CCI News Bytes: May 2025

New Bytes May Edition graphic

Welcome to the May edition of News Bytes! News Bytes is your go-to source for the latest happenings at Drexel University's College of Computing & Informatics (CCI), where we recognize academic and professional milestones of our students and faculty, including notable achievements in conferences, scholarships, awards, fellowships and more. Whether you're looking for inspiration or just want to stay in the loop, we’ve got highlights from across the CCI community.

Conferences and Presentations

SIEDS 2025: CCI Students Unveil Innovative Analyst Tool for Hazard Detection

CCI students Eric Li '27 and Weihao Li '25 presented their research work, “Designing an Analyst Support Tool to Identify Human Performance-Related Hazards, Causes, and Mitigations” on behalf of fellow CCI researchers Max Iticovici '25 and Ellen Bass, PhD at the Systems and Information Engineering Design Symposium (SIEDS) on May 2, 2025 at the University of Virginia.

The symposium invites attendees to present undergraduate and graduate design projects in systems and information engineering, according to the SIEDS website.

Eric Li, Weihao Li, and Iticovici are current students who formerly worked with Dr. Bass as part of research co-ops.

The three CCI associates “have been working with me on a tool to help analysts with hazard analysis for supervisory control systems,” said Bass.

The goal of the tool, according to additional project materials, is to “support an analyst with the identification of human factors limitations that are associated with human supervisory control of semi-autonomous and autonomous systems.”

Additional conference news

CCI Professor Alex Poole Wins 2025 Bob Williams History Fund Best Paper Award from ASIS&T

Alex Poole
Alex Poole, PhD

The Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) selected CCI Associate Professor Alex Poole, PhD as the winner of the 2025 Bob Williams History Fund Best Paper Award for his research paper titled “‘There’s a big difference between going through life with the wind at your back, and going through life leaning into the wind’: Feminism in Post-World War II Information Science.”

The Bob Williams History Fund was created for the purpose of supporting and encouraging research and publication in the history of information science and technology. Katherine W. McCain, professor emerita of CCI, nominated Poole, citing his paper for its rigorous analysis, high readability and effective organization.

CCI Scholars Advance HCI Research at ACM CHI 2025

 At the end of April into early May, CCI faculty John S. Seberger, PhD; Tiffany D. Do, PhD; Afsaneh Razi, PhD; Helena M. Mentis, PhD; Karthik Bhat, PhD and Tim Gorichanaz, PhD, and students Sanonda Datta Gupta, Tyler Chang, and Joseph Trybala visited Japan to present their research at the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025).

Record-Breaking CCI Participation at Drexel's Conference for Graduate-Level Research

Lore Lawlor
DEGS participant
Lore Lawlor '27

The ninth annual Drexel Emerging Graduate Scholars (DEGS) Conference held at Drexel’s Bossone Research Enterprise Center May 7 and 8, 2025 welcomed “by far the largest CCI student cohort presenting at DEGS since the beginning of the conference,” according to CCI Professor Aleksandra Sarcevic, PhD.

 

Scholarships

CCI Gilman Scholars to Study Abroad in Japan, South Korea, Italy and Ireland

CCI congratulates its 2025 recipients of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program: Boris Bespartochnyy, computer science '28, Gilman Scholar to Japan; Katie Le, computer science '28, Gilman Scholar to South Korea; Kfir Peri, software engineering '27, Gilman Scholar to Italy; Kyle Vong, computer science '27, Gilman Scholar to South Korea; and Samiha Zarin, computer science '27, Gilman Scholar to Ireland.

According to the Pennoni Honors College, “The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program supports students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad. The program encourages students to study or intern abroad in all world regions and from all U.S. states, academic fields, backgrounds, and types of institutions.”

WICT Network Honors Two CCI Students with 2025 STEM Scholarships

Zarah Malik and Ruhma Hashmi
Zarah Malik and Ruhma
Hashmi

Zarah Malik, BS data science '28, and Ruhma Hashmi, BS computer science '29, are recipients of the 2025 WICT Network: Greater Philadelphia Chapter Undergraduate STEM Scholarship. The scholarship includes entry to the Tech It Out Conference, a presentation to the chapter board, complimentary membership, and a financial award. Both recipients mentioned they looked forward to the opportunities the scholarship affords them through networking and collaboration. 

Additional scholarship news

CCI Celebrates Barry Goldwater Scholarship Award Recipient Madeline Navea '25

CCI congratulates Madeline Navea, psychology '25, a junior minoring in data science, as the recipient of the prestigious 2025 Barry Goldwater Scholarship.

Kimmie Huynh, BS computer science '28, Named Aspire Scholar for 2024–25 Cohort

Kimmie Huynh
Kimmie Huynh

Kimmie Huynh, a second-year student with a minor in user experience and interaction design, will join the Aspire Scholars, a small, selective group of sophomores who receive the opportunity to further develop their goals and clarify their plans for making the most of their time at Drexel and beyond.

 

Honors and Awards

Upsilon Pi Epsilon 2025 induction ceremony.

Please join us in congratulating the outstanding students who were inducted into Upsilon Pi Epsilon, the International Honor Society for the Computing and Information Disciplines, at our Spring Induction Ceremony on Tuesday, Apr. 15, 2025.

Upsilon Pi Epsilon 2025 induction ceremony.
Inductees at the UPE Spring 2025 ceremony.

