Keerthi Koneru is a UC Santa Cruz class of 2024 computer science Ph.D. graduate. Drawn to UCSC’s Computer Science and Engineering Department for its focus on combining conceptual learning with practical application, her research focused on securing electrical substations against cyber threats by analyzing real-world vulnerabilities and developing tools to study malware interactions.
Shourya Bose is completing his last year as an electrical and computer engineering Ph.D. student and is one of three recipients of the Dissertation-year Fellowship. Drawn to Baskin Engineering for its proximity to Silicon Valley and focus on innovation for social good, Bose’s research applies machine learning and artificial intelligence to optimize power grids.
Degree Program: Computer Science and Engineering, Ph.D.
Department: Computer Science and Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Southern University of Science and Technology, China, Communications Engineering, B.S.
Advisor: Chen Qian
“The most important thing is to have confidence in yourself. Although you will encounter many challenges and become frustrated at times during your program, you need to remain confident in your capabilities as an engineer.”
Degree Program: Applied Mathematics, Ph.D.
Department: Applied Mathematics
Undergraduate Institution:Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur, Mechanical Engineering, B.S.
Graduate Institution: Indian Institute of Technology, Bangalore, Mechanical Engineering, M.S.
Advisor: Pascale Garaud
“One of the best parts of my research is getting to blend different interdisciplinary concepts together like math, engineering, and physics and collaborate with different researchers across different fields.”
Degree Program: Applied Mathematics, Ph.D.
Department: Applied Mathematics
Undergraduate Institution: UC Santa Cruz
Graduate Institution: UC Santa Cruz
Advisor: Daniele Venturi
“As a researcher, I am constantly trying to think of new ideas. Most of them take a lot of effort to explore and oftentimes they do not work. One day, I decided to carry out an idea that had popped into my head. I quickly coded it into my computer and pressed “run.” I sat there and watched the animations appear on the screen, proving that my new idea worked even better than I had anticipated. It was such a good feeling to achieve this research breakthrough from an original idea.”
Degree Program: Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ph.D.
Undergraduate Institution: National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (India), Instrumentation and Control Engineering, B.S.
Advisor: Marco Rolandi
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
“I’ve been working on developing bioelectronic devices for wound healing applications and tissue regeneration.”
Degree Program: Ph.D., Applied Mathematics and Statistics
Graduate Institution: UC Santa Cruz
Undergraduate Institution: Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Department: Applied Mathematics, Statistics
Hometown: Bogotá, Colombia
“From learning English to receiving an outstanding formation in Bayesian Statistics, my time at the Baskin School of Engineering was a life-changing experience for me.”
Degree Program: Computer Engineering, Ph.D.
Graduate Institution: UC Santa Cruz
Department: Computer Engineering
Hometown: Dhaka, Bangladesh
“If you look at the power consumption of the microprocessor or the CPU, a big chunk of power comes in by the clock network, so I proposed a new paradigm of clocking that utilizes current rather than voltage.”
Degree Program: Computer Engineering, Ph.D.
Graduate Institution: San Jose State and UC Santa Cruz
Undergraduate Institution: UCLA
Department: Computer Science and Engineering
Hometown: Los Altos, CA
“The Ph.D. experience allowed me to mature as a person. I learned to function in an environment where I had to figure out the parameters myself. I came out of UCSC with self confidence and the ability to figure out a solution and explain it to an audience.”
Degree Program: Ph.D., Electrical Engineering
Graduate Institution: UC Santa Cruz
Undergraduate Institution: BSE Duke University, MSEE North Carolina State University
Department: Electrical Engineering
“The most important thing a student needs to learn in their education is not to memorize this or that formula, or do certain calculations at this speed, but really to develop an intuitive understanding and knowledge of what they are learning about.”
Degree Program: P.h.D., Statistics
Graduate Institution: UC Santa Cruz
Undergraduate Institution: Cal-State Bakersfield
Department: Applied Mathematics and Statistics (2014)
Hometown: Buttonwillow, California
“The skills and lessons I learned at UC Santa Cruz have largely influenced the manner in which I approach my current research on a daily basis. The high standards for rigorous statistical analysis have carried forth into all aspects of my work.”
Degree Program: Ph.D., Applied Mathematics
Graduate Institution: UC Santa Cruz
Undergraduate Institution: UC Riverside
Department: Applied Mathematics
Hometown: Phillipines
“I’m mentoring an undergrad right now and what I realized over the course of working with him is the importance of giving students support. My professors and older grad students always gave me that support so it feels good for me to pay that forward.”