Students in the Spotlight
The College is proud to have Asian American and Pacific Islander students as well as students from across Asia as part of the GT Computing community.
TEDDY CHEN, Computer Science Major
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced in your career?
My first internship was at a startup, which meant they operated at a hectic pace. As a first-time intern, I expected a lot more attention and feedback on my work than I got. From talking it over with my boss, the problem was that I was too reticent: I would complacently tap away at my keyboard and not speak out. I remedied that at my next internship and set up weekly meetings with my mentor and my manager.
MAKING MOVES
Overseas Graduate Kristine Diomampo Never Dreamed of a Cybersecurity Career
Kristine Diomampo is farther from Georgia Tech’s Atlanta campus than most of her fellow spring graduates. Her home and job in Hong Kong is more than 8,300 miles away and a 12-hour time difference. But the Philippines native didn’t let that become a barrier to her earning an online Master of Science degree in Cybersecurity (OMS Cyber).
Kristine’s grad school experience has been like a self-feeding loop – go online for class, learn through her projects and peers, integrate that new knowledge at work, then rinse and repeat. Adding to that virtuous cycle was a promotion at her job, where she is now an IT security auditor.
PHOEBE WONGPHATARAKUL, Computational Media Major
Why is it important to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month?
It is important to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month to honor the Asian community and their contributions to American history. Asians are often hindered in American history books. For instance, one event in Asian American history includes the Supreme Court case of People v Hall where Chinese people had no right to testify against white citizens. The case was about a man named George Hall who was convicted of murder but got away with it since the court disqualified the Chinese eyewitnesses. Furthermore, as a Thai American, I believe it is important to discover lesser-known Asian countries and cultures such as Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, and more.
ML@GT Student Spotlight
Throughout the year, the Machine Learning Center at Georgia Tech turns the spotlight on its students with its popular Meet ML@GT series. Below are a few Asian American/Pacific Islander students highlighted recently that are set to be the next generation of machine learning leaders in business and academia.
Robots for Complex, Real-World Situations
Joanne Truong is a second-year machine learning Ph.D. student focused on combining robotics and machine learning to help people with varying needs and abilities. Truong was recently named an Adobe Fellow and an Apple Scholar. She is a member of the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship. Truong is also a former intern of Facebook AI Research.
Connecting Deep Learning and Traditional Algorithms
Xinshi Chen is a machine learning Ph.D. student who says she can never take her eyes off of a sunset seen from the Coda building in Midtown Atlanta and who encourages other women in science, technology, engineering, and math fields to not be shy about sharing their opinions. Chen was recently selected as a 2020 Google Scholar.
Ending Residential Segregation with Machine Learning
Zhanzhan Zhao is a third-year machine learning Ph.D. student who is using machine learning to help end residential segregation in Atlanta.
Understanding Uncertainty in Machine Learning
Cusuh Ham is a second-year machine learning Ph.D. student whose research interest is in the uncertainty in machine learning could ultimately benefit any application that utilizes intelligent systems/agents, such as autonomous driving and medical diagnoses.