in choosing to pursue my PhD at USC was the city of LA itself. My wife is a social worker who, because of being in an incredibly diverse city, has had many opportunities to serve the city of LA which was important for me. Additionally, I love the foods from cultures around the world that I get to eat within a 15 minute drive.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

There are so many cool things to see and do in LA, but I can only give three so here they are: a show at the Hollywood Bowl, a game at Dodger Stadium (I'm a big baseball fan), and you NEED to get Korean BBQ in Koreatown. In fact, you could probably do that all in one day if you get lucky.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I haven't been at USC for long, but I have already enjoyed building relationships with my classmates in the program. I can't boil it down to one moment, but those are the memories that I will cherish most when I leave.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

One thing about me that could surprise you is that I was a member of the University of Illinois Varsity Men's Glee Club in my undergrad! We were on the schedule to perform a Shostakovich piece at Carnegie Hall with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, but it was cancelled because of COVID-19. A real bummer.

What are your plans after graduation?

After graduation, I am planning on moving closer to my immediate family in Illinois to find a job in the state. I hope to raise a family there with my wife while also pursuing a fruitful career with my PhD.

Hometown (city, country):

Champaign, IL, USA.

Faculty Advisor:

My advisor is Wade Zeno (the best).

Nikhil Naik
PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The best piece of advice I have ever received is to Fight On! To carry on, to keep forging ahead despite failures and successes is what counts the most. Life is never a single path – new ways always appear in places you least expect them. It is the intent to unhesitatingly explore the most promising path which counts.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment has been to secure admission to the best academic institutions of the world for Electrical Engineering. I had the excellent fortune of studying Instrumentation Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur at the undergraduate level and then at USC Viterbi’s Electrical and
Computer Engineering Department for the Graduate and Doctoral level. I owe my entire career to these two institutions, which truly made me what I am.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I am an enthusiast for good old-fashioned fountain pens. In the digital age, writing something by hand excites me as it is a very personal thing to do. I have always nurtured a love of writing, and a good pen always sets the tone for me. It so happened that a few months ago, I noticed a fine piece online, manufactured by the Platinum Pen Company, Japan and instantly purchased it! I love every bit of the ninety-dollar writing experience!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

All around us, we observe increasingly smarter and connected devices and systems inseparably interacting with the physical world. My work revolves around the study of these “Cyber-Physical” Systems, including their design and verification. The most exciting part about my work is a close, first-hand study of the building blocks of futuristic Cyber-Physical Systems like Autonomous Cars and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The operation of such complex smart machines involves a delicate balance between safety and reliability on one hand and efficient and cost-effective manufacturing and operation on the other. My effort involves leveraging mathematical formalisms and software tools to study the most optimal way of designing these large-scale systems. Moreover, coming up with ways to mathematically characterize their safe, robust and reliable operation in the presence of real-life uncertainties is also a part of my doctoral work.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

My cherished belief is that languages are the sine qua non of the human experience. If I were not an engineer, I would certainly have become a professor of literature in the languages of the Indian Subcontinent. I have a great love of the Sanskrit language, one of the most ancient languages of the world. Its structure and grammatical intricacies delight me. I have had the fortune of attempting an amateur study of two Sanskrit epic poems of ancient India, namely the Ramayana and the Mahabharata alongside other masterpieces such as the Abhijnana-Shakuntalam of the poet Kalidasa as a hobby in my spare time. I would surely explore them professionally if I were to be presented with such an opportunity.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I have always held USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering in the highest regard. I was well aware of the school’s stellar contributions in the field of Electrical Communication and Signal/Image Processing, right from my earliest days as an Undergraduate. In my senior year at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, I was already set on further studies as my goal. I consulted my professors, batchmates and seniors on which schools would best aid my cause. Many frequently recommended USC as a premier
institution in my field of research. Then there is always the experience of studying in Los Angeles, which is one of the most well-known, largest and most globalized cities in the world. A bonus was the awesome weather in California!

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Southern California is a wonderful place to be – the best weather, the best opportunities and a meeting point of every culture in the world! I would certainly recommend exploring SoCal while you’re here. Go see the beaches, the mountains and the desert. Closer to Los Angeles, I would recommend Long Beach, Mount Baldy and Palm Springs as wonderful places to explore. Other places like Yosemite National Park and La Jolla Cove in San Diego would also make it to the top of my list.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

USC has been a great experience for me. I truly experienced life and work at an elite top-tier university whose name resonates globally. I found the infrastructure to be the absolute best in the world, and the opportunities have been top-notch. I will cherish the affable University staff who helped me out at every step of my journey. I would particularly point appreciatively to the services
of the Office of International Students which helped me complete all my paperwork for a Curricular Practical Training (CPT) internship even in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. I will always remember their prompt help in those uncertain times.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I am currently a doctoral student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, but I came very close to being a professional astrophysicist! Throughout my undergraduate days in India, I have had the rare privilege of working with living legends in the field of Astronomy and Astrophysics. I even had the chance to publish a paper in the Astrophysical Journal on my work. I look back upon those days fondly, and still try a hand at the telescope if there is one around!

What are your plans after graduation?

After graduation, I plan to continue working in the general direction of my doctoral work. At the outset, I aim to make my mark in the industrial design and development of autonomous, safety-critical systems. In the long run, I would also be open to teaching the next generation of students in an academic setting.

Hometown (city, country):

My hometown is the city of Hyderabad, the capital of the state of Telangana (India).

Personal Website (if any):

https://sites.google.com/usc.edu/nikhilnaik/home

Faculty Advisor:

My advisor is Prof. Pierluigi Nuzzo, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

Juan Garcia Nila
PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Never surrender, keep fighting.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Being accepted in an American university.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My tablet. I was considering buying an IPad just for fun, but I have been using it for all my ONLINE classes at USC.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I am involved in Quantum Information Processing and specifically in Quantum Steganography and Continuous Measurement.

In simple words, a quantum computer protocol could break any encryption system used nowadays. Steganography is the process to hide information inside an innocuous message, like hiding your SSN inside a Da Vinci's painting. Also I am interested in quantum continuous measurements, in which I basically study the interactions of a quantum state with the environment. I also find exciting how people are interested in these topics, maybe having misunderstandings about it, and how they keep asking questions about the applications of quantum systems.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Maybe dramatic arts or history. I am a passionate about theater productions and of course the unraveling of history.

Also I have interest on psychology, I would love someday to read literature about this.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I won a scholarship called Opportunity funds, for Mexican students who want to pursue a degree at an American university. They out me in contact with the University of Southern California. I was accepted in some other universities, but I love Los Ángeles and I met my advisor Todd Brun, whose research interests align with mine.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Santa Monica beach,

Exposition Park,

Griffiths Observatory

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I haven't been at USC campus since I was accepted as an online student because of the pandemic. But a time I will cherish is joining USC Quest Queers in Science, Engineering and Tech. We are a group of friends supporting other LGBTQA+ students focusing on making professional or informal entertaining events in STEM.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I used to speak a little Japanese and I come from Iztapalapa, Mexico.

What are your plans after graduation?

Pursuing a Postdoc or joining a Data Science job. I would like to be a Professor at my home country university at Mexico. However, the ivory tower seems sometimes to high!

Hometown (city, country):

Iztapalapa, Mexico City, Mexico

Personal Website (if any):

https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-garc%C3%ADa-nila-20ba06187

Faculty Advisor:

Todd A. Brun

Nathan Decker
PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

I've received a lot of great advice over the years, (including from my faculty advisor here at USC), but my favorite advice comes from my grandfather, who passed away last year at the age of 100. He would often remind me to cultivate a heart of gratitude by not taking for granted the small things that God blesses us with each day.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My friends and I formed a band to compete in our high school talent show, and won! (I played the harmonica. Yikes...)

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

During the height of the pandemic, I decided to splurge - and prioritize self-care - by getting a set of adjustable-weight dumbbells, since I couldn't go to the gym. It took 3 months for them to arrive, but when they finally did, it upped my home-workout game immensely! I'm also way less likely to skip a workout, since there's no excuse now.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research focuses on the application of artificial intelligence to 3D printing. I try to make printers smarter by enabling them to learn from their past mistakes and leverage diverse sources of sensor data, resulting in parts that are more accurate. This is important for applications where the part must be functional, which are increasing in frequency as 3D printing becomes more utilized. I love my research, since it forces me to work across a number of fields and learn a little bit about everything to solve problems.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Before I realized that I have a passion for engineering, I was a Philosophy major for a year during my undergraduate studies, and really enjoyed the experience. Had I not come to that realization, I might have tried to pursue a career as a Philosophy professor.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

My love for USC began from a young age! Sadly, from 1995 (the year I was born) to 2015, Los Angeles lacked an NFL team, meaning that if you wanted to cheer for a football team, USC and UCLA were the only game in town. Thankfully, my dad chose correctly, and decided that our family would root for USC. He took me to watch open football practices on campus growing up, where you could meet players and coaches, as well as a good number of games in the Coliseum. When it came time to decide where I would go to grad school, I could say that it was USC's outstanding reputation, the fantastic resources that my department offers, the amazing Trojan family, or the great fit with my advisor and lab that sealed the deal, but deep down, I think it was the memories with my father that convinced me I couldn't be anywhere else.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

#1 Get a breakfast burrito at Phanny's in Redondo Beach and take it to the ocean, just a quick 5 minute walk away.

#2 Visit the Irwindale Speedway for their 'Night of Destruction', a full fledged demolition derby! Trust me on this - it's so much fun.

#3 Have a picnic at the Getty to take in some beautiful views and incredible art.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

During my first year at USC, a group of PhD students from my department decided to celebrate the last final of the semester (which finished at 9 PM) with a late night hot pot / fondue get-together on campus. The flavors were incredible, and we each got to share a bit of our cultures with the food that we contributed and passed around over newspaper laid out on the breakroom table.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I don't want to brag too much, but as a PhD student, I've been able to get plenty of sleep.

What are your plans after graduation?

In my career, I hope to continue working on challenging problems and learning from brilliant people, wherever that may be.

Hometown (city, country):

La Mirada, CA

Personal Website (if any):

www.nathanidecker.com

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Qiang Huang

Pu Wang
PhD in Biomedical/Medical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

If you know something may fail, let it fail fast. (This is the advice given by my PI when I discussed the potential problems of one method we were planning to use in our research. He encouraged me to try it instead of looking for reasoning why it might or might not work. It's a very important piece of advice for doing research especially in solving engineering problems.)

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

The greatest accomplishment is not a specific achievement for me. Instead I think it is the ability and capability to solve problems by fast and efficient self teaching/researching and a systematic thinking of how to tackle problems. I think I can call myself a well-trained Ph.D. candidate because of that not because of specific paper/patents.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

It's a CNC router I bought off Amazon. I wanted to start to learn how to fabricate metal parts after designing phase. I didn't know well enough about the constrains such as machine rigidity, work holding etc for making high tolerance parts so I got myself a CNC router. The router turned out to be a project itself since it has too many limitations. It seems to be a disaster and bad impulse purchase but I got the hands on experience with minimal cost. Now I have access to industrial level CNC machine and are able to make great parts for research and I use tons of knowledge learned from tweaking the router in my garage.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is building optical microscope systems that have the capability of resolving multiple fluorescent signals within live biological samples. What excites me about it is I get to build a system from ground up with integrating optical, mechanical hardware along with analysis algorithm and software prototype. It's another level of feeling of achievements when you know every aspect of your 'baby' and see other researchers to use it for their own research.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would choose to be a director of photography for filmmaking. I love capturing pictures and videos since I was a child. We are living in an era when so many great camera gears are affordable, for me, I really enjoy using them everyday as a way of storying telling. As a matter of fact, I created a Youtube channel Paul LA to share my opinion on filmmaking gears from a perspective of a serious filmmaking enthusiast. I would not hesitate to pursue a filmmaking career if I am not already an engineer.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I got my master of engineering degree from electrical engineering department of USC. For me, choosing USC does have some personal preference as I am so familiar with this school. But most importantly, USC has one of the greatest engineering school in this country and the school can provide you with so many resources for you to achieve your research goals. At the end of the day, doing research especially in engineering field, resources to the tools, equipment etc are one of the most important factors, USC always have them. Another factor is the location. I love SoCal, the dynamic cultures, food, and weather are things you wont be able to find elsewhere. Also so many opportunities around when you graduate.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

California has so many places that are worth going, if I only recommend 3 places, as a Chinese immigrant, first place I would recommend going is always San Gabriel valleys, you will find a TON of great genuine Asian food there. It's only 15miles from the campus. You might also want to check out the mountains in San Bernardino valley like Big bear or Lake arrowhead if hiking or skiing if your thing. Also you want to check out the beaches in Long beach or Orange County which are beautiful. By the time you checking them all out, you will find here you have access to mountains, sea, best food all within 1.5hr driving

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Kobe used to describe his hardworking in training by seeing 4am LA every day. You will be proud of yourself by solving research problem till the mid of the night as a hardworking Ph.D. student. One thing I really cherish about the time is here in USC, the neon light from DTLA will always be with you when you work into late of the night.

What are your plans after graduation?

I will look for an engineering position continue doing what I am good at after graduation.

Hometown (city, country):

Zhengzhou, China.

Personal Website (if any):

Photography website: https://www.puwangphotography.com/

Faculty Advisor:

Scott E. Fraser and Francesco Cutrale

Anthony Nguyen
PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

You can't optimize life. Don't be afraid to pivot and embrace opportunities that present themselves.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Completing my Eagle Scout when I was growing up. This accomplishment helped shape my mindset and gave me the courage and confidence to be ambitious with my goals.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I recently purchased my first set of golf clubs and a new pair of rock climbing shoes. I love spending my free time participating in sports activities.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is focused on decision making in healthcare settings. This includes clinical, operational, and policy level decisions. Most of my recent work has been on building infectious disease models for HIV and COVID-19 that incorporate human behavior to help local policymakers make more informed decisions for LA County. What excites me most about this research is the cross disciplinary and collaborative nature of the work as well as the fact that it is directly applicable to the local community.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

If I was not an engineer, I would likely be a physician specialized in either surgery or emergency medicine. I have always been interested in improving patient care and patient quality of life. Engineering allows me to do this at a systemic level. Being a physician enables attaining this goal at a patient level.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

My main reasons for selecting USC were: (1) I had an instant connection with my faculty advisors (2) Being located in Southern California, I knew I would enjoy the environment and lifestyle beyond time spent doing research, and (3) Knowing that USC excels in a wide range of fields, I knew I would be able to engage in interesting cross-disciplinary research.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

(1) Korea Town, Little Tokyo, and other food hubs in LA, (2) San Diego (3) San Francisco.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Department happy hours! It's always great enjoying a drink with your professors, admin, and classmates.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I try to balance my time between research and playing sports. Even after starting my PhD, I have taken time almost every week to surf, climb, train for races, and now to play golf! A great week is a week when I can manage to do all of these activities.

What are your plans after graduation?

I plan to go into management consulting with a focus on health related sectors.

Hometown (city, country):

Yorba Linda, California.

Personal Website (if any):

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonycnguyen/

Faculty Advisor:

Co-advised by:

Professor Sze Chuan Suen (ISE)
Professor Shinyi Wu (Social Work)

Raven Althouse
PhD Environmental Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The more you learn, the more you’ll realize there’s so much you don’t know: It’s okay to not know things. What’s important is being willing to learn.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Prioritizing my mental health, particularly when transitioning to a new program and city during lockdown.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A new pair of running shoes!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research focuses on microbial processes in engineered water systems. Currently I’m investigating the use of novel archaea in membrane biofilm reactors (MBfRs) to remove dissolved greenhouse gases. Understanding that this research will be a piece to the puzzle of combating global climate change is extremely exciting to me, particularly considering this research has the possibility of one day helping to lower, and possibly even eliminate, the greenhouse gas emissions that water treatment systems currently produce.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

If I had to choose a profession outside of engineering, I would explore interior design (or be a farm hand on a dude ranch).

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

When deciding on attending USC, there were a few things that set Viterbi apart from other programs I had applied to. First, I loved how much freedom I was given as a PhD in choosing the courses for my degree. While there are of course required core courses, having the power to choose electives that I think are relatable and valuable to my research, regardless of the department by which they’re taught, is extremely unique and I love the interdisciplinary approach. Second, I wanted to go to a school that offered the opportunity to not only be a research assistant, but a teaching assistant as well. Wanting to go into academia in the future, this is an extremely valuable way for me to learn what goes into teaching a course, and to help me strengthen my skills as an educator. Lastly, by observing the atmosphere created by the students, faculty, staff, and alumni, I knew USC would offer not only a rigorous education, but a supportive environment as well as a valuable network both during and after my time at Viterbi.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Although LA has so much to offer and explore, sometimes it’s nice to get out of the city rush for a bit and have a change of scenery. For that reason, I recommend incoming students check out Descanso Gardens, Chino Hills State Park, and Normandy Village.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I love getting together with fellow PhDs outside of the lab—whether it’s going out for a meal after a long day in the lab, watching movies at someone’s apartment, or exploring a new part of the city together, those memories mean so much!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I’ve been to the Greenland Ice Sheet!

What are your plans after graduation?

’m hoping to go down the path of applying to be a post-doc for a few years before securing a faculty position at a university.

Hometown (city, country):

Rebersburg, PA, USA.

