People

Outgoing PhDs and Postdocs

Advisor(s): Professor Matthew Kay

Research Area(s): Human-Computer Interaction, Data Visualization

Thesis Topic: Critical Thinking in Human-Data Interaction: Navigating Between Well-Formed and Ill-Formed Visualizations

Planned PhD Defense Date: June 2026

Employment Preference: Academia and Industry

Advisor(s): Fabian E. Bustamante

Thesis Topic: Measuring Internet Centralization on the Web (DNS, CDNs, CAs) and the Underlying Infrastructure

Advisor(s): Dr. Nabil Alshurafa & Dr. Josiah Hester

Research Area(s): Human-Computer Interaction & Wireless Embedded Systems

Thesis Topic: Engineering Low-Power Wireless Sensor Systems for Applied Research: Design Patterns, Development Challenges, and Framework Foundations

Planned PhD Defense Date: Spring 2026

Employment Preference: Assistant Professor with primary focus on education, Teaching Professor (non-tenure)

Advisor(s): Professor Kristian Hammond

Thesis Topic: Large Language Models as Legal Reasoners

Northwestern Advisor(s): Fabian Bustamante

PhD Institution & Advisor(s): J. Ignacio Alvarez-Hamelin (UBA) and Amogh Dhamdhere (UC San Diego), University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Buenos Aires

Research Area(s): Computer Science, Systems, Internet measurements

Thesis Topic: Internet critical infrastructures

Employment Preference: Academia

Northwestern Advisor(s): Professor Jessica Hullman

PhD Institution & Advisor(s): Northwestern University

Research Area(s): Human-Computer Interaction, Data Visualization

Thesis Topic: Interactive Systems for Data Visualization for Multiple User Contexts

Employment Preference: Academia and Industry

Northwestern Advisor(s): V.S. Subrahmanian

PhD Institution & Advisor(s): Northwestern University

Research Area(s): Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Global Security

Thesis Topic: Deepfake detection, Securing AI models, Analysis of AI-generated phishing messages, Analysis of Social Movements, Drone Defense

Employment Preference: Academia