- Gradstudents - mailman.cs.vt.edu

FW: Event Announcements
by Kinder, Sharon 14 Nov '25

14 Nov '25

From: Graduate and Professional Student Senate <gpss-resc(a)vt.edu> Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 11:33 AM Subject: Event Announcements Dear Graduate Program Administrators, Happy Friday! We hope you're doing well. Could you please share the following event announcements with the graduate students in your department? Thank you! 1. Sing Your Heart Out Karaoke Session (And stay to watch the away football game with us afterward!) November 15 (Tomorrow) @ 6PM GLC Lounge, Free refreshments! Karaoke Session - Fill out form<https://forms.office.com/r/2Gh76Ak8RV> 1. Thanksgiving Lunches on Campus - Open to all Grad Students! Various dates - [cid:c7a7bbce-9818-4a7f-8084-2737d6f4be34] GPSS Executive Board President | Pooja Bhagawat Vice President | Gyang Chung Director of Advocacy | Mohammed El Kilad Director of Events | Brian Chan Director of Programs | Megan Grey Director of Finance | Kelsey Jennings Director of Communications | Taylor Peele Advisor | Lauren Surface www.gpss.vt.edu<http://www.gpss.vt.edu/> | gpss(a)vt.edu<mailto:gpss@vt.edu> | Instagram: @VTGPSS<https://www.instagram.com/vtgpss/>

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Time Sensitive! CS|Source Events, Announcements, and Opportunities
by Hodge, Julie 14 Nov '25

14 Nov '25

[cid:image001.png@01DC54E9.895CDD70] Information Session & Networking Night Eager to learn about career paths at Toyota North America<https://careers.toyota.com/us/en/>? Join their information session & networking night Wednesday, November 19 from 5:30-7 PM in Surge 108A. Register today<https://forms.office.com/r/bXQEq5qgUS>! Toyota will have 3 engineers on campus to share about their career paths, current + future job opportunities, and networking with VT Engineering alumni Jade Hill<https://www.linkedin.com/in/jade-hill-6129ba40/> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/jade-hill-6129ba40/> (ME '12) and James Baker<https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-baker-39728183/> (ECE 13'). Registration<https://forms.office.com/r/bXQEq5qgUS> <https://forms.office.com/r/bXQEq5qgUS> is required and space is limited to the first 75 to register; please confirm your availability & commitment before registering. While this event is open to all engineering students, this team is focused on cybersecurity and is most interested in: ME, CS, and ECE. Pizza will be provided to those attending in person, a Zoom option is available as needed. Please see attached bios. Questions about this event can be directed to the Mechanical Engineering Industry Relations Manager at alyssarametta(a)vt.edu<mailto:alyssarametta@vt.edu>. Internship Opportunities at Deutsche Bank The Internship Program in Technology, Data and Innovation (TDI) at Deutsche Bank is a great opportunity for college bachelor and master's students in their penultimate year of study (graduating between December 2026 to June 2027). The 10-week summer program is designed to give students the opportunity to contribute on a financial technology team while developing skills through formal training and continuous support. In our New York, NY and Cary, NC offices, interns join a cohort of fellow TDI interns to work alongside tech teams, connect with buddies and mentors, and participate in a team case study project. Highlights of the summer include regional orientations and technical training opportunities, volunteering and social events, senior speaker series, and DB events such as Bank on Tech and our Global Hackathon. Watch these videos that highlight our Internship programs: US Summer Intern Video Recap<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1wvopPPiLU> and National Intern Day 2024<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EVcY_GoSe8> Look out for events this Winter The TDI intern and grad position allows students to use their hands-on coding experience while learning new coding languages and working with global teams to create platforms used in our investment banking and corporate banking divisions. Review the job description for position details and eligibility requirements. We encourage you to visit our career page<https://careers.db.com/students-graduates/#/graduate/> for the 2026 TDI Graduate and 2026 TDI Internship programs in Cary, NC and NYC offices! Good To Know Our TDI interns complete a team case study project that has historically been on the topic of sustainability at DB. Learn more about our sustainability pillars here: Approach to Sustainability<https://www.db.com/what-we-do/responsibility/sustainability/> More Opportunities at Deutsche Bank * This is DB - Deutsche Bank Careers<https://careers.db.com/this-is-db/> * Cary - Deutsche Bank Careers (db.com)<https://careers.db.com/explore-the-bank/locations/americas/cary> * Cary Overview Video<https://vimeo.com/832369333/6526cd98f9?share=copy> * DB Careers Search<https://careers.db.com/professionals/search-roles/#/professional/> * Follow us on LinkedIn: Deutsche Bank Technology, Data & Innovation * Share this Newsletter<https://tinyurl.com/2bp836av> ____________ Julie Hodge, Strategic Relationships Manager Virginia Tech | Department of Computer Science (0106) 1180E Torgersen Hall, 620 Drillfield Drive Blacksburg, VA 24061 540 231 1666 | jdhodge(a)vt.edu<mailto:jdhodge@vt.edu> [cid:image002.jpg@01DC54E9.895CDD70]

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Entrepreneurship and Computing Seminar Series: Tim Gorski: Nov 21st, 10:30am.
by Kantarcioglu, Murat 13 Nov '25

13 Nov '25

Dear All, As part of the CS/Root, the hub for computer science entrepreneurship at Virginia Tech, Entrepreneurship and Computing Seminar Series, we are hosting a talk from Tim Gorski (an alumni of VT CS). We invite you to attend this talk if you are interested in startups and/or in learning how research can be successfully transitioned into practice. Please see the details below, along with the attached seminar announcement. Seminar Title: Entrepreneurship: Building a bootstrapped defense firm from 0 to 300 Date and Time: November 21, 2025, Friday, 10:30am. Location: 1100 Torgersen Speaker Bio: Tim Gorski is a founder, investor, and philanthropist with a proven track record of building and leading large scale software engineering and IT enterprises. He is the founder of Omynon, which he bootstrapped into a 300-person defense contracting firm serving mission-critical government and industry clients. A VT–trained software engineer and an entrepreneur at heart, he is recognized for guiding teams and organizations toward excellence through a blend of technical innovation, strategic insight, and purposeful leadership. Best Regards, Murat ==================================== Murat Kantarcioglu, Ph.D. Professor, and CCI Faculty Fellow Virginia Tech, Department of Computer Science www.kantarcioglu.net ====================================

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Join Us Tomorrow for the CS Industry Panel: Meet Industry Leaders at 1 PM!
by Madabushi, Sindhuja 13 Nov '25

13 Nov '25

Hello CS graduate students! We have a virtual industry panel scheduled for tomorrow November 14 at 1:00 PM, featuring professionals from companies such as CoStar Group and Parsons Corporation, to help you understand how to position yourselves in a competitive job market. You will hear directly from them about what they look for in new graduates and what their organizations have to offer. This is a great chance to get honest, practical insights from people who have been exactly where you are now, so don’t miss it! Do RSVP if you are interested: https://forms.gle/VfQ4h6gRqUw9zPH16 Best, — Sindhuja Madabushi, Secretary, Computer Science Graduate Council PhD Student in CS@VT (505) 457-7721 msindhuja(a)vt.edu<mailto:msindhuja@vt.edu> | Website<https://sindhujamadabushi.github.io/>

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Seminar Talk: Friday, November 14, 2:30-3:45pm, Classroom Building, Room 260
by Zier, Debbie 13 Nov '25

13 Nov '25

Mohammed Seyam Collegiate Associate Professor Computer Science, Virginia Tech Friday, November 14 2:30 - 3:45pm Classroom Building, Room 260 Seminar: Bridging Disciplines and Borders: Exploring the Intersection of Software Engineering, HCI, and CS Education in a Global Context Abstract: Software Engineering, Human–Computer Interaction (HCI), and CS Education are three vibrant research domains, each with its own traditions, methodologies, and practices. While these fields share common themes – such as usability, collaboration, and learning – it's not very common for them to converge in sustained research efforts. In this presentation, Dr. Mohammed Seyam explores what it means to work at the intersection of these domains, highlighting both the benefits and challenges of being a “bridge builder” across disciplinary boundaries. His recent work investigates how industry-inspired practices, machine learning (ML), and generative AI (GenAI) can enhance both the software development process and the learning experience in computing education. Drawing on examples from ongoing projects, Seyam illustrates how integrating insights from software engineering, HCI, and CS education can produce research that crosses geographical boundaries and disciplinary divides, fostering more effective, reflective, and globally connected computing practices. Bio: Mohammed Seyam is a Collegiate Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department at Virginia Tech. He is a researcher and educator in the fields of Software and Usability Engineering, Machine Learning, and Computer Science Education. Additionally, he is the CS Department Director of Experiential Learning, where he leads several initiatives to enhance students’ learning through out-of-classroom experiences, including internships, undergrad research, and the CS Study Abroad program which he designed and leads. Mohammed is passionate about bridging global divides in technology education, as he strives to empower students with both the technical capabilities and cultural competencies required in modern software engineering. Bringing different usability perspectives from around the world is a core component of his teaching philosophy, and a developing direction of his research. With over 20 years of university teaching experience, he has conducted numerous talks and workshops internationally. His teaching portfolio includes courses such as Software Engineering in a Global Context, Database Systems, Usability Engineering, and Software Project Management. Dr. Seyam’s publications appear in leading venues including ASEE, SIGCSE, ITiCSE, FIE, VL/HCC, and AIED. ________________________ Debbie Zier Administrative Assistant and Office Manager Department of Computer Science (0106) 3160E Torgersen Hall 620 Drillfield Drive Blacksburg, VA 24061 541-231-1369