Personal Website (if any):

USC Smith Lab website: https://www.smithresearchusc.com/

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Adam Smith

Digbalay Bose
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

My parents have always emphasized that even in difficult times, it’s not wise to lose patience. I guess that advice holds not just for Ph.D. but for life in general.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

During my school final year, I was selected for a young scientist program called KVPY by the Dept of Science and Technology, Govt of India. I consider that my greatest accomplishment, since it was the first time I faced a research interview conducted by eminent scientists and was able to provide satisfactory explanations.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I would say a wide-angle lens for my camera kit.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research primarily focuses on how different modalities (audio/visual/text) interact and how we can translate those interactions to understand media content like advertisements and movies from a computational perspective. I also work on developing robust machine learning based systems for clinical use-cases like automated diagnosis of facial paralysis. The exciting part about my research is the human-centered aspect, which can help in making these systems more interpretable and accessible, even in noisy real world scenarios.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would have explored photography as a profession and especially wildlife photography.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The major factor behind pursuing a PhD at USC is the opportunity to work at SAIL under Prof. Narayanan. SAIL has a rich history of working on diverse applications, cross-cutting the domains of healthcare, multimodal signal processing and affective computing. Further, Los Angeles being a vibrant city to live in also contributed to my choice.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

In Los Angeles, I would recommend Last Bookstore and Kenneth Hahn Park. Among national parks, Yosemite is a must visit.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

One memory that would definitely be on my mind is attending the on-campus Los Angeles Times Festival of Books in 2019. It was a great experience interacting with different authors and publishers during the festival. Hope to see it on-campus once the pandemic is over.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I can sketch animated characters pretty well.

What are your plans after graduation?

I would be interested in joining the industry and if possible, work in close collaboration with the medical community to develop accessible AI-based systems for widespread use.

Hometown (city, country)

Kolkata, India

Personal Website (if any)

I am active on twitter (@digbose92)

Faculty Advisor

Prof. Shrikanth Narayanan

Audie Lee
PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“Think you are the best” my advisor, Dr. Qiming Wang, said. Delivering my screening exam presentation, I shrank and choke before committee members. Everyone could readily figure out I was frozen solid. After it ended, my advisor kindly explained me in detail why I should be or, at least, try to look confident when presenting my idea (basically, no one buys yours when you don’t look like buying yours), and the best way to do so is to think I am the best. At that time, I could understand why he had sometimes told me “Audie, you are smart” or “you are doing great” in the lab – an aha moment. He had been planting seeds of confidence in me for about two years (gosh, I was too dull to figure it out early). Well, in fact, this advice itself is one that everyone can give out easily. But that advice from him reflects his long observation and thoughtfulness towards me – the best piece of advice.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

If my future children say ‘I wanna become a grown-up like my dad,’ that must be the greatest accomplishment ever in my life.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Some Nintendo Switch game cartridges – I don’t have Nintendo Switch and have no plan to get one lol Doesn’t this make you laugh already? Well, just thinking “Someday I’m gonna play it so hard” makes me feel better when I get stressed. I didn’t purchase just a bunch of game cartridges, instead, I bought a collection of (well-sugarcoated) mood shifters.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research fields include mechanics, wave propagation, metamaterials, and some novel structures. Does it sound like civil engineering topics? Most people usually think that civil engineering is all about soils, rocks, construction, earthquakes, and water. Right, but not ‘all.’ Surprisingly, due to many efforts for interdisciplinary research, the intersection area between research fields has been emerging wide – and that’s where something new is likely to come about. I mix civil engineering, mechanical engineering, materials engineering, and physics all together to bridge novel ideas with reality. Becoming an explorer looking for a treasure chest full of groundbreaking ideas, doesn’t it excite you?

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Paleontology. Trojans love Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones, right? Forget that Dr. Jones is actually an archeologist. Harrison Ford in Jurassic Park, that’s what I want to be in my second life. Hmm, Han Solo in Jurassic Park is also not a bad idea.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Support from USC. USC always tries its best to offer students an optimal environment for research. Especially, I have been more than just satisfied with the assistantship that USC provides. With all concerns about money-related issues excluded, I can only focus on my research during my Ph.D. career. I profoundly appreciate USC and proud alumni for their financial support.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Griffith Observatory: While many tourists perceive it as just one of the popular places in L.A., it comes to me as something like home where I can freely visit and blow away all the stress with the cool breeze, looking at the grid of the city.

El Taurino: It’s one of the best Mexican restaurants in L.A. Luckily, it’s right next to USC. Just go try burritos there. Further words are a waste of ink.

UCLA Rose Bowl: Watching Trojans vs. Bruins football match at Rose Bowl is the best thing you can do in L.A. – Trojans never lose.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

In early 2020, a tragedy visited my family, and I was withering away like barley plants during the Dust Bowl period. But my Ph.D. colleagues and USC staffs picked me up from the dust swamp. Their support was the rope of hope I could hold on to get out of that depression. It was the spirit of ‘Together We Fight On.’ This memory will never fade away.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Nothing. My life has been boring, especially during the COVID-19 period.

What are your plans after graduation?

Pursuing postdoctoral researcher position and faculty position.

Hometown (city, country):

Busan, South Korea

Personal Website (if any):

https://www.linkedin.com/in/audielee/

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Qiming Wang

Ulugbek Djuraev
PhD in Petroleum Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

I think the best piece of advice I've received was to listen to my body. For instance, to take some time off from work, from studies, and the internet to let your body recover and re-energize.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I think that would be learning about myself and learning about self-awareness. This is definitely my greatest accomplishment in recent years.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I believe it is my Samsung tablet. At first, I thought it was totally unnecessary because I try to keep my electronic devices to a minimum. But it's been of great help to me in this online study/work from home period.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I'm currently working on inverse problems pertinent to improving geologic realism of subsurface reservoirs given limited surface data. The exciting part is how a multidisciplinary approach, combining engineering and science, enables us to reach and extract subsurface resources safely and efficiently.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Most probably, I could have chosen a profession in finance.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Main factor was the research scope of the lab, specifically focusing on inverse and optimization problems in subsurface.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

The first place to visit in Los Angeles is to explore areas around USC on foot. In my opinion, learning about the surrounding area would help to get the most of USC experience. The second place is to go to a live show, any show that takes place every day in the city. And thirdly, I would recommend exploring California - it is such a beautiful state.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

The Trojan spirit!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

The range of musical genres I listen to - from Heavy Metal to Classical music and more!

What are your plans after graduation?

I hope to pursue a career in Reservoir Engineering.

Hometown (city, country):

I come from Qarshi, one of the large cities in the South of Uzbekistan.

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Dr. Behnam Jafarpour.

Danielle White
PhD in Materials Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

If you pray, don’t worry. If you worry, don’t pray.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Graduating from my historically Black university with an engineering degree and coming out even stronger than I went in is by far my greatest accomplishment. I still wear my Order of the Engineer ring everyday.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

While I was aggressively saving for a car, the original plan was to purchase it this upcoming October. Long story short, I bought my vehicle on May 1st!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research goal is to characterize the mechanical behavior of a certain subset of thin films. The films themselves are transparent, which, to this day, excites me. Even though science explains exactly how I am able to synthesize a transparent film, I feel like a magician that can make opaque ceramics and metals disappear.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would most certainly be a curator (art, music, experience) of intimate and expressive spaces.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Research! I figured I might as well like what I’m researching if I’m going to be focusing on it for the next ~5 years.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

PLEASE go to any national park- Yosemite is my favorite. Find an upscale restaurant/event, treat yourself, and have fun! Lastly and maybe most importantly, find a restaurant that is going to remind you of home. My go-to is Delicious Southern Cuisine.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I’ll always cherish our spontaneous lab outings. We’ve played tennis, gone to batting cages, and so much more!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I paint! The pandemic gave me the opportunity to develop my own painting style and invest in myself. Also, I’m pretty fashion forward for no good reason.

What are your plans after graduation?

The goals are to climb the ladder at NASA (following the footsteps of Dr. Wanda M. Austin and Vanessa Wyche), share more of my artwork publicly, and take steps towards establishing an LLC for the underserved. But, we’ll see what God has planned!

Hometown (city, country):

Lynn, Massachusetts, USA

Personal Website (if any):

charbondew.com

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Andrea M. Hodge

Yue (Julien) Niu
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

When I was taking EE503 (Probability for Electrical and Computer Engineers), Professor Bart Kosko said “You earn the knowledge by proving it yourself everyday”. This is the most valuable advice I have got so far. As a graduate student, not only do we need to think about what problems to be solved, but also to equip ourselves with sound and solid fundamentals. Otherwise, we are just scratching the surface.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

The most exciting thing I have done so far is to work as a TA in EE 354 (Introduction to Digital Circuits). Teaching younger students and learning the feedback from them really helped me improve my communication skills and thinking process.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A Guitar

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I am working on privacy-preserving machine learning (ML). In training ML models, we usually need to feed the models with a large dataset that sometimes contains sensitive information. The project I am working on is to protect the sensitive data when using them to train ML models.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I will choose a history related topic! I am always a history fan.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

USC creates a very supportive environment for graduate students. When I was once struggling with my PhD life, the department and my advisor really listened to my difficulties and gave valuable suggestions.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Malibu Beach, Sequoia NP, Venice Beach

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

The most valuable experience I still remember now is talking and drinking with a couple of close friends over the whole night.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I like Kart Racing.

What are your plans after graduation?

Seek a research position, better in colleges, but companies are also fine.

Hometown (city, country):

Anhui, China.

Personal Website (if any):

https://julienniu.wordpress.com/

Faculty Advisor:

Salman Avestimehr (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Yongkui Tang
PhD in Electrical and Electronics Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Never stop learning.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Getting my PhD degree after seven years of hard work.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A robot vacuum cleaner/mop with an auto-empty station that I bought last Black Friday. Saves so much time and effort on cleaning.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is mainly about creating miniaturized devices that could generate and modulate acoustic or ultrasonic waves. What excites me about my research is that through thoughtful engineering, these invisible waves could unfold numerous possibilities when used as powerful and versatile tools in a wide range of applications such as cancer treatment, neuromodulation, droplet ejection, contactless manipulation of objects, and acoustic propulsion.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

A botanist. I used to be really into plants and I could name most of the common plants in my hometown.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

World-renowned academic traditions, great environment and climate, culture diversity and inclusion

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

(1) The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens; (2) The Getty Center; (3) Joshua Tree National Park.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

One night before an important deadline the equipment I was using stopped working. I called another PhD student at 2 AM who lent me their lab's equipment and delivered it to me. I was extremely grateful for the help in need.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

The fact that I have a collection of over 150 CDs and vinyl records, and at one time I owned four Guitars.

What are your plans after graduation?

To continue my research as a postdoctoral researcher in University of California, Santa Barbara.

Hometown (city, country):

Changsha City, Hunan Province, China.

Personal Website (if any):

https://sites.google.com/usc.edu/yongkui-tang

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Eun Sok Kim.

Muhammad Waqas
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Instead of procrastinating on some very revolutionary idea, focus on research problems that are just outside your comfort zone. Slowly and consistently push yourself beyond your comfort zone.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest achievement is that I have won the Fulbright scholarship.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I purchased a car without doing any due diligence and just trusted my guts. It turned out to be a good decision.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I am working in Control Systems, Formal Methods, Autonomous Vehicles, and Advanced Driving Assistance Systems. The main goal of my research is to make autonomous vehicles safe, reliable, and efficient.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would choose to become a lawyer in the field of human rights and international law.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I choose Viterbi School of Engineering at USC as it is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. I wanted to join the research in Autonomous Vehicles at the USC Center of Advanced Transporation Technologies led by Prof. Petros Ioannou.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

California is full of beautiful places. It is very hard to choose. I highly recommend new students to San Francisco, Santa Monica, and Palm Springs. San Francisco is one of my cities in California.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

The enrichment seminar organized by Fulbright Association is one of my favorite memories at USC.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I run sub 60min 10k three times a week. I did a dual degree program MS EE along with a bachelor's in Law.

What are your plans after graduation?

After graduation, I want to work in the industry in the field of Autonomous Vehicles.

Hometown (city, country):

Sadiqabad, Punjab, Pakistan.

Personal Website (if any):

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwaqassandhu/

Faculty Advisor:

Petros A. Ioannou

Vanessa Rubien
PhD in Mechanical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Pursue what is meaningful, not what is expedient.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment is having developed the persistence and dedication to get where I am today. Every achievement, big or small, has taught me so much and helped me get to this point.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A 3,051-section paint-by-number kit.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is focused on the use of high-fidelity numerical simulation to model and analyze phenomena occurring in high-speed turbulent fluid flows. It’s very exciting to see how far simulation capabilities have come, and how critical they are in modern engineering. I feel fortunate for the opportunity to learn about and contribute to these capabilities in my field.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

If I could choose any other profession outside of engineering, I would be interested in researching child psychology and development.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

After completing my undergraduate coursework in fluid mechanics, I discovered that I had a strong interest in hypersonic and high-speed aerodynamics. I knew that I wanted to develop a deep understanding of this subject in order to conduct relevant research. While applying for PhD programs, I found that USC was not only doing the research I found most interesting, but also that its students and faculty created a supportive and collaborative educational atmosphere. After my first year at USC, I've developed a deep respect and admiration for the expertise of my advisor and the other AME faculty members.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Sequoia National Park, The Getty Museum, and Afters Ice Cream.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

As a remote student, I haven’t made too many on-campus memories yet, but one of my favorite memories at USC so far has been receiving the Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) Aerospace Research Fellowship. The fellowship allowed me to work as a summer intern at The Aerospace Corporation, and will provide me with opportunities for networking, outreach, and professional development throughout the upcoming year.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I speak fluent German!

What are your plans after graduation?

In the future, I hope to apply knowledge gained in high-speed aerodynamics research to cutting-edge programs that work with emerging hypersonic technology.

Hometown (city, country):

Redondo Beach, California.

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Ivan Bermejo-Moreno

Sarath Shekkizhar
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

In my high school I was very much intrigued by poetry. One poem, Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson, struck a chord with me ever since I read it for the first time - The takeaway message, as I remember it, is experience and knowledge is an unceasing endeavor that fills us with joy, pain, and an everlasting desire for more. Whatever your passion or goal, be sure "to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield"

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Recently, I was awarded the Best Student Paper Award at the IEEE International Conference on Image Processing, 2020 - I'm particularly fond of this achievement since it gave me the courage and motivation to keep going on with my research.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A pair of rock climbing shoes and a summer climbing membership.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My current research focus is in graph based machine learning. Graphs provide a generic setup to describe and analyze patterns in data where instead of observing data as an isolated set of points, one can take a bird's eye view where the data interacts amongst themselves to form a network of connectivity. I find this idea of learning by association appealing due to its simplicity and its potential to be applied in any real world problem involving data.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I love the outdoors - skiing, scuba diving and backpacking are some of my favorite leisure activities. If I were to pick a profession outside engineering I would probably end up as an instructor or guide in one of these activities.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I originally joined USC as a MS in Electrical Engineering student and had the opportunity to interact and work with my current advisor and other researchers at USC. The freedom in choosing one's research and the support that one has as a community were two major reasons for me in deciding to pursue my PhD at USC.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

1. Hike to the Hollywood sign while taking a stop at Griffith.
2. Take the metro to Santa Monica and walk/bike along the beach
3. Enjoy the food that LA offers. I'm a bit of a sweet tooth, so here are some of my favorites: Milk and Berries cake from Porto's, Tiramisu from Bottega Louie, Griddle Cafe pancakes, Diddy Riese cookies

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

My first tailgate experience and the walk down Trousdale way to watch the USC football game against Notre Dame at the Coliseum.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Contrary to what others think of me, I think of myself as an introvert.

What are your plans after graduation?

My immediate plans after graduation is to pursue a postdoctoral position in an academic or corporate environment. Ultimately, I hope to pursue a professorship to continue my career in research and share my passion for discovery.

Hometown (city, country):

Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India.

Personal Website (if any):

https://shekkizh.github.io/

Faculty Advisor:

Antonio Ortega

Caroline Johnston
PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

A manager at one of my previous internships once told me “Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want.” Sometimes you have to be your own advocate to achieve your goals.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

It sounds corny, but I’ve made quite a few friendships that I am proud of and grateful to have as part of my support system. This system has been vital during my journey to earn a PhD.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Over the course of the pandemic, I built a few LEGO sets, which is something that I’ve really enjoyed since childhood. I splurged and bought the LEGO replica typewriter. It can’t actually type, but it’s still pretty awesome!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

At a high level, my research involves combining the concepts of robust optimization and social choice theory to create a framework that integrates fair, diverse, equitable, and/or inclusive practices into group-decision making processes.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Policies that are socially sensitive (e.g. setting bail, approving loans, etc.), how can we ensure that the ultimate policy that is implemented is not simply the policy that is favored by those with the “loudest” voices in the room? Are there certain voices in the room that should carry more “weight” than others? I am creating a framework that explores different techniques in aggregating group preferences, focusing on such issues.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I was really inspired by the work coming out of USC’s Center for Artificial Intelligence in Society and its interdisciplinary focus with faculty and students from both engineering and social work. I always knew that I wanted to use my technical skills to promote social good, so I felt the center would be a good fit for me to explore this further.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

1. Walk/bike/skate along “The Strand” at Manhattan Beach and look at all the fancy beach houses!
2. Go to a Dodgers game!
3. Grab some friends, firewood, and s’mores materials and head to Dockweiler Beach for a beachside campfire!

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I don’t have any sort of specific memory, but I’ve met some great people at USC that I cherish.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I play the drums!

What are your plans after graduation?

I want to work in industry. Though I’m not sure of the specifics, working somewhere in the public policy sector seems the most interesting and rewarding to me at this point in time.

Hometown (city, country):

Wilmington, MA, USA

Personal Website (if any):

www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-johnston39

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Phebe Vayanos

Lucine Oganesian
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Listen to everyone; trust your gut. Another piece of advice I got from multiple people before starting graduate school was the importance of having at least one hobby that I maintained consistently throughout my PhD. The reasoning a lot of people gave was two-fold: 1) working all the time won't necessarily help with progress so breaks are important, and 2) research is non-linear and getting stuck is inevitable, but having a different activity where it feels like there is progress helps balance out the frustration.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I don't think there's any particular accomplishment I consider to be my greatest. Each accomplishment is its own milestone, a byproduct of effort and labor. To name a few that probably stand out the most: the first time I presented my research as an undergraduate; when the first (and only) consumer product I worked on shipped (didn't appreciate this achievement until I saw some of my close friends using the product); my first abstract submission to a professional academic conference as a graduate student; and the first time I landed a proper au de coluna and macaco (acrobatic movements from capoeira).

