{"682027":{"#nid":"682027","#data":{"type":"news","title":"School Award Winners Impress on World, National, and Institute Stages","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe dictionary is the only place where success comes before work. The College of Computing\u2019s 34th Annual Awards Celebration on April 8 offered a venue to honor the hard work and ensuing success of students, faculty, staff, and alumni in 2024-2025.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn this past year, my first as the dean of computing, I have seen exactly how much work it takes from everyone to keep this community going, not to mention excelling,\u201d said Vivek Sarkar, dean and John P. Imlay Jr. Chair of the College of Computing.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are strong across the board, and that makes our winners all the more impressive.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) is one unit that reinforces the College\u2019s emphasis on collaboration, problem solving, and excellence. By earning awards this year at the College, Institute, and levels beyond, the School of CSE continues to distinguish itself as a top-tier department for research and learning.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESelect award winners from the School of CSE recognized at this year\u2019s banquet were:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EProfessor Polo Chau- Dean\u2019s Award\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPratham Mehta, M.S. CS student- The Donald V. Jackson Fellowship\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EParisa Babolhavaeji- The Marshall D. Williamson Fellowship\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAeree Cho, Ph.D. student- Rising Star Doctoral Student Research Award\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAlumnus Zijie (Jay) Wang (Ph.D. ML-CSE 2024)- Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe College of Computing also recognized awardees with ties to the School of CSE. These included:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELecturer and alumnus Max Roozbahani (Ph.D. CSE 2019)- William A. \u0022gus\u0022 Baird Faculty Teaching Award. Instructor of the online section of \u003Cem\u003ECSE6242: Data and Visual Analytics\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ELecturer and alumnus Nimisha Roy (Ph.D. CSE 2021)- William D. \u0022Bill\u0022 Leahy Jr. Outstanding Instructor Award\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETeaching Assistant Susanta Routray- Outstanding Instructional Associate Teaching Award. Co-head TA of the online section of \u003Cem\u003ECSE6242: Data and Visual Analytics\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChau teaches the CSE6242 course, and advises Babolhavaeji, Cho, Mehta, and Wang. Along with the College of Computing awards, Chau received the Innovator\u2019s Award at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.analytics.gatech.edu\/10th-anniversary\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EM.S. Analytics Ten Year Anniversary\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. He has served as the program\u2019s associate director since 2014 and over 1,000 students have taken his data and visual analytics course each semester in recent years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlong with receiving the College of Computing\u2019s dissertation, Wang received a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/thesis-human-centered-ai-earns-honors-international-computing-organization\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E from the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESIGCHI is the world\u2019s largest association of human-computer interaction professionals and practitioners. Wang is one of five recipients of the award this year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEarlier in the year, Forbes recognized Wang by naming him to its \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/research-ai-safety-lands-recent-graduate-forbes-30-under-30\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E30 Under 30 in Science for 2025\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWang\u2019s dissertation earned him the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com\/sites.gatech.edu\/dist\/0\/283\/files\/2025\/03\/2025-Sigma-Xi-Research-Award-Winners.pdf\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E2025 Best Ph.D. Thesis Award from the Georgia Tech Sigma Chi\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E chapter.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the same ceremony, Sigma Chi presented Regents\u2019 Professor Mark Borodovsky with the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/news\/researchers-develop-game-changing-gene-prediction-algorithms\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBest Faculty Paper Award for his work on GeneMark-ETP\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. Borodovsky holds joint appointments with the School of CSE and the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETrailblazing work in biocomputing earned Regents\u2019 Professor Srinivas Aluru the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/faculty-wins-award-trailblazing-work-computing-and-biology\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E2025 Charles Babbage Award\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society (IEEE CS) presented the award for Aluru\u2019s pioneering contributions intersecting parallel computing and computational biology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENews of Aluru\u2019s Babbage Award arrived at the same time the College of Computing announced the appointments of associate deans. The College appointed Aluru as senior associate dean, and Associate Professor Elizabeth Cherry became associate dean for graduate education.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/new-team-associate-deans-ready-advance-college-initiatives\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAluru and Cherry\u2019s appointments\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E marked the first time in the School\u2019s history that faculty represented the School as associate deans.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAluru ended his role as executive director of Georgia Tech\u2019s Institute for Data Engineering and Science (IDEaS) when he accepted the senior associate dean role. In his place\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/david-sherrill-serve-interim-director-institute-data-engineering-and-science\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E, IDEaS appointed Regents\u2019 Professor C. David Sherrill as interim executive director\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESherrill holds joint appointments with CSE and the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He has served as associate director of IDEaS since its founding in 2016. His appointment as interim executive director comes after his election to the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.iaqms.org\/news.php\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EInternational Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (IAQMS)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECherry\u0027s appointment as associate dean was one of many accolades she received in 2025. In March, the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/faculty-earn-fellowships-heart-modeling-and-data-optimization-research\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESociety for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) selected her as a Class of 2025 Fellow\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, recognizing her contributions to computational cardiology research and extensive service to the SIAM community. Cherry is the fifth faculty member from the School of CSE selected as a SIAM Fellow.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECherry co-chaired the organizing committee for the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/school-present-research-weather-prediction-carbon-storage-nuclear-fusion-and-more-computing\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESIAM Conference on Computational Science and Engineering (CSE25)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. She is also serving a second consecutive term as a SIAM council member-at-large.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMembers of the SIAM Activity Group on Computational Science and Engineering (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.siam.org\/get-involved\/connect-with-a-community\/activity-groups\/computational-science-and-engineering\/leadership\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESIAG\/CSE\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E) elected School of CSE Professor and Associate Chair Edmond Chow as vice chair. Chow\u2019s two-year term began in January after serving as the group\u2019s program director.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECherry previously served as the School of CSE\u2019s associate chair for academic affairs. When she accepted her new associate dean role, the School appointed B. Aditya Prakash as associate chair.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPrakash was one of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/computing-celebrates-2025-faculty-promotion-and-tenure-cases\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ethree School of CSE faculty members who received promotions\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E that take effect in July. He was promoted to full professor. Assistant Professors Chao Zhang and Xiuwei Zhang earned tenure and promotions. Each has been promoted to associate professor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPrakash advised Alexander Rodr\u00edguez (Ph.D. CS 2023), now an assistant professor at the University of Michigan. Rodr\u00edguez won an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/kdd2024.kdd.org\/awards\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eoutstanding dissertation award runner-up at the International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD 2024)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERodr\u00edguez\u2019s dissertation on \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/repository.gatech.edu\/entities\/publication\/aa292b79-26bb-4aec-a3f3-0fd87911ff74\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EArtificial Intelligence for Data-centric Surveillance and Forecasting of Epidemics\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E earned him the College of Computing\u0027s Outstanding Dissertation Award in 2024.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAssistant Professor Florian Sch\u00e4fer co-authored a paper selected for one of five\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/blog.siggraph.org\/2024\/06\/siggraph-2024-technical-papers-awards-best-papers-honorable-mentions-and-test-of-time.html\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ebest technical paper awards\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E at the annual conference for ACM\u2019s Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH 24).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESch\u00e4fer\u2019s work in numerical computation and statistical inference led to his appointment as an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.research.gatech.edu\/ims-initiative-lead-q-and-florian-schafer\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Einitiative lead\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E within Georgia Tech\u2019s Institute for Matter and Systems (IMS). IMS selected Sch\u00e4fer to lead the initiative on Matter and Information, looking to him to facilitate innovative approaches and impact in alignment with\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/matter-systems.research.gatech.edu\/our-mission\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIMS\u2019 mission\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAssistant Professor Spencer Bryngelson and his group received an\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/allocations.access-ci.org\/allocations-policy#maximize-access-projects\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EACCESS-CI Maximize\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E allocation from the National Science Foundation. The award amounts to 225,000 GPU hours annually to run their multiphase fluid flow simulation algorithms on powerful supercomputers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of Bryngelson\u2019s Ph.D. students, Ben Wilfong, received the 2024-2025\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/crnch.gatech.edu\/crnch-fellowship\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECRNCH Fellowship\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. Wilfong will use the fellowship to optimize superchip architectures, such as NVIDIA Grace Hopper and AMD MI300A.