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Reminder - CS Grad Council Meeting Today!
by Madabushi, Sindhuja 13 Nov '25

13 Nov '25

Hi everyone, This is a friendly reminder about our CS Grad Council meeting Today, Thursday, November 13, at 11 AM in Gilbert 3002 (third floor). We will be going over some upcoming events and other logistic stuff. For those unable to join the meeting in-person, you can join via zoom here: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/87397593679 We look forward to seeing you all there! — Sindhuja Madabushi, Secretary, Computer Science Graduate Council PhD Student in CS@VT (505) 457-7721 msindhuja(a)vt.edu<mailto:msindhuja@vt.edu> | Website<https://sindhujamadabushi.github.io/>

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Osama Bajaber's Ph.D. defense (Monday, November 17, 11:00 AM EST)
by Bo Ji 10 Nov '25

10 Nov '25

Dear all, You're cordially invited to join Osama Bajaber’s Ph.D. defense. Detailed information can be found below. *Title:* Towards Zero Trust Network Security via Programmable Data Planes *Date:* Monday, November 17, 2025 *Time:* 11:00 AM EST *Room:* Gilbert Place 4001 *Zoom link:* https://virginiatech.zoom.us/my/bojics *Committee members:* Bo Ji (Co-Chair), Peng Gao (Co-Chair), Danfeng (Daphne) Yao, Taejoong (Tijay) Chung, and Yixin Sun (University of Virginia) *Abstract:* Zero Trust (ZT) architecture marks a fundamental shift from traditional perimeter-based security models by requiring continuous verification of every access request with the least privileges granted. However, enforcing ZT principles remains challenging in today’s enterprise networks, as it mostly relies on centralized software controllers, creating single points of failure and significant performance bottlenecks. This dissertation addresses these challenges by realizing a new paradigm, called *In-Network Zero Trust Security*. Leveraging recent advances in programmable data planes (e.g., P4 switches, eBPF), we demonstrate that secure network access can be efficiently enforced directly within the network data plane. When an attack is detected, network hardware can take action on the fly at line rate without relying on external software controllers. This vision is achieved through three novel defense schemes: (1) *P4Control* (accepted at Oakland’24), an in-network information flow control mechanism that tracks end-to-end attacker activities to prevent cross-host attacks; (2) *NetCap* (minor revision at NDSS’26), an in-network, process-level continuous authentication mechanism that prevents attackers from leveraging stolen access tokens to abuse permissions; and (3) *NetZone* (under review at Oakland’26), an in-network, fine-grained microsegmentation mechanism that enforces persistent, user-specific access scopes to prevent stepping-stone attacks. We will conclude the talk with our broader vision to develop a *unified in-network ZT framework* that enables the programmability and orchestration of diverse defense mechanisms across the network infrastructure. Best regards, Bo

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Md Mahir Asef Kabir's PhD dissertation defense exam scheduled at 9am on Monday 11/10/25
by Meng, Na 09 Nov '25

09 Nov '25

Hi all, You’re invited to virtually attend Mahir’s PhD dissertation defense exam. Title: Enhancing Software Maintenance: A Research Investigation on Current Practices, Potential Improvements, and Procedure Automation Date: Monday, Nov. 10th, 2025 Time: 9:00am-10:30am EDT Zoom link: zoom meeting room<https://virginiatech.zoom.us/my/mahir.kabir> Abstract: Software maintenance is one of the most important phases of the Software Development Life Cycle, as it prevents unexpected development issues and ensures long-term reliability. Proper maintenance reduces cost and protects software from security and run-time problems. However, software maintenance is widely recognized as a challenging and resource-demanding phase of the life cycle. Developers frequently encounter difficulties such as managing dependency updates, addressing metadata inconsistencies, and adapting to evolving project requirements. These recurring issues motivate the need for better insights into maintenance practices and the exploration of automated techniques that can improve reliability and efficiency. To address these challenges, this dissertation presents (1) an examination of current maintenance practices by developers, (2) an investigation of the feasibility of using Large Language Models for software maintenance, and (3) the development of a new tool to automatically detect bugs and support automated maintenance. First, we identified security-related best practices for JavaScript developers and examined how well they are followed in open-source projects. Our empirical study of 841 applications revealed frequent violations and showed that developers often ignore best practices due to perceived irrelevance or distrust in tools. These findings highlight limitations in human-driven maintenance and motivate the exploration of automated assistance. Next, we evaluated how Large Language Model (LLM) tools such as ChatGPT perform in maintenance tasks compared to human developers. By analyzing their performance in technical Q&A and software revision, we found that ChatGPT provided better answers for 97 out of 130 Stack Overflow questions and successfully revised software for 22 out of 48 maintenance requests. While promising, our results indicate that LLMs struggle with context-specific precision. Finally, we developed a domain-specific language (DSL) and language engine tool (MECHECK) to detect metadata-related bugs in Java programs. We defined 15 rules from Spring and JUnit documentation and evaluated MECHECK using two datasets of 115 enterprise applications. MECHECK detected bugs with 100% precision, 96% recall, and 98% F-score, and identified 152 real-world bugs, 49 of which were confirmed fixes. These results demonstrate that MECHECK helps ensure the correct use of metadata and advances automated software maintenance. In summary, this research provides insight into software maintenance, its challenges, and how the process can be improved from understanding developer behavior, to leveraging AI assistance, to creating automated detection tools. Cheers, Na

