Our people

The team behind Optimal Lab

Kimia Ghobadi
Principal Investigator

Kimia Ghobadi

CSSE Associate Director
John C. Malone Assistant Professor of Civil and Systems Engineering

Kimia Ghobadi is a John C. Malone Assistant Professor of Civil and Systems Engineering and Malone Center for Engineering in Healthcare at the Whiting School of Engineering. Prior to that, she was a postdoctoral fellow at MIT Sloan School…

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PhD Students

Doctor of Engineering

  • Ramya ChiplunkarJune 2023 – 2026
  • Kathy KhaJan 2021 – Dec 2023
  • William KahleSept 2020 – May 2022

Postdocs

Thesis-based Students

Current
  • Zeyu Shen · MSE in Data SciencesSept 2024 – present
  • Aravind Kavuturu · MS in Computer ScienceSept 2024 – present
Past
  • Mung Yao Jia · UG/MS in Computer ScienceSept 2022 – Aug 2025
  • Yefu Wang · MSE in Data SciencesSept 2022 – Dec 2023
  • Shiyu Jiang · MSc in Computer ScienceSept 2022 – Dec 2023
  • Chen Wang · MSE in Biomedical EngineeringFeb 2022 – May 2023
  • Xianmu (Bill) Li · MSE in Biomedical EngineeringFeb 2022 – May 2023

Research Interns

Current
  • Achuyut Reddy · UG in WSEJan 2026 – present
  • Julia Tuiman · UG in Computer ScienceSept 2025 – present
Past
  • Natalia Dougan · UG in CaSEOct 2023 – July 2024
  • Cindy (Xun) Dong · UG in Computer ScienceSept 2022 – July 2024
  • Chi Zhang · MSE in Computer ScienceSept 2022 – Aug 2025
  • Elahe Mohammadi Siahroodi · CaSESept 2022 – Jan 2024
  • Tianyi Wu · MSc in Applied Math and StatisticsSept 2022 – Jan 2024
  • Victor Ke · UG in Computer ScienceJune 2021 – Dec 2023
  • Yiyao (Iris) Zhang · MS in Applied Math and StatisticsJune 2023 – May 2024
  • Jaeyoon (Joanne) Wang · UG in BME and Computer ScienceJune 2023 – May 2024
  • HeeJoong Kim · UG in Computer ScienceSept 2022 – Dec 2023
  • Yinuo Fan · MS in Systems EngineeringJan 2023 – Oct 2023
  • Shaochong (Shawn) Xu · MSE in Systems EngineeringSept 2022 – Oct 2023
  • Chenxi Fan · MSE in Systems EngineeringSept 2022 – Aug 2023
  • Meredith Gao · UG in Applied Math and StatisticsSept 2022 – July 2023
  • Jia Yi (Ady) Zhang · UG in Computer ScienceJune 2021 – May 2023
  • Michaela Corrothers · MSEM in Systems EngineeringNov 2020 – July 2022
  • Shengwei (Nicky) Zhang · MS in Applied Math and StatisticsJan 2020 – Jan 2022
  • Yuhang Zhang · MSE in Civil and Systems EngineeringJune 2020 – May 2021
  • Lilian Zhou · UG in Computer ScienceJune 2020 – Dec 2021
  • Wenyi Wang · UG in Applied Math and StatisticsJune 2019 – Aug 2020

Visiting Researchers

  • Abdel Ghani Labassi · JHU, Applied Math and StatisticsJune 2023 – Aug 2023
  • Shubham Akshat · University of Maryland, College ParkJune – Aug 2019

High School Students

  • Caleb StreetSummer 2024
  • Levi ClarkSummer 2023
  • Rohan SuriSummer 2023
  • Olivia MatlagaSummer 2019

Alumni