About Me

I am an incoming assistant professor at Utah State University. I did my PhD in Computer Science at Syracuse University, advised by Prof. Kristopher Micinski. During my PhD, I also collaborated a lot with Prof.Sidharth Kumar and Prof. Thomas Gilray. My research aims to lower the barrier to parallel computing in data-intensive domains by combining insights from modern programming languages and database theory.

My research spans three complementary directions: (1) building high-performance Datalog engines that scale efficiently on modern HPC platforms; (2) introducing semantic extensions that enable advanced static analysis and neuro-symbolic reasoning; and (3) developing a unifying theoretical framework that reconciles fragmented Datalog features.

I have published this research in top venues including VLDB, NeurIPS, ASPLOS, CLUSTER, and AAAI.

My opinion on various different programming languages:

“A programming language that doesn’t affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing.” — Alan Perlis

I am recruiting two self-motivated PhD students to start in Fall 2026 or Spring 2027, working in logic programming, neuro-symbolic reasoning, high-performance programming languages, and database systems.

Note: I am still finalizing my onboarding at USU. Formal application details (deadline, program link, funding specifics) will be posted here once available. In the meantime, I’d like to start the conversation early—if you’re considering applying, please reach out and let’s stay in touch.

Concrete directions an incoming student might take on:

• Further exploring Datalog and its semantic extensions to GPU and distributed systems
• Massively parallel static program analysis for compiler and security applications
• Neuro-symbolic reasoning combining logic programming with learning-based models
• Distributed and worst-case-optimal joins for large-scale graph and relational workloads

I am especially interested in students who enjoy thinking across the PL/systems boundary. As a new generation of PL/systems researchers, I believe our mission is not just to do “PL + X” research but “PL in X”: taking everything we have learned from traditional programming language theory and going deep into each target domain, building systems and publishing work that the target community itself recognizes as a top-tier contribution. Useful background includes solid C++ and/or Rust, exposure to compilers or database internals, and some experience with GPU programming (CUDA, Triton, MLIR, etc.). None of these are required individually, but genuine enthusiasm for working at the intersection is.

If you share this vision and are interested in working with me, please email me your CV and a short note about what you’d like to work on, with the subject line “Prospective PhD — [Your Name]”. A brief note on USU: Logan is a small but vibrant city about 80 miles from Salt Lake City, with great outdoor access and a low cost of living.