Emory University

Research Group on Data Driven Innovations for Human-Technology Symbiosis


Dr. Nirmalya Thakur

Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Computer Science, Emory University, USA

Dr. Thakur received his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, USA. Prior to his Ph.D., he also received his Master of Science in Computer Science degree from the University of Cincinnati, USA. He has a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from KIIT University, India. Before joining Emory University, he was working as a Dean's Fellow at the University of Cincinnati, USA. His research interests include Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Human-Computer Interaction, Pattern Recognition, and Natural Language Processing. He has co-authored 53 peer-reviewed publications (21 journal papers, 30 conference papers, and 2 invited book chapters) in these fields. He has delivered 30 presentations as an invited speaker/presenter at international conferences and universities in 9 countries: the United States, Canada, China, France, Denmark, Nepal, Malaysia, Switzerland, and Indonesia. He has been interviewed by IEEE TV, featured on the cover page of the Millennium Magazine, and received several nationally and internationally recognized awards such as the Young Scientist of the Year Award, the Young Innovator of the Year Award, and the Excellent Researcher of the Year Award. His research works have been featured on Business Insider, Yahoo News, and on different newspapers. To learn more about his work, please visit his website at https://nirmalyathakur.com/

Email: nirmalya.thakur@emory.edu

Office Address: W302-J, Math and Science Center, Department of Computer Science, Emory University


Isabella Hall

Isabella Hall is currently pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Cincinnati on an Air Force ROTC scholarship. She has been working with Dr. Thakur since 2021 and has contributed to three conference papers and one journal paper. She is interested in the areas of Cyber Security, Cryptography, AI, and Human-Computer Interaction. She has done her last two internships at Siemens Digital Industry as a Software Developer and an Engineering Consultant.

Email: hallib@mail.uc.edu


Karam Khanna

Karam Khanna is currently pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science and a B.A. in Applied Mathematics at Emory University. He has been working with Dr. Thakur since Fall 2022 and has contributed to one conference paper and one journal paper. He has over two years of experience as an engineering intern. In his previous role, Karam worked as a "resident hacker," tackling native-run OCR models that train on data received from different applications (using CoreML on apple and Win32 API on Windows), dockerizing servers, running them in GCS, and building cross-platform compression between Mac/Windows. In DDIHTS, he just completed a research project at the intersections of Big Data, Data Mining, and Machine Learning.

Email: karam.khanna@emory.edu


Nazif Azizi

Nazif Azizi is currently pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science at Emory University. He has been working with Dr. Thakur since Spring 2023 and has contributed to one conference paper and one journal paper. In DDIHTS, he is working on a research project at the intersections of Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing.

Email: mohammad.nazif.azizi@emory.edu


Shuqi Cui (Nicole)

Nicole Cui has been working with Dr. Thakur since Spring 2023 and has contributed to one conference paper and two journal papers. In the past, she has worked on projects that involved performing sentiment analysis using the Twitter developer API. She is also working on creating a chatbot named StyAIist that can generate discussion regarding fashion with its users. In DDIHTS, she is working on a research project at the intersections of Big Data, Data Mining, and Machine Learning.

Email: nicole.cui@emory.edu


Audrey Poon

Audrey Poon is a junior at Emory University studying Computer Science. She has been working with Dr. Thakur since Summer 2023 and has contributed to one journal paper. She has previously completed projects utilizing R to study connections between Korean pop and American pop music and trends in hotel bookings. In her free time she enjoys reading. In DDIHTS, she is working on a research project at the intersections of Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing.

Email: audrey.poon@emory.edu


Kesha Patel

Kesha Patel is a junior, pursuing a B.S. in Physics and Astronomy and a B.A. in Applied Mathematics.She has been working with Dr. Thakur since Summer 2023 and has contributed to two journal papers. She has worked on computational modeling of lenticular galaxies using Python. She is also a member of Emory SAWC and Emory Astronomy Club. In DDIHTS, she is working on a research project at the intersections of Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing.

Email: kesha.patel@emory.edu


Rishika Shah

Rishika Shah is a senior at Emory University majoring in Mathematics / Computer Science and Quantitative Sciences. Her research interests include Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing and Data Analysis. She has been working with Dr. Thakur since Fall 2023 and has contributed to one journal paper. Previously, she has worked as a Data Intern and has experience with cloud computing as well. At Emory, she is a member of the Emory CS Club and Girls Who Code Emory. In her current research project in DDIHTS, she is working on a research project at the intersections of Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing.

Email: rishika.shah@emory.edu


Changhee Han

Changhee is a senior at Emory University majoring in Computer Science. He has been working with Dr. Thakur since Fall 2023 and has contributed to one journal paper. He has 3 years of experience as a software engineering intern. His most recent work involved data preparation and refinement. He also tested and validated the functionality and robustness of an API, to ensure seamless data communication and system integrity, with an objective to contribute to a smooth and efficient user experience. In DDIHTS, he is working on a research project at the intersections of Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing.

Email: changhee.han@emory.edu


Mingchen (Katie) Shao

Katie Shao is currently pursuing a B.A. in Computer Science at Emory University. She has been working with Dr. Thakur since Fall 2023 and has contributed to one journal paper. In the past, she worked on a research project where she used the R programming language to analyze the link between robotization and a firm's export performances. She likes to draw and read in her free time. In DDIHTS, she is working on a research project at the intersections of Big Data, Data Analysis, and Natural Language Processing.

Email: katie.shao@emory.edu


Hongseok Jeong

Hongseok Jeong is currently pursuing a B.A. in Economics & Computer Science at Emory University. He started working with Dr. Thakur in Spring 2024. In the past, he worked on a research project where he used python to predict popularities for the games that are available on gaming platform, Steam. Hongseok Jeong likes to workout in his free time. In DDIHTS, he is working on a research project at the intersections of Big Data, Data Analysis, and Natural Language Processing.

Email: peter.jeong@emory.edu