Biography
Nicholas joined the Data Science and Engineering PhD program in Fall 2022. His research is focused on utilizing graph neural networks with molecular data for use in energy research. He is currently part of the Breakthrough Electrolyte in Energy Storage (BEES), Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) through the Department of Energy through Grant Number DE-SC0019409. Nicholas received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is currently a Ph.D. student in Data Science and Engineering at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, as part of the Bredesen Center in the University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (UT-ORII). His previous research involved federated machine learning as part of the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s intelligent and secure networking systems lab. He participated in the Summer 2021 and Summer 2022 Student Mentoring and Research Training (SMaRT) program under UT-ORII. He is also a recipient of the Graduate Advancement and Training Education (GATE) fellowship through the UT-Science Alliance as part of Grant Number DE-EE0009177. He is a graduate student member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Association for Computing Machinery. Nicholas is currently the president of the Bredesen Center’s Student Advocacy Council (SAC), previously held positions as part of the Residence Hall Association (RHA), the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH), IEEE, and two terms as a member of the regional board of directors for the Nation Association of College and University Residence Halls Inc. (NACURH Inc.) as part of the Central Atlantic and South Atlantic regions. Finally, Nicholas is a member of the Delta Alpha Pi international honor society Gamma Omicron chapter here at UTK where he serves as the Treasurer.

Education

Ph.D. Data Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, since September 2022

Master of Science Computer Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, May 2022

Bachelor of Science Computer Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, May 2021

Research Interests

Research Interests
Applied Machine Learning, Autoencoders, Graph Neural Networks, Graph Data Analysis, Computer Vision, Distributed Machine Learning

Professional Service

Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society – Gamma Omicron Chapter, March 2024-Present

Bredesen Center – Student Advocacy Council, January 2022-Present

National Association of College and University Residence Halls, Central Atlantic Regional Board of Directors June 2021-June 2022

National Association of College and University Residence Halls, South Atlantic Regional Board of Directors July 2022-May 2023

Extracurricular Activities

President & Administration Chair – Bredesen Center Student Advocacy Council

President & Founder – National Residence Hall Honorary, Highlander Chapter, July 2021-May 2022

National Communication Coordinator – Residence Hall Association, August 2020-May 2022

Webmaster & Secretary – IEEE Student Branch, Sept 2019-May 2021

Professional Affilitations

Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society – Gamma Omicron Chapter, March 2024- Present

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), September 2017-Present

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), September 2019-Present

National Residence Hall Honorary, July 2021-Present

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

Best Paper Award – 9th IEEE International conference on Software Defined Systems (SDS), December 2022, Paris France

Graduate Advancement Training and Education (GATE) Aug 2024-Present University of Tennessee-Science Alliance Knoxville, TN

Data Science and Engineering Fellowship Aug 2022-Present
University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute

Contact

Science and Engineering Research Facility Room 117
Phone: 973-722-6638
E-mail: nfurth@vols.utk.edu
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