Speakers
OurCS Panel: "The Graduate School Experience"
Moderator: Farnaz Farahanipad, Ph.D.
Panelist: Sanjukta Bhowmick, Ph.D., Chris Conly, Ph.D., Labiba Jahan, Ph.D., Raghav Vadhera, Ph.D.
Moderator: Farnaz Farahanipad is a Lecturer in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at The University of Texas at Arlington. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and has extensive experience in both academia and industry. Before transitioning to academia, she worked as a Machine Learning Engineer at Toyota, where she contributed to the development of AI-powered applications, optimization of machine learning algorithms, and advancement of computer vision techniques to enhance automated driving. She also conducted postdoctoral research at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, focusing on optimizing exposure time in pediatric radiology by leveraging computer vision and deep learning techniques to improve medical imaging safety.
Her research focuses on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Vision, and Artificial Intelligence, with expertise in gesture recognition, hand pose estimation, face recognition, image reconstruction, and AI-driven assistive technologies. She is particularly interested in assistive technology for individuals with impairments, developing AI-driven solutions to enhance accessibility and improve quality of life.
Beyond research, Dr. Farahanipad is actively involved in mentoring graduate students and leading research initiatives. Since 2024, she has served as the Session Chair and Doctoral Consortium Chair at the PETRA Conference, fostering collaboration and innovation at the intersection of HCI and AI."
Panelists
Sanjukta Bhowmick is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering department at the University of North Texas. She obtained her Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University. She had a joint postdoc at Columbia University and Argonne National Lab. Her current research is on understanding change in complex network analysis, with a focus on developing scalable algorithms for large dynamic networks and developing uncertainty quantification metrics for network analysis. Dr. Bhowmick has served in the leadership roles in several conferences including Supercomputing, ISC, IPDPS, and HiPC. Currently, she is the co-chair of the IEEE TCHPC (Technical Consortium on High Performance Computing) Education Outreach Initiative.
Chris Conly is an Assistant Professor of Instruction and Director of the Undergraduate Computer Engineering Program at The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from UTA in 2016. His expertise includes machine learning, pattern recognition, and human-computer interaction, with applications in accessibility and assistive technologies. Dr. Conly has contributed to the development of algorithms that improve the accuracy and efficiency of sign recognition systems, bridging the gap between computational methods and real-world usability.
Labiba Jahan is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at SMU Lyle School of Engineering. Before joining SMU, she was an assistant professor at
Augustana College, IL. She completed her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Florida International University under the guidance of Dr. Mark Finlayson. In 2019, she served as
a research intern at the Product Simulation and Modeling Group at Siemens Corporate Technology in Princeton, NJ.
She enjoys working in both roles, as a teacher and researcher. She loves to teach courses related to competitive programming and artificial intelligence (AI). Her
research expertise is in the domain of narrative understanding, semantic analysis, and NLP pipeline design. She received several internal grants and fellowships
from Augustana College, IL and published many of her research works at the top NLP conferences including EMNLP, COLING.
Raghav Vadhera is a visionary leader in AI, machine learning, and climate science, blending academic excellence with impactful industry contributions. As Lead Technical Architect for AI/ML at Raytheon Technologies, he plays a key role in the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC) and the Water in the West (WiW) project, leveraging AI to enhance weather forecasting. He collaborates with ECMWF on the Artificial Intelligence Forecasting System (AIFS), pioneering advanced neural networks for climate prediction. A published researcher and sought-after speaker, Dr. Vadhera holds multiple doctorates and serves on academic and industry boards, shaping the future of AI and sustainability.
