I am an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the School of Data and Information Sciences, Division of Data Science and Society (100% FTE). I am also affiliated with Math, Computer Science, and Computational Medicine.
My research lies at the intersection of machine learning and computational mathematics, with a particular focus on data geometry. I develop mathematical and algorithmic tools for learning from complex, high-dimensional data, with interests in machine learning on graphs and manifolds, optimal transport, generative modeling, and applications in biomedicine.
Here are my bio and headshot for talks.
For Students
I am teaching DATA 707 in Fall 2026.
If you’re an undergrad hoping to ask for a recommendation letter, see here.
If you’re interested in doing research with me:
Current UNC students and postdocs: You can email me at [my first name] [at] unc [dot] edu with a brief description of your ideas for collaboration.
Non-UNC students: Due to the large volume of inquiries, I am generally unable to respond to emails about joining my research group. Please apply to the official MS/PhD program in Data Science instead. I do not anticipate recruiting another PhD student during the 2026-2027 academic year.
Education and Training
UCLA
Postdoc in Applied Math | 2021-2023 | Advisors: Andrea Bertozzi and Jacob G Foster
CMU
PhD in ECE | 2021 | Advisors: Yuejie Chi and Jelena Kovačević
MS in ML | 2021
MIT
MEng in EECS with concentration in AI | 2017 | Advisor: Collin Stultz
BS in EECS with minor in Math | 2016