{"690277":{"#nid":"690277","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Ph.D. Graduate Q\u0026A:\u202fMarina\u202fVemmou","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech Class of 2026 will\u202fcelebrate\u202fone of its\u202fmost significant\u202faccomplishments\u202fthis week.\u202fAmong those crossing the stage for the 2026 Spring Commencement is\u202f\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/marinavemmou\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMarina Vemmou\u003C\/a\u003E, who\u202fwill be\u202freceiving\u202fher Ph.D. in computer science.\u202f\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring her time at Georgia Tech,\u202fVemmou\u202fwas heavily\u202finvolved\u202fwith the School of Computer Science Graduate\u202fStudent Association, where she served as\u202fthe student and faculty affairs chair for a term. In 2023,\u202fVemmou\u202freceived\u202fthe College of Computing\u202fOutstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, an honor she is especially proud of.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBefore\u202ffinishing this chapter of her\u202facademic journey,\u202fVemmou\u202fshared\u202fabout her Ph.D. journey and what she\u2019s\u202ftaken from the experience.\u202f\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat did your research focus on?\u202f\u003C\/strong\u003E\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMy general area is computer architecture. I work a lot at the intersection of different components and how we can, instead of trying to optimize each component on its own,\u202fcoordinate among components so that we get the\u202fbest\u202fperformance out of\u202fa\u202fsystem without completely changing everything.\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat made you interested in\u202fstudying\u202fthat\u202ftopic?\u202f\u003C\/strong\u003E\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn my mind, it\u2019s kind of like Legos because you have a bunch of building blocks\u202fand you\u2019re trying to make something new with them. I find that fascinating. I also like that\u202fin computer architecture,\u202fthere\u2019s never a singlecorrect answer,\u202fand everything\u202fis a trade-off. I like that extra difficulty.\u202f\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy did you choose to study at Georgia Tech?\u202f\u003C\/strong\u003E\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI think it was a combination of my advisor and the location. I had met with\u202fmy advisor, Alex Daglis, before and\u202fknew\u202fI wanted to work with him. I also preferred the urban environment of Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAre there any specific people who helped you during your Ph.D. journey?\u202f\u003C\/strong\u003E\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/faculty.cc.gatech.edu\/~adaglis\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAlex\u202fDaglis\u003C\/a\u003E\u202fis the ideal advisor.\u202fHe\u2019s smart, a good researcher, and an excellent advisor. He truly cares about\u202fstudents,\u202fand\u202fhe\u2019s been involved in everything and has helped so many people, including me.\u202f\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI also want to\u202fshout out the School of Computer Science staff, specifically Tiffany Ntuli.\u202fWe appreciate the admins and all the work that you do.\u202f\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice\u202fwould you give someone interested in\u202fpursuing a Ph.D.?\u202f\u003C\/strong\u003E\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDon\u2019t forget that there\u2019s a life outside of your research.\u202fThe research is great, but it\u2019s not the most important thing. You can take\u202fthe\u202ftime to\u202fgo on a walk, call your family\u202f, or\u202fsee friends.\u202f\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s the most important lesson you learned during your\u202ftime at Georgia Tech?\u202f\u003C\/strong\u003E\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPerfection is futile.\u202fA lot of students come in expecting\u202fthat we have to be perfect immediately, that they already\u202fknow how to write the perfect paper or do research on their own. But the point of a Ph.D. is to learn how to do those things.\u202fThat was important for me to work through.\u202f\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are your plans after graduation?\u202f\u003C\/strong\u003E\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI want to stay in academia\u202fand am\u202fconsidering postdoc positions.\u202f\u202f\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERecent Ph.D. graduate in computer science Marina Vemmou discusses her experience at Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A Q\u0026A with recent Ph.D. graduate Marina Vemmou"}],"uid":"36532","created_gmt":"2026-05-13 21:18:52","changed_gmt":"2026-05-13 21:22:21","author":"Morgan Usry","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-05-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-05-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50875","name":"School of Computer Science"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"195105","name":"2026 Spring Commencement"},{"id":"629","name":"graduation"},{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"166941","name":"School of Computer Science"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMorgan Usry, Communications Officer, morgan.usry@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["morgan.usry@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}