A bit about me.

I received my PhD from Cornell University in 2014 under the supervision of Kavita Bala. Before joining UIUC, I served as an Associate Professor at the University of California, Irvine (UCI).

My work has been recognized with an NSF CAREER Award (2023).

During my undergraduate studies (2003–2005), I dedicated a significant amount of time to the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC). I competed on teams that secured multiple championship titles at both regional and global levels.

I recently transitioned to Doom Emacs as my primary environment for writing, note-taking, and development. This ecosystem offers a highly integrated experience — notably its robust LaTeX support and the unparalleled versatility of Org-mode. While the learning curve for Emacs Lisp and the “never-ending” configuration process can be daunting, AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude have streamlined the experience, making it easier than ever to build a bespoke research environment.

To complement this setup, I utilize LazyVim for rapid edits. The synergy between LazyVim and Doom Emacs is a significant advantage; because both environments employ the space bar as a primary leader key, I can maintain consistent muscle memory and a unified workflow across different platforms.

I enjoy video games of all kinds, and I am a big fan of Role-Playing Games (RPGs), ranging from story-oriented “JRPGs” to action-packed “Souls-likes”. Although my schedule is tighter these days, I still carve out time for the genre's best offerings. Lately, I have been thoroughly enjoying Elden Ring, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

I also like watching Japanese anime and manga.