LSU Division of Computer Science & Engineering

Congratulations to Juliana Freitas and Elijah Phifer on earning the Best Paper Award at the 8th Robotics Software Engineering Workshop (RoSE), co-hosted with the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), the world's leading robotics conference! 🎉

What makes this achievement especially exciting is that this award-winning research was entirely led and executed by LSU Division of Computer Science & Engineering Ph.D. students Juliana Freitas and Elijah Phifer through the LSU Robotics and Software Engineering Lab (RISE), under the mentorship of their advisor, Dr. Felipe Fronchetti.

Their paper, "The Walking Packages: A Survival Analysis of ROS Repositories," explores the sustainability and evolution of software packages within the Robot Operating System (ROS) ecosystem, contributing valuable insights to the future of robotics software engineering.

A special congratulations to Juliana, who served as the paper's lead author and represented LSU at ICRA by presenting the team's research at the workshop.

Seeing our students receive international recognition for research they have driven from concept to publication is always something worth celebrating. Achievements like this reflect the talent, dedication, and innovation of our graduate students and the strength of the research community within our division.

Please join us in congratulating Juliana, Elijah, and Dr. Fronchetti on this outstanding accomplishment!💜💛

Read the paper here:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Juliana-Dos-Santos-Freitas/publication/403141263_The_Walking_Packages_A_Survival_Analysis_of_ROS_Repositories/links/69c43e20b6bee423581e58e9/The-Walking-Packages-A-Survival-Analysis-of-ROS-Repositories.pdf

LSU College of Engineering LSU Research LSU Graduate School

An exciting milestone for the LSU Division of Computer Science & Engineering ! 🎉💜💛

Dr. Phani Vadrevu has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, one of the nation's highest honors for early-career faculty.

The NSF CAREER Award recognizes faculty members who are advancing their fields through innovative research while also making a lasting impact through education and mentorship. It is one of the most competitive awards offered by the NSF and is considered a significant achievement for researchers early in their careers.

Dr. Vadrevu's work focuses on cybersecurity, helping identify and combat emerging online threats while making the digital world safer and more secure. His research continues to push the field forward while creating opportunities for LSU students to engage in meaningful, high-impact research.

This award is a tremendous accomplishment for Dr. Vadrevu and another example of the world-class research taking place within our division and the LSU College of Engineering.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Vadrevu on this incredible achievement! 👏

Read more: https://www.lsu.edu/eng/news-stories/2026/06/phani-vadrevu-nsf-career-award.php

LSU Center for Computation & Technology LSU Research

We are still thinking about the incredible Class of 2026 graduates from the LSU Division of Computer Science & Engineering and all that they accomplished during their time here. 💜💛

One graduate we especially want to recognize is Ibrahim Alam, who was selected as a member of the prestigious LSU Tiger Twelve Class of 2026. 🐯

The LSU Tiger Twelve recognizes a small group of exceptional students each year who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, service, scholarship, and commitment to the university community. This honor celebrates students who truly embody what it means to lead and serve.

During his time in our division, Ibrahim distinguished himself through academic excellence, leadership, undergraduate research, innovation, and service both within and beyond the classroom. From research in the AISX Lab with Dr. James Ghawaly, to his many campus and professional accomplishments, Ibrahim has represented our community in an incredible way.

We are so proud of Ibrahim and all of the accomplishments of our Class of 2026 graduates. Watching our students earn honors like this is a reminder of the talent, leadership, and impact that continues to grow within LSU CSE.

Congratulations again, Ibrahim! We cannot wait to see all that you accomplish next. 🎓

LSU College of Engineering LSU Discover - Undergraduate Research Program LSU Ogden Honors College

Now that the semester has wrapped up and summer is underway, we’ve been looking back on some of the incredible student research that filled this year’s LSU Division of Computer Science & Engineering Student Research Lagniappe series. 💜💛

At our final Lagniappe of the spring semester, we had the opportunity to hear from two outstanding students doing impactful work in digital forensics and cybersecurity research:

🔍 Samuel Hildebrand presented “Large-Scale File Fragment Classification via Multi-View Learning,” exploring advanced approaches to fragmented file carving, digital evidence recovery, and automated file fragment classification for digital forensics investigations.

