2023 Undergraduate Research Symposium: Honoring Mentors

Undergraduate Research Symposium presenters extend thanks to their research mentors and others who have supported them through the research process.

I would like to give my sincerest thanks to Professor Bozhi Tian, Dr. Jiping Yue, and Jiuyun Shi for their continued support for me throughout my years as an undergraduate and am beyond happy to have been able to spend so much time interacting with them and receiving their guidance on my endeavors as a scientist. Thank you all so very much! -- Jabr Abu-Halimah

I would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Ivan Moskowitz and Dr. Joshua Theisen for their guidance and support. Under their mentorship, I have grown as a student and researcher, and developed the skill sets to embark on this research endeavor. -- Sandhini Agarwal

I would like to thank my research mentors, Haochen Wang, Greg Shakhnarovich, and Raymond Yeh, for their continued support and guidance of me in this research project. Through their research philosophies and expertise, I have gained so much knowledge and have been able to develop my experimentation/coding skills tremendously. I am also very grateful for the other members of the Perception and Learning Systems (PALS) Lab, including Jiahao Li and Xiaodan Du; through my discussions and conversations with them, I have also been able to broaden my understanding of research in computer vision. Once again, I am very grateful to the lab as a whole for being willing to introduce me to the field and to help me enter it with my own research. -- Joshua Ahn

I would like to thank my mentors Professor Steven J. Sibener, Dr. Julia G. Murphy, and Blake Hance for their assistance and encouragement as I familiarized myself with the research process. Research comes with myriad challenges and delays, but also success and community. I was lucky enough to be welcomed into the Sibener group as a Quad Summer Undergraduate Research Scholar, and I learned a lot about the life of a graduate student, and about myself during that time. Doing research and lab work outside of a class has taught me so much that I never could have learned otherwise, and I owe that growth in part to the commitment and time of my mentors. Once again, thank you. -- Genevieve Ansay

I would like to thank Dr. Rima McLeod for her continuous guidance and support. This project would not have been possible without her expertise and long-standing commitment to reducing harm related to toxoplasmosis. I would additionally like to thank Dr. Jorge Gómez Marín and his team of researchers at the Universidad del Quindío for welcoming us into their country and work. -- Isabelle Baird, Juliette Thibodeau

I would like to sincerely thank my thesis advisor, Professor Ania Aizman, for her tireless assistance and ingenuity with this thesis. Even after encountering countless mental roadblocks, Professor Aizman was invaluable in her ability to transmute my passion for and interest in the material into a scholarly and arguable piece of writing. I have never found myself wanting for avenues to continue my research, and I only wish we were able to endlessly follow each one of our conversations and questions into a new paragraph or section. -- Ethan Blinder

Thank you very much to Dr. Brandon Pierce for all of your support and guidance this year! Thank you to Mark Richardson for being an excellent mentor.  -- Courtney Brandt

Many thanks to Professor Emily Kern and Dr. Kristine Palmieri, as well as the entire interdisciplinary “Capturing the Stars” team. It has been a joy to be a small part of the project! -- Chloe Brettmann

Working with Professor Alexey Kuznetsov of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis has been a great honor, and he provided guidance at all stages of the research process.  Due to his guidance, the group was able to unify in vitro and in vivo studies in mice into a robust computational model. -- Daniel Brin

Huge thank you to Coco Li for all her advice and mentorship and to Dr. Greg Engel for giving me the opportunity to pursue this research in his lab! -- Hugh Cairney

Professor Adam Zelizer is an amazing research mentor. Adam is extremely knowledgeable, creative, and accomplished, but he never makes me feel like an inferior. He is always open to my input and receptive to my ideas. He is patient and trusts me to do my work. Adam has provided me with a very fulfilling introduction to scholarly research, and I am extremely grateful to have had this experience under him. -- Owen Castle

Thank you very much to Tara Kuruvilla and Professor Megan Sullivan for your support in this process, as well as the Smart Museum of Art’s Feitler Center for Academic Inquiry for funding my research! -- Amanda Chacón

I would like to thank Dean Matthew Tirrell and Professor James LaBelle for all their mentorship and the opportunity to take on this research project. Also, I’d like to thank my graduate student mentor Ed Jiang and postdoctoral scholar mentor Yu Tian for all their tireless help and support along the way. -- Rex Chan

