PhD in Computer Science
At WPI, students venture deeply into the design, application, and ethics of cutting-edge technology.
At WPI, our approach means you’ll consider the additional social, ethical, and technological implications of your research and solutions so your work becomes more applicable and effective.
Areas of study at WPI are relevant in every area of industry, government, and academia, so our multidisciplinary and collaborative approach gives your research the potential to make an even greater impact in the world.
Building better cybersecurity tools, using smartphone apps to detect mental health changes, or using data to find previously unknown patterns—all things WPI computer science students do.
Our state-of-the-art facilities give students access to powerful supercomputers and to facilities that support research in computer security, artificial intelligence, database systems, human interaction in virtual environments, robotics, data mining, and more.
Getting Involved
WPI actively supports many ways for you to interact with other students and the campus community through clubs, organizations, and more. Some are even designed specifically for students earning a PhD in computer science:
- Computer Science Graduate Student Organization (CS-GSO)
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
- Women in Computer Science (WiCS)
Faculty Profiles
Emmanuel Agu is currently a professor in the computer science department at WPI having received his Masters and PhD in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His research interests are in the areas of computer graphics, mobile computing, and wireless networks. He is especially interested in research into how to use a smartphone as a platform to deliver better healthcare.
I am generally interested in network security and traffic analysis, and in the challenges that arise when attempting to design security systems which are performant, effective, and usable. My interests cover:
- IoT and residential network security
- Web and cloud security
- Software security
- Malware detection and understanding
- Usable security
Professor Eltabakh’s research is in the broad area of Database Management Systems and Information Management. In particular, his work is in the areas of query processing and optimization, indexing techniques, scientific data management, and large-scale data analytics. Prof. Eltabakh is currently exploring possible extensions to both database management systems and Hadoop framework to support scientific applications and health-care systems. He is a member of the Database Systems Research Group (DSRG) and a faculty member of the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BCB) program.
I am a system researcher by training and am particularly passionate about designing systems mechanisms and policies to handle trade-offs in cost, performance, and efficiency for emerging applications. Since joining WPI, my group’s research has focused on improving system support and performance for machine learning (ML)-related workloads. Because ML is widely adopted in many applications, it is critical to have performant systems that can effectively train, serve, and manage ML models.
Information visualization is a powerful means for understanding data and informing human minds. As people begin to rely on visualizations to make high-impact and even life-critical decisions, there is a growing need to ensure that information can be perceived accurately and precisely.
Dr. Lee’s research interests are in information retrieval, natural language processing, social computing, machine learning, and cybersecurity over large-scale networked information systems like the Web and social media. He focuses on threats to these systems and design methods to mitigate negative behaviors (e.g., misinformation, hate speech), and looks for positive opportunities to mine and analyze these systems for developing next generation algorithms and architectures (e.g., recommender system, natural language understanding).
I am interested in computer networking and security. Given the significance of the Internet in our economy and society, I am interested in improvements and studies that can have a real-world impact. My recent work has focused on how to make both enterprise and residential networks more secure. In my research work, I am exploring ways to change the traditional computer network communication model using techniques such as software-defined networking and network function virtualization.
My research is in human-computer interaction. One focus of my research is on next-generation interaction techniques, such as brain-computer interfaces, physiological computing, and reality-based interaction. My students and I design, build and evaluate interactive computing systems that use machine learning approaches to adapt and support the user’s changing cognitive state and context. I also investigate novel paradigms for designing with accessibility in mind, particularly for the Deaf community.