🔍 Uju Okoye presented “Understanding Mobile Anti-Forensics: Techniques, Evidence Persistence, and the Future of Digital Forensics,” examining how anti-forensics techniques impact digital investigations and the growing need for stronger recovery and analysis methods across platforms.

We are incredibly proud of both students and all of the hard work, research, and preparation that went into these presentations. This year’s Student Research Lagniappe series once again showcased the talent, innovation, and dedication of our LSU CSE students while creating opportunities for collaboration, discussion, and community within our division.

Thank you to everyone who joined us throughout the semester to support our students and research community. We are already looking forward to continuing the Student Research Lagniappe series this fall and highlighting even more of the incredible work happening within LSU CSE. 🐯

LSU LSU College of Engineering LSU Graduate School

Ever wondered what taking a class with LSU CSE Associate Professor Dr. David Shepherd might feel like in video game form? 🎮💻

Thanks to LSU Division of Computer Science & Engineering student Hyun Choi, now you can!

Introducing Shepherd’s Hardware Integration Tool… and yes, the abbreviation is exactly what you think it is. 😅

This creative and hilarious project captures some LSU CSE humor while showcasing the kind of talent, creativity, and technical skills our students are building right here at LSU.

Give it a try here:
https://play.unity.com/en/games/2dbed318-5db6-4ffb-aa17-29019963675a/shepherds-hardware-integration-tool

Huge shoutout to Hyun for creating this and to Dr. Shepherd for being such a great sport about it! 🐯

LSU LSU College of Engineering

The LSU Division of Computer Science & Engineering is proud to celebrate Dr. Umar Farooq on receiving a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award! 🎉💜💛

The NSF CAREER Award is among the nation’s highest honors for early-career faculty and recognizes researchers with the potential to lead impactful research, education, and innovation within their fields.

Dr. Farooq’s award will support cutting-edge research focused on securing software systems for the quantum era through AI-guided migration to post-quantum cryptography, helping address some of the most important emerging challenges in cybersecurity and software engineering.

This achievement reflects the incredible research taking place within LSU CSE and the growing national recognition of the work being led by our faculty. We are thrilled to see Dr. Farooq’s innovation, leadership, and contributions recognized at this level.

Congratulations again to Dr. Farooq on this outstanding accomplishment and well-deserved honor!

Read more from the LSU College of Engineering here:
https://www.lsu.edu/eng/news-stories/2026/05/umar-farooq-nsf-career.php

LSU LSU Research

Congratulations to LSU Division of Computer Science & Engineering graduates Ibrahim Alam, Grishma Shrestha, and Raedan Stephens on being recognized as LSU Distinguished Communicators! 🎓💜💛

This prestigious university-wide honor recognizes students who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in communication across written, spoken, visual, and technological formats within their disciplines. This year, only 85 graduates across the entire university earned the Distinguished Communicator Medal, making it one of LSU’s highest academic distinctions.

The program, led by LSU Communication across the Curriculum (CxC), challenges students to complete advanced Communication-Intensive coursework, develop professional portfolios, work closely with faculty mentors, and demonstrate leadership and communication excellence beyond the classroom. The Distinguished Communicator Medal is also permanently noted on each student’s LSU transcript.

We are incredibly proud to celebrate our students receiving this recognition:

🎖️ Ibrahim Alam – Computer Science (Software Engineering)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. James Ghawaly

🎖️ Grishma Shrestha – Computer Science (Software Engineering) & Mathematics
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nash Mahmoud

🎖️ Raedan Stephens – Biological Engineering & Computer Science
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nicholas Totaro

In addition to this achievement, all three students are also graduating with Honors through the LSU Ogden Honors College.