I want to thank my graduate student mentor, Yahao Dai, and my PI, Professor Sihong Wang, for their continual mentorship and support. I am grateful for this opportunity to participate in research during my undergraduate career with them, as it has paved my path to attend graduate school afterwards. -- Shivani Chatterji

I would like to thank Uri Zvi and the entire Maurer Lab for their mentorship. What I have learned is invaluable for my future research. It has been a long way...and I thank them for walking me every step of the way, tolerating my mistakes and explaining the motivation and technicalities of their research. What they have taught me now have sparked a few research areas and topics I would like to work on for my PhD and I am looking forward to any future collaborations. -- Jason Chen

I would like to thank my PI, Dr. Robert Keenan, and my postdoc mentor, Dr. Amanda DiGuilio, for providing me with the opportunity to join the Keenan Lab and for all of their valuable guidance and support throughout this project.  -- Benjamin Cheng

My research experience has been so wonderful, and I attribute that to the kindness, encouragement, and advice from all the people at Kovler Diabetes Center. I truly appreciate Lisa’s, my research manager, excitement and heartfelt support throughout my entire research journey at Kovler to make the most of all opportunities and experiences. Thank you to Dr. Greeley for his guidance and suggestions for my independent project. And lastly, a big thanks to Tiana and Michael for always supporting me and helping me.  -- Jui Desai

I am so grateful for each and every person at the Human-Computer Integration Lab for taking it upon themselves to be my mentor whenever necessary. Research can get difficult at times but with my mentors’ help and inspirational work, I have been able to appreciate and enjoy the process. I have learnt so much in the lab, even past working on my project, and I am excited to apply that elsewhere. And a special thanks to my PI, Prof. Pedro Lopes, for being not only a great teacher but also encouraging me and challenging me the past year and a half.  -- Beza Desta

Dr. Patnaik has been incredibly supportive as a mentor.  He has provided me with many opportunities to grow greatly in my skills as a research scientist and work independently on impactful projects that could lead to new treatments for patients with prostate cancer. I am excited to continue to work under Dr. Patnaik’s mentorship!  -- Sabina DSouza

I am immensely grateful to Mark Depauw and Sofía Torallas Tovar for their generosity and support while working on this project.  -- Gabi Garcia

I would like to thank Jacob Bean, Adina Feinstein, and the rest of the Exoplanets Group for their support in this research. -- Rowen Glusman

I would like to thank my research mentor and co-author, Dr. Christof Brandtner, for his endless encouragement and guidance throughout the research process. The Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation also provided invaluable support. Finally, I thank the National Science Foundation as well as UChicago's Jeff Metcalf and Micro-Metcalf programs for the generous funding that made this project possible. -- Ana Gonzalez

Dr. Molly Erickson has really gone above and beyond as a research mentor. She has been so supportive of my independent research in the lab and has spent so many hours writing letters of recommendation, editing grants proposals, and walking me through EEG analysis. I am so grateful for the unique opportunity she has given me to gain clinical and research experience as an undergraduate, and for all that she has done to help me grow as a researcher. Thank you so much Molly! -- Phoebe Holz

Thanks to the guidance, patience, and mentorship of Deeptha Vasudevan, I have had an incredible educational but also fun undergraduate research experience thus far. I deeply appreciate the support that has been provided to me and am extremely grateful for the chance to learn from with her in the Heckscher lab. I am also very appreciative of Ellie Heckscher for giving me the opportunity to work in her lab and for her advice and support.  -- Grace Hu

Thank you to Professor Norbert Scherer and Dr Yanzeng Li, as well as the rest of the Scherer Lab, for mentoring me in research! I learned many things and enjoyed myself along the way. -- Rosalind Huang

Without a doubt, I consider Prof. YC Leong as the most inspiring and transformative educator I have had during my college years, who shaped the way I think, learn, and influence others. Unlike many, he interacts with everyone in his lab individually, asking guiding questions that will lead us to a collaborative understanding of our research questions. Through constructive feedback, whether about our projects or soft skills, he wants to bring the best versions of ourselves and present it to the world. We all can feel that he listens to us, believes in us, and wants our voices to be heard by others too. We can see that he feels responsible of the students under his mentorship, and their studies, as if we are his individual projects, which makes us feel valued. Thank you, YC! -- Su Karaca

I would like to thank both Jun Huang and Min Chen for their incredible support as I worked on this project. Their guidance and advice is what enabled me to present at the symposium today.  -- Caroline Kellogg

Thank you to the University of Oxford Department of Physics and the Ion Trap group for supporting my work. Special thanks to Kaitlin Gili for introducing me to the world of quantum machine learning. -- Rohan Kumar

I have been so grateful to work under the guidance my Principal Investigator Stuart Rowan and under the direct supervision of graduate students Sam Marsden and Isabelle Vettese. My mentors have not only taught me the skills needed to be a driven and successful researcher but have inspired me to take ownership of my work and continue pursuing education polymer science and materials engineering. -- Zubin Kumar

As a cardiovascular clinical research intern at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, I am privileged to see my research manifested in the clinic and hospital with Drs. Steven Bradley and Naureen Qadri. In this team, we conversed about the significance of taking a step back after observing in the clinic, being curious about a question, and proposing a solution that promotes patient-centered treatment. After noting that current guidelines for treating acute decompensated heart failure are non-specific, we set forth to understand where the gap in effective care lies, and we anticipate that this research will inform more personalized diuretic doses. Our outcomes research will be a catalyst for good science with practical implications and a means to inspire future physicians, such as myself, to engage in scholarly activities that have practical applicability. As I reflect on this experience, I certainly have the utmost appreciation for my research mentors for inspiring me, and I am forever indebted to my MHIF team—whom I now consider family—and our patients and their families, whose legacies will continue to further cardiovascular knowledge and care. I look forward to bridging this opportunity together with a new chapter in medical school. -- Erica Kwok

None of this would have been possible without the support of my PI Dr. Wenbin Lin and my graduate student mentor Yingjie Fan. Thank you both so much for supporting me in so many of my academic and professional endeavors. -- Steven Labalme

I am so grateful to Dr. Sunny Park for the endless insights that she continues to share with me. Beyond seismology, she has taught me much about the necessary collaboration, methodology, thoughtfulness, patience, and dedication essential for any successful research project. I would also like to thank the rest of the Park group for the kindness and care they've shown me. I am excited to keep learning from and working alongside them!  -- Nathalie Lai

Thank you so much to Dr. Leslie Rogers and the University of Chicago Astronomy and Astrophysics department. -- Harper Learmonth

My mentors in the Kovar lab have been incredibly patient and helpful at every step of my project, while still allowing me the freedom to design my own experiments and learn to work independently in the lab.  I could not ask for a more fun and fulfilling undergraduate research experience. -- Liam Leeming

To my PI Dr. Marsha Rosner, postdoctoral mentor Dr. Long Nguyen, and to everyone in the Rosner Lab, I’m incredibly grateful for the support, mentorship, and kindness shown to me throughout my research experience. Learning and conducting research among such a talented group of scientists has been incredibly rewarding. I cannot wait to see what else is in store! -- Thomas Li

My first thank you goes to my thesis advisor, Professor Susan L. Burns, for the time she dedicated to mentoring me on my research process and reading my endless drafts. Her expertise and passion, but also her constant encouragement and affirmation, have been tremendous in helping me shape my thesis. Thank you to Dr. Jeffrey Tharsen, Harumi Lory Sensei, and Professor Mauricio Tenorio for helping me along the way, whether in the field of Natural Language Processing, in navigating the intricacies of the Japanese language, or in understanding the fundamentals of World’s Fairs research. Thank you to Professor John W. Boyer and Ms. Verena “Eni” Grandner for introducing me to Vienna, a city that I have really come to love. -- Warren Liow

When I joined the Esser-Kahn lab the summer after my first-year, I didn't know that doing research would lead me to travel to Germany for a summer or having an independent research project of my own. I wasn’t sold on research, but thanks to the welcoming environment of the lab I am happy to still be a part of the lab. In particular, I want to shout out and thank my mentor, Adam Weiss, for guiding and supporting me through this journey over the past two years. -- Marcos Lopez

I am honored to have the opportunity to specially honor my research mentor, Dr. Leong. Through his guidance, expertise, and unwavering support, Dr. Leong has not only inspired me to pursue my research interest but also helped me develop into a much more confident and capable researcher.  Dr. Leong's dedication to psychological research and his every single student is truly remarkable. He consistently demonstrates a deep understanding of the research topic and a passion for sharing his knowledge with his students and colleagues. Whether I had a question about a specific methodology or needed guidance on the direction of my project, Dr. Leong has always been available and eager to help.  I am honored and grateful to have worked with Dr.Leong. I believe that the skills and knowledge I have gained through his guidance will serve me well in all of my future endeavors. -- Yizhou Lyu

