I'm interested in all things data storage (e.g., file systems, non-volatile memories, key-value stores, data-intensive computing, data-centric infrastructures). I'm leading the Data Storage Lab where we play with the latest storage technologies and strive to advance the integrity, security, scalability, usability etc for data, for people, or just for fun.

Students

I'm always looking for self-motivated, intellectually-strong, & reliable students who are curious about how computer systems work and are interested in improving the design, implementation, evaluation, and/or application of various computer systems. Please check out our recent publications & projects and let me know if anything interests you. If you have experience in building systems/tools, that's great! Let's talk and see if we have mutual interests. If you come from a different background, that's OK, too. I'm more than happy to pass my hands-on experience to you and help you grow and succeed, as long as you are hardworking, responsible, determined, and have the desire to become an expert in a challenging and high-impact area in the near future. For ISU students, the best way to learn about my research (and let me learn about you) is to take my classes. For non-ISU students, I highly encourage you to apply to ECE@ISU (students from underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged to apply).

I have been fortunate enough to work with the following students, who sometimes listen to me:

  • Ph.D. Mentees
    Wei Xu
    Chao Shi
    Ahmed Tayseer Fouad Dajani
    Roop Kiran

  • Master Mentees
    Varun S. Girimaji
    Joshua John
    Vidhya Mannathu Parambil

  • Undergraduate Interns
    Aaron Trelstad
    Zeren Yang (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Visitors
    N/A

  • Alumni

    • Ph.D. Mentees
    • [5] Tabassum Mahmud, Ph.D. (ISU), 2025
      [4] Runzhou Han, Ph.D. (ISU), 2024
      [3] Duo Zhang, Ph.D. (ISU), 2023 [=> Postdoc Scholar @University of California, Merced]
      [2] Om Rameshwar Gatla, Ph.D. (ISU), 2022 [=> System Software Engineer @SK Hynix]
      [1] Jinrui Cao, Ph.D. (NMSU), 2020 [=> Tenure-Track Assistant Professor @SUNY Plattsburgh]

    • M.S. Mentees
    • [16] Roop Kiran , M.S. program, 2024 - 2025 [=> Ph.D. Program@ISU]
      [15] Manish Manepalli, M.S. program, 2023 [=> Ph.D. Program@ISU]
      [14] Jacob Betsworth , M.S. (ISU), 2023 [=> The Wittern Group]
      [13] Kajal Kattige, M.S. (ISU), 2022 [=> ASML]
      [12] Haolun Ping, M.S. (ISU), 2022 [=> Fortinet]
      [11] Nidhi Milind Dalvi, M.S. (ISU), 2022 [=> Inspire Medical Systems]
      [10] Siyuan Lu, M.S. (ISU), 2021 [=> ASML]
      [9] Prakhar Bansal, M.S. (ISU), 2020 [=> Amazon Web Services (AWS)]
      [8] Chander B. Gupta, M.S. (ISU), 2020 [=> Intel]
      [7] Satya Prakash, M.S. (ISU), 2020 [=> Qualcomm]
      [6] Ryan Chartier, M.S. (NMSU), 2019 [=> Allscripts]
      [5] Yuan Xu, M.S. (NMSU), 2018 [=> Microsoft]
      [4] Chase Gilbert, M.S. (NMSU), 2018 [=> Honeywell Aerospace]
      [3] Muhammad Hameed, M.S. (NMSU), 2018 [=> Self-employed]
      [2] Simeng Wang, M.S. (NMSU), 2017 [=> Meituan]
      [1] Om Rameshwar Gatla , M.S. (NMSU), 2017 [=> Ph.D. Program@ISU]

    • Undergraduate Interns
    • [20] Taylor Bauer (ISU), Spring 2025
      [19] Jashwanth Kumar Komanabelli (ISU), Fall 2024
      [18] Hang Thang (ISU), Summer 2024
      [17] Ella Cook (ISU), Fall 2023
      [16] Varun Advani (ISU), Summer 2023
      [15] Michael Less (ISU), Summer 2023
      [14] Varun S. Girimaji (PES University), Summer 2023 [=> M.S. Program@ISU]
      [13] Carson Love (ISU), 2022 - 2023 [=> PwC]
      [12] Ryan Bumann (ISU), 2022 - 2023 [=> Vermeer Corporation]
      [11] Katie Wolf (ISU), 2021
      [10] Aaron Goff (ISU), 2021 [=> ITS@ISU]
      [9] Joshua Kalyanapu (ISU), 2021 [=> Ph.D. Program@NCSU]
      [8] Philip Ma (Grinnell College), 2021 [=> Columbia University]
      [7] Jesrik Gomez (ISU), 2020 [=> Western Digital]
      [6] Jason Zhao (ISU), 2019 [=> Google]
      [5] Yealim Sung (ISU), 2019 [=> TTA]
      [4] Chelsea Deane (George Washington University via NSF REU), 2017 [=> MITRE]
      [3] Kristopher Chesney (California State University San Marcos via NSF REU), 2017 [=> Proficio]
      [2] Danny V. Murillo (Mesa Community College via NSF REU), 2016 [=> Microchip]
      [1] Yiliang Shi (University of Utah via NSF REU), 2016 [=> Ph.D. Program@Columbia University]

    • Visitors
    • Chunxue Zuo (HUST), Visiting Ph.D. Student, Oct. 2019 - Aug. 2020
      Xining Yuan (Northwestern University), M.S. Intern, 2023