Congratulations again to these outstanding students and their faculty advisors on this incredible accomplishment. We are proud to celebrate all that you have achieved during your time at LSU CSE and cannot wait to see what you accomplish next. 🐯

LSU College of Engineering

Congratulations to the LSU Division of Computer Science & Engineering Class of 2026! 🎓💜💛

This weekend, we celebrated an incredible group of graduates whose hard work, innovation, research, leadership, and determination helped shape another outstanding year for LSU CSE. From research labs and internships to student organizations, competitions, and capstone projects, our students have continued to push boundaries and represent LSU in incredible ways.

We are so proud of all that this graduating class has accomplished and excited to see where their journeys take them next across industry, research, graduate school, startups, and beyond. During commencement, our Chair, Dr. Ibrahim (Abe) Baggili, had the honor of presenting diplomas to our graduating students as they crossed the stage to celebrate this major milestone.

Among this year’s outstanding graduates, Ibrahim Alam was named the LSU College of Engineering’s newest McLaughlin Medalist. During his time at LSU, Ibrahim conducted undergraduate research in the AISX Lab with Dr. James Ghawaly, completed an Honors Thesis, and built an impressive record of academic achievement and leadership. This fall, he will continue his education at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he will pursue a master’s degree in computer science focused on intelligent systems and applied AI.

Congratulations again to all of our graduates. Thank you for everything you have contributed to LSU CSE. We cannot wait to see what you accomplish next. Geaux Tigers! 🐯

LSU Discover - Undergraduate Research Program LSU Ogden Honors College

This week, the LSU Division of Computer Science & Engineering hosted AI Across America: Baton Rouge in partnership with SeedAI, Louisiana Innovation, and the NSF's Future Use of Energy in Louisiana in Patrick F. Taylor Hall at the LSU College of Engineering.

The event brought together leaders from academia, government, industry, startups, and research for important conversations about Louisiana’s future in AI and what it will take to build a strong and sustainable AI ecosystem across our state.

The day opened with remarks from our Chair, Dr. Ibrahim (Abe) Baggili, who spoke about where LSU is headed with AI, the importance of preparing students for the future of emerging technologies, and the opportunities Louisiana has to lead in this rapidly evolving space.

We were also proud to have several LSU voices helping lead conversations throughout the day, including Dr. Keith G. Mills, Ph.D., who moderated the opening panel on federal investment and funding opportunities, as well as Dr. J. "Ram" Ramanujam, Dr. Andrew Schwarz, and P. Kerr Wall.

From discussions on AI infrastructure and workforce development to startup innovation and industry applications, the conversations throughout the day highlighted the incredible momentum building around AI across Louisiana.

Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to such a great turnout and an engaging day of discussion and collaboration. And a special thank you to SeedAI for partnering with us to help bring this important conversation to LSU and Baton Rouge.

The future of AI in Louisiana is being shaped right now, and it was exciting to see so many people come together to be part of that conversation. 💜💛

LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business

Yesterday, the LSU community gathered at the Faculty & Staff Recognition Jazz Brunch in the South Stadium Club at Tiger Stadium to celebrate employees who have dedicated decades of service to Louisiana State University.

We are incredibly proud to celebrate Dr. Nathan Brener on reaching an amazing milestone: 40 years of service to LSU. 💜💛

For four decades, Dr. Brener has served LSU and the LSU Division of Computer Science & Engineering with dedication, generosity, and genuine care for students, colleagues, and this university community. As both a faculty member and LSU alumnus, his impact and connection to LSU run deep.

Our Chair, Dr. Ibrahim (Abe) Baggili, was honored to attend the event alongside Dr. Brener to celebrate this incredible accomplishment and the lasting impact he has made over the years.

Congratulations, Dr. Brener, on 40 remarkable years. We are grateful for all you have contributed to LSU and to everyone fortunate enough to work alongside you. 💜

LSU College of Engineering