Two Ph.D. graduates advised by faculty in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) have been honored for the excellence of their research and scholarship.
Suho Shin and Zeyu Yan are this year’s recipients of the Larry S. Davis Doctoral Dissertation Award, which recognizes outstanding dissertations that convey excellence in technical depth, significance, potential impact and presentation quality.
The award is named for Larry S. Davis, a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of computer science who served as chair of the department from 1999-2012 and founding director of UMIACS from 1985-1994. He conducted research in computer vision and high-performance computing.
Shin’s dissertation, which examines how decision-makers delegate responsibilities to other agents, combines computer science, economics and operations research. His work focuses on algorithmic delegation — including when to assign a task, what to delegate, and which agent should perform it — as humans increasingly rely on autonomous software systems to act on their behalf.
His adviser, Mohammad Hajiaghayi, the Jack and Rita G. Minker Professor of Computer Science, supported Shin’s research exploring how these principles apply to AI agents that collaborate, provide services, or participate in digital marketplaces.
Shin, who is now a joint postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, hopes to establish foundational frameworks for interactions between people and AI systems.
“I am especially grateful to my adviser, collaborators, and the staff in the department, whose guidance and support made this research possible,” Shin said. “It is truly encouraging to see our work recognized in this way.”
Yan’s dissertation explores how to design the physical components of computing technologies for reuse rather than disposal. Advised by Huaishu Peng, an associate professor of computer science, Yan develops materials, fabrication techniques and computational tools that allow electronic devices to be modified, repaired, recycled or repurposed to reduce electronic waste.
One of his key projects, DissolvPCB, uses a water-soluble synthetic polymer substrate and liquid metal conductors to create printed circuit boards that dissolve in water. Achieving a material recovery rate of over 98%, the low-cost fabrication method allows electronics to be easily recovered and reused, an innovation that earned a Best Paper award and Special Recognition for Sustainability at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) in 2025.
“As computing and AI become increasingly embedded in our physical world, we need to rethink not only what technologies can do, but also how they are made, maintained and ultimately recovered,” Yan said.
Yan is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he continues working on physical computing systems and collaborates with the Ulu Lāhui Foundation to develop computer science education materials for high school students.
“I see this award not only as recognition of my research, but also as an affirmation of the importance of the questions it seeks to address,” Yan said. “I’m truly grateful for this recognition and hope it encourages more attention to how we can advance technology responsibly.”
—Adapted from a story by Samuel Malede Zewdu, Department of Computer Science communications group