Profiles

Yara Banda is an M.S./Ph.D. student at the Photonics Lab in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (CEMSE) at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). She received her B.Sc. degree from King Abdulaziz University (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) in 2021.

I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science at King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST), under the supervision of Prof. Bernard Ghanem. My research focuses on applying machine learning to solve real-world challenges, with an emphasis on efficient training and inference of models. This includes improving data, training, and model efficiency to create more scalable and effective solutions. I hold an M.S. in Computer Science from KAUST and a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Virginia Tech. I have over 7 years of experience in automation systems prior to starting my M.S. degree.

I am interested in exploring techniques for efficient training and inference of machine learning models, with a focus on improving data efficiency, training efficiency, and model efficiency.

She holds a Master’s Degree in Data Science from the University of Jeddah and a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science with a specialization in Software Engineering from King Abdulaziz University. She began her career as a Digital Repository Coordinator at King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST), where she was responsible for developing data analysis algorithms and building data models. Later, she transitioned to the role of Data Science Coordinator and Teaching Assistant at the SDAIA-KAUST Center of Data Science & AI, where she focused on AI content development, automation, and machine learning training initiatives.

Her research interests focus on generative AI, vision/text multimodality, and deep learning

Yasmine is a Ph.D. candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering, supervised by Prof. Eric Feron and Prof. Taous-Meriem Laleg-Kirati. Before joining KAUST as a doctoral student, she was an intern in the Estimation, Modeling, and Analysis Group (EMANG). Her research focuses on developing hybrid model-based and learning-based estimation algorithms for diverse classes of nonlinear systems with convergence guarantees. During her Ph.D., Yasmine completed an internship at the University of California, Berkeley, under the supervision of Prof. Alexandre Bayen, and visited several universities, including Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Irvine.

Yasmine's research interests include controller design, observer design, virtual sensors, scientific machine learning, UAV control in non-inertial frames.

Yidan is a Ph.D. student in Computer Science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology since August 2022, under the supervision of Prof. Wolfgang Heidrich in Computational Imaging Group. Yidan obtained her bachelor’s degree in Measurement and Control Technology and Instrument from University of Science and Technology of China in 2020.

Yidan is interested in developing novel computational imaging systems in both hardware and software.

Yiming Yang is a Ph.D. candidate at the KAUST Integrated Microwaves Packaging Antennas and Circuits Technology Research Group under the supervision of Professor Atif Shamim. Before joining KAUST, Yiming obtained a bachelor's degree in electronic science and technology from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC).

Yiming Yang‘s research interests include frequency selective surfaces, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, and meta-surfaces in combination with additive manufacturing, time modulation, and other fabrication and reconfiguration methods.

Yousef Awad received his B.Sc. degree in Communication and Networks Engineering from Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2020, and his M.Sc. degree in Telecommunication Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, in 2024. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.

His research interests span various areas of wireless communication systems, including Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detection, and applications of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RISs). During his M.Sc. studies, he also worked as a Telecommunication Engineer at King Fahd International Airport (KFIA), Dammam, Saudi Arabia, with Enova by Veolia.

Yousef’s research interests span various topics in wireless communication systems, including Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detection, and applications of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RISs).

• Optical wireless communication.
• Embedded systems.
• Hardware & software co-design.

Yuxuan Xie is a Ph.D. student at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Before joining KAUST, Yuxuan received a B.E. degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and spent a year-long exchange program in University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 2022.  In the spring of 2023, he will begin his studies at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

Silicon photonics, short-link optical communication, and high-performance optical sources such as quantum dot lasers are among Yuxuan's research interests.

Zahrah Alnasser obtained her bachelor's degree from Dammam College for Women and her master's degree in pure mathematics from the University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign.

Real analysis and applied PDEs.

Zhandos Zhakipov received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan, in 2022 and 2024, respectively. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Communications and Computing Systems Laboratory (CCSL) at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), under the supervision of Prof. Ahmed Eltawil.

Zhandos Zhakipov's research interests include reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), millimeter-wave (mmWave) communication, the Internet of Things (IoT), and digital twins for wireless communication systems.

Zhican Zhou is Ph.D. student at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Before joining KAUST, Zhican received his bachelor's degree (majoring in materials engineering) from Chongqing University (CQU) in 2019 and his master's degree (majoring in photonics) from the joint-cultivation program of Nankai University (NKU) and the National Center for Nanoscience (NCNST) in 2022. Zhican ranked in the top ~5% for both his undergraduate and postgraduate studies. He obtained numerous honors for his outstanding performance, including the First Price Scholarship, Outstanding Graduate of Chongqing University, and the Nankai University Freshman Scholarship. During his postgraduate studies, he mastered the skills of fabrication, modelling, and simulation for electronic devices. Zhican had published a total of 7 journals, 4 of which he was the first or co-first author. 

Zhican's research interests are in Silicon Photonics and novel heterogeneous computing hardware system development (including optical computing systems, memristor computing systems, etc.).

Zichun earned his Bachelor's degree in Microelectronics Science and Engineering from Sun Yat-sen University in 2023 and is currently pursuing a Master of Philosophy degree in The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou). He has been honored with several prestigious awards that highlight his exceptional achievements, including the Excellent Graduation Thesis Award from SYSU (Top 5%), the Meijiayin Scholarship, and the Red Bird Full Postgraduate Scholarship at HKUST(GZ). 

During his postgraduate studies, Zichun has developed strong expertise in the modeling, design and testing of photonic integrated circuits and optoelectronic systems.

Zihang Xiang is a 4th-year Ph.D. candidate at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology(KAUST), advised by Di Wang. His current research is on privacy-preserving data analysis. He is interested in pushing the boundaries of differential privacy via principled approaches in broad machine learning applications.

Differential privacy

Zinan XIAO is a Ph.D. student at Photonics Laboratory at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). 
Before he joined the Photonics Laboratory, he worked as an optical hardware engineer in the industry, focusing on designing and testing optical splitters. 
He received his Master of Science degree at Imperial College London, UK. 
He obtained his bachelor's degree in optoelectronic information engineering at Chongqing University. 

Sensors, Photonics and optoelectronics

Bachelor's degree from Wuhan University.

Edge computing, federated learning, machine learning systems, and resilient computing.