Spotlight on Electrical and Computer Engineering

Sandro Avaliani (left) and Shuchin Aeron (right) look at a laptop together. They are standing in front of a blackboard with many equations written on it.

Student highlight

Name: Sandro Avaliani
Degree program: Ph.D. in Electrical & Computer Engineering
Faculty lab: Professor Shuchin Aeron

Why Tufts?
Tufts was the place for me because of the support and flexibility I experienced here as an undergraduate. I had the opportunity to work with several mentors and explore different areas of engineering while figuring out what interested me most, ultimately leading me to the research I’m pursuing today.

Best Tufts course you’ve taken so far?
EE-140, Machine Learning via Sequential Interaction. This course is about making decisions under uncertainty, but it’s especially interesting because it phrases the problem as a trade-off between exploration of new options and exploitation of what is already known. 

What are you researching?
I study the mathematical foundations of machine learning for high-dimensional data. My work focuses on statistical models and learning algorithms that can extract structure from complex datasets.

How has your time at Tufts impacted your career?
Tufts helped shape my research interests. I’ve been able to explore a broad range of topics, which allowed me to confidently commit to the one I was most passionate about.

Favorite thing about living in the Medford/Somerville area?
I like how peaceful Medford and Somerville are while being close to Boston. The area is also full of students and young professionals, so there are plenty of like-minded people around.

Any advice you’d give to prospective graduate students?
Everyone’s path is different; take it one step at a time.

Sandro Avaliani (left) and Shuchin Aeron (right) look at a computer together in front of blackboard covered in equations.

Faculty highlight: Professor Shuchin Aeron

Research interests: Machine Learning, statistical signal processing, information theory, optimal transport

About Professor Shuchin Aeron
Professor Shuchin Aeron is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Currently, he is serving as area chair for the IEEE MLSP and ICASSP conferences, an associate editor for the ACM Transactions on Probabilistic Machine Learning, and an associate editor for Frontiers in Signal Processing for Signal Processing Theory. He is a member of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and holds secondary appointments in the Departments of Computer Science and Mathematics.