Institution: University of Kentucky Graduate Program: Ph.D, Computer Science Education: B.S., Computer Science, Northern Kentucky University; M.S., Computer Science, University of Kentucky Mentors: Dr. Maureen Doyle, Northern Kentucky University; Dr. Diana McGill, Northern Kentucky University; Dr. Hana Khamfroush, University of Kentucky
When Nathaniel Hudson was growing up in the early days of the computer, he enjoyed tinkering with technology and playing video games for hours. But he didn’t know computer science could be a career for him until he took a high school class on web design. That’s when he “fell in love.”
“I started to practice everything more and more on computers, and I became kind of obsessed,” says Hudson, who is today in the fifth year of his computer science doctoral program at the University of Kentucky. He plans to find a postdoctoral position and become a professor after finishing his degree.
Back in 2013 during his senior year of high school, Hudson remembered being selected to join Google’s Computer Science Summer Institute program after excelling in the formative web design class. Google engineers soon taught him coding languages like Python. “I was scared at first,” he says. “But at that point, I realized that I could do this.”
Hudson went on to earn his undergraduate degree in computer science at Northern Kentucky University. There, he became involved in research and discovered that “it just came naturally.”
Computer science is just problem-solving, he says, adding an oft-cited saying in the field that computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes. Part of why Hudson loves computer science is he can embrace his “eclectic mind.”
“I like learning about politics, sociology, lots of things,” he says. “I think computer science uses technology and algorithms to look at different topics. It’s a lens to understand various aspects of the world. That’s why when I first started my Ph.D., I was interested in online social networks.”
I like learning about politics, sociology, lots of things,” he says. “I think computer science uses technology and algorithms to look at different topics. It’s a lens to understand various aspects of the world. That’s why when I first started my Ph.D., I was interested in online social networks.
Hudson applied to graduate school during the 2016 presidential election amid a proliferation of claims of fake news. That inspired one of his first papers on the topic. Thus far, he has published 10 papers and been named first author on six of them.
His research interests have expanded to also include resource management and machine learning. With his advisor, he has additionally written successful research grant proposals.
“What stands out in Nