Drexel Computer Science Theory Reading Group

Postgraduate Student Alumni


Dan Schoepflin


Dan Schoepflin graduated with a PhD from Drexel University in the summer of 2023 (advised by Vasilis Gkatzelis). He subsequently joined Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute at Berkeley as a postdoctoral scholar. His main research interests are algorithmic mechanism design and approximation algorithms with a particular focus on designing and analyzing practical mechanisms. In Summer 2022, he was a research intern at Google under the supervision of Gagan Goel. He was a member of the reading group since the winter of 2018.



Jeromy Guinther


Jeromy Guinther is a PhD student at Drexel University, where he is advised by Vasilis Gkatzelis. An active duty Air Force officer, he is currently stationed at Misawa Air Base in northern Japan. Jeromy’s interests include complexity theory, approximation algorithms, and games. He is currently working on applying hardness of approximation to problems in algorithmic game theory and multi-agent resource allocation. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 2002, and most recently received his Masters Degree in Computer Science from Drexel in 2017. He has been a member of the reading group since the winter of 2018.



Hariharan Narayanan


Hariharan Narayanan is a PhD student with the ECE department at Drexel University, advised by Prof. Steven Weber. His research focuses on modelling, designing, and performance analysis of communication networks by using tools from stochastic processes and combinatorial optimization. He is interested in studying mechanism design for systems involving strategic networked agents and queueing theory. He obtained his Masters in Electrical Engineering from University of Texas Arlington and was a control systems design engineer in the oil and gas industry for over 8 years. He has been a member of the reading group since the fall of 2019.



Steve Earth


Steve Earth is a PhD student in Drexel's Computer Science department, under advisors Jeremy Johnson and Bruce Char, with a particular research interest in leveraging gamification principles to STEM education. Steve has over 25 years experience as a high school math teacher (M.Ed from Harvard Univ) and his background is primarily in mathematics (M.S. from Carnegie Mellon Univ). He has been a member of the reading group since the summer of 2018.



Patrick Brinich


Patrick Brinich is a PhD student at Drexel University under Jeremy Johnson. His research interests include Programming Languages and Formal Verification, but he also enjoys topics related to theory of computation, mathematical logic, and anything with algorithmic substance. Patrick received a B.S. in Computer Science and a B.A. in German from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. He has been a member of the reading group since the summer of 2018.



Safa Aman


Safa Aman graduated from Drexel University in 2020, with a B.S and M.S in Computer Science, and with a minor in Economics. She subsequently joined Google. Her interests include human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, and algorithms. Safa has previously worked with Dr. Erin SoloveyÂ’s Advanced Interaction Research Group as a STAR Scholar. At Drexel, she is an active Student Ambassador and has been the President of the Women in Computing Society for 2 years. She has been a member of the reading group since the winter of 2019.



Edmond Mbadu


Edmond was a master's student at Drexel. He has a bachelor's in mathematics and Computer Science from Chestnut Hill College. His interests include Algorithm design, machine learning and Deep learning, and Cryptography. He has conducted research in Elliptic Curve cryptography and worked as a software engineer. He has been a member of the reading group since the fall of 2021.



Bailey Flanigan


Bailey Flanigan was a visiting researcher at Drexel University during the 2018-19 academic year. She then joined computer science PhD program at Carnegie Mellon University. She is interested in questions at the intersection of computational game theory and networks. Prior to Drexel, she was a pre-doctoral fellow at the Yale Department of Economics. She received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin.



Undergraduate and High School Student Alumni


John Bonnes


John Bonnes is a senior at Drexel pursuing an accelerated B.S and M.S. in Mathematics, a double major in Computer Science, and a minor in Music Theory and Composition. His interests include game theory and simulations. He has been a member of the reading group since the winter of 2021.



Mai Tran


Mai Tran is a senior at Drexel University, pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science, with concentrations in Artificial Intelligence and Data Structures & Algorithms. She is interested in applying Data Structures and Algorithms in Application Software to optimize performance, as she had been doing competitive programming throughout high school and college. She previously worked as a cloud developer at Bristol Myers Squibb and a software developer at Better. She has been a member of the reading group since the fall of 2021.



Yonatan Wiese-Namir


Yonatan Wiese-Namir is a senior at Drexel University, pursuing a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics. His interests are in algorithm design, game theory, and computational physics. His current studies are mainly concentrated on AI and Theory of Computation. He has been a member of the reading group since the fall of 2021.



Isaiah Siegl


Isaiah Siegl is a junior at Drexel, pursuing a major in Mathematics and a minor in Computer Science. He is interested in algebra and combinatorics. He currently works on natural language processing at Independence Blue Cross. He has been a member of the reading group since the winter of 2019.



Teddy Do Phung


Teddy Do Phung is a senior at Drexel University. She is majoring in Computer Engineering with some coursework leaning towards Computer Science. She has an interest in computer architecture, high performance computing and most recently, data structures and algorithms. She is currently working on her thesis about neural network mapping on multiprocessors systems in ECE department's DISCO lab. She has been a member of the reading group since the winter of 2022.



Raj Patel


Raj Patel is a senior at Drexel University, pursuing a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an M.S. in Cybersecurity. He has a wide variety of interests spanning from simulations to high-performance computation. He has been a member of the reading group since the spring of 2021.



Stephen Hansen


Stephen Hansen is a senior at Drexel University, pursuing an accelerated B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics. He has worked in the Drexel Wireless Systems Lab as part of the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) program, continuing his research established from the STAR Scholars program on developing efficient signal processing algorithms for the Bellyband project. He has also worked as a software developer for the Fixed Income Technology team at Susquehanna International Group, as a software developer for the Video IP Engineering and Research team at Comcast, and as a teaching assistant for the College of Computing and Informatics. He has been a member of the reading group since the fall of 2019.



Allie Do


Allie Do is a senior at Drexel University, pursuing a major in Computer Science and minors in Finance and Mathematics. Her two concentrations are Artificial Intelligence and Data Structures & Algorithms. She is currently a Machine Learning intern on SAP America’s Discrete Industries team. Her interests include Internet of things, blockchain, and quantitative data analysis. She has been a member of the reading group since the Fall of 2021.



Nick DeFilippis


Nick DeFilippis is senior at Drexel, pursuing a double major in Mathematics and Computer Science and a minor in Astrophysics. His interests are in using mathematics and computer science to develop solutions to real-world problems. He has previously conducted research involving the interaction of planetary systems with stellar bodies, and he currently works in the Data Normalization and Adaptation group at Susquehanna International Group. He has been a member of the reading group since the winter of 2019.



Jerry Cherian


Jerry Cherian is a senior at Drexel and is pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence and Computer & Network Security. His interests are in using Computer Science concepts and algorithms to solve complex problems in the fields of AI and Network Security, as well as analyzing algorithms to improve his problem-solving skills. He has previously worked as a Cloud Engineer at Oracle in Conshohocken, PA. He has been a member of the reading group since the Spring of 2021



Pranav Garimidi


Pranav Garimidi joined the reading group as a rising junior in high school. Upon graduating high school, he went on to join Columbia University as a computer science major. His research has focused on the fair allocation of indivisible goods and the design of auctions. He has been a member of the reading group since the fall of 2018.



Hunter Heidenreich


Hunter Heidenreich graduated from Drexel with a major in Computer Science and a concentration in AI and Algorithms in 2021. He subsequently joined the PhD program of Harvard University. He is interested in natural language processing, reinforcement learning, and, all things optimization. During his time at Drexel, he worked for SAP Conversational AI as a data scientist and in the ExCITe Center as a STAR Researcher working with Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). He has been a member of the reading group since the fall of 2018.



Minh Le


Minh Le graduated from Drexel University in 2021, with a degree in Computer Science and concentrations in Artificial Intelligence and Data Structures & Algorithms. Previously, she has worked with Professor Andrea Forte in the Drexel Social Computing Group doing human-computer interaction research as a STAR scholar, and under Professor John Megdalia developing web interface for testing cognitive flexibility. She has been a member of the reading group since the fall of 2019.



Daniel Schwartz


Daniel Schwartz received an accelerated B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from Drexel in 2020 and went on to pursue a PhD under the supervision of Dr. Ali Shokoufandeh and Dr. Edward Kim. He is interested in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and optimization. He has worked with Dr. Brian Stuart implementing Adaptive Probabilistic Finite Automata, and with Dr. Bill Mongan in the Drexel Wireless Systems Lab developing an algorithm that optimizes data collected from multisensor fusion. He has been a member of the reading group since the winter of 2019.



Enioluwa Segun


Enioluwa Segun graduated from Drexel University in 2020 with a degree in Computer Science, with a focus in Computing Systems, Artificial Intelligence and Data Structures & Algorithms. He subsequently joined Microsoft. He has worked as a STAR scholar under Dr. Erin Solovey, researching intelligent learning systems at the Advanced Interactions Research lab, and with Dr. Bill Mongan, researching efficient, scalable systems for data collection and processing in IoT environments. He has been a member of the theory reading group since the fall of 2019.



Lucas Vitalos


Lucas Vitalos graduated from Drexel University in 2020, with a B.S. in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics. He is interested in discrete mathematics and artificial intelligence, and he plans to pursue work related to AI and machine learning. He has been a member of the reading group since the fall of 2019.



Curtis Bechtel


Curtis Bechtel graduated from Drexel University in 2019 with a B.S. in Mathematics and a B.S. in Computer Science. After graduation, he entered a PhD program at the University of Southern California. He is interested broadly in theoretical computer science with a focus on algorithms, graph theory, and algorithmic game theory. He previously worked as a software developer for the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey, where he helped develop a large-scale parallel data analysis system.



Ross Griebenow


Ross graduated from Drexel University in 2019, with a major in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics. He is interested in information theory, machine learning, graph theory, artificial life, and the thermodynamics of computation.



Rob Ross


Rob graduated in 2019 as a CS major and math minor. While at Drexel, Rob researched graph theory as a STAR scholar, worked on signal processing algorithms with the Drexel Wireless Systems LabÂ’s Bellyband project, and lead a senior design team to develop a CNN capable of detecting certain types of cells in human tissue slides. Rob is a Goldwater Scholar and has presented his research at several venues. After graduating in 2019, Rob began a position as a machine learning research scientist at Riverside Research. In 2020, Rob was hired as a machine learning engineer with Amazon Web Services. In 2021, Rob began a part-time masters of software engineering degree at Carnegie Mellon University, while continuing his full-time work with AWS. When away from work or study, Rob enjoys mentoring the next generatiion of computer scientists through Drexel's WiCS program and the non-profit Skype-a-Scientist.



Joe Urbano


Joe Urbano received both a bachelor's and master's degree in Computer Science through the BSMS program of Drexel University in 2019. His interests are in the applications of algorithms and AI, specifically in the areas of machine learning and computer vision. In addition to serving as a teaching assistant for the College of Computing and Informatics, he has most recently worked for Bentley Systems, where he contributed to a cloud-based 3D-model synchronization application.



Craig Carr


Craig Carr received a B.S. in Software Engineering from Drexel University, with minors in Mathematics and Economics in 2018. After graduating, he joined OSIsoft as a software developer, where he works on building software infrastructure for industrial IoT applications. As a hobbyist in mathematics, he focuses on applications of algorithms to network protocols and distributed computing.