Dr. Magdalini Eirinaki

Assistant Professor
Computer Engineering Department

Education:

Ph.D. Informatics, Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece, 2006
M.Sc. Computer Science, Imperial College, University of London, U.K.
B.Sc. Informatics, University of Piraeus, Greece

Industry experience: Unisystems, Greece, 2000-01
Academic experience: Visiting Researcher, UC Santa Cruz, 2006-07

Primary field of research: Data mining, web mining, and web personalization. More specifically, Dr. Eirinaki concentrates on the popular strategy of personalizing websites and search engines for specific users. Her work provides tools for companies’ marketing strategies as well as enhancing the web user’s experience by tailoring the web to their specific needs.

Courses taught at SJSU: Undergraduate: Fundamentals of Software Engineering. Graduate: Design of E-commerce Systems.

She has proposed a new graduate course for Fall 2008 (pending approval). The course is in her area of expertise, Web Search and Data Mining, and will cover the techniques underlying search engines and personalized websites.

Advice to students: “It’s not only about the training one receives by obtaining a degree; it is equally important to learn how to think critically in order to be able to solve real-world problems.”

Pedagogy: Dr. Eirinaki remembers what it’s like to be a student, since she graduated with her Ph.D. three years ago. “I was a student three years ago. I am very close to how they feel and what they expect from . . . their professors.” She welcomes the diversity of the student population and is sensitive to keeping a balance in the classroom based upon the different student backgrounds and their levels of experience.

Interests outside of work: Classical piano, which she has studied for 14 years. Dr. Eirinaki also enjoys weekend trips to the ocean and San Francisco.

Dr. Jae-Ho Pyeon

Assistant Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department

Education:

Ph.D. Civil Engineering, University of Florida, 2005
M.E. Civil Engineering, University of Florida
B.S. & M.S. Civil Engineering, Kyungpook National University, South Korea

Academic experience: Postdoc, University of Florida, 2005-07

Primary field of research: Civil engineering, specializing in construction engineering and management, focusing on safety, time, cost, and quality. Currently, Dr. Pyeon is working on a grant proposal to evaluate the incentive contracting techniques for Caltrans constructions projects. In this proposal, Dr. Pyeon seeks to measure and evaluate Caltrans’ incentive contracting practices to ensure that the best business practices are being implemented in order to maximize the taxpayers’ money for construction projects.

Why he became an engineer: After watching a fascinating news story about the demolition of a building on a mountainside in Korea, he decided to pursue engineering as an undergraduate.

What engineers do: “If you are an experienced engineer, you will see the problems everywhere, everyday. Generally, scientists are interested in problems, but engineers are interested in solutions.”

Courses taught at SJSU: Undergraduate: Construction Methods and Equipment. Graduate: Construction Management.

Graduate school experience: As a graduate student he studied how road lighting attracts newborn sea turtles towards the highway because the hatchlings mistake the highway lights for the moon. As a result, the safety of drivers on the road as well as the protection of sea turtles is of utmost concern. By using GPS, Dr. Pyeon also developed a way to help city workers identify sidewalks in need of construction and then maximize their time by determining if other city utilities need to be contacted before construction begins.

Dr. Birsen Sirkeci

Assistant Professor
Electrical Engineering Department

Education:

Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, Cornell University, 2006
M.S. Electrical Engineering, Northeastern University
B.S. Electrical Engineering & Math, METU (Middle East Technical University), Turkey

Industry Experience: Aware, Inc., Boston, 2000-02
Academic Experience: Postdoc, EECS Department, UCBerkeley, 2006-07

Primary field of research: Wireless communications with applications, for instance, for cell phones and satellites. Dr. Sirkeci is interested in working on creating a wireless network using, for example, other people’s cell phones as a sophisticated relay system. She is also interested in finding solutions to reduce power while increasing the capabilities of hardware.

Why she became an engineer: She liked math and, more importantly, applying math to solve problems. Growing up, Dr. Sirkeci was often one of the few girls in her classes in both math and engineering, but this did not deter her from pursuing engineering.

Courses taught at SJSU: Undergraduate: Analog and Digital Communications. Graduate: Probability and Random Processes.

What she likes about being a professor: Interacting with students and teaching and research.

Advice to students: “Instead of trying to get good grades, they should try to look for what they should learn, or what is the main thing they won’t forget in five years, because I realize some students solve problems but they are missing the fundamentals. It’s more like short-term memorizing. In engineering you actually use your knowledge from class to class. It carries over. And follow your heart!”

Interests outside of work: Music, the guitar, visiting parks, hiking, and playing poker.