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Survey for 2026 CS Ph.D. Qualifier Exam - Due EOD 11/20/2025
by Muhammad Ali Gulzar 07 Nov '25

07 Nov '25

Good Morning CS graduate students, If you are considering taking the CS Ph.D. qualifier exam this academic year (i.e., in Spring 2026), please complete the following survey by November 20th, 2025 (use vt.edu email to access the form): 2026 CS Ph.D. Qualifier Exam -- Student Interest Survey <https://forms.office.com/r/NHYPS17494> This survey aims to gauge students' interest in taking the CS Ph.D. Qualifier Exam, scheduled to be conducted between January 20th and March 1st of 2026. All students planning to take the qualifier exam must submit this form; however, this form is not binding. Filling out this form does not register you for the exam. Steps to register for the exam will be provided after the area-specific qualifier committees are formed. If you are unsure about taking the exam this year, please fill out this form. Students in the Ph.D. program are expected to take this exam approximately 18 calendar months after they begin the VT CS Ph.D. program. The Ph.D. Qualifier Exam is a mandatory milestone, and students must complete it on time. Tentative Timeline of the Exam: • November 20th: Last day for students to express interest in taking the 2026 Ph.D. Qualifier Exam • January 1st - 6th: Ph.D. Qualifier Exam webpages go online. Students register for the exam • January 20th to March 1st: Students take the exam • March 15th: Committees finalize the results for (1) Qualifier Exam, (2) Excellence in Depth, and (3) Waiver, if applicable • March 20th: Results released to students Additional information on VT CS Ph.D program milestones and requirements is available in the 2025-26 Grad Manual <https://virginiatech-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/sara83_vt_edu/EUIau1m…>. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. Best wishes, Gulzar — Muhammad Ali Gulzar Assistant Professor Virginia Tech | Department of Computer Science 220 Gilbert Street, Room 4106 Blacksburg, VA 24060 (540) 231-0851 | gulzar(a)cs.vt.edu | https://people.cs.vt.edu/~gulzar

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Seminar Talk: Friday, November 7, 2:30-3:45pm, Classroom Building, room 260
by Zier, Debbie 06 Nov '25

06 Nov '25

Ali R. Butt Professor of Computer Science and ECE Virginia Tech Friday, November 7, 2025 2:30 - 3:45pm Classroom Building, room 260 Seminar: Efficient Federated Learning Storage for non-training workloads Abstract: Federated Learning (FL) is an approach for privacy-preserving Machine Learning (ML), enabling model training across multiple clients without centralized data collection. We observed that a substantial part of FL systems are the non-training workloads such as scheduling, personalization, clustering, debugging, and incentivization. Extant systems rely on a central aggregator to handle non-training workloads and use cloud services for data storage. This results in high latency and increased costs as non-training workloads rely on large volumes of metadata, including weight parameters from client updates, hyperparameters, and aggregated updates across rounds, making the situation even worse. I will present the design of FLStore, a serverless framework for efficient FL non-training workloads and storage, which addresses these challenges. FLStore unifies the data and compute planes on a serverless cache, enabling locality-aware execution via tailored caching policies to reduce latency and costs. Our evaluation shows significant improvements over the state-of-the-art, and our design fits easily with existing systems for easy adaption in practice. Bio: Ali is a professor of computer science and ece at virginia tech. His research is on designing scalable I/O and storage systems for resource-intensive applications such as emerging generative AI and high-performance computing scientific workflows. ________________________ Debbie Zier Administrative Assistant and Office Manager Department of Computer Science (0106) 3160E Torgersen Hall 620 Drillfield Drive Blacksburg, VA 24061 541-231-1369

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