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEarly in the year, Suzan Manasreh and Elizabeth Hong won President\u2019s Undergraduate Research Awards (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/undergradresearch.gatech.edu\/content\/presidents-undergraduate-research-awards\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPURA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E) for Fall 2024. Manasreh studies in Bryngelson\u2019s group, and Professor Rich Vuduc advises Hong.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EM.S. CSE student Grace Driskill attained achievement in the classroom, on the track, and cross country courses. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/computing-student-runs-history-books-athletic-and-academic-achievement\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe first-ever School of CSE student-athlete\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E earned a third selection to an All-ACC academic team.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDriskill made history by recording the fourth fastest 3000-meter time in history of the Georgia Tech Women\u2019s Indoor Track program. She clocked a 9:22.21 on Feb. 15 at Boston University\u2019s David Hemery Valentine Invitational.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents praised Assistant Professor Rapha\u00ebl Pestourie, who was selected for the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/blog.ctl.gatech.edu\/2025\/01\/15\/fall-2024-cios-honor-roll\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFall 2024 CIOS Honor Roll\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. The honor roll recognized Pestourie for outstanding teaching and educational impact through his \u003Cem\u003ECSE 8803: Scientific Machine Learning\u003C\/em\u003E course.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the waning weeks of the semester, CSE-AE Ph.D. student Atticus Rex received the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2025\/04\/15\/nsf-awards-fellowships-georgia-tech-graduate-students\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E for computational and data-enabled science research. Rex is advised by Assistant Professor Elizabeth Qian, who holds joint appointments with the School of CSE and the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn March, the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20250408123690\/en\/Multiscale-Technologiess-Surya-Kalidindi-Named-2025-AIME-Honorary-Membership-Award-Recipient\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAmerican Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) awarded honorary membership to Regents\u2019 Professor Surya Kalidindi\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. Kalidindi is affiliated with the School of CSE, the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and the School of Materials Science and Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe dictionary is the only place where success comes before work. The College of Computing\u2019s 34th Annual Awards Celebration on April 8 offered a venue to honor the hard work and ensuing success of students, faculty, staff, and alumni in 2024-2025.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn this past year, my first as the dean of computing, I have seen exactly how much work it takes from everyone to keep this community going, not to mention excelling,\u201d said Vivek Sarkar, dean and John P. Imlay Jr. Chair of the College of Computing.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are strong across the board, and that makes our winners all the more impressive.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) is one unit that reinforces the College\u2019s emphasis on collaboration, problem solving, and excellence. By earning awards this year at the College, Institute, and levels beyond, the School of CSE continues to distinguish itself as a top-tier department for research and learning.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"By earning awards this year at the College, Institute, and levels beyond, the School of Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) continues to distinguish itself as a top-tier department for research and learning."}],"uid":"36319","created_gmt":"2025-04-25 14:09:19","changed_gmt":"2025-04-25 14:11:53","author":"Bryant Wine","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676943":{"id":"676943","type":"image","title":"CSE-Awards-Story.jpg","body":null,"created":"1745590173","gmt_created":"2025-04-25 14:09:33","changed":"1745590173","gmt_changed":"2025-04-25 14:09:33","alt":"College of Computing 34th Annual Awards Celebration","file":{"fid":"260794","name":"CSE-Awards-Story.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/25\/CSE-Awards-Story.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/25\/CSE-Awards-Story.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":197928,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/04\/25\/CSE-Awards-Story.jpg?itok=jmbn5opi"}}},"media_ids":["676943"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/school-award-winners-impress-world-national-and-institute-stages","title":"School Award Winners Impress on World, National, and Institute Stages"}],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50877","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"193158","name":"Student Competition Winners (academic, innovation, and research)"},{"id":"193157","name":"Student Honors and Achievements"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"166983","name":"School of Computational Science and Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBryant Wine, Communications Officer\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:bryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebryant.wine@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}