I’m a Professor and the Head of the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech. My research brings together software engineering and ubiquitous computing to make intelligent systems that are easier to build, understand, and trust. I study how smart environments – from homes to mobile and edge systems – can interpret human intent, reason about context, and act in ways that respect privacy and adapt to the changing surroundings.

At Virginia Tech, I also work to connect computing research and education with the university’s land-grant mission, expanding how computer science serves people and communities. Before joining VT, I was a faculty member and an associate dean in engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

Research Interests

• Pervasive (Ubiquitous) and Context-Aware Computing — Creating systems that understand and respond to their surroundings, supporting seamless, human-centered interaction as people and devices move through dynamic environments.

• Software Engineering for Adaptive and Mobile Systems — Creating software foundations that enable systems to adapt in real time—across mobile, distributed, and context-rich environments while remaining reliable and understandable to their users.

• Decentralized and Edge Learning — Exploring how machine learning models, including large language models, can operate effectively and responsibly on resource-constrained devices, enabling local intelligence and privacy-preserving adaptation.

• Computing Education and Broadening Participation — Advancing inclusive approaches to computer science education, from K-12 through graduate programs, to expand who participates in and benefits from computing.

News

• October 2025 – Received the ACM Distinguished Paper Award for Sasha: Creative Goal-Oriented Reasoning in Smart Homes with Large Language Models (IMWUT, Vol. 8, No. 1).
• September 2025 – Published op-ed AI isn’t killing computer science jobs. It’s making them more relevant. in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
• September 2025 – Gave distinguished lecture entitled Teaching Spaces to Think: Language, Vision, and the Future of Smart Environments at Texas A&M University.
• September 2025 – Published Sensor-Controlled Digital Game for Native American Adults in the Lumbee Tribe with Hypertension Self-Management in Trials (Vol. 26, No. 1).
• August 2025 – Ph.D. Completion: Hsiao-Yuan Chen, Continuous Neighbor Discovery on Commodity Devices with Practical Consideration (UT Austin).
• June 2025 – Ph.D. Completion: Haoxiang Yu, Enhanced Collaboration Between Machine Learning Models: Bringing Decentralized Learning to Reality (UT Austin).
• June 2025 – Published Game Connect: A Middleware that Flexibly Connects Games to Their Health Goals at IEEE/ACM CHASE 2025.
• March 2025 – Ph.D. Completion: Grace Lee, Integrating Sensor Data and Gamification for Health Behavior Change (UT Austin).
• November 2024 – Ph.D. Completion: Evan King, Continuous Discovery and Goal-Oriented Control of Smart Devices in Mobile Environments (UT Austin).
• October 2024 – Published Seed Grant Programs to Promote Community Transformation in Higher Education Institutions in Education Sciences (Vol. 14, No. 10).
• March 2024 – Runner-Up for the Mark Weiser Best Paper Award at IEEE PerCom 2024 for Teaching Things to Think: Bootstrapping Local Reasoning for Smart(er) Devices.
• August 2024 – Began appointment as Professor and Department Head of Computer Science at Virginia Tech.