Participant Profiles
Mentors
Aditya Devurkar
Aditya Devurkar is a 1st-year Graduate Student studying Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Devurkar is currently researching Public Key Infrastructures (PKI). He has represented the Georgia Institute of Technology at the ICPC South East Regional, and was awarded Best Student Project and Gold Medal for his work on GIS Systems. He also pioneered a Community Learning Program in Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra. Devurkar spends his free time tutoring students on Data Structures, Algorithms, and Computer Programming.
Guofei Gu
Guofei Gu is a 5th-year Ph.D. Computer Science major at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is originally from China and is currently researching Network Security and System Security.
Hiral Shah
Hiral Shah is a 1st-year MS Computer Science major at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is originially from Mambai, India and is currently researching Access Control in Distributed Databases.
Nova Ahmed
Nova Ahmed is a 3rd-year Ph.D. Student at the Georgia Institute of Technology studying Computer Science with a focus on Embedded Systems. She is originally from Dhaka, Bangladesh and is currently researching middleware for error prone RFID devices.
Zsolt Kira
Zsolt Kira is a robotics Ph.D. student at the Georgia Institute of
Technology, working at the Mobile Robot Lab under Dr. Ron Arkin. His
research involves sensorimotor integration, learning, and adaptation in
single and multi-robot systems. Zsolt was born in Romania, and earned his B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Miami, Florida.
Scholars
Candace Mitchell
Candace is a 2nd-year Computer Science major from Lithonia, GA. She is currently researching distributed database systems to create an efficient system for the CDC in regards to the access of healthcare files between hospitals and from hospitals to the CDC. Candace is also very involved on campus as the Black History Co-Chair for the African-American Student Union and College of Computing Ambassador. She is also a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Last year, Candace researched a different topic for the SAIC Program: Virtualization and Network Security. Candace wishes to be an entreprenuer, starting her own web-designing and graphics business after working in Corporate America for a few years in Software Development. This summer, she will be studying in Barcelona, Spain in Georgia Tech's Study Abroad Program.
Carolina Gomez
Carolina Gomez is a 4th-year undergraduate Computer Science major at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Erin Reddick
I am a 2nd-year MS student from New York studying Information Security. From meeting with
David Dobbs and Marshall Dewitt, I've learned a lot about how SAIC has
used an open source grid infrastructure to facilitate a highly
collaborative environment used by the CDC and members of the cancer
research community.
Karmelia Elliott
Karmelia Elliott is a freshman scholar researching Network System
Security-Intrusion Detection. She has learned much about Malware
Detection and Defense including how to track botnets through honeypots.
Katie Long
My name is Katie Long, and I'm a 4th-year undergraduate Computer Science major at Georgia Tech. My hometown is in Cumming, GA. As my focus is in artificial intelligence, being a SAIC Scholar in the Mobile Robotics Lab has been a great experience. The opportunity to work with graduate student Zsolt Kira on actual problems has been very challenging and rewarding, and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to publish and present a paper on our research at a conference. Overall, the SAIC Scholar program has greatly enhanced my experience at Georgia Tech.
Sanjeet U. Hajarnis
My name is Sanjeet Hajarnis, a 2nd-year student from Edison, NJ. The Threads system was of the most motivating factors for me to attend Georgia Tech. As I was exploring my opportunities at Tech, I met Aditya, who briefed me about PKI and I was excited to know more about it. I think participating in SAIC's program, and specifically on the PKI project, will help to consolidate my decision about pursuing computer security as my career goal. This project will help me develop my skills in Computer Science and will also provide me with an opportunity to interact with the Corporate world.
Michael Slaughter
Greetings, my name is Michael Slaughter and I'm from Atlanta, GA. I am a Sophomore Computer Science major whose focus or "Threads" are in Information Internetworking and People. For the past year I have been working alongside Nova Ahmed doing research on the development of a RFID middleware that mproves the reliability and effectiveness of the technology. My experiences with undergraduate research have allowed me to put a practical application to the skills and concepts that I learn in class. Being on the cutting edge of technology and solving problems that an answer has yet to be found is truly a rewarding experience.
Pavani Yalla
I am a 2nd-year MS student from Palm Harbor, FL, and I'm involved in the Human-Computer Interaction program. I have learned much from my mentor and the research I have been conducting with SAIC. Aside from the research, the SAIC workshops have been very valuable to many aspects of my studies and future career.