Three Faculty Members Promoted to Full Professor

Amol Deshpande has been promoted to the rank of Professor of Computer Science. He has a joint appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS).

In his research, Deshpande works on several topics in big data, including database query optimization, adaptive query processing, cloud computing, sensor network data management, uncertain data management, and graph databases. He has received an NSF Career Award, and he currently sits on the editorial boards of ACM Transactions on Database Systems (TODS) and Distributed and Parallel Databases.  He has over 50 publications in refereed conferences and journals.

Deshpande teaches courses in Databases and Data Science and is the director of the graduate certificate in data science.  For the last few years he has directed the annual High School Programming Contest.

Deshpande began his career in the Department of Computer Science in 2005. He earned a  Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley, and his B.Tech. degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

Mohammad Taghi Hajiaghayi has been promoted to the rank of Professor of Computer Science  Hajiaghayi is currently the Jack and Rita G. Minker Professor of Computer Science. He also has an appointment in University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS).

Hajiaghayi’s research focuses on algorithms, game theory, social networks, network design, graph theory, and big data. He has designed numerous algorithms in approximation algorithms, fixed-parameter algorithms, algorithmic game theory, algorithmic graph theory, online algorithms, and streaming algorithms. He has over 200 publications with over 185 collaborators and ten issued patents. He is also a recipient of an NSF Career Grant, and serves as Editor of Algorithmica, Algorithms, and the Encyclopedia of Algorithms.

Hajiaghayi teaches undergraduate courses in algorithms and game theory and he teaches graduate courses and conducts research with students in approximation algorithms, fixed-parameter algorithms, algorithmic game theory, algorithmic graph theory, online algorithms, and streaming algorithms. 

Hajiaghayi earned a PhD in Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MS in Computer Science from University of Waterloo, and a B.Sc. from the Computer Engineering Department of Sharif University of Technology. He joined the Computer Science Department in 2010.

Mihai Pop has been promoted to the rank of Professor. Pop also has  appointments in the  Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology  (CBCB) and in University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS)

Pop develops novel approaches for genome assembly and analysis, and is an expert in metagenomic data analysis. Recent developments in high-throughput experimental technologies and the existence of meaningful information from the wealth of data being generated propel his research.  He develops computational infrastructure for biological research to understand the computational structure of the problems he solves.  He has over 100 publications in the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology. 

In addition to teaching graduate courses, and doing research with his students, Pop teaches undergraduate courses in bioinformatics, and databases, and he has begun restructuring the first year sequence for computer science majors.   He was awarded an excellence in teaching award in 2015.

Pop joined the Department of Computer Science in 2005.  He earned a PhD in Computer Science from The Johns Hopkins University.