PhD Students

Atieh Armin, Kruthika Ravi

Graduate Students

Abdulla Adam Razick, Adesewa Modupefoluwa Adesida, Alireza Hatami, Aman Ostwal, Amir Niroumand, Andy Cherney, Anthonio E. Maduadichie, Anthony Joseph Stanell, Anton Prokopenko, Aryan Jain, Charlotte Mehaffey, Chethas Anil Reddy, Chinonso Eziefule, Darshit Rai, David W. Blankenship Jr., Estifanos Tsehay Abebe Jack C. Anderson, Jilu James, Juliette Rando, Kartikeya Arvind Yadav, Megan R. Cunningham, Ramgopal Ravi, Robert M. Lignowski, Sai Aashish Pokuri, Sanjoli Sogani, Siddhant Shivdikar, Sindya Chinna Rajakumar, Tushar Ranjan, Vincent J. Smith, Yashodha Ravichandran

Undergraduate Students

Aaron Williams, Adli Johan Johnny Fernando, Aikaterini Karafousia, Alexander C. Lopez, Alicia Lukose, Amir Muratovich Kaidarov, Andrew Chen, Ashley Lynn Redman, Benjamin L. Boardman, Benjamin Vo Phung, Brett Musselman, Daniel Epstein, David Joseph Miller, Dina Gordon, Dishika Goel, Diya Patel, Dren Gara, Eyasu Messele, Fahima Akter Liza, Francisco J. Cruz-Urbanc, Lam Nguyen, Ioan A. Belichev, Ishan Patel, Jacob D. Marchese, Jacqueline Zodda, Jainam Kashyap, Jesse Catalfano, Joab Suarez, Jonathan Ebby, Joshua C. Smith, Justin Lu Gao, Kathryn Swatek, Kennan Lu, Kevin Z. Mastascusa, Kristi Ann Kesslick, Kushagra Mittal, Kyle Goetke, Anthony La, Leighland Rodrigo, Lu Liu, Mandy Ho, Mehroj Alimov, Minhal Vakil, Nikhil Bhise, Robert M. Hall, Rui Huang, Ryan R. Legg, Saumya L. Jain, Tashnuva Chowdhury, Tasnim Rahman, Teiji Schoyen, Uddhav Jain, Ujjwal Patidar, Vineet Kaur, Vu Phu Quang Bui, William Smiley

Additional awards news

Legacy of Leadership: CCI Alumni Awarded for Entrepreneurial and Civic Excellence

Ian Keith CallenderKisha H. Hawthorne
Alumni Ian Keith Callender and Kisha H.
Hawthorne

The College of Computing & Informatics (CCI) recognizes CCI alumni Ian Keith Callender, BS Information Systems '05, and Kisha H. Hawthorne, PhD Information Studies '18, who have won 2025 Drexel Alumni Awards. Callender received the Alumni Entrepreneur Award, Revenues Greater Than $1 Million, while Hawthorne was this year’s recipient of the Harriet E. Worrell Society Award.

 

CCI’s Leah Jorge '25 Earns Dual Honorable Mentions in Fiction and Humanities from Drexel Publishing

CCI congratulates Leah Jorge, BS computer science '25, for winning two Honorable Mention citations in two categories — Fiction and Humanities — in the Drexel Publishing Group’s annual awards!

CCI Celebrates Cooperative Education Award Student Winner Kimberlyn Cerasaro

Kimberlyn Cerasaro
Kimberlyn Cerasaro '25

Kimberlyn Cerasaro, BS computer science '25, completed a co-op with Dynasty 11 Studios Inc., a Philadelphia-based game software development studio.

 

 

Fellowships

CCI’s Xizhi Tan, PhD '25: From Drexel Excellence to Stanford Fellowship

Xizhi Tan has been offered the prestigious Motwani Postdoctoral Fellowship in theoretical computer science at Stanford University beginning this summer.

CCI in the News

CS4Philly 2025 Computer Science Teacher Awards Honor Exceptional Philadelphia Educators

Now in its sixth year, the 2025 CS4Philly Computer Science Teacher Awards continue to spotlight outstanding educators advancing computer science (CS) education in Philadelphia.

The CS Teacher Awards are presented by CS4Philly in partnership with Jumpstart Philly CS for All and CSTA Philly. The awards ceremony, on June 5, honored this year’s awardees and celebrates all Philadelphia CS teachers.

Jumpstart Philly CS for All is a National Science Foundation (NSF) supported Research Practitioner Partnership, bringing together Drexel University College of Computing & Informatics, Temple University, the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) teachers and administrators, and other stakeholders to make equitable, inclusive and high-quality computer science instruction aligned with educational standards available to all Philadelphia students.

CCI Professor Emeritus Jeffrey Popyack, PhD, is a principal investigator on the Jumpstart Philly CS for All grant while Associate Teaching Professor Tammy Pirmann and Associate Teaching Professor Daniel Moix are co-principal investigators.

What Happens When a Companion Chatbot Crosses the Line?

Matt NamvarpourAfsaneh Razi
PhD student Matt Namvarpour;
CCI Assistant Professor
Afsaneh Razi

Recent research from Drexel University, suggests that exposure to inappropriate behavior, and even sexual harassment, in interactions with chatbots is becoming a widespread problem and that lawmakers and AI companies must do more to address it.

Canadian Television recently highlighted this research in an online story: “‘It missed me after 6 messages:’ when AI companions cross the line.’”

 

 

How an Experiential Learning Research Project Led to a Full-Time Job

After graduating this year from Drexel University with a master’s degree in data science, Lauren Miller is now working as a junior data engineer at Aramark — but it’s not her first experience with the company.

Philly Codefest: High School Edition Showcases Young Tech Talent at CCI

Philly Codefest: High School edition 2025 first-place team Allergy Aid.
Philly Codefest: High School edition 2025 first-place team Allergy Aid.

Saturday, May 10, the College of Computing & Informatics (CCI) at Drexel University hosted the Philly Codefest: High School Edition, bringing together 35 enthusiastic young coders for a day of innovation, collaboration and creativity.

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