Thank you, Samir, for being such a great mentor -- I am so grateful to have worked with you for the past two years on what I can only describe as a dream research project! Since joining I have not only learned (countless) experiments and protocols, but also how to solve problems and approach broad ideas, how to be tenacious, creative, and smart in lab, and how to communicate science clearly and effectively. Most importantly -- academia can be a scary, unwelcoming environment, but the mentorship you provide in lab has allowed me to be curious, honest, and most of all excited to learn and grow. I am very lucky -- thank you so much!  -- Yoyo Ma

I would like to thank Dr. Ayodeji Adegunsoye and the ILD Research Team for their continual support and guidance through this project.  -- Karina Mak

When I first arrived to UChicago as a low-income Odyssey Scholar, it was in Dr. Ruthenburg’s Molecular Biology of the Cell course that I was able to develop confidence in my contributions, my voice as a developing researcher, and my “biological intuition.” Dr. Ruthenburg made me feel truly seen in the classroom at a critical juncture in my academic journey — culminating in my ultimate decision to pursue an MD-PhD — and has been one of my primary sources of support, guidance, and encouragement during my time at UChicago. Today, as a member of his lab, I fear I may never be able to truly articulate just how many doors he has opened for me as an underrepresented student in STEM. I am also immensely grateful for the teachings and patience of Jelena Scepanovic, my graduate mentor, whom I have had the privilege to work with since my very first day in the RuthenLab. I owe so much of who I am as a researcher to all of my colleagues and mentors in the RuthenLab, and I could not be more excited to continue my work alongside them. -- Eva McCord

Thank you Conor & Bob for going above and beyond to help me with this project! I am inspired by the care and kindness you bring to mentorship and your dedication to this project. I'd also like to thank Professor Hannes Bernien for the opportunity to work on such exciting research during my time at UChicago, and the whole of the Bernien Lab for their support. -- Haley Nguyen

I am very grateful to my research mentor for being so incredibly supportive in my research endeavors! She regularly affirms her commitment to mentorship and supporting me in my work and consistently provides helpful and pointed feedback that encourages me grow as a researcher and budding physician. I always look forward to our meetings and discussions because each one is an opportunity to learn more about how clinical research is conducted and the ways in which clinical experiences can inform studies. Our work directly relates to unmet needs or gaps in knowledge that she identifies in clinic, and I am inspired by her tireless efforts to supplement her clinical casework with research that also serves to improve patients’ experiences and outcomes with cancer. I aspire to assume a similar role in the future and look forward to our continued collaboration. Thank you Dr. Shergill! -- Jenna Nimer

I would like to acknowledge Dr. Bozhi Tian and Changxu Sun for their mentorship, support, and assistance. I could not have done this without them. Additionally, I would like to thank the Quad Undergraduate Research Scholars Program and the College Center for Research and Fellowships (CCRF) for funding my research in the Tian Lab.  -- Ellie Ostroff

I would like to thank Prof. Sihong Wang for giving me the opportunity to work on such an incredibly interesting and impactful project, in addition to his continual mentorship and encouragement. I would also like to thank Yang Li and the other members of the Wang lab for their constant support.   -- Rithvik Papani

I’d like to thank my research mentor, Dr. Katherine Buse, for providing me with the guidance and expertise necessary for me to conduct this research. Her mentorship gave me the tools and knowledge I needed to explore and analyze my research topic. She also introduced me to the conference where I gave a presentation and connected with other members of the community. For everything, I am grateful. -- Cao Linh Pham

I feel extremely grateful to the generous guidance of my multiple faculty mentors, but in particular for Professor Jennifer Mosley, who has offered her insight, compassion, and support for the last two years. It has been an honor to work alongside the KII team and I hope to continue our work in the future. -- Harley Pomper

I’m incredibly grateful for Julia and Prof. Snyder for their support, patience, and mentorship throughout my project. -- Rachel Quan

To Miah Turke, my graduate student mentor: Thank you for everything. For teaching me how to think like a scientist, for sharing with me the intricacies of every concept and technique, for helping me navigate the world of research, for your enthusiasm, and most importantly, for believing in me and seeing my potential.   To Professor Ka Yee Lee: Thank you for your constant encouragement, mentorship, and belief in my abilities. I am endlessly grateful for your support of my endeavors as a person and a scientist. My experiences in the Lee Lab have been central to my undergraduate studies, and I am fortunate to be able to expand my knowledge of biophysics every day.  To the rest of the Lee Lab: Shou-Ting, Anna, Sofi, Dan, and Kathleen -- thank you for your mentorship, and for teaching me new things every day. I am extremely fortunate to be able to work with you all and you have helped make my time at UChicago unforgettable! -- Krishna Raghavan

