People – iMAPLE

CORE FACULTY

David Han

Professor

David Han is the inaugural holder of the Bruce Eisenstein Endowed Chair and professor of electrical and computer engineering. He is an ASME Fellow and an IEEE senior member. Dr. Han received his B.S. degree from Carnegie Mellon University and M.S.E. degree from the Johns Hopkins University. He completed Ph.D. degree at the Johns Hopkins University under the supervision of Andrea Prosperetti. He has previously held positions as a research and faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Army Research Laboratory, and the University of Maryland at College Park, and has additionally served as Distinguished IWS Chair Professor at the US Naval Academy. He spent over 11 years as program officer at the Office of Naval Research and served as its Deputy Director of Research, overseeing the Discovery and Invention portfolio of over $900 million from 2012 to 2014. He also served as Associate Director for Basic Research in Machine Intelligence and Robotics in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense Research & Engineering from 2014 to 2016, helping to oversee an over $2 billion annual research portfolio. Han has authored or coauthored over 120 peer-reviewed papers, including four book chapters.

Email: dkh42@drexel.edu

Phone: 215-895-5814

CURRENT MEMBERS

Diego Patiño

Post-Doctoral Fellow

I am a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Drexel University, working under the supervision of Dr. David Han. Before joining Drexel, I was a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, working in the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Laboratory under the supervision of Kostas Daniilidis.

My research interests revolve around machine learning and geometric approaches to computer vision with applications in robotics. My research focuses on 3D vision, symmetry detection, 3D Reconstruction, graph neural networks, robot perception, and reinforcement learning. I received my B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Engineering from the National University of Colombia, in 2010, 2012, and 2020 respectively. I was a visiting researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and later at the University of Pennsylvania.

Amirreza Rouhi

Ph.D. Student

I am currently pursuing my Ph.D. degree at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Drexel University, under the supervision of Professor D. Han. I am interested in deep learning problems as well as their applications in computer vision. I am also interested in other machine learning problems like feature selection, dimensionality reduction in high-dimensional data, and ensemble learning. During my M.Sc. degree at the Polytechnic University of Milan, I have done research in the field of feature selection in highly sparse data (Single Cell Hi-C data) and Cell Stage prediction. At iMaPLe, I do research on object detection, classification, and identification using computer vision techniques.

Kris Kim

Ph.D. Student

I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Machine Learning in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Drexel University under Dr. David Han’s supervision. My passion for sound recording and electronics has culminated in the opportunity at iMaPLe to apply ML to acoustic scene understanding. I received my B.Sc. EE from UMD and M.Sc. Applied and Computational Mathematics from The Johns Hopkins University. During my sojourn in private industry I developed hardware and firmware for several commercially successful digital telephony interface devices. I am a senior engineer at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where I manage the cyclotron section in the CC/PET Department. In my spare time I learn human and computer languages and read books. One of my goals is to become fluent in German, French, Python, and at least one other world language. My favorite novel is “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas.

Solmaz Arezoomandan

Ph.D. Student

I am working towards a Ph.D. in Machine Learning Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Drexel under the supervision of Dr. David Han. I received my B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Sadjad University. My previous research was focused on Genetic Algorithms and their application in optimizing power allocation in CDMA cellular systems. My research interests lie in machine vision, machine learning, and deep learning. As a researcher at iMaPLe, I am interested in using machine learning techniques to solve real-world computer vision problems. Apart from my academic studies, I enjoy photography, especially landscape photography in my favorite mode, black and white. Persian calligraphy is my other favorite activity in my free time.

Knut Peterson

Ph.D. Student

I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Drexel University under Dr. David Han’s supervision. I received my B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2021, and my M.Sc. in Robotics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2023. During my M.Sc. I also worked as a Software Engineer at Superlative Technologies Inc, a DoD Contractor for the U.S. Transportation Command. In my research I hope to explore different approaches to autonomous perception and decision making, and especially how learning techniques can be more effectively used in robotics applications. Apart from research, I have a wide variety of hobbies ranging from blacksmithing to solving Rubik’s Cubes.

Priontu Chowdhury

Ph.D. Student

I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Drexel University under the supervision of Dr. David Han. I received my B.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Constructor University, situated in Bremen, Germany. During that time, I have also worked as a Software Engineer for the Motorsport department at Bosch Engineering GmbH (Bosch Motorsport). Later, I worked at the Process Data Systems Engineering department of ZEISS Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (ZEISS SMT) in the area of Data Quality Management. I did my thesis in collaboration with Bosch Motorsport, where the research involved the use of network simulation. As part of the research, I studied algorithms that could maximize data throughput on the Bosch Telemetry System when implemented during a race. My research interests involve signal processing and applied deep learning, and at iMaPLe I wish to explore the conjunction of both in acoustic scene understanding and source localization.

Nana Kwame Boakye Kankam

M.Sc. Student

I completed undergraduate studies at Bradley University where I obtained a B.Sc. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. After graduation in 2020, I worked for 2 years as a Planning Engineer for GRIDCo(leading power transmissions company in Ghana). I am currently pursuing an M.Sc. in Machine Learning Engineering in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Drexel University.

Seungyeop Lee

Visiting M.Sc. Student

I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Korea University, and I am working in the HMS Laboratory under the supervision of Professor Shinsuk Park. My primary reason for coming to Drexel University is to conduct research in the field of computer vision, which plays a vital role in robotic research. I am interested in Autonomous Driving, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and Machine Learning. As a visiting researcher, I am eager to enhance my machine learning skills and do research to combine computer vision and robotics.

Quoc Thinh Vo

B.Sc./M.Sc. Student

I am currently a B.S./M.S. student, majoring in Computer Engineering at Drexel University. I am interested in Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Mathematical Computing and Modeling, Theoretical Computer Science, and Computational Complexity Analysis. My interests in machine learning gravitate toward feature engineering, image processing at scale algorithms, and convolutional neural networks. At iMaPLe, I do research on the acoustic scene classifications; specifically, acoustic classification and detection in underwater scenarios, working towards my master’s thesis in the field under the supervision of Dr. Han.

Tam Phi

B.Sc./M.Sc. Student

I’m a rising senior in Computer Engineering. In the past, I have worked on EEG signal classification and processing. I also worked on a semi-autonomous wheelchair for ALS patient with Temple research group. As a prospective engineer, I want to use my work for good. At iMaPLe, I hope to use my knowledge in Machine Learning and computer for acoustic scene understanding. In my free time, I like to play sports and cook. My goal for this year is to make rice wine from scratch and improve my tennis.

Sneh Patel

B.Sc./M.Sc. Student

I am currently pursuing a Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering and a Master’s in Machine Learning Engineering at Drexel University. My interest in Machine Learning was sparked during my Co-op at Rajant Corporation, where I worked on various projects that are in the patent process. I have experience working with multi-disciplinary teams during my time at Rajant and on an ML research project with the Drexel University College of Medicine. As a peer mentor in the Engineering Leadership Scholars Program at Drexel, I’ve helped freshmen succeed academically and adjust to college life. In my free time, I enjoy photography, as well as exploring my interest in cars and motorcycles. Overall, my experiences have deepened my passion for Computer Engineering and Machine Learning. I look forward to applying my skills and knowledge to the acoustic team at iMaPLe lab.

Princie Shah

High School Student

I am currently a senior in the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district. I am interested to learn how engineering and machine learning apply to real world settings. Through my research with iMaPLe, I hope to gain new skills and apply research concepts to advance the field of robotic engineering.

ALUMNI