College of IST welcomes 9 new faculty members

University PARK, Pa. — 9 new full-time school members have joined the Penn State Faculty of Information Sciences and Engineering (IST) this year, boosting the college’s educational packages and strengthening its study portfolio. 

“The various backgrounds, training solutions and research topics IST’s incoming faculty carry will improve the reducing-edge, interdisciplinary and collaborative experience and instruction that serves as the college’s basis,” claimed Andrew Sears, dean of the School of IST. “Their function will substantially lead to our efforts to build learners and scholars who can deal with the most pressing difficulties that exist at the intersection of facts, know-how and society.” 

New school members signing up for the Higher education of IST include:  

• Jie Cai, assistant research professor, comes to IST just after earning a doctorate in data systems and human-centered computing from the New Jersey Institute of Know-how. His major analysis pursuits concentrate on phenomena in novel and interactive on line communities in human-computer conversation and personal computer supported cooperative perform, this sort of as gaming, procuring and articles moderation. He also has a broad fascination in electronic technologies, like teleworking and social songs. Cai holds a master’s diploma in internet marketing exploration from Hofstra University and twin bachelor’s levels in advertising and marketing and organizational leadership from Shenyang Typical University and Fort Hays State College.  

• Jonathan Dodge, assistant professor, not long ago attained his doctorate from Oregon Condition College. His analysis strategies explainable artificial intelligence challenges from both equally the human point of view and the method facet. Dodge obtained a master’s degree in laptop graphics from Oregon Point out and a bachelor’s diploma in laptop science from Harvey Mudd College or university. He has labored as a software package developer for the Hatfield Marine Science Center and as a graduate analysis intern with IBM Analysis AI. 

• Chris Gamrat, assistant training professor, formerly served as a senior tutorial designer with the Penn Condition University of IST, where by he collaborated with faculty to build and revise classes in the information and facts sciences and know-how, cybersecurity analytics and functions, info sciences and grasp of skilled reports packages. He also has produced, shipped and supported college educating methods, such as the new instructor orientation, and served as an adjunct instructor for eight semesters. He holds a few degrees from Penn Condition — a doctorate in finding out, style, and know-how a master’s of instruction in educational techniques and a bachelor’s degree in management data devices. Gamrat’s investigation passions involve inclusive educating, experienced learning and lifelong understanding. 

• Taegyu Kim, assistant professor, joined the higher education in spring 2022 from Purdue University, the place he was a postdoctoral researcher in the Division of Laptop Science. His study passions are in devices stability, robotic car protection and software analysis. Kim holds a doctorate in electrical and personal computer engineering from Purdue, a master’s diploma in electrical engineering from the Korea Innovative Institute of Science and Engineering, and an undergraduate degree from Kwangwoon University in South Korea. 

• Aron Laszka, assistant professor, will come to Penn Condition from the University of Houston, the place he was an assistant professor in the Division of Computer system Science. His investigate passions revolve all around artificial intelligence, cyber-actual physical devices and cybersecurity. His intention is to improve the efficiency and safety of societal-scale cyber-bodily devices, such as smart and connected communities, by way of making use of AI and knowledge science. To make sure a broader societal influence, Laszka operates carefully with neighborhood stakeholders, this sort of as community transit companies and researchers from other disciplines. Prior to the College of Houston, Laszka was a analysis assistant professor at Vanderbilt College and a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. He formerly labored as a visiting exploration scholar at the Penn Point out College or university of IST underneath Jens Grossklags. Laszka attained his doctorate in personal computer science from the Budapest University of Know-how and Economics, from the place he also gained master’s and bachelor’s levels. 

• Cindy Lin, assistant professor, not long ago attained a doctoral degree from the School of Information at the College of Michigan, from where by she also holds a graduate certificate in the Science, Technological know-how, and Culture (STS) software. In advance of she joined IST, she was a going to postdoctoral fellow at Cornell Tech’s Electronic Daily life Initiative as effectively as a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell Atkinson Centre for Sustainability and Cornell’s Office of Information Science. Lin’s exploration draws from article-colonial and feminist STS, essential details scientific tests, and social informatics to take a look at how the vision and follow of AI and facts-pushed futures shape environmental governance and social inequality in post-colonial areas. 

• Lu Lin, assistant professor, not too long ago attained a doctorate in laptop or computer science from the College of Virginia. She also holds a master’s and bachelor’s diploma in pc science from Beihang University. Lu has labored as a machine discovering research intern with DiDi AI Lab, LinkedIn and Pinterest Labs. Her investigate interests broadly include things like AI, equipment understanding and info mining, with an emphasis on graph-structured facts. She focuses on making use of graph construction of info to advance machine studying in a dependable and responsible manner, regarding numerous areas like robustness, fairness, explainability and efficiency. Her analysis papers have been posted in significant-effects machine studying, details mining and AI venues this kind of as ICML, AISTATS, KDD, WWW, WSDM and TKDE. 

• Jhon Bueno-Vesga, affiliate instructing professor, not too long ago acquired a doctorate from the Faculty of Info Science and Understanding Systems of the College of Missouri-Columbia. A Fulbright scholar, Bueno-Vesga’s exploration interests lie in computer system science instruction and human-computer interaction. He provides 10 yrs of industry knowledge in all facets connected to information and facts devices, and he has built and tested virtual fact studying game titles and simulations and labored in the place of usability and user expertise. Bueno-Vesga has intensive experience educating confront-to-encounter undergraduate engineering programs and has also built and taught on the internet programs for numerous universities, together with the College of Missouri. He holds an MBA from Asia-Pacific Global College, and a master’s diploma in details know-how and a bachelor’s degree in laptop or computer programs engineering from the Industrial College of Santander. 

• Urjaswala Vora, associate teaching professor, arrived to Penn Point out in spring 2022 from the Centre for Progress of Advanced Computing, an Autonomous Premier Investigate and Advancement Society of the Governing administration of India, in which she served as associate director. In this role, she worked as a system manager for biometrics and World wide web of Items, was a member of the study and enhancement preparing team of Internet of Every thing and trustworthy and protected computing, and taught and mentored postgraduate pupils and specialists. Her study passions include things like complex devices, application architecture, application evolution, distributed computing, examination and design modeling, and software engineering. She earned a doctorate in computer system science and engineering from IIT Bombay and a bachelor’s diploma in laptop or computer science from the College of Pune.