Thanks to Professor Amanchukwu for giving me the opportunity to do this work, and thanks to Reggie for patiently teaching me everything I had to know. -- Ishaan Roy

This thesis would not have been possible without the help of the following people. I thank Professor Eric Oliver, my advisor, for his consistent guidance and suggestions throughout the research process. I thank Professor Patricia Conley, my preceptor, for her mentorship and revisions as I wrote sections of the thesis. I thank my interviewees for their candid answers to my questions about a sensitive topic. I thank my friends for making sure I remembered to have fun in my senior year, and I thank my family for their love and support.  -- Adam Sachs

Thank you to Dr. Lynas and the amazing team at Advanced Therapeutic Solutions for Anxiety for their hard work and dedication to helping patients find their brave. I’ve appreciated the opportunity to work with and learn from the whole team during my internship and through putting together the case study poster presentation. -- Mudmee Sereeyothin

I’ve had the honor to work under Dr. Tyler Jones in the laboratory of Dr. Thomas Gajewski. The opportunity to work in a laboratory at the forefront of medicine and cancer research is unmatched. I can clearly envision my research serving the public one day, and it inspires me to always push further. -- Stephen Sinicrope

I want to thank Professor Olga Solovieva for helping me with this project and for inspiring in me a sure-to-be lifelong interest in Dostoevsky.  -- Katherine Sinyavin

I would like to thank Professor Marco Garrido for advising my thesis research and providing me with guidance along the way. I would also like to thank Professor Neil Brennar for his literature and scholar recommendations, and Professor Elizabeth Clemens for her help on theory and research directions. -- Lily Song

Thank you, Kennedy Casey and Professor Casillas for your continued support and guidance in the Chatter Lab. You understand and accommodate me. I’ve never felt afraid to ask a question or say that I incorrectly annotated a file or broke a computer--- sorry about that! Simultaneously, you expect a seriousness of purpose that inspires me to create thoughtful, high-quality work. I especially value sitting in on lab meetings and being able to hear experts in comparative human development and linguistics debate and discuss. You always invite me to contribute insights or ask incisive questions. In these moments, I feel like a worthy thinker. Consequently, through being your RA, I appreciate myself more. Working in your lab has truly been a pleasure. -- Alexander Stern

Thank you to Dr. Molly Erickson and Dr. Orestis Papaioannou for their support and mentorship throughout this project. -- Haley Stiscak

Special thanks to Professor Chong Liu and Grant Hill for their mentorship and work on the project, along with the rest of the Liu Group. -- Raphael Stone

I would like to thank my mentors, Professor Shan Lu, Dr. Madan Musuvathi, and Ph.D. student Utsav Sethi for their support! I am honored to be able to conduct research with them. This research experience provides me with new insights into the field of Computer Science and Software Engineering. -- Yiming Su

I express my sincere gratitude to everyone who helped this thesis project come into being. I am deeply appreciative of Professor Leora Auslander. Even before my thesis class, she prepared me to research abroad in the wake of the pandemic and connected me with her brilliant colleagues in France. She inspired me to explore the beauty of French history, and learning from her has been the opportunity of a lifetime. I am boundlessly grateful to Professor Roy Kimmey. He shared his limitless knowledge, patience, and excitement to help me learn. While there were times when he believed more in my project than I did, he constantly motivated me to forge ahead. Professor Austin Carson inspired me to pursue my interest in LGBT+ issues in diplomatic history, which ultimately inspired this thesis. He taught me how to conduct archival research and encouraged me throughout the entire process with his characteristic enthusiasm. I owe my passion for diplomatic history and the foundation of this thesis to him. Professor Elizabeth Chatterjee graciously shared her passion for history with me for three years and supported my research grant applications. I extend my sincere thanks to Professor Margaret O’Donnell for her support in the early stages of my thesis project. -- Josh Sulkin

Much gratitude for Professor Kimberly Kay Hoang for supporting my research and helping me theorizing my ideas and findings. -- Minghao Sun

I would like to thank Dr. Luping Yu and Dr. Yachu Du for their guidance and assistance throughout the project. -- Edison Tang, Eric Jiahan Zhao