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Kicking pads for training capoeira.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research involves developing algorithms for modelling and decoding neural dynamics. The statistical and mathematical tools that I work on can be used in neurotechnology, with potential clinical applications (e.g., decoding neural activity to control prosthetics), and in neuroscience research to study cognitive processes. My work excites me in two regards: 1) the mathematical toolkit I get to use on a day-to-day basis, and 2) the potential clinical applications of my models/algorithms, whether it be for actuating motor prosthetics or for emotional rehabilitation.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

That's a tough one..... At this stage in my life I would have to say either an animator / comic book artist, or a high-school math teacher.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Two factors: the research and the people. Coming back to school from industry, these were probably the two most important factors for me. I wanted to do research that I was excited about, and USC offered a lot of really excellent research opportunities -- work that I could steadfastly commit to over the next few years. Secondly, the people I work with and the community I am a part of also largely impacts my day-to-day motivation. Sometimes work becomes grueling -- especially when stuck on a problem; having motivated, supportive, and compassionate peers helps me push through these difficult moments.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

The Last Bookstore, Joshua Tree National Park, Griffith Park / Griffith Observatory.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

It's not a particularly extravagant memory, but it would have to be the first time I went to my lab as a graduate student. My first year as a USC student was remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and since our group is a computational group we did not need to be in the office to do our work. So, the first time I went to my lab room and picked out my office desk was definitely an exciting moment for me.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Difficult question! Depends on one's expectations. Hmmm... I guess some individuals find it surprising that I grew up in LA, but I never tried Korean BBQ in Korea Town.

What are your plans after graduation?

Current plan is to stay on the academia track: work as a postdoctoral researcher before transitioning to a faculty position at a research university. The goal is to lead my own lab, while also teaching.

Hometown (city, country):

Glendale, California, USA.

Personal Website (if any):

lucineoganesian.com

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Maryam Shanechi,

Jingbo Wang
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Don’t be discouraged if you fail to accomplish anything in your first year. We all have to get used to the transition from the undergrad to the graduate and sometimes it takes quite a long time to grow up to be an independent researcher. A little more persistence will pay off and lead to a promising future. In my first year, I struggled a lot in my first year. Many things deter me, including choosing a research topic, having no idea how to handle problems, and peer pressure. Fortunately, I have so many friends and lab-mates helping me get through and encourage me to tackle difficulties instead of giving up. Therefore, I also want to encourage new grads to insist on their goals and never get discouraged.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Giving a great presentation of my work at a prestigious conference. It is really important to share your findings with the rest of the research community and to shed more light on the potential directions. Delivering such a talk is audience-centric, therefore we have to jump out of our own bubbles to get our message come across. In the beginning, I used jargon a lot, resulting in a lot of puzzled looks from my audience. It takes me a while to realize that, less is more. I have to look for simpler ways to explain my idea. Here, I really want to thank Gary Polakovic, as he gives us a lot of suggestions for communication skills. By practicing and sticking with the 3C principle - clear, concise, and consistent, I finally become capable of abstracting my research materials to get my audience understood.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Nintendo switch! During COVID, most of the time, we have to stay at home. Playing some games (e.g. animal crossing) on Nintendo switch is really relaxing

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research focuses on developing rigorous methods and analysis tools for improving the security of software systems. I focus on a class of emerging security threats called side-channel attacks. Recent examples include Meltdown/Spectre, which are side-channel attacks that affect the vast majority of today's computers, thus highlighting their profound social and economical impact. During a side-channel attack, the adversary relies on exploiting statistical dependencies between the secret data (e.g., passwords or encryption keys) and seemingly-unrelated non-functional properties (e.g., power consumption or execution time) of the computer. The ubiquity of the software system and our growing reliance on those systems are leaving us more vulnerable to safety and security threats than ever before. The most exciting part of my research is that all the tools I’m building are trying to provide a shield for the safety of our daily life, and it has been adopted in many cryptographic programs.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I think I would like to pursue J.D. or LL.M in law school. For some of the code-based laws, it is well suited to apply formal methods and logic to represent them. Researchers have proposed a default logic to formalize the federal tex code and its accompanying regulations. What I’m currently doing is applying the logic to formalize the behavior of the software. In the future, I wish I could use that to formalize code-based laws, to detect ambiguities and drafting errors.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

There are so many reasons:) First, the professor I want to work with is at USC. Second, there are many PL/SE researchers in USC and we could discuss, collaborate in many possible ways. The atmosphere here is really motivating. Third, USC has so many female clubs (e.g. WinCC, WiSE) where we could learn from each other’s experiences and try to encourage more females in the STEM area. Fourth, USC provides many valuable classes such as public speaking, creative thinking, arts performance and etc. It really broadens our horizons in addition to our own expertise. Last but not least, LA is such a special city with palm trees, skateboarding teens, oddball bohemians, and the occasional movie star. You will fall in love with it once you come here.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Griffith observatory, Universal Studios, Getty center

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

There are so many unforgettable memories at USC. The farmer’s market outside Leavey library, annual conquest rally, birthday celebrations for our lab-mates, and hanging out together in USC Village.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Although I give public presentations in the premier conference and make friends with other researchers, I am a typical introvert and I dislike social activities. When attending the conference, people are expected to interact with each other over few days. To be frank, I enjoy talking with people and introducing my research. However, none of these could compare favorably to solitary. I always spend a lot of time learning and reflecting in solitude. It’s more like a meditation where I could relax and talk with myself.

What are your plans after graduation?

I plan to stay in academia and look for faculty jobs or other research-related jobs.

Hometown (city, country):

Nanyang, China.

Personal Website (if any):

http://scf.usc.edu/~jingbow/

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Chao Wang.

Chelsea Luo
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Being unhappy is all about wanting yes but getting no. But happiness is not determined by circumstances. How we react plays a much bigger part.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

To welcome all challenges and be constantly learning to be a better self.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A rainbow-colored utensil set.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research focuses on speeding up machine learning from a system point of view. I like it because it can potentially benefit a lot of fields as machine learning is changing the world right now.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would choose marine biology. Oceans are just so fascinating.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I was fortunate to have a research internship at USC when I was an undergrad. I enjoyed my time at USC a lot as an intern and was attracted by the open and diverse culture.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

(1) Griffith Observatory - the view is amazing!

(2) Huntington Library - many beautiful gardens

(3) La Brea Tar Pits & Museum - it's really cool, and it's right next to LACMA

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Getting my first paper accepted. I will always remember the excitement and all the hard work that went into it!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

At one point, I kept hundreds of silkworms at home. Feeding them was a huge problem!

What are your plans after graduation?

I want to be a professor so that I can do what I enjoy: teaching, and helping people.

Hometown (city, country):

Nanjing, China.

Personal Website (if any):

http://alchem.usc.edu/~qinyi/index.html

Faculty Advisor:

Xuehai Qian

Aristotelis - Angelos Papadopoulos
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Here, I would like to share a quote from the great Stephen Hawking: “However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. While there is life, there is hope.”

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment was getting admitted at USC for PhD studies. This is mainly because the selection process is highly competitive since you have to stand out among thousands of international students who apply for graduate studies at USC.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A sky galaxy projector that I ordered from Amazon.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research interests lie in the fields of Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Optimization and Game Theory. In my latest research results, we designed a machine learning algorithm that can learn the routing preferences of individual drivers. Subsequently, a routing optimization algorithm assigns the drivers into the traffic network in a way that the total travel time of the network is minimized while at the same time, all drivers are given routes according to their personal routing preferences. What really excites me about my research is the fact that the solution to this problem can have a positive impact on people’s lives.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would choose to be a doctor because from an early age, I wanted to pursue a profession that would allow me to make a positive impact on people’s lives.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

There were several factors that helped me decide to pursue my PhD at USC. First, USC is one of the top engineering schools where you have the chance to be taught by world renowned professors. Second, USC ranks among the top universities in the US for student diversity. As an international student, USC made me feel included. Lastly, USC is located in Los Angeles, California. Apart from the beach and the sunny weather, living in California is the dream for many engineers who want to live in the heart of technology and innovation.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

The world famous Santa Monica pier. The ocean view and the sunset from the pier are really nice.
The second place is Venice beach. Riding a bike in Venice beach is one of my favorite things to do in LA.
Lastly, I would also recommend Griffith Observatory. You can have an amazing view of Los Angeles and realize how big this city truly is.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

First, USC felt like a “home away from home” since it really cares about its international students. Second, I’ll always remember all the brilliant minds that I met here, both faculty and students. Lastly, I will never forget the statue of Tommy Trojan and the quote “Fight on!”.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I love watching NYC apartment tours on Youtube.

What are your plans after graduation?

After graduation, I plan to work as a research scientist in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning. My ultimate goal as an engineer is to make a positive impact on society.

Hometown (city, country):

I was born and raised in Athens, Greece.

Personal Website (if any):

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aristotelisangelospapadopoulos6b25a8113

Website: https://aristotelispap.github.io

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Petros Ioannou

Emily Anne Vargas
PhD in Materials Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

My mom always used to say to me “No olvides tus raíces aunque estés en la cima.” Which means to never forget your roots, even when you are at the top. To never forget why you started, how you started, and to give back to the communities that made you who you are today. My second favorite quote is “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Ask questions. Find a mentor that can help answer the questions you didn’t know how to ask or knew to ask.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Being a first-generation college graduate, the first engineer in my family, and the first person to go to graduate school. I couldn’t have done it without my family’s support and unconditional love. They immigrated from Cuba with nothing but the clothes on their backs and, in turn, provided the opportunity for me and my sister to live out the American Dream.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My K2 Inline Skates! My friend, Jose, has been teaching me how to rollerblade on campus (I haven’t fallen…yet).

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I’m currently working on how the manufacturing process affects the microstructure of oxide-oxide ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) and how the microstructure affects the overall mechanical behavior! I like to think about my research like the show “How It’s Made”. You don’t quite realize how the smallest of changes in a manufacturing process can truly impact the outcome of whatever material or product you’re making. I also like how I can see the real-world applications of my research. CMCs are used in high temperature applications ranging from car brakes to heat shields for rockets!

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would be a visual artist! In my spare time, I love to draw and paint and almost went to an art magnet school for high school.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I made a list of non-negotiables when choosing PhD programs and ultimately, they all were components that led to my happiness. Location, being near an international airport so I could visit my family, Vitamin D (sunshine makes all the difference!), my faculty advisor and the research topic, how much effort the university puts in DE&I initiatives, and the people/culture. Many people don’t realize the culture from undergrad to grad is vastly different, so surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals is super important to maintaining your health and well-being physically, mentally, and emotionally. Shout out to Andy Chen and Kevin Henry for showing me how much USC cares about their students and treats them like family!

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Joshua Tree National Park (and any other National Parks in the neighboring area) for stargazing, Smorgasburg if you’re a foodie, and the Huntington Library.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Meeting my best friends, Jose, Joel, and Sophia, and forming a WhatsApp group called “The Pupusa Squad” one day after we had gotten lunch together at a pupuseria. Together, we played hooky one time at a conference held at UC San Diego and explored La Jolla and the beaches.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I currently serve as the Vice-Chair on the National Board of Directors for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. I’m the youngest Vice-Chair the organization has ever had.

What are your plans after graduation?

I’d like to work in either the aerospace, automotive, or energy/power industry as a chief composites engineer within R&D.

Hometown (city, country):

Miami, FL, USA.

Personal Website (if any):

https://composites.usc.edu/emily-vargas/

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Steve Nutt from the USC M.C. Gill Composites Center.

Anshu Goyal
PhD in Biomedical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The best piece of advice I've been given is you should always ask questions. It's better to understand things than to try to make things up as you go.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment has been getting a black belt in karate after training for 10 years.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My favorite impulse purchase in the last year is a Nintendo Switch.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research focuses on developing an informatics-based system to aid physical therapists at Rancho los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center visualize and access patient information. I find this research very meaningful because it has the potential to help all sorts of patients from stroke victims to foot injuries literally get back on their feet and walk again.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

If I could choose any profession outside engineering or computer science I would choose a profession in Biology.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Some factors which helped me choose to pursue my PhD at USC were: living in Los Angeles, a great research community to collaborate with, and the amazing resources available to me.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

3 places in Los Angeles I'd recommend an incoming student to visit in LA would be: Griffith Observatory, Santa Monica Pier, and Hollywood Blvd

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

My favorite memory at USC (so far) is celebrating with my fellow first year PhD students after I finished presenting my work in my first Grodin's Symposium.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

A surprising fact about me is that I edit scripts for youtube comedy shows.

What are your plans after graduation?

I'm still not sure what my plans are for after graduation, but currently I'm leaning towards working in industry.

Hometown (city, country):

My hometown is Phoenix, Arizona.

Faculty Advisor:

My faculty advisor is Dr. Brent Liu.

Kylie Trettner
PhD in Chemical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The best piece of advice I've ever been given is to always carry around a notebook. Though I suppose the true advice is what that implies: to write everything down. Writing out my thoughts and reasons why I want to try things (in terms of research) has been so helpful! Not only do I have a handful of notebooks (I'm really organized so each one serves a different purpose) but I've also found that typing up notes to myself when I need to get an idea out quickly is so helpful as well.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Since I'm still working toward earning my PhD, I'd have to say my greatest accomplishment was running TSP DIY last year (TPS = The Speed Project). It's normally a relay-style race from the Santa Monica Pier to the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, but because of COVID we did it around Santa Monica and Beverley Hills. I ran 31 miles at 6:27 average mile pace over the course of the 31-hour 45-minute race with 8 other women. It was incredible and I can't wait to run the real TSP relay next year!

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I don't impulse buy! I have to stick to my budget and I usually plan out my bigger purchases a few months in advance to spread them out. Once in a while I'll be tempted by the Madewell sales or buying a few more books than the one that I'm looking for, but if I can't fit it in my budget I don't buy it.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is a very interesting mix of materials science, electrical engineering, microscopy, and cancer biology! I'm currently working on creating both a magnetic hydrogel system and electromagnetic microscope mount to be able to use and applied magnetic field to change the mechanical properties of the hydrogel. I'm using this as a tumor microenvironment model to study howincreased material stiffness (modulus) changes the biological properties of cancer organoids grown in the hydrogel matrix. Eventually, I'll use this to study the cellular secretion profile and pair the system with a mechanotransductor to get both biological-only and material/organoid interface read-outs. I'm excited to work on engineering solutions to study biological effects and I've found myself working in the biophysics field - an industry I never knew existed until I began designing my project - and it truly forces us to push the boundaries between engineering, physical sciences, and biology to unlock the fundamental properties of fibrotic diseases.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would hands down be a professional athlete. I was a student-athlete in undergrad and I'm really involved in the running community here in Los Angeles and if I was ever given the opportunity, I would jump into full-time training.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Beyond USC's location, I saw within USC the opportunity to truly forge my own path. Part of this is because I recognized my PI's encouragement for collaborations (both within and outside of USC) and actively pursued an institution that would support me but also give me the freedom to create at the same time as investigating biologically-inspired questions.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

There's too much to pick for all of California, so I'll limit it to a ~4 hour drive from LA. I absolutely love Death Valley National Park! In LA, the Santa Monica Mountains are probably where I spend most of my weekends (cycling through, but hiking and running are incredible there too) and while I'm talking of mountains, the access to various national forests is great here too (Angeles National Forest and San Bernardino and a few of those mountains are often my cycling destinations for Saturdays as well). My third place would be Ginger's Divine Ice Cream on Washington in Culver City; it's probably the best ice cream I've ever had!

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

A memory I'll always cherish from USC actually happened during my visit weekend. It rained the whole day we toured campus and spoke with professors. Once I got out of my final meeting (with my current PI) and went to head back to the hotel, a rainbow popped up across campus I ended up walking back through campus under it. I think it was a sign haha!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I was on Good Morning America when I was in middle school on accident. I went to watch the Fray perform, but during the interview with Steve Martin (he was promoting the Pink Panther movie) they decided to ask the crowd to try and repeat things in his character's accent. They came up to me! After I did it, the hostess turned to Steve and said, "I guess the accent isn't so hard!" which I took to mean I did pretty well.

What are your plans after graduation?

I'm really not sure what I want to do after graduation! I have a couple more years and right now I'm not sure if I want to continue my career doing benchwork or transition to a more consulting-type position. I love problem solving and building but I also really love science communication and public speaking, so I know I'll have to find the right position that will give me a good balance of both.

Hometown (city, country):

Wading River, NY, USA

Personal Website (if any):

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylietrettner

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Andrea Armani

Chien-Sheng Yang
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

No pain no gain.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My paper was the best paper award finalist in MobiHoc 2019.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

It was a Sony WH-1000XM4 headphone.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research interests are mainly on modern large-scale distributed computing, and secure/private computing. In particular, I have developed online scheduling policies for both dispersed computing and distributed coded computing networks to support the intensive real-time machine learning computations on tremendous data usages and communications for edge devices in IoT (Edge computing). Moreover, I also focus on designing new approaches for secure aggregation in federated learning. It is exciting to work on the problems which are imperative to edge computing. I believe that the results of my research make substantial contributions to the era of Big Data (need intensive real-time computation) and help developing 5G (allow tremendous data usages and communications for mobile devices).

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would choose mathematics

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

First, USC is located in Los Angeles, one of the biggest cities on the west coast. Second, the Viterbi engineering school at USC is top engineering in the states. Lastly, the faculties in the department of electrical and computer engineering are really outstanding.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

(1) Getty Center

(2) Santa Monica

(3) Griffith Observatory

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I really cherish the time that I can discuss with my colleagues for research in school. I can always learn a lot from them.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I have liked the Lakers since I was a kid. It is kind of destined for me to study at USC.

What are your plans after graduation?

I will be joining MediaTek as a senior engineer.

Hometown (city, country):

New Taipei City, Taiwan

Personal Website (if any):

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chien-sheng-yang-63b213b5/

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Salman Avestimehr.

Catherine Yunis
PhD in Biomedical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Not advice but encouragement generally - I think there have been points in my life when I have been unsure about a big decision or the course of some work I've done and hearing positive encouragement from a professor has given me a huge boost in my confidence in myself and the work I'm doing.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Graduating MIT. Getting through undergrad at MIT is very difficult.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A backflow incense burner. I love watching the smoke trickle downwards and I've found some nice smelling new incense as a result.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

In short, I study the relationship between touch, vision and walking. I am excited to learn the neuroscience between movement - how sensory inputs of the peripheral nervous system can influence commands sent by the brain to the body.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I'd be an artist.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The location (love Los Angeles and California and the access to the medical device industry in SoCal), the potential for tech transfer from research to industry and the emphasis on and support for diversity at the school.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Barnsdall Park in LA for the view, Point Lobos National Park south of San Francisco for the gorgeous scenery and a beach in Santa Barbara to feel like you're on vacation.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Being able to eat lunch with my friends/classmates in the Engineering Quad before covid changed the policies about who can be on campus.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I am very tall - about 5'9". It's hard to tell over Zoom. I also like to change my hair color about every month or two.

What are your plans after graduation?

To work for a research group at a large tech company or to start my own business.

Hometown (city, country):

Chicago, IL, USA

Personal Website (if any):

I am due to update this but for now I like to share this work from when I was in college: https://neuralfashion.blogspot.com/ or you can look me up on LinkedIn.

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. James Finley and Dr. Heather Culbertson.

Fiona Guo
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

When I took my first computer science class in undergrad, my professor told us “Build everything incrementally.” Of course he said this in the context of writing codes, but I’ve just found it applies to many more things in our lives.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment so far is that I made the decision to start my PhD, and I’m sticking to it so far. I’ve been grown a lot, and I’m having fun exploring in my research.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My favorite impulse purchase recently is a tomato plant that’s thriving and providing me cherry tomatoes for salads.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is about applying machine learning and data analytics in social science context. For example, one recent project is that I use data collected from social media like Twitter to study how George Floyd’s death changed people’s moral thinking, and I’ve found evidence that this event had increased people’s vice sentiments toward many aspects such as authority. I think learning and discovering interesting social science patterns is very exciting to me, I’m learning how people think, behave and react. And even better, we are discovering all these patterns from data!

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I’d probably be a cook. I enjoy food very much myself, and I also enjoy cooking for others and sharing what’s good.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The biggest factor is, when I was applying I found advisors at USC whose research I’m really interested in, and they happened to like me as well.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Yosemite, Channel Islands and Redwood parks. These are my 3 favorite parks. Yes I love hiking.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Actually I had to switch advisor during my second year because my previous advisor was leaving USC. I’m very grateful that my current advisor Dr. Kristina Lerman took me in. I’m also thankful for all the help from USC Viterbi office and the department advisors. It is something I’d always remember and appreciate.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

90% of the songs I listen to are from 60’s or 70’s.

What are your plans after graduation?

I think I want to join some company, where I can use my knowledge and ability to develop novel applications. It could be a biotechnology company where I could contribute to solving human health problems, or a social networking company where I could help to build a better and healthier online community for people.

Hometown (city, country):

Zhejiang Province, China

Faculty Advisor:

Kristina Lerman.

Sina Heydari
PhD in Mechanical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“First understand nature’s rules.”

This quote by Dr. Tarnita of Princeton University is not only a short description of what my PhD research has been about, but I’ve also found it to be very useful advice in life in general

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My first paper with my PhD advisor on sea star inspired locomotion received a lot of attention from different news outlets (BBC news and world updates, KQED, Mashable, …). It was a challenging project that took a long time to finalize and seeing that it was met with interest by the community was definitely very fulfilling and rewarding.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My rock-climbing gym pass. It was kind of expensive and at the time I wasn’t sure how much I would actually enjoy the sport. But it turned out to be one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

In Dr. Kanso’s bio-inspired motion lab we use mathematical tools to study how living things move around. My research focuses on sea star locomotion and how it happens through the combined action of hundreds of tiny tube feet.

We find that nature usually comes up with great, if not perfect, answers to many of the problems we as humans might face. Going deep into a biological system, finding those answers, and potentially applying them to an engineering system is what I find most exciting about my research.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Wildlife photographer.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Well, first of all, USC is a very prestigious university and I knew that getting my graduate training and degree from USC can open up a lot of doors in my future career.
Another major factor was definitely my advisor’s research interest which lies on the intersection of mathematics and biology. As an engineer with a lot of interest in wildlife and ecology, I found the opportunity to work in this area extremely appealing.

The third factor was the opportunity of being a graduate student in Los Angeles. From the many nearby hiking trails to the world-famous tourist attractions, LA never fails to provide you with different options to blow off steam whenever the research may seem too challenging.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

(1) Anywhere in the Sierra-Nevada mountains, (2) Joshua Tree national park and (3) Natural history museum of LA county (which is right across the street from our campus).

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Meeting my wife here at USC.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I’ve been lucky enough to see and photograph a California condor; a critically-endangered species with a population size of smaller than 300 individuals left in the wild.

What are your plans after graduation?

As of right now my plan is to pursue a career in academia and the first step on that path would be to do a Postdoc position in my field of research.

Hometown (city, country):

Born in Tucson, AZ, raised (mostly) in Tehran, Iran.

Personal Website (if any):

http://scf.usc.edu/~sinaheyd/

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Eva Kanso.

Shantanu Thakar
PhD in Mechanical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The best piece of advice I was given was to not take your career related defeats too seriously and most importantly not letting them affect your mental health. To get into detail, at the time when something you’re not happy with happens, it feels like a huge deal. But for the long term such things do not matter much. For example, if one doesn't get admission in their dream university, although it feels like a huge defeat at the time, after 10 years you won’t even remember much about it. Hence, it is necessary to not take any such defeat too seriously. Ofcourse, you should feel sad and strive to achieve better but it is very important to not let it affect your mental health. Things have a way of falling in place. For example, even if you do not get your dream university, you may end up getting a job better than most people at that university.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

For me the greatest accomplishment would be successfully completing my PhD from one of the top universities and receiving the Best Research Assistant award in the process.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

It has to be the new Tesla that is yet to be delivered.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it

My research is in the area of AI and machine learning for motion planning for complex robots like robotic arms, or robotic arms mounted on mobile robots or multiple robotic arms moving together for performing several tasks. Making sure that such complex robots move safely and successfully is extremely challenging. Coming up with novel solutions for solving such challenging problems for different applications is what excites me. However, the thing that excites me most is actually seeing robots move and perform interesting tasks like disinfection, grasping, transportation of objects, to name a few. It is highly satisfying to see that my research can benefit making life easier and safer for people.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

It has to be one of astronomer or a soccer player

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The two most important factors for me were my advisor, Prof. Satyandra K. Gupta and the excellent infrastructure and facilities for robotics at USC. Prof. Gupta’s research was exactly what I was interested in and looking to get into. Moreover, he is an excellent advisor who gives you a lot of freedom to express yourself, but also makes sure you are moving towards the goal. He makes sure his students work on problems that are relevant for the industry. The facilities at the center for advanced manufacturing, where he’s the director at, are state-of-the-art. I have not seen so many varieties of robots and 3D printers anywhere else.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

It is really difficult to recommend just 3 places in Southern California, let alone in the entire California. Let me stick to SoCal. The first place I recommend is one of my favorite national parks, Channel Island National park, off the coast of Ventura. Not only are the islands extremely beautiful with blue waters and rich marine life for snorkelling and scuba diving, but also, on the way there, you will get to see dolphins, seals and if you’re lucky whales. It’s a must visit! The second is my favorite beach in LA, Hermosa Beach. It is a small city of its own with amazing restaurants. The sunset from Hermosa beach is one of the prettiest I have seen. The third place would be my absolute favorite ice cream place near Westwood, Saffron & Rose. The Persian ice cream they serve is one of the best ice creams I have ever had.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Some of the memories I’ll cherish the most are working late at night at the lab chasing a deadline, after which, our entire lab would go to the diner close by for late night food and beer. Apart from this, I miss playing soccer at the Brittingham field till late at night.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I could solve the Rubik’s cube in less than 30 seconds

What are your plans after graduation?

I have joined Amazon as a Research Scientist in Robotics.

Hometown (city, country):

Pune, India

Personal Website (if any):

shantanuthakar.github.io

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Satyandra K. Gupta

Ruying Liu
PhD in Civil Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“In the moment when the coin is in the air, you suddenly know what you are hoping for.”

I always flip a coin in my mind when I make hard decisions.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I won the Charles Innes Prize in our department in my senior year at the University of Edinburgh. The prize awarded annually to the foremost student in the Honors course in the final year. It is not my first time being the foremost student in class. But winning this price in my last year at Edinburgh did not only give me a happy ending of my undergraduate life, but also has become a huge encouragement for me. When I faced difficulties, this prize reminded me of my achievements, the unforgettable memories in the windy Scotland, and the invaluable support I’ve received in the past. All these boost my inner strength to pursue my next goals.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Gaming chair.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My current study is on humans, emergencies, and the built environment. As a multidisciplinary topic, it involves studying human building interaction in the context of different disasters with technologies such as virtual reality. My research provides significant insights in enhancing occupant safety and facilitating evolution of the built environment in satisfying human needs.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would choose Language and Literature. I enjoy reading and learning new languages. I may become a publication editor or a novel writer.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

USC invited me to the campus visit and I met my advisor in person. She is a very supportive advisor and a reputable researcher. During the campus visit, I was attracted by the friendly ambience of the university as well. A place with sunshine, lovely people, beach, and music will never bore me in the next 5 years.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Apparently 3 places are not enough. My top 3 is Golden Gate Bridge, California State Route 1, Malibu beach especially the amazing sunset.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I joined USC when the Covid-19 hit in 2020. Unfortunately, I was not able to participate in many social events or spend much time on campus. But I do cherish the experience working with team members on class projects. Even with online zoom meetings, we made good communications and excellent teamwork.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

When I was in high school, I became a member of the Calligraphers Association of our city.

What are your plans after graduation?

Find a postdoc position or a faculty position.

Hometown (city, country):

Tangshan, China.

Faculty Advisor:

Burçin Becerik-Gerber.

Abdulla Alshabanah
PhD in Computer Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

An advice I got from a 20 years chef who quit her job as she couldn’t handle the food waste. She said everyone has to work to make a living, but you also have to work to feed your soul.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Ranked among the top 30% finishers of 2020 LA Marathon.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A rocking recliner. A must during the lockdown.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

Currently I am addressing performance issues of distributed machine learning. It excites me that such a domain has applications in healthcare especially in cancer research.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would choose Psychiatry.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

PhD is an experience of a lifetime, so I wanted to pick a school that: has competitive students, excel in all of its programs, close to Silicon Valley and help its students to have a work-life balance.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Yosemite National Park and Redwood National Park.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Listening to Dean Varun Soni’s talk quoting the famous Harvard Study of Adult Development in the alumni park at 2019 graduation ceremony, the day I got my master’s degree.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Even though I have a mild fear of heights, I have been leading hiking groups for the past couple of years.

What are your plans after graduation?

I plan to pursue an academic career path back in Saudi Arabia.

Hometown (city, country):

Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Personal Website (if any):

www.linkedin.com/in/abdulla-alshabanah-548016179

Faculty Advisor:

Murali Annavaram.

Mustafa Altay Karamuftuoglu
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

You can do anything you set your mind to. Even if the progress that we make is not completely in the right direction or its speed is not as we expected, we should believe in ourselves and keep moving forward.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

One of the circuit designs had a problem that we didn’t realize while I was with my previous research team. Two days before the chip tape-out deadline, we realized the mistake, and I had to find another solution. It was so overwhelming to handle but within the same day, I came up with a solution. I redesigned the related part of the circuit and made it ready for the fabrication. Since we sent the tape-out to Japan for fabrication, this helped us to save time and money. Upon obtaining the fabricated chip, I performed experiments and obtained the same results like in the simulations.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I didn’t do any due to the pandemic. I guess it would normally be something related to electronics.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is mainly about the design of low power VLSI circuits and systems. I like running simulations and drawing custom circuit layouts. To be specific, I am currently working on superconducting neural network implementations. The feeling of creating something from scratch and learning new things about my field of study is what motivates me to conduct research.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would choose to be a doctor or probably anything in the medical field. With the pandemic, we also see how important their role is in our lives.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The faculty members here have amazing achievements and knowledge. Looking at the list of their publications has given me a sense that continuing my research and education at USC is a great match for my interests. Given the information on the department’s webpage, I easily accessed a variety of resources that guided me to find out more about the expectations.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

The first place would be Universal Studios Hollywood for the unique experience since I like theme parks in general. Santa Monica Pier is a beautiful place to go and walk around. For delicious food, I would recommend them to visit some restaurants around Koreatown.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

It would be the time that I spend conducting research with great professors and colleagues to overcome the difficulties. It is an incomparable experience. The welcoming environment gives me the feeling that I fit in here well.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I eat a lot. It might not be shown.

What are your plans after graduation?

I would like to be involved in research in my field of study since it is my passion, and of course get a job that is related to my interest as well.

Hometown (city, country):

I am from a small city called Osmaniye, Turkey.

Personal Website (if any):

https://www.linkedin.com/in/altaykaramuftuoglu/

Faculty Advisor:

Massoud Pedram.

Filipe Vital
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

To hang in there. Sometimes things are difficult, but it was also tough to get where you are, so you might as well keep at it a bit longer.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Surviving the PhD.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Several bottles of passion fruit juice. That certainly makes life better, no clue why I hadn't done that yet.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I work with integrating parking information into route and schedule optimization for long-haul trucking. Basically, I develop algorithms to help truck drivers plan their trips so that they can find safe parking locations and get proper rest while keeping costs low. I also study how to efficiently use electric vehicles for long-haul trucking and ways to coordinate truck parking demand to avoid parking shortages. I find it rewarding that improvements could significantly impact individuals (e.g., drivers’ safety and quality of life) and society (e.g., fewer accidents, pollution).

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

A pilot.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The labs had interesting research topics, and LA's weather is really nice.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Huntington Gardens, Getty Center, Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

My time at USC's Archery club. It was a great place to make friends, and competing was pretty fun too.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I went to a military high school.

What are your plans after graduation?

I'll look for a job in the industry. And hopefully get a long-awaited vacation.

Hometown (city, country):

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Personal Website (if any):

https://www.linkedin.com/in/filipe-vital-b521a611/

Faculty Advisor:

Petros Ioannou.

Rey Pocius
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The best piece of advice that I’ve ever been given is...when confronted with an amazing opportunity, say yes, if you don't know something, roll up your sleeves and just do it. Any opportunity to keep learning is invaluable.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I consider my greatest accomplishment to be winning a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. I received the fellowship during the first year of my PhD and it embodies all of the work that I put towards research in my undergraduate studies and during my first year at USC.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A new USC sweater. Fight on!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is on synthetic location data generation, what excites me most about this area of research is the possibility of creating synthetic data generators that can account for sparsity within incomplete datasets.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

If I could have chosen any other profession it would have been to be an architect. I grew up outside of the city of Chicago and lived in a town with incredible architecture.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

USC has a very strong collaborative culture and is at the heart of the exciting city of Los Angeles. Many of the students and faculty who I met during the visit days were extremely supportive and high energy. The facilities and faculty at USC are world class.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Koreatown, Newport Beach, San Clemente.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

The Computer Science department's annual holiday party.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I am an artist. I paint with oils and acrylics.

What are your plans after graduation?

I plan to pursue research engineer and software engineer positions within industry related to my research.

Hometown (city, country):

Elmhurst, Illinois.

Personal Website (if any):

https://reypocius.github.io/

Faculty Advisor:

Cyrus Shahabi.

Preetham Manjunatha
PhD in Civil engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

It was given by my mother, "Whatever difficult scenario arises in your life, you should not lose your inner self".

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Gaining a small amount of knowledge that lasts forever and pursuing a Ph.D. and two master's degrees at the same time.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I bought a dozen of shirts that I purchased the next day after purchasing a single shirt from a French company, Celio.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is focused on developing automated techniques for the condition assessment of the civil and mechanical infrastructures by tracking the evolving changes such as cracks and surface damages. Making a small contribution to the welfare of this big world excites me most. And also, the thought process involved in building cutting-edge solutions to tackle the automation problem thrills me.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

"Musician". I love music had been to many rock and hard rock concerts in and around Los Angeles. Not only western music and I enjoy classical Indian Carnatic and folk music.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The interest in doing research and problem-solving. Also, an immense love of mathematical aspects of Finite Element Analysis (FEA), a structural analysis method, and structural dynamics.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

The places which I liked most are Yosemite, Griffith observatory, and Venice beach.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I have several memories, to name some: the first memory was when the Master's thesis committee mentioned that the thesis was the best one they have seen. The second was mentoring master's students from Viterbi CS and EE departments. Third, was when pursuing my first master's degree, the visits to USC, Traditions with friends during the weekends.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

That I am a good cook (my friends say that all the time). I love to cook food, I made my first recipes (lentil stew/curry and deep-fried chicken kabab) when I was 10 years old.

What are your plans after graduation?

To join a software company to pursue my interest in the application of AI and computer vision. And to expand the same for the civil engineering industry.

Hometown (city, country):

City is Mysore, and the country is India.

Personal Website (if any):

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pmanjunatha/

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Sami F. Masri.

Yinghua Hu
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Think twice before you take action.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Ph.D. is not an easy profession, which I did not fully realize before joining. My greatest accomplishment is my perseverance to the goal of finishing my Phd.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I purchased a car before the price started to sharply increase during the pandemic.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it

Integrated Circuits (IC) are everywhere in our daily lives, such as the chip in our smartphone, laptop, and cars, and have made our lives better than ever before. My research interest is focused on hardware security. More specifically, I work on the development of efficient countermeasures against any types of reverse engineering of IC that can potentially lead to IP piracy or hardware Trojan insertion. I like this line of research as it makes me feel accomplished to help address real-life threats.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would be a singer or linguist, both of which are my current hobbies.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

USC Viterbi’s ranking is among the top 10 in the US. The research expenses and funding are sufficient. In addition, I find my advisor a perfect match to do research based on my research interest. I also find Los Angeles a diversified and dynamic city that is comfortable for a foreign student to live in. Many good Chinese restaurants are around

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Universal Studios, Yosemite National Park, San Diego Sea World.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I met my wife here in my first year at USC.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I recently learned to whistle out Chopin’s Nocturne.

What are your plans after graduation?

I plan to continue working on hardware security research topics, either in a research university or at a research lab.

Hometown (city, country)

Yangquan, China.

Faculty Advisor

Pierluigi Nuzzo.

Yeo Jung Yoon
PhD in Mechanical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“Be positive!”

Whenever I face a challenge in my graduate studies, I try to have a positive and fresh mindset. Positive thoughts help me a lot to overcome various hardships. I believe the way I think really affects the way I react.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

In my first year of my PhD, My colleagues and I won the best paper award for robotic 3D printing research at ASME IDETC-CIE conference. We worked hard for the project and it felt really great to see our hard work finally pay off.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Recently, I found a cool home-décor shop in K-town and bought a bunch of home décor items. My room is now more fun and interesting with cute planters, various candles, a huge wall clock and artistic tissue box.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it

My research is about developing robot learning algorithms for various manufacturing applications. I have been fascinated by the fields of robotics and Artificial Intelligence since I was an undergraduate student. I love the idea that my research problems are at the intersection of both fields!

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Travel writer! I love to travel, eat local food, and experience local cultures. It would be interesting to travel to other countries and write about interesting episodes.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Great resources for research, well-organized graduate program, and the location. I visited USC campus and my lab before coming to USC. I was amazed by the wonderful support that USC can offer to prospective graduate students and decided to pursue my PhD here.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

The Getty Center is a place where you can see lots of art and walk beautiful gardens. I also recommend visiting Griffith Observatory. It is especially beautiful during sunset times, and a great place for hiking. Also, if you want to feel the ocean breeze, I recommend going to the beaches in Malibu.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

The time I have spent with my friends and colleagues. We studied and hung out together, discussed various topics, and helped each other. My graduate life is wonderful because of them!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I have been a devoted yoga practitioner for the past 7 years. I love to do beach yoga and hot yoga. It helps me to release stress and clear my mind.

What are your plans after graduation?

I plan to pursue a career in academia. I love being in academia because I can work on the problems that I feel most interested in. I also like to work and communicate with scholars and students who have the same research interest as me. They are inspirational!

Hometown (city, country):

I grew up in Seoul, South Korea

Faculty Advisor:

Satyandra K. Gupta (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department)

Adriana Sejfia
PhD in Biomedical/Medical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The best “piece” of advice I received was from my mom. I say “piece” because it wasn’t really advice but rather the way she lived her life. She would always see the best in people and always treat them with kindness and an open mind. I try my best to live up to this advice every day.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I like to measure my accomplishments but how much I would surprise my past self. When I was in college, I would dream of doing a PhD in Computer Science in the United States. I think my younger self would be amazed by the fact I am living this dream and on top of that I am a student at USC, one of the top schools in the US and beyond.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A tote bag from Man Who Has it All, a social media account that parodies today’s gender expectations about women by turning them on their head. My tote bag says “Women will be women: rational, scientific, objective”.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it

My main research focus is in the field of secure software engineering. I am very passionate about the goal of my research: I believe that in free societies that are becoming increasingly digitized, it is our moral duty to ensure that there are strong fences that protect us from malicious entities. This is what drives me to conduct research and do a PhD. Last year I was awarded a Google PhD Fellowship for my research and that was definitely a major motivation to continue pursuing it. But in my day-to-day work, I find immense pleasure in the techniques I use: program analysis and machine learning. As a self-proclaimed data-enthusiast, I cannot wait until my analyses and experiments finish so that I can start looking at the data.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would like to be a writer. I’ve always admired the way writers can connect to so many people. For me personally, the way in which I’ve mostly been influenced has been through reading. I find the research writers do to write their books very intriguing.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The main factor was my advisor and the software engineering program; my advisor, before I even decided to come to USC, was willing to meet with me several times and discuss potential areas for research. The care he showed towards me and his knowledge about the different software engineering topics made USC a good candidate. Moreover, the USC software engineering group in general is well-regarded; I wanted to be surrounded by such smart and hard-working individuals. Lastly, before coming to USC I was living in upstate NY; the fact that USC was in Los Angeles, a place where I wouldn’t need to see snow if I didn’t want to, was a strong point in favor.

I have to say that once I moved to Los Angeles, I was very happy with the decision I made not only for the reasons I mentioned, but also because of the diversity of the city. I am so pleased to be living in a city with so many vibrant and lively communities of different ethnicities and backgrounds. The experiences (and the food!) have been life-altering.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I love California so much that picking only three places seems impossible. I think it will be more doable if I narrow the scope of the recommendations only to Los Angeles County. The first on my list is a place that by now is probably considered a cliché, the Griffith Observatory. Despite it being so well known and at times crowded, the sunsets I’ve seen from Griffith are simply awe-inspiring. There’s something poetic about being so close to a place you can see the sky through so much technology, but also be able to enjoy the sunset just with your own eyes. You can drive up there, but I think a much better way is to hike.

The second recommendation is the Los Liones Trail in Malibu. Hiking with a view towards the Pacific Ocean is a must.

The last recommendation is for people who crave a bit of going out for coffee, chill and eating culture. I do miss this in the US, at least the way it is manifested in my home country (I have also been told from friends from the Middle East and Europe that they feel the same). The Culver Boulevard Street, my third recommendation, in Culver City satisfies that craving.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

There are a lot of memories from my time at USC that I will forever hold dear. For starters, I will forever be grateful for the friendships I made here. I will always remember fondly times with my friends where we sat at the PhD lounge to share a meal or to play a game, when we would walk to the village for a rose milk tea, or even times when we spent the whole night at the lab because we were working hard to meet a deadline.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I think one sad thing about me that surprises everyone is that throughout my life I have broken 5 different bones.

What are your plans after graduation?

Post-graduation, I want to seek a job in research. My main goal would be to continue in academia but I am open to research positions at other institutions as well.

Hometown (city, country)

I am from Pejë, Kosovo (a tiny country in the south-east of Europe).

Personal Website (if any)

https://softarch.usc.edu/~adriana

Faculty Advisor

Professor Nenad Medvidović

Baishakhi Rani Biswas
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Always listen to your heart.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

In my grade 5, I participated in a national scholarship program back in my home country. It was a competitive scholarship, and nobody really expected me to receive it. It was surprising for all when I received the scholarship, and it was a turning point for my academic career. I started to discover my potential and became much more focused on my studies. There were many more academic accomplishments for me later but the first one will always be special.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My vacuum robot cleaner. It’s an amazing time-saving device and I just love it.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I am currently working on building logic circuits from emerging devices like Memristor. I have built an automatic enumerator and simulator tool that can discover new efficient digital logic cells and families. The exciting part is that while researchers and scientists discover digital logic cells by manual explorations, my tool can discover the same cells automatically in a very limited time. We plan to apply this method to future emerging technologies.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would have loved to work in marketing or business promotion.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

USC is one of the top ranked schools in Electrical Engineering and there are a lot of renowned professors here who are working in digital circuit and CAD/VLSI area. So, USC has always been a top choice for me. Apart from that, I wanted to live in a beautiful place like California and the weather here is very similar to my homeland. In Los Angeles, we have a lot of Bangladeshi restaurants. As I am very fond of my country's food, I took no time to choose USC as my PhD destination.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Yosemite national park, Big Bear Lake, San Diego Beaches.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Weekend late night board games with my friends here in USC. Some of the exciting games we play are Avalon, Pictionary etc.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I confidently try new activities or games and kill it.

What are your plans after graduation?

I am very passionate about teaching and interacting with students. I plan to become a teaching faculty after my graduation.

Hometown (city, country):

Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Personal Website (if any):

https://sites.google.com/view/baishakhi-rani-biswas/home?authuser=0

Faculty Advisor:

Sandeep Gupta

Jingxin Zhang
PhD in Materials Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Be patient.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment is that I’m working on the research I l enjoy and I find it very meaningful, pushing the boundaries of current science and technologies furthermore. Being a researcher is my childhood dream, and now I’m living my dream and I'm very thankful to be able to work in a lab with all the state-of-the-art equipment.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Sony A7RIV camera and PS5.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it

I’m currently working on a Quantum Dots Blinking project. The main goal is to investigate the blinking phenomenon on our QDs. Unlike our lights which can be bright as long as we turn on the switch, QDs have a discontinuous and random emission of light. This is a very interesting topic with many unknown mysteries waiting for us to unveil. Based on the current research, we can’t predict when the QDs will turn back on once it is turned off. This makes it very interesting to me.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I want to be a Vloger traveling around the globe and record my everyday experience and share it on the internet.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The most important reason I decided to go to USC is that my current advisor Prof. Andrea Armani is so nice and I want to work in her lab. Additionally, Viterbi School of Engineering is a top-ranked engineering school in this country with massive top class equipment. I was so excited to receive the offer letter from Andrea.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Yosemite National Park for the exploration of our mother nature.

Griffith Observatory for the night view of this amazing city of los angeles

Big Bear Lake for an escape tour to have a quiet time.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I like our weekly group lunch time, we always have some interesting topics, talking about our life and news.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I’m a full time PhD student and a full time dog dad. I have two dogs. One 18 month old Akita girl and one 8 month old Rottie boy.

What are your plans after graduation?

I’m going to industry, that’s the plan for now and save more money.

Hometown (city, country):

Chengdu, China

Personal Website (if any):

https://jingxinzhang.com/

Faculty Advisor:

Andrea Armani

Prahar Bhatt
PhD in Mechanical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

I feel the best advice depends on the situation. During the hard times in my Ph.D. career, the best advice I received was to go and fail again. It helped motivate me to not stop trying in case of failure but to learn from it. Eventually, you will improve and succeed.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Getting the best paper finalist award for my research as a lead author at an international conference is my greatest and latest achievement in my Ph.D. career so far.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Waking up and booking an electric car online with my wife is my favorite impulse purchase that I made last year. We had not seen or test-driven the vehicle, and it turned out to be great!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is on planning for robotic Additive Manufacturing (AM). AM (also known as 3D printing) and robotics have revolutionized the manufacturing industry. My research combines artificial intelligence (computer vision, motion planning, machine learning, and optimization) with robotic additive manufacturing to automate it. This amalgamation of technologies excites me the most about this research.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would have enjoyed being an automobile designer.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Three factors motivated me to select USC as a place to pursue my Ph.D., a) Getting a Ph.D. advisor with whom I have enjoyed working in the past, b) the state-of-the-art robotic equipment at Center for Advanced Manufacturing, USC, and c) a funding guarantee for four years from day one of my Ph.D. career.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

1) Santa Barbara, 2) Yosemite National Park, and 3) Napa Valley.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

All the fun and laughs I had with my colleagues at the Center for Advanced Manufacturing, USC, will be cherished by me.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Usually, it is not expected of engineers or technically inclined people to be very creative or artsy. But that is not the case with me. I enjoy painting and photography.

What are your plans after graduation?

My plan is to make use of my research experience to help expand the up-and-coming automated manufacturing industry to build better customized and sustainable products.

Hometown (city, country):

Ahmedabad, India.

Personal Website (if any):

https://praharbhatt.com/

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Satyandra K. Gupta

James Croughan
PhD in Mechanical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Fail often but safely. Often the fastest way to learn and master something is to learn every way of not doing it, either by trying it yourself or watching others attempt it. That being said, you need to make sure each failure does not result in harm to yourself or others. So long as that is possible, the fastest path to success is to fail constantly and creatively.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

In high school I struggled with maintaining enough body weight, and had several health issues related to that. At the time I was about six feet tall and weighed 130 pounds, and my doctor told me I needed to put on at least 30 pounds of muscle to be healthy, but the more I put on, the healthier I would be. I very much took that to heart and have been getting stronger ever since. It has been 13 years since I started daily weightlifting and monitoring my diet, and I have now put on nearly 70 pounds of muscle and am the healthiest I have ever been.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Blackout curtains. I saw them at Target and decided to try them out, and instantly started sleeping much better. I had no idea how sensitive to light I was until I experienced sleeping in a genuinely dark room. I probably get an extra 2 hours of sleep now, simply because the light isn’t waking me up too early.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I am an experimentalist who works on very high-performance wings in the Dryden Wind Tunnel. I have built several wings designed to invalidate many of the assumptions used in traditional wing aerodynamics, with a goal of explaining how and why these models must change when key assumptions are false. The two most exciting parts of this are the implications and how my analysis process works. My research clearly shows that many of the design rules currently used in wing design only apply to a small range of wing designs. If you go outside of these traditional designs, much higher performance wings are possible than what traditional aerodynamics would predict. How I determine this is also very exciting. All of my wings were designed to cover a broad range of possible outcomes without knowing the exact math that might predict those outcomes, making an accurate prediction of the results impossible beyond basic intuition. As such, I really didn’t know what to expect when I first started seeing my results. When they finally came in, they far exceeded my expectations, which is awesome.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Lawyer. I love debating anything and everything and am very extroverted and analytical, so trial lawyer or something like that would make sense and be fun.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I wanted to pursue bigger and crazier projects than what I had been doing previously, and I knew I needed a stronger educational background to be qualified to do that. USC and Dr. Uranga were the only school and advisor combination I looked at that offered a specialization in system, experimental, or mechanical design, in combination with a specialization in a more traditional engineering area. Additionally, I am from the LA area, and have absolutely zero desire to leave and have been a fan of USC for a long time, so that made it a very easy choice.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Watch your favorite band at the Hollywood Bowl.
Climb Mt. Baldy or Mt. San Jacinto.
Take a long walk on the beach in Malibu around sunset.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

All the trips to all-you-can-eat sushi and Korean bbq with lab-mates and classmates. Lots and lots of good food and good times.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I travel a ton but have a rather short list of places I have been. I am on a round trip plane flight about every 50 days on average, yet have somehow never been to New York, for example.

What are your plans after graduation?

I am in the pure writing stage of my thesis work, and have already started working full-time for an aerospace company as I finish that up. I was previously a consultant for Rhoman Aerospace, and became VP of Engineering and Controls in July.

Hometown (city, country):

Claremont, California, USA

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Alejandra Uranga

Subrata Das
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Stop stressing and start counting your blessings.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I think that my greatest accomplishment so far is to avail the opportunity to pursue PhD in one of the top universities of the US. Despite lots of constraints, my middle-class family of a developing country supported me to accomplish my limitless interest to pursue higher studies.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months is a dishwasher for my mother which made her smile from ear to ear.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research group has recently demonstrated that a semiconductor–insulator–graphene device can drive the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at the graphene surface with a reduced onset potential by injecting hot electrons into graphene. However, the catalytic properties of graphene were limited by the large hydrogen adsorption energy and lack of electrochemically active sites. My research interest is to further fabricate/develop novel semiconductor–insulator–graphene devices with the desired catalytic properties by enhancing electrochemically active edge sites on the graphene. I am highly intrigued by the extraordinary electronic, chemical, mechanical, thermal and optical properties of two-dimensional graphene and its promising potential as energy-storage materials, in nanoelectronics, in catalysis, and many more.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would happily choose to be a teacher at a kindergarten or elementary school.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The main factor that motivated me to pursue my PhD at USC is its state-of-the-art research facilities. In addition, the word-class faculty, cutting-edge graduate program, ethnic inclusiveness, great network of alumni and the amazing location of the school helped me decide.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Griffith Observatory, Yosemite National Park, and Big Bear Lake.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

During the one year I have been in USC, I had to attend all the classes and programs online due to the pandemic. Even then I got the opportunity to participate in lots of fun-games and exciting events arranged by the ECE department and USC Viterbi School of Engineering's Office of Admission & Student Engagement (VASE). Among this experience, the memory which I’ll cherish most is winning the BINGO game with my ECE big sister at the ECE PhD Siblings Kick Off Party and winning prizes.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

The power of my imagination, speculation and priority selection

What are your plans after graduation?

After graduation I want to join academia to support young fellows to build their meaningful careers.

Hometown (city, country):

Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Rehan Kapadia

Jacqueline Brixey
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

It was not advice given specifically to me; however, I like the advice: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Shirley Chisholm.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My doctoral work on my Native American language, Choctaw, brings me a great sense of accomplishment. It is important that technology exists for all languages in the world, including indigenous languages. I am proud to have created the first corpus for Choctaw, which lays the foundation for other researchers to work on the language.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I gave in to the Covid fad of baking bread. However, I found that I really didn’t like to knead bread, so I bought a bread maker. I just pop the ingredients in the machine and come back to freshly made bread in three hours!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I work on dialogue systems, particularly for low-resource and American Indian languages. As an American-Indian, it is exciting to build these systems for my indigenous language, Choctaw. There are interesting challenges to working on a language that no other computer scientist has worked on, and it is fulfilling to me personally to develop language technology for my indigenous community.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I previously worked as an English language teacher, and I previously worked as a journalist. I would be happy to return to either of those professions.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I was thrilled at the opportunity to work with the Natural Language Dialogue researchers at ICT. It is meaningful to work with scientists who not only are at the top of the field, but who also care about AI for social good.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I would recommend going to The Getty, The Broad Museum, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

One great memory I have is documenting the language Ladin in Italy on a summer project with Dr. Khalil Iskarous. It was an incredibly beautiful area of Italy, and I feel lucky to have participated in such an interesting experience, I learned so much!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I have a black belt in taekwondo.

What are your plans after graduation?

I’m not sure if I will go into academia or industry. One thing I am sure about is that I will continue working on technology for American Indigenous languages.

Hometown (city, country):

El Paso, TX, USA.

Personal Website (if any):

www.jacqueline-brixey.com

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. David Traum

Rodrigo Lobos
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

My advisor gave me one piece of advice that I always remember: "Life is too short to work with people who don't respect you". Maybe he used other words, but it was something similar.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Coming to the United States by myself and starting a life far away from the support of my family and friends.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I bought an electric guitar! It was an impulse purchase, but it really helped me during the pandemic.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

In very simple words, I use mathematics to improve images generated with MRI scanners. For me the whole research process behind new ideas is always exciting. What starts as an idea while you are having your morning coffee, is then converted into equations, then you test that idea in your computer, and then you implement that idea in a real MRI scanner. This process can take months, or even years, but nothing is invented and perfected at the same time.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

High-school teacher. Teaching is one of my passions, and fortunately I had the opportunity to teach high-school students in the past. I'm very grateful for that time, where I was able to learn how to connect with the students to understand their needs. That is something that has really helped me as a TA during grad school.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

My current advisor helped me from the very beginning, and he was very open about what working with him would be like. The potential research lines were fascinating, and the classes offered were exactly what I needed. All the faculties were world-class researchers, and I knew I was going to have the opportunity to learn from the best in my field.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

The Grand Central Market is one of my favorite places in LA. You have food from all over the world, and it is such a nice experience. The Last Bookstore is another place that I always enjoy going to. The Art District is another good place to hang out with friends after a research week. All these places are 10 minutes driving distance from USC, so you're welcome!

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I'm a caffeine addict, so having my morning coffee at the RTH cafeteria was part of my daily routine. People at that place knew me very well, and my coffee was ready before ordering it! I always had a laugh with the staff, and they helped me to distract my mind from research. At that place I also had profound and long conversations with my colleagues about research, which ended up turning into scientific publications. Some ideas written down in napkins turned into very cool inventions.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I'm very into functional fitness and olympic weightlifting, and I try to practice them at least 5 times a week. They have helped me tremendously during my PhD, since you develop a mentality which is really useful for research. You have to be always pushing yourself, you have to be disciplined, and you have to execute everything with perfect technique. If you think about it, these are three principles that many researchers follow in science.

What are your plans after graduation?

I'll be applying to postdoc positions with the intention of continuing an academic career.

Hometown (city, country):

Santiago, Chile.

Personal Website (if any):

https://ralobos.github.io

Faculty Advisor:

.Justin Haldar

Wen Shi
PhD in Biomedical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Balance passion and objectivity. Passion allows researchers to overcome all kinds of difficulties and search for breakthroughs. However, single-minded passion prevents us from maintaining objectivity. We may become blinded and biased by having too much passion or love for a specific project. We can’t fall in love with our research conclusions, otherwise we may become emotional and fail to think logically, leading to biases in our results.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I’ve made a handful of the most amazing, passionate, and supportive folks I am happy to call my lifelong friends in grad school. They are people who give constructive suggestions for my research projects, go with me on food adventures, share all my tears and laughter, and are there with me through thick and thin. They are the type of people who give you a hand when they see you drowning and in the next second share ridiculous PhD memes with you. They are both my cheerleaders and life mentors, and I am beyond lucky to have made them my friends.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Tamagotchi (a handheld virtual pet)! I never had a Tamagotchi when I was a kid, and now that I’m an adult, I’ve learned that it’s what the 7 year old me needed! It’s a nostalgic reminder of the 90s while still being super new to me. Though I’ve had a complete collection of the wild life in Animal Crossing, having a Tamagotchi means so much to me and is incomparable.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it

I developed a visualization method to peer deeply into large-scale microscopy datasets in living organisms and enhance subtle spectral differences in images for disease diagnostics.

The first step to curing diseases is always to visualize an affected biological environment, and that isn’t always easy. Live biological systems contain a continuous complexity of interactions. Tissues, proteins and their functions within organisms are deeply intertwined. Scientists have been relying on medical imaging techniques to monitor temporal dynamics and spatial structures. However, these techniques come with limitations. One limitation is the lack of full-color spectral information. Another is the requirement for large amounts of data, which is time-consuming and computationally expensive. Our group developed an algorithm called Spectrally Encoded Enhanced Representation (SEER). It distinguishes subtle spectral differences, providing a fast, intuitive and mathematical way to interpret hyperspectral images. It can process multiplexed data across the full spectrum of colors for greater clarity and use much less computer memory as it relies on dimensional encoding to parse the data faster. It pushes beyond the capabilities of human vision and captures exceedingly small differences in the electromagnetic spectrum.

The thought that my project may improve the way the medical field visualizes and diagnoses diseases and injuries is one of the major reasons that I am passionate about this project. It has shown me that I can apply theoretical bioengineering knowledge that I have long viewed as abstract to the many concrete problems that affect a vast majority of people.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

A gallerist. Being someone who not only brings and shows art to people but also supports and represents artists is fascinating to me.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The PIs and research projects at USC were the core reasons for me. There are so many highly reputed, inspirational academics in science and technology, and a lot of them are pioneers in their fields. They are driven and passionate. The projects they are working on are interesting and impactful at the same time. The skill sets and disciplines students develop along the way help them thrive within their careers and beyond. Besides self-development, I find the sheer joy of learning when I work on the project, it motivates me to be an inner-driven, independent thinker and I believe that’s something deeply profound.

The support system at USC was also a huge plus to me. USC provides rich resources to help PhD students achieve their goals. Not only are the faculty and students knowledgeable and sharing, but also there is a variety of specialized support staff behind the scene organizing these resources and supporting academics. It is a strong community and network of faculty, peers, and staff who have been helping to guide and support me throughout my PhD journey.

Last but not least, Trojan connections! USC alumni are in all types of fields, and they are dedicated to helping out or uplifting their fellow Trojans. Joining the Trojan family is to join a network that is “lifelong and worldwide”. No matter where you end up, you can always find and engage with your fellow USC alumni. There is an association in almost every city, whether you are walking down Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles or sitting on the steps at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, or Tokyo, or Shanghai, you will find Trojans thriving and supporting one another.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

The Getty Villa, Malibu beach, and of course any popular brunch spot with 5-star reviews on Yelp to spend your Sunday, lingering over eggs benedict or pancakes, preferably with a latte or mimosa in hand.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

When I was preparing for my screening exam, I was expected to give a presentation about my thesis project. There were lots of stressful and frustrating moments, and my lab mates supported me through the tough time. I can’t remember how many practice talks I’ve given, but I remember they were there every time. One night, two of my friends worked with me until 3am at the lab and we went through my 50-page long presentation slide by slide. They were so caring and supportive. If I look at the final version and my first draft now, I won’t believe they are referring to the same project, all because of the people who are unbelievably caring and supportive.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I love painting! I learned acrylic painting as a child, but I remember not liking it then. During the pandemic, I picked up painting again. Now I am making pieces for my graduation exhibit, and one of my dreams is to open an art gallery by the time I’m 40.

What are your plans after graduation?

I plan on doing so many things. Visit my family in China and take them to the brunch place we always go to. Travel Europe, hold an art exhibit, help one of my best friends plan her wedding!

Professionally? Get an industry job in R&D. I am very passionate about translational sciences in medical imaging and I would like to improve medical imaging techniques and develop analytical tools to unravel the complexity of life sciences. I look forward to working on industrial projects where I can apply cutting-edge technologies in image processing and machine learning to make an impact on healthcare.

Hometown (city, country):

Xi’an, China

Personal Website (if any):

https://sites.google.com/usc.edu/wenigma

Faculty Advisor:

Scott Fraser

Rezwan Rasul
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Done is better than perfect.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

To pursue the undergraduate degree in a foreign country in a new language (Japanese), which I learnt for only a year before.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Nothing, not much of an impulsive buyer.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I focus on the analog and mixed-signal implementation of the building blocks of deep-learning algorithm. An alternative approach to the conventional digital implementation found in the CPU, this design approach has potential to reduce the high energy and throughput cost of the learning algorithm. The specialized processor, aka accelerator, can eventually translate into orders of magnitude energy saving, which can bring the algorithm in edge devices and may even have environmental impact, i.e., significant reduction in the carbon footprint of this algorithm.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Fiction writer.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

1: I attended a seminar at Tokyo in 2015 about the graduate study opportunity at USC. The seminar along with a small chat with Ms. Lee, the speaker, was the first time I came to know about the Viterbi graduate program in detail, which later influenced me to apply to the school. 2. The beautiful USC campus located in Los Angeles, a major happening city in the world. 3. The fact that USC offers guaranteed funding for a PhD student, which provides mental peace to continue the research endeavor.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Joshua Tree National park, Malibu beach, Hollywood

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

The friends I have made both in and out of the research group. I had many engaging discussions on diverse topics with my lab-mates late at night on the way to Starbucks close to the Leavey Library. I also played football with my friends in the University village which I will cherish as a wonderful memory.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I am a decent cook, and as per my friends, my mushroom sauté tastes delicious (or maybe they were just being nice).

What are your plans after graduation?

Pursue a career in cutting-edge industry or academic research.

Hometown (city, country):

I grew up in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh.

Faculty Advisor:

Mike Shuo-Wei Chen

Sue Wang
PhD in Biomedical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The key to success is focus.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I just passed my qualification exam, and I am expecting to earn my Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in 2022. Besides that, I am also completing a MS degree in Electrical Egineering in December, 2021.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I started to buy stocks and learn about investing last year when stocks were hot on social media. Investing in stocks has been an interesting journey which I enjoyed a lot and also that made me learn a lot not only about economics but also about life and humanity.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I am working to develop a flexible brain probe used for recording from deep brain to decode the neural signals. I am also designing and characterizing the implantable sensors used to monitor the blood flow for patients with heart disease. I am excited to develop tools to help doctors to better and more efficiently treat patients and help more people.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Medicine. If I did not pick biomedical engineering, I would have gone to medical school. I want to work in the medical field, because I want to make people live a healthier and better life, so they could enjoy life with their loved ones.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

USC has strong engineering programs and research groups that I am interested in. USC has an open environment for people from different backgrounds, race and country. The Viterbi School of Engineering is very supportive for women in engineering.

Also LA is a good place to live, and has a lot of things to do during free time. I like sea fishing, hiking, skiing. I think that LA is a great place to have work and life balance.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Big Bear mountain-great place for skiing and hiking;

San Gabriel (great place for Chinese food);

Malibu (nice trail next to ocean especially during flower season).

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I have made great friends and partners in class at USC and together, we found a medical device company to help clinicians and patients to administer medicine in a more effective and safer way.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I learned how to ski after I moved from the East Coast to Southern California.

What are your plans after graduation?

After graduation, I plan to keep working to develop medical devices and tools to help doctors to better treat patients. I will be looking for opportunities both in industry and academia.

Hometown (city, country):

I was born in China (Liao Ning Province).

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Ellis Meng

Hsien-Te Kao
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“You don’t need to know everything,” Dr. Jennifer Switkes once said. “But you have to ask when you don’t know.” That was my undergraduate adviser setting an optimistic tone for the research meetings. For three years, I posed all sorts of methodological questions challenging

our research boundaries. Dr. Switkes joked when I led the research project, “This time, it is my turn to ask the questions.” I carried the same curiosity and passion to the Ph.D. program. It is surprising how much I don’t know about computer science. However, I am not afraid to say to other researchers, “I don’t know about this. Can you explain it to me? If not, where can I read/learn about it?”

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I consider winning the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship as one of my greatest accomplishments. NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) received more than 13,000 applications and made approximately 2,000 fellowship offers (~15% acceptance rate) each year. The expert panels rigorously judge applicants on their scientific potential, intellectual merit, and broader impacts. This fellowship is highly selective. In 2019, I was 1 of 11 USC graduate students and 1 of 3 Computer Science graduate students who won the NSF fellowship. These prominent scholars shared my concerns about algorithmic fairness in decision-making applications. They unanimously agreed that my research would drive critical algorithmic reforms and remarkable societal impacts.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I have impulse cooking from time to time. Most of the time, it would be some food in the videos (YouTube, Netflix, etc.) that I watched. Sometimes it is out of the blue. There would be a food craving. I would look up the recipe if I cannot figure out the ingredients and cooking steps on the spot. I carefully plan a list of shopping items. If I am lucky, I can find all the ingredients at the market. However, that is often not the case. I need to be creative at substituting the ingredients with what I have. I have to say that is the most exciting part of cooking. The final dish can make or break based on the ingredients and substitutions. I would know what ingredients to change for the next time.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

Intelligence systems are critical to automated decision-making applications. Recent controversies have sparked public concerns on algorithmic fairness. The research community has implemented algorithmic oversight by proposing fairness criteria and mitigation methods. It is crucial to examine the fairness mechanism. Fairness frameworks often require such information to mitigate the model unfairness. However, many laws prohibit collecting information on protected characteristics. I propose a framework to identify the data bias and mitigate the model unfairness without accessing the protected characteristics. Everyone deserves an equal opportunity. That is what algorithmic fairness guaranteed; that is also what I ensured through my research.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Behavioral Psychologist – Human mind, body, and behaviors are always fascinating. There is so much left unsolved.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

[1] Research Trajectory

[2] Rich Opportunities

[3] Valuable Resources

[4] Interdisciplinary Collaborations

[5] World-Class Researchers

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

[1] Hollywood Pantages Theatre

[2] The Getty Center

[3] The Magic Castle

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I enjoy having a one-on-one research discussion with my colleagues to exchange methodological ideas and provide critical feedback. I am known as the to-go person if someone wants to flash out their research ideas. The discussion often runs about three to four hours. They would present their ideas. I would listen carefully and ask questions for clarification. Afterward, I press challenging questions on the theory, methodology, experiment, take-away, and bigger picture. This feedback allows them to identify critical problems. I also provide creative suggestions to tackle these issues. This is a meaningful research process that produces fruitful outcomes for all of us.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

It may surprise you that I started the Computer Science Ph.D. program without any prior knowledge. I didn't even know how to code at that time. "You would be working on the TILES study," my adviser said to me in the first meeting, "We would have our first IARPA site visit in three months." I responded, "What should I learn? Where should I start? What should I do first?" After three months, Dr. Ferrara was surprised that I was able to overcome the challenging obstacles. I had promising results too. After the meeting, all PIs selected me to showcase the research results in the site visit. We went through a two-day intensive dry run and made last-minute presentation adjustments. The first IARPA site visit was a big success. For the next three years, I continued to play a critical role in the TILES team.

What are your plans after graduation?

I intend to become a postdoc at a research institute after graduation to continue working on algorithmic fairness. Afterward, I would transition into a research position working for the federal government. I have not decided on the research relationship (independent work, collaborative study, or research team). I would have a clearer picture once the research position, research organization, and research project come into play. I plan to start at a research institute and lead collaborative projects funded by federal agencies. I would later join a federal agency to run large-scale research projects across multiple research teams. It is hard to say what opportunities are available in the future. I would leave all my options open.

Hometown (city, country):

Taipei, Taiwan.

Personal Website (if any):

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hsientekao

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Emilio Ferrara

Ragheb Raad
PhD in Mechanical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

It is not you who gives, but it is God who gives.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Getting accepted into Viterbi's PhD program. I feel that it was the turning point in my career especially with the lack of opportunities in my home country.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My Nike shoes on Black Friday.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research currently involves using Machine Learning algorithms as applied to medical problems. The two projects I have worked on so far are predicting cancer recurrence in bladder cancer patients who underwent cystectomy and imputing kidney cancer tumor images. It is great to be able to contribute to projects that might help save people's lives.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I love watching movies and series, so it would be something related to the entertainment industry.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

USC is a very diverse place that allows lots of activities and networking opportunities on campus. Being located in the heart of Los Angeles with great weather and job opportunities also played an important role.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Griffith Observatory/ Beverly Hills/ Yosemite National Park.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Being able to meet people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I am a mechanical engineer but I barely know anything about cars. The major is so broad that I ended up choosing topics that do not really talk about vehicles or engines

What are your plans after graduation?

I still don't know. I still have at least 3 years in my program. It is going to depend on lots of factors, especially that I am getting older and my preferences in life are continuously changing. The opportunities that will be present then will also affect my decision.

Hometown (city, country):

Beirut, Lebanon.

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Assad Oberai.

Mozhdeh Gheini
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Don't long for the past.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Coming here and living alone for the first time in my life (had lived with my parents before my whole life) when I started my graduate studies here; just figuring out LA bit by bit every single day.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A cast iron pan.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I work in the field of Natural Languages processing, and transfer learning for Machine Translation specifically. I've always been fascinated by the language. And the field has gained a lot of pace over the past few years. I'm very excited about all this progress on the computational linguistics side, and interested in more discussion with linguists on how the approaches might lack on some grounds, and can be improved.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Either a chef or a sound engineer

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I was lucky and fortunate to have discussions with some very kind, helpful, and supportive people who helped me decide easily.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Try the fried chicken sandwich at Howlin' Ray's. You also have to try Din Tai Fung. It's best if you go in a large group so that you can order multiple things and share. Don't skip the cucumber salad, the pork xiao long bao, and the spicy shrimp wontons. Finally, hopefully when the pandemic is over, and they start putting on shows again, go to an improv show at the UCB theater.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I've met some of the best people I've ever known at USC. I'll cherish all the interactions with them and will be grateful for that forever.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Just how much of a foodie I am.

What are your plans after graduation?

Honestly, I'm still thinking about it before deciding.

Hometown (city, country):

Tehran, Iran.

Personal Website (if any):

http://www-scf.usc.edu/~gheini/

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Jonathan May

Octavio Marin Pardo
PhD in Biomedical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

I think a really good one is that it is always ok (and sometimes necessary) to ask for help; of course, after trying to sort things out within a reasonable time. Another one would be that it is essential to keep balance in life, that it is important to work hard but it is equally important to take care of oneself.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Joining the universities of both my undergraduate and graduate studies; that is, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the University of Southern California (USC).

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I would like to think that the only one that counts as "impulsive" would be a video game I bought last year hehe.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

Briefly, my research focuses on using electromyography and electroencephalography in personalized biofeedback training to understand motor recovery after stroke. What I really like about my research is that allows us to get a better understanding of how the brain works, and to also use that knowledge to try to help people recover their motor function.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Either guitar player or chef.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Among the many reasons to pursue a degree from USC, I would mention its strong graduate programs, its world-class faculty and facilities, and the wide range of resources it provides to do state-of-the-art research. I would also highlight its interdisciplinary focus and the collaborative environment it fosters.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Hiking to the Hollywood Sign, visiting The Getty museum, and going to at least one beach.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

All the great food and cuisines I got to know here.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

That I like musical theatre and have been to a good number of plays here in LA.

What are your plans after graduation?

I am planning to continue doing healthcare-related research in a company, hopefully here in California.

Hometown (city, country):

Mexico City, Mexico.

Faculty Advisor:

Sook-Lei Liew, PhD, OTR/L.

Milad Pooladsanj
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“You should not sacrifice proper education in order to make more money because, you can always make up for the money you have not earned, but you cannot do the same for the education”. This is what my dad told me once and I think it is great advice.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Being able to overcome my fear of failure.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

This is a tough one. I had many impulse purchases during Covid. But I would say my favorite one was an Apple watch!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I try to understand whether we can use our current road systems more efficiently if the vehicles, traffic lights, etc. were more “intelligent”. Problems in this area are quite exciting because they have the potential to resolve societal-scale challenges such as traffic congestion or pollution. At the same time, they have very rich theoretical aspects.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would have probably chosen psychology or became a firefighter.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

One important factor for me was knowing that I would be working with brilliant advisors on an interesting research topic. Also, USC is a top-notch university located in a beautiful city. What else could someone ask for?!

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Los Angeles has many options to offer. Since I must pick only 3 places, I would recommend Santa Monica Pier, Griffith Observatory, and Universal Studios Hollywood to start with.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

My fondest memory of my time at USC is the networking events where I could meet talented people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. I made many connections through these events and learned a lot from them.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I once jumped off of a 30 ft waterfall.

What are your plans after graduation?

I am passionate about doing research and working on challenging problems. I also love teaching. Putting these together, I would say that I would like to pursue an academic job.

Hometown (city, country):

I was born in Mashhad, Iran.

Personal Website (if any):

Feel free to connect with me through LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milad-pooladsanj

Faculty Advisor:

I have two advisors: Petros Ioannou and Ketan Savla.

Neal Lawton
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Always give 100%. In anything you do, try your best.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I consider my greatest accomplishment to be graduating from college.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I have not made any impulse purchases in the past 12 months.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research revolves around better ways to train neural nets (optimization and neural architecture search). I like this subject because it's immediately applicable to every application that uses neural nets.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Dog walker.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Information Sciences Institute (ISI) where I do research has an especially diverse research community. Researchers here study lots of different topics, from Natural Language Programming to information theory to robotics. The "USC Startup Garage" is also located in our building.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I would recommend an incoming student visit 1. The Natural History Museum just south of USC (big dinosaurs!), 2. Everything in DTLA (Hollywood sign, the Grand Central Market, the Broad museum, Dodger stadium), and 3. Santa Monica Pier.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

A memory I'll cherish about USC is attending conferences with my lab-mates and meeting new people.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

One thing about me that might surprise you is, I can say the alphabet backwards!

What are your plans after graduation?

My plans after graduation are to work for a lab in industry.

Hometown (city, country):

My hometown is Costa Mesa, CA (an hour south of LA)

Faculty Advisor:

Aram Galstyan and Greg Ver Steeg.

Sepanta Zeighami
Phd in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

"Find your niche". I think big pictures are important, but it's easy to get lost in them. Starting small and finding a niche that you can become an expert in helps a lot in building up to the visions one has

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Being able to work on what I'm passionate about.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Artificial grass, pull-up bar and a tent. We built a gym in our front yard.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I'm working on replacing databases with neural networks, basically how the human brain stores information. The goal is to store data more efficiently and answer queries on the data faster. It is exciting because it's a fundamentally different approach towards data storage compared with existing systems and there are many new things to explore.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Musician. I've always wanted to make/play music. I've been playing the piano for quite some time now, and I enjoy performing in front of other people and coming up with new music.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I think the main two factors for me were the location of the university and the research group. California weather is great and LA beaches are nice. I liked the research projects in the lab I'm currently working in, and I also talked to my advisor to make sure that his advising style is a good fit for me.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Big Sur, Lake Tahoe, Joshua Tree.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

When I went to Santa Monica in the first few days of school with other new PhD students that I didn't know, with whom I've become close friends now.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I've lived in five different cities in the past two years and four different countries in the past ten.

What are your plans after graduation?

I would like to stay in academia, hopefully become a professor and continue with my research.

Hometown (city, country):

Tehran, Iran.

Personal Website (if any):

https://szeighami.github.io/

Faculty Advisor:

Cyrus Shahabi.

Shatad Purohit
PhD in Astronautical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

The best piece of advice that I have ever been given is to 'establish involvement without discrimination'. And, simply doing whatever is needed with total commitment and attention.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

One of the most significant accomplishments in my professional life is getting admitted to the Ph.D. in Astronautical Engineering with a specialization in Systems Architecting and Engineering at the University of Southern California.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

A few months back, I got a low-tech mobile phone as a replacement for my old phone, which fell in a small river stream during a trek. I first thought I would only use this phone for few days. But I started liking it now!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I am currently a Research Assistant in the Distributed Autonomy and Intelligent Systems Laboratory. My research interests are systems architecting, complex system analysis and design, modeling and simulation, model-based systems engineering (MBSE), and integration of digital twins into MBSE. My research is about finding efficient ways to develop complex systems, specifically in aerospace, defense, and automotive industry verticals. I see many opportunities to apply the research in the context of the increasingly changing socio-technical world of today. My studies allow me to look at the situations in the world in a multidisciplinary and holistic way. There are general tendencies to simplify the problem to fit the existing methodologies, but systems architecting and engineering focus on expanding the methods to address the complex problems without dumbing problems down.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would choose studies of economics and ecology, as it is one of the most crucial challenges our generation faces worldwide. In general, ecological solutions are found to be against economic wellbeing, and economically feasible options are not ecologically sensitive. Therefore, it is essential to initiate the marriage of economy and ecology. If people see financial prosperity in ecological solutions, it can help scale the solutions rapidly, which is most required today. In my view, marrying economics and ecology is a transdisciplinary systems problem.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Before joining USC, I spent four years in the industry in the systems engineering domain. As a result, I was well aware of the ecosystem in terms of research, state-of-the-art, and best practices in academia and industry. When I was planning to come to the US, my first choice was USC due to the Systems Architecting focus of the program. This is the only program in the country with an explicit focus on systems architecting in the curriculum. Additionally, academics focus on model-based systems engineering, system-of-systems integration, engineering resilience, economics, case studies, machine learning, and advanced mathematics, which made the program most favored for me. I look at systems architecting and engineering as a necessary foundation to develop systems of the future. It should not be surprising to know that the domain originated in NASA. I enjoy working and studying the system's domain. Therefore, when I received the opportunity to pursue Ph.D., I readily accepted it. Additionally, the faculty members are the leaders in the discipline and are well known for their field contributions.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I recommend Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Joshua Tree National Park to incoming students because of the variety of ecological systems, terrains, and life forms they would get to see in these places. Mountains of Yosemite, trees of Sequoia, and landscapes of Joshua should not be missed by anyone living in California.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I appreciate the incredible opportunities that I received in this fantastic university and in this beautiful country. It feels like a dream when a person like me from Latur, a small town from the diametrically opposite side of the planet, comes to LA, joins the astronautical engineering department, and starts working under the most sought-after researcher in the discipline.

On the first day of class in my MS program, I remember that on August 20, 2018, I had an appointment with Dr. Azad Madni. I prepared for the meeting as I wanted to ask whether any research assistantship opportunities are available in his lab. I already sent my previous research work and resume to him some time back. During the meeting, as I started speaking, before I could get a chance to ask, Dr. Madni offered me an opportunity to work with his team. This incident shaped my life the way it is today. Later I joined the Ph.D. program and received a full scholarship. It took care of many things for me.

I always liked studying the engineering and systems domain. At USC, I spend time exploring the vast world of engineering and collaborate with experts associated with various organizations such as NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, Aerospace Corporation, General Motors, NSF, DoD, and US Air Force.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I can cook three distinct types of Indian cuisines - Rajasthani, Gujarati, and Maharashtrian. Rajasthan is a northwestern state of India known for its arid region and Thar desert. The cuisines are shaped by the availability of ingredients in the area. People eat low heat food with a variety of milk products and sweets.

Gujrat is a mid-western state with various terrains, from the Rann of Kutch desert, Arabian sea coast, to Narmada river basins. Due to this, the cuisine has multiple ingredients ranging from gram flours, vegetables, spices, and snacks that vary widely in flavor and heat.

As we move from north to south, the spiciness increases in cuisines. Maharashtra is a southwestern state with Sahyadri western ghats and numerous rivers like Godavari, Krishna, and Tapi. This results in the availability of a variety of spices for the cuisines along with millets, native serials, lentils, fruits, vegetables, and traditional grains.

I cherish diversity and cook food with absolute involvement. In my view, cooking is like engineering complex systems. The final outcome is not merely a sum of its parts or ingredients. And to get the desired results, you need science and art.

What are your plans after graduation?

I wish to work on advancing the field of systems architecting and engineering through my research in model-based systems engineering and digital twins. In addition, I see possibilities to apply my skills in the aerospace, defense, and automotive industry.

Hometown (city, country):

Latur, Bharat (India).

Personal Website (if any):

www.shatad.com

Faculty Advisor:

Azad M. Madni.

Sara Babakniya
PhD in Computer Science

Wht’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

While it is good to listen to many advice, there is no best advice for you. Your life and situation are unique, and you are the one who has to consider all the critical factors and decides what's the best to do.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Admission to my dream university/major for B.Sc.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Home decor items, one morning, I realized I don't particularly appreciate how my home looks and purchased some home decors, and I must say now my apartment feels more like a home to me.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

Currently, I am working on the privacy and security of machine learning. The fact that I am working on real-life problems and any possible enhancement impacts the world is my first motive. Also, personally, I prefer to work on the intersection of theory and programming, which I am doing right now.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Social scientist.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

Combination of university reputation, location, field, quality of research.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Everyone should visit the beaches, Griffith observatory and Hollywood sign.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I went to the USC - ASU football match in the LA Memorial Coliseum, and I truly enjoyed every part of it.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

While I enjoy talking to people for hours and hours in person, answering my phone is almost impossible for me. Most people think that I am highly extravert, but I am not.

What are your plans after graduation?

I have always dreamed of being a faculty member. I hope I can be one after my graduate studies.

Hometown (city, country):

Rasht, Iran.

Personal Website (if any):

www.linkedin.com/in/sara-babakniya

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Leana Golubchik.

Alina Garcia Taormina
PhD in Materials Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

"Never forget who you are and how much you're capable of."

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I think seeing the Ph.D. through to the end has been my greatest accomplishment while in grad school. There were many times that I considered not finishing the program, may it be from thinking I wasn't good enough, that I didn't measure up to my peers, or that my heart wasn't in it. I am proud of myself for pushing through.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I love photography, so anytime I get the chance to go out and shoot photos, it is so grounding for me. I recently bought a new camera lens and was so excited to get to use it on my recent trip up to the pacific northwest.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research focuses on the synthesis and development of metal-polymer core-shell composite micro-lattice materials through the exploration of various physical vapor deposition coating conditions and configurations. Additionally, in collaboration with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, I have investigated the mechanical behavior of stitched nano-architected lattice materials to gain further insight into fabricating macro-scale 3D printed parts that contain nanoscale features. What excites me about my research is that nano- and micro-architected lattices are an emerging class of materials and there is still so much to learn and discover about their properties and functionalities.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I'd want to be a filmmaker! Before switching over to chemistry in undergrad, I was pursuing film production. It had always been a dream of mine to work in film, but I am grateful I also found my passion in STEM.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The research opportunities in Viterbi really attracted me to USC, and also the members of my research group. I felt like I really clicked with the Ph.D. students in the Hodge Materials Research Group; the collaborative culture and inclusive environment was what I was looking for, and I found it here at USC. Additionally, I have completed all of my schooling here in my hometown of Los Angeles, CA, so the location was ideal.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

The three places I would recommend to go in CA/LA would be the beach for a bonfire or a day with friends, Grand Central Market for a nice variety of good food, and definitely a weekend trip to Joshua Tree.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

All the times my lab-mates and I were able to spend together. I will cherish every time we were able to get together as a group and take a trip, have a game night, celebrate a birthday, go shoot some photography, go out and eat delicious food, and be there for one another.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I have a pet turtle, and I enjoy playing tennis.

What are your plans after graduation?

I will be going to work for Northrop Grumman as a Materials and Process Engineer!

Hometown (city, country):

Los Angeles, CA, USA

Faculty Advisor:

Prof. Andrea Hodge

Trevor Hudson
PhD in Biomedical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Don’t be afraid to fail.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Earning my PhD!

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Hiking boots – after defending, I went on a backpacking trip to Denali National Park. It was challenging, but exciting to get to see the grizzly bears and other wildlife there.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I work with biomedical flow rate sensors fabricated on polymer substrates. These devices could one day be used to monitor implanted shunts and catheters for life-threatening blockages. It’s a great privilege and very motivating for me to research technology which is both cutting-edge and able to relieve patient suffering.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Medical doctor – I enjoy solving problems and figuring out the root cause of a malfunctioning system, so I think I would also enjoy diagnosing patients.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I appreciated the energy and ambition of USC students I met, as well as the technology commercialization activity and ties to industry which USC is known for.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

First, despite its reputation for urban sprawl, LA actually has myriad outdoors activities to do within an hour or two drive from USC such as Mt. San Jacinto with great views at the top whether you hike, take the tram, or some combination of the two. The Getty Museum also has a beautiful campus and collection. Thirdly, it’s always fun to see a show at the Hollywood Bowl.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

When I delivered my first conference presentation. I’ve always been a nervous public speaker so I was happy to be able to deliver my talk well in that setting.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I maintain my beater 1988 Volvo 240 myself in my spare time.

What are your plans after graduation?

I am helping out a startup spun out of my lab with some work for a few months while interviewing for other industry opportunities.

Hometown (city, country):

Seattle, WA

Personal Website (if any):

https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevorqhudson/

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Ellis Meng

Javier Murgoitio Esandi
PhD in Mechanical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

My grandmother always told me that above all I should be a good person. I think that’s the best piece of advice I’ve ever been given.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I believe that my greatest accomplishment is studying a PhD at a great university such as USC.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months is definitely my mountain bike. I was doubtful when I bought it but I have enjoyed many great cycling days since then.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

At the moment I am working on solving the inverse elasticity problem using generative adversarial networks (an AI tool). This research will be applied to analyze measurements obtained with medical imaging techniques.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

If I wouldn’t have studied engineering, I would have loved to study Physics and do research in the field.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The main factor was that the USC Viterbi School of Engineering is a great engineering school with excellent faculty. Furthermore, the interview with my advisor convinced me that studying at USC would be the right step in my career.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Hiking or cycling in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles is one of the great things to do here. My personal favorite is hiking or cycling in Santa Monica mountains starting from Will Rogers State Park (great views!). Another thing that I would recommend is trying the different foods that LA has to offer, I really like going to food markets such as Smorgasburg and the Grand Central Market. Finally, I love visiting the beaches in Southern California, specially beaches in Malibu such as El Matador Beach.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I have lived in four different countries (Spain, Germany, United Kingdom and United States) and am able to speak four different languages (Spanish, Basque, English and French).

What are your plans after graduation?

I want to have a career focused in research and development in industry. Following the work I am doing now, I would love to work developing tools that would improve the available medical imaging techniques.

Hometown (city, country):

Zarautz, Spain.

Faculty Advisor:

Assad Oberai.

Seyedeh Hanieh Hashemi
PhDin Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

When you make a mistake, if you can fix it, you don't need to worry about it. But if you can’t, eat as much as ice cream you want. It always helps!  

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I was born and raised in a small city in Iran. I'm proud of myself for moving to the US on my own, starting with almost nothing and building this beautiful life thousands of miles away from home. Other than that, I could find a good work-life balance during my Ph.D. life. I would say enjoying my life while having accomplishments in my academic career is another one of my greatest achievements.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My impulse trip to Costa Rica. It was worth every penny.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My research is on Data Privacy for Machine Learning. I am excited that I work on an ethical problem that is one of the biggest challenges in the tech world these days. Protecting people's information can have a huge impact on our society.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Marketing Specialist, Fashion designer!

