About Us

Zhen Bai

Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science

Zhen Bai has been appointed as an assistant professor in computer science after serving as a postdoctoral fellow at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute and Language Technology Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

Her research focuses on designing embodied and intelligent interfaces that improve learning, communication, and well-being. Her research spans human-computer interaction, augmented reality, tangible user interface, embodied conversational agent, and education and assistive technologies and embraces interdisciplinary fields relating to artificial intelligence; game design; and cognitive, social, and learning science.

At Carnegie Mellon, Bai led a project that investigated how social factors influence curiosity in scientific inquiry among elementary and middle school students who are underrepresented in STEM disciplines. The project also explored the design of a virtual tabletop game that fosters curiosity, exploration, and self-efficacy to help students with science education.

Bai’s peer-reviewed work has been published in journals of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and presented at some of her field’s top conferences.

This fall she is teaching a new course that introduces undergraduates to augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and related 3-D interaction technologies. 

• Undergraduate degree(s): BS, computer science, Beijing University of Technology
• Graduate degree(s): MS, software engineering, Peking University; PhD, computer science, University of Cambridge
• Most recent appointment(s): postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University

Selçuk Köse

Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Selçuk Köse joins the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering as an associate professor after serving nearly seven years as an assistant and associate professor at the University of South Florida, where he worked on computer hardware security and chip design.

His research on security analyzes the ways in which computer hardware can be attacked and the countermeasures that individuals and corporations can use to better protect their systems. He also explores security and privacy concerns in technologies such as connected autonomous vehicles and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

He is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER award in 2014 and was recognized by the University of South Florida for his research and work as a faculty member. He has coauthored two books, authored or coauthored more than 60 journal and conference papers, and has five US patents. He is an associate editor for the Journal of Circuits, Systems and Computers, and Microelectronics Journal.

This fall he is teaching an introductory course on hardware security for graduate students.

• Undergraduate degree(s): BS, electrical and electronics engineering, Bilkent University
• Graduate degree(s): MS and PhD, electrical and computer engineering, University of Rochester
• Most recent appointment(s): associate professor at the University of South Florida

Fatemeh Nargesian

Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science

Fatemeh Nargesian has joined the Department of Computer Science as an assistant professor after completing her PhD at the University of Toronto, where she was a member of the Data Curation Group.

Her primary research explores some of the key challenges of data management: how to manage extremely large data repositories—a concept known as a “data lake”—so that information can be searched far more efficiently and can be better integrated. She has also researched ways of making Open Data accessible and usable for data scientists.

The author or coauthor of more than a dozen journal and conference papers, she was recognized by the 43rd International Conference on Very Large Data Bases in 2017. She has one US patent pending. 

• Undergraduate degree(s): BS, computer engineering, Shahid Beheshti University
• Graduate degree(s): MS, artificial intelligence, Sharif University of Technology; MS, computer science, University of Ottawa; PhD, computer science, University of Toronto
• Most recent appointment(s): doctoral student at the University of Toronto

Andrea Pickel

Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Andrea Pickel joins the Department of Mechanical Engineering as an assistant professor after completing her PhD at the University of California at Berkeley.

Her research focuses on using experimental and numerical methods to address fundamental problems in heat transfer, particularly at the nanoscale. The work has potential applications for data storage and the development of optoelectronic and integrated circuit devices as well as for advancing the understanding of nanoscale energy transport and conversion.

She also is exploring ways to harness the unique properties of luminescent materials to develop better techniques for measuring temperature with nanoscale spatial resolution, particularly with high temporal resolution.

The recipient of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, she was selected to attend the Rising Stars in Mechanical Engineering workshop at MIT in 2018. At Berkeley, she was active in Graduate Women in Engineering, serving as events chair and speaker series cochair. 

• Undergraduate degree(s): BS, mechanical engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
• Graduate degree(s): PhD, mechanical engineering, University of California, Berkeley
• Most recent appointment(s): graduate research assistant in the Nano/Energy Lab at the University of California, Berkeley

Adam Purtee

Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Computer Science

Adam Purtee has joined the Department of Computer Science as an assistant professor of instruction after serving as an adjunct instructor in the department.

His research interests explore artificial intelligence, in particular the areas of machine learning, as well as how computer systems understand and interpret natural language and how information about the world can be understood by computer technology. He has worked on projects involving the parsing of language, speech recognition, machine translation, and logical inference and probability. 

Purtee, who received his PhD in computer science from the University in 2018, has also been a lecturer at Rochester Institute of Technology.

This fall he will teach courses on artificial intelligence, computer networks, and introductory computer science.

• Undergraduate degree(s): BS, computer science and mathematics, Arkansas Technical University
• Graduate degree(s): MS and PhD, computer science, University of Rochester
• Most recent appointment(s): adjunct instructor of computer science at the University of Rochester

Sarah Rose Smith

Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Sarah Rose Smith has joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering as an assistant professor of instruction after completing her PhD in the department this spring.

Focusing her research on audio signal processing and musical acoustics, Smith explores the ways in which audio, particularly instrumental vibrato, reverberates as its signals are reflected and absorbed by objects and surfaces within a space. For her dissertation, she investigated the interaction of modulated audio signals, including those found in speech and music, with acoustical spaces.

She has designed an undergraduate course for the department’s Audio and Music Engineering program called Acoustics Portfolio. Students in the course will complete a project in acoustics, drawing on topics such as the acoustical design of architectural spaces, design or characterization of acoustic musical instruments, loudspeakers, and live sound or sound reinforcement systems.

She has earned recognition from the Acoustical Society of America and the Audio Engineering Society. She has one patent pending.

• Undergraduate degree(s): BA, physics, and BA, music, Cornell University
• Graduate degree(s): MA, music, science, and technology, Stanford University; MS and
• PhD, electrical engineering, University of Rochester
• Most recent appointment(s): doctoral student at the University of Rochester