All that I have learned and done would not have been possible without the invaluable mentorship of Dr. Aydogan and Dr. Pearson. Whenever I needed help to understand a concept, interpret results, or figure out the next steps, they have always been there to teach and support me. Through their mentorship, they have indelibly shaped my time here as an undergrad. -- Raj Tummala

My sincerest thanks to Drs. Laura Hart and Jerald Hertzog for their unending patience, support, and assistance with my project. I would have achieved nothing without Jerry and Laura to look over my shoulder every day in the laboratory. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. -- Wilson Turner 

Thank you to Demet Araç and Jorge Alvarado! I have grown immensely as a researcher in the year since joining the Araç lab, which would not have been possible without their help and mentorship. -- Eliza Wiener

The guidance of Professor Liang Jiang has been invaluable in my journey toward becoming a researcher in this field; his patience and knowledge helped with my transition from a student to a researcher. During our meetings, Prof. Jiang never fails to offer insightful comments and provide clear directions for our next steps, owing to his sharp intuition. His attitude towards science and his colleagues make him an exemplary role model for young aspiring scientists like myself. My other mentors, Qian Xu and Dr. Pei Zeng, have been an incredible source of inspiration throughout my research journey. The intellectually fulfilling discussions we have had have been crucial in completing the puzzles of this research. Undoubtedly, it is the collective effort of all of us that has made this journey a joyful and unforgettable one. -- Daohong Xu

Thank you to my mentors Dr. Anna Volerman and Monica Kowalczyk, as well as everyone in the Volerman lab, for your invaluable support and kindness! I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to this project and appreciate your immense efforts in guiding me throughout the research process. -- Nicole Yao

I would like to thank my research advisor Ken Nakagaki for his guidance and support through this project. I would also like to thank my collaborators Jesse Gao and David Wu. -- Lilith Yu

I am immensely grateful to Dr. Wenbin Lin and Taokun Luo for providing me with the opportunity to participate in their research. Their guidance have been instrumental in expanding my knowledge and skills, and the research experience I’ve gained under their mentorship is something I will use for the rest of my life. -- Eric Yuan

I would like to express my sincerest gratitude towards Dr. Runwei Yang, Professor Xiaochang Zhang, and members of the Zhang lab for their support and mentorship throughout this project. Thank you so much! -- Rachel Zhang

Thanks to the Multilingualism and Decision-Making Lab for providing us with the amazing opportunity to conduct this project. Thanks to our Principal Investigator Boaz Keysar, our mentor Leigh Grant and Veronica Vasquez-Olivieri for always supporting us.  -- Songyang Zhang, Ethan Reiter

I thank members of the Jablonski Lab for their continued support throughout this project. In particular, I thank Professor Jablonski for introducing me to evolutionary biology and for inspiring me to pursue this subject in my future academic career. -- Sharon Zhou

It is with great delight and admiration that we write to commend Professor Yanjing Li’s extraordinary contributions and qualities. She has consistently demonstrated her mastery of computer architecture as a researcher and educator by integrating hardware knowledge with machine learning systems. This distinctive viewpoint has propelled her research and instruction to extraordinary heights. Professor Li’s steadfast commitment to her students is nothing short of inspiring. She approaches her role as a teacher with genuine concern, fostering the intellectual development of her undergraduate team despite their inexperience with complex topics such as neural network scheduling. Her patience and direction have transformed inexperienced researchers like us into courageous explorers keen to explore uncharted territories. Professor Li, a caring leader, excels at managing teams and nurturing a collaborative atmosphere in which students feel valued and supported. Her dedication to the success of her students is exemplified by the fact that she meets with students even when she is ill, demonstrating her consistency. Her dedication extends beyond the classroom, as she is known to respond to communications late on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings to ensure that her students receive the necessary guidance. Above all, Professor Li’s passion for her research topics is contagious, inspiring her students and colleagues alike. Her enthusiasm for computer architecture and machine learning systems is evident in every interaction and will undoubtedly continue to leave an indelible mark on the academic community.  -- Cyrus Zhou, Richard Xu, Dhirpal Shah

I have learned so much from Dr. Mason since joining her lab. She has given me and everyone else working in her lab the opportunity to be creative and independent in our research projects, while still providing feedback and guidance at every step of the way. The community she has built in her lab makes me feel supported and excited about doing research. I am so grateful to her for the experiences I have had in the Mason Lab.  -- Anonymous