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

The fellowship offer from USC made it easier for me to decide on my Ph.D. group and project with more flexibility. Also, life and weather in LA were some of the important factors for me to choose USC. I believe I made the right decision because I could find the Ph.D. project that excites me and I never felt bored (or cold) in LA.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Yosemite, Griffith Observatory, Big Sur .

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

ECE department events specially ECE retreat in Palms springs a couple of months before the pandemic starts.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I have 55 cousins.

What are your plans after graduation?

I will take a 3 months break that includes traveling to my favorite destinations, and planning my wedding ceremony. Hopefully, after the 3 months, I will start my full-time job on one of the best teams in the world working on data privacy methods for machine learning.

Hometown (city, country):

Yazd, Iran.

Personal Website (if any):

https://twitter.com/hashemi_hanie

Faculty Advisor:

Murali Annavaram.

Basileal Imana
PhD in Computer Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Plan tomorrow the night before. I am not sure if I can call it the best but it has certainly been very useful. The advice also extends to planning for goals to accomplish in a week, a month, a year, or even a decade.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I would say pursuing my Ph.D. this far, and the internships I got the opportunity to do along the way.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

The closest thing to an impulse purchase I have done recently is buying Airpods -- they have made my life much easier.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

My current research focuses on auditing advertising platforms that deliver job ads to ensure they do so in a fair way across demographic groups. It excites me because it has positive societal implications for millions of people that use such platforms to learn about employment opportunities.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

It would probably be architecture -- I used to like doing freeform sketches and enjoyed working on my technical drawing projects when I was in high school.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

It was a combination of several factors. The main ones were the financial package (USC awarded me a fellowship), the match with my research interests (there were at least a few potential labs I could see myself joining), and the location (LA is close to where my brother lives).

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I would recommend visiting Torrey Pines beach in San Diego (an amazing place to see a sunset), a road trip on CA Highway 1 (which runs past many places worth seeing across the Pacific), and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

During the start of my second year at USC, I ran into someone that introduced me to a Christian church community called ICA that became like family shortly after.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

My mother, father, and I all have different last names due to the difference in naming conventions used in Ethiopia (my home country) and in the US.

What are your plans after graduation?

In the short term, I plan to work in industry research. I am also very interested in teaching and would like to explore doing that in the long term.

Hometown (city, country):

I was born and grew up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Personal Website (if any):

https://ant.isi.edu/~imana/

Faculty Advisor:

Aleksandra Korolova and John Heidemann

Karel Mundnich
PhD in Electrical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

"In any [kind of] relationship with another person, the only thing you can change is yourself."

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Understanding that a life without kindness and compassion towards yourself and others is meaningless. This is connected to one of my favorite quotes from Richard Feynman:

“The highest forms of understanding we can achieve are laughter and human compassion.”

― Richard P. Feynman

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I don’t have any, which makes for a boring answer. I think and consider my needs (possibly too much) before I buy anything.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

At USC I focused on behavioral aspects of human-centered machine learning. I worked on a project related to understanding work performance, as well as affect and other behavioral states of people in a demanding workplace setting. My thesis was related to processing input from people when asked about subjective constructs, so that we can learn from these. What I find exciting about it is to be able to think about complex behaviors and simplify aspects of them to the point where we can mathematically model them, and therefore infer, predict, or learn from them.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Something related to the outdoors and traveling. Maybe landscape photographer.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

USC has some unique research areas at Viterbi, together with strong programs and good classes that allow you to master the fundamentals. These traits brought USC into my consideration.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I could go for known places (Big Sur, Yosemite), so I’ll go for the road less traveled: Trinity Alps as well as Desolation Wilderness in the Lake Tahoe area. A third place is an Italian Deli in Little Italy in San Francisco with the best gelato I’ve found outside of Europe, which seems to have no name (it does have one).

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

The sense of family and support found in our lab, SAIL.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

However, I’ll say that I have a published photo in one of NatGeo’s magazines.

What are your plans after graduation?

I started working at Amazon Web Services as an Applied Scientist. Before joining Amazon, I was able to travel a little, including a short trip to Alaska.

Hometown (city, country):

Santiago, Chile.

Personal Website (if any):

https://kmundnic.github.io

Faculty Advisor:

Shri Narayanan.

Yu Wang
PhD in Materials Science

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Comparing yourself today with who you were in the past allows you to feel proud of how far you’ve improved. Then comparing yourself with who you hope to become helps you focus on doing things that truly matter to you.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Having the opportunity to study and do research in clean energy technology in order to help solve the climate change challenge.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

My favorite impulse purchase is the air purifier bought last year. As more and more wildfires take place each year related to climate change, the air quality in California is becoming less and less stable. Having an air purifier at hand is really helpful because it is always sold-out during fire season.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

One area of my research is about developing green hydrogen technology using photocatalytic methods to replace the current industrial hydrogen production process, which involves a large amount of CO2 generation. The other area of my research is thermoelectricity, which generates electricity from temperature differences. This is an efficient way of recovering energy from wasted heat produced in cars and power plants. The objective of both research areas is to produce clean energy without emitting CO2, which is the main climate change contributor.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Maybe a rock band guitarist.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

First factor is diversity. USC has many international students and faculties from many different countries, which helps me to hear different opinions about the same problem. Second factor is vast academic resources. There are many world class scientists I can learn from and collaborate with during my study at USC.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Santa Monica beach, Getty Center, Griffith Observatory.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Spending time doing research in the lab.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I met my girlfriend at USC, and we plan to get married next year.

What are your plans after graduation?

My plan after graduation is to find a postdoc position and continue my research in developing clean energy technology.

Hometown (city, country):

Xuzhou, China.

Personal Website (if any):

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yu-wang-368b8b61/

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Stephen Cronin

Hannah Schlaerth
PhD in Environmental Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

When I was a junior in high school, I had an English teacher who told our class that learning to critically read and write would help us in any career path we wanted to pursue. Every acceptance letter I’ve ever received is in part thanks to this advice and the writing skills I learned in her class.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment so far has been getting my master’s degree in environmental engineering. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in geology, I moved across the country and completely changed fields— I went from looking at rocks all day in the suburbs of Ohio to thinking about air pollution in Los Angeles. Everything was new to me, and not in a fun way but a way that was overwhelming and exhausting. Getting my master’s degree feels emblematic of my perseverance through such a difficult time and I never would have believed that I could grow so much as both a scientist and an individual.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I recently splurged on a pair of Big Bud Press work pants and now they’re all I wear!

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it

My PhD research so far can be summed up as a study of weird sources of emissions: tugboats and trees. In my first study, I measured emissions from tugboats of a cancer-causing aerosol called black carbon. I found that tugboats spend most of their operational time near shore and emit more black carbon per fuel consumed than other similarly sized vessels. This is important information because these vessels are emitting close to where people live. These findings culminated in a paper I just recently published in the journal Atmospheric Environment. My current project investigates the air quality impacts of tree planting in urban areas using a climate-chemistry model. Many cities propose tree planting goals as a form of heat mitigation because trees provide shade and evaporative cooling. However, it’s often overlooked that trees are emission sources of volatile organic compounds. These emissions lead to the formation of air pollutants like particulate matter and ozone under the right atmospheric conditions. I’m hoping that the results of my study will help city planners maximize the considerable cooling benefits of tree planting while avoiding serious drawbacks to air quality. My research excites me because it truly feels like I’m helping make the world a better place. These projects are extremely policy relevant and improving air quality literally saves lives.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

If I didn’t end up in a STEM field, I would have pursued illustration. I like that science changes the way I see the world around me—it’s a really unique feeling to look at something completely ordinary like a cloud in the sky and suddenly notice that it’s the sum of all these physical processes at play. I feel that some form of art, like drawing or painting, would probably reproduce this same feeling, but maybe the things I’d be noticing would be form, color and light.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I decided to pursue my PhD at USC based on funding and my faculty advisor. I appreciated the security and transparency of my offer letter, which gave me an idea of where my funding would be coming from throughout my PhD. My advisor also seemed like a great fit for me- laid back, but incredibly research productive in cutting-edge science. Prior to accepting my offer, I talked with my future lab mates and I could tell he would be someone who I would enjoy working with and whose expectations of me would be reasonable.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Parker Mesa Overlook: This 7-mile, round trip hike takes you to the top of the Santa Monica Mountains. On a clear day, you can see the city skyline on one side and the Catalina Islands on the other.
The Galaxy Café on top of Mt. Wilson: I once hiked 10 miles to the peak of LA’s tallest mountain only to find that you can drive up it from the other side. This charming concession stand is great for some well-earned refreshments after a brutal hike- or just enjoy the beautiful view with a coffee if you’re smarter than me and drive.
Shorthand Highland Park: This beautiful little store is full of curated writing utensils and locally printed stationery. It’s like the Scholastic Book Fair, but for adults.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

A group of PhD students in our department decided they wanted to celebrate Pi Day one year, so on March 14 we all went on a 3.14-mile walk to a pie shop downtown. It was just a silly excuse to socialize together, but I had so much fun and the pie was great!

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I’m a bird person! I own two parakeets, BMO and Picasso, and their favorite thing to do is squawk during important Zoom meetings.

What are your plans after graduation?

When I graduate, I want to pursue a tenure-track position in an earth sciences department. I’m not quite sure what this will look like yet, but I love teaching and doing policy-relevant research. I’m confident that being a professor is a job I could excel at while making a positive impact in my community.

Hometown (city, country):

Pickerington, Ohio

United States

Faculty Advisor:

George Ban-Weiss

Yun Li
Phd in Environmental Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Always be confident in yourself. PhD study is definitely not an easy route, and there are times when you can have doubt in yourself. For me, sometimes I feel depressed when thinking about questions like: Do I have the ability and knowledge to solve the problem? Am I taking the right method to solve this issue? Can I express myself clearly in scientific writing? … Thanks to my advisor who is always encouraging, and tells me to look at and be proud of what I’ve already done. His advice makes me feel I can deal with any obstacle in my research.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

The project that I’ve worked on for the past one year and a half was part of a systematic project called the City of Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study (LA100) which was initiated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The results from LA100 were announced by the Mayor’s Office in March (available at: https://www.lamayor.org/mayor-garcetti-announces-findings-historic-100-percent-renewable-energy-study) as a guidance for the city to achieve 100% renewable energy goal in the next ~25 years.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

I bought a switch game called Fire Emblem Three Houses last summer (not an ad!). I really enjoyed the stories and connections among different characters in the game, especially during the pandemic when people are far apart from each other.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it

My research uses atmospheric models to study the interaction among humans, land cover change and atmosphere in Los Angeles. More specifically, my first project focuses on how land cover changes (e.g., replacing natural shrubs with buildings and roads) via historical urbanization has impacted meteorology (e.g., air temperature) and air quality (e.g., ozone and PM2.5 concentrations) in Los Angeles Basin. My second project looks at the influence of adopting renewable energy on air quality in Los Angeles in a future year. I enjoyed working on my research projects because they applied scientific knowledge I learnt to solving actual environmental problems that we’re facing today. The research carried out in my group can be informative for policy-making for achieving sustainable development of a city.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I would really want to become a sports journalist because I have been inspired a lot by the stories of those talented and hard-working athletes.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I think the most important factor is my research advisor. I enjoyed interviewing with him while I was applying for PhD, and got to know more about him while chatting with his PhD student at that time. He is an inspiring advisor during work, and an easy-going friend in life. I also find the university itself another very important factor. The flexibility in course selection and abundance in various study and living resources at USC are especially attractive to me. Last but not least, the city where the university is located matters a lot as well, and Los Angeles is a good place to live in.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

I would recommend Griffith Observatory for a birdview of Los Angeles, Universal Studio for relaxation and entertainment, and Joshua Tree National Park for a unique natural scene in SoCal.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I enjoy hanging out with my group! I remember one time we went bouldering and ate at a pub in Koreatown. It was a lot of fun.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I’m usually a very quiet person, but I like things that are thrilling like watching sports games and riding roller coasters.

What are your plans after graduation?

Currently, my plan is to look for a postdoc position in my research field, and pursue a career path in academia. But I’m also open to an industry career path. Nevertheless, I want to use the knowledge I’ve gained during my PhD study to help address air quality and climate change issues.

Hometown (city, country):

Beijing, China.

Faculty Advisor:

George Ban-Weiss

Ali Marjaninejad
PhD in Biomedical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

To be kind and fair to myself.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I think my greatest accomplishment is to find out what I want from mylife and work toward it. I realized that peace and happiness is what I ultimately am looking for and I have spent my time on things that makes me happy on both short and long term, including making other people happy which I have figured to be one of the things that makes me the most happy.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

Massage belt.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

I am working on enabling robots to learn how yo perform challenging tasks such as keeping balance, walking, running, and manipulating objects. I am extremely excited about it because the robots I work on get to be more and more similar to biological systems each day and are eventually going to make useful additions to a safer, more efficient, and more peaceful ecosystem.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

I think I would have chosen medical research.

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I really liked the idea that we are all part of a greater family called the Trojan family. Also, I was super happy to see how valuable each new student is to USC and to see they were there for me during all steps of my application and admission process.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

Manhattan beach, Santa Monica Pier, and Some rooftop bars in Downtown LA.

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

I remember the first time that the robot we were working on learned to kick its leg; It felt amazing! I don't have a baby yet but I feel like the feeling could be comparable since you feel like you have added something really beautiful to this world that can autonomously learn to do useful things.

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

Well, I was born in Iran, grow up in Turkey, went back and forth between Iran and Turkey and am now in US. So, every time someone asks me where I am from, I have an interesting story to explain!

What are your plans after graduation?

I plan on staying on the same field and continue my research on AI and embodied intelligence in both academic and industrial capacities.

Hometown (city, country):

Tehran, Iran.

Personal Website (if any):

http://valerolab.org/marjani/

Faculty Advisor:

Professor Francisco Valero-Cuevas

James Yoo
PhD in Biomedical Engineering

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

"Compare and despair" (it's easy to compare someone else's highlights to the entirety of your own life, faults and all)

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Marrying my wife. I wouldn't be in grad school if it weren't for her encouragement and continual support. She's good about celebrating the small victories along the way.

What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?

The Tick: The Complete Edlund. It's a collection of the first 12 comics written and drawn by the creator. I read the first few issues as a kid, and these days superhero fatigue is making me seek out parodies.

Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it.

Our lab makes medical devices both for research and clinical applications, and there's something very sci-fi about using engineered polymer electronics to help patients.

If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?

Songwriting and music production. I have a lot of gear, but hardly any time or quiet space these days

What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?

I'm a SoCal native, so moving back here to be close to family was a big factor. Plus, USC's biomedical engineering department does some great work in medical devices.

If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?

1. Koreatown - my favorite restaurants are Han Bat Sul Lung Tang (ox bone soup), Myungin Dumplings, Sun Nong Dan (for braised short ribs), Ham Ji Park (for pork neck stew and pork ribs), The Dragon (for black bean noodles)
2. Natural History Museum - free entry for USC students and faculty; free kids' shows every 1st Saturday of the month; the ScienceCenter next door is also fun

3. Griffith Observatory - great view of the city and the Hollywood sign on a clear day; hiking and kids' park nearby; you can sneak up there late at night and re-enact La La Land (j/k don't do that)

What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?

Early in my research, I spent a lot of time testing and correcting a new method I'd developed, and the time had come to try it on a real device. After running it through my process, I checked the device under the microscope with a multimeter, and it worked! One loud "YES" and a bunch of fist pumps followed while the undergrads just looked confused (they were new).

What's one thing about you that might surprise me?

I make a mean snickerdoodle.

What are your plans after graduation?

If I can nab a postdoc position that works for my family, I'll take it. Otherwise, I'll probably go back into the medical device industry.

Hometown (city, country):

Los Angeles, CA.

Faculty Advisor:

Ellis Meng

Student and Alumni Profiles

Alexander Hendricks

Alexis Oyetibo

Arnout Devos

Ayten Kahya

Daye Nam

Haoteng Tang

Henry Su

John Alexander Targonski

Mishaal Aleem

Miyuan Xu

Osman Kaan Demiroz

Priscila Oliveira

Priyambada Jain

Prakarsh Upmanyu

Qianhui Wu

Shoubhik Debnath

Tomas Guerra Aldazabal

Yibo Ma

Zhangzhengrong Justin Feng

Drew Poulter

Adrian Samsel

Hejia Zhang

Brice Tanner

Fernanda Gushken

Lily Lau Hou

Gedi Minster

Stefan Niculae

Abdulla Alshabanah

Ruchit Gandhi

Siddhesh Kadam

Jose Cobena-Reyes

Rey Pocius

Ghena Alhanaee

Muhammad Usman Shahid

Mounica Naidu Manyam

Rebecca Peer

Zumra Seidel

Omar de Gante

Daniel Depew

Laura Bradley

Emmanuel Johnson

Mehran Hosseini

Aminat Adebiyi

Bill Edwards

Mark Harrison

Kevin Xia

Gertrude Gutierrez

Ulubilge Ulusoy

Alejandro Rascovan

Amarnath Seshadri

Ankit Singhaniya

Jeffrey West

Jonathan Sauder

Pranav Shashidhar Karthikeyan

Sean Dempsey

Sapphire Lopez

Pavas Navaney

Aoyan Liang

Naman Munot

Eleanor Mina Sung

Seung Hee Yoon

Qin Dong

Udit Dangarwala

Nicole Fronda

Xueer Zhuang

Niloufar Rajabshirazi

Sara Stevens

Edward Hu

Aishwarya Sambasivan Iyer

Zakiyyah Brown

Katherine ​Karahalios

Bochao Li

Zhenlu Huang

Tanay Shankar

Kayley Cheng

Ameeth Kanawaday

Abhilash Pandurangan

Vandana Sreenivasa Rao

Tanmoy Sil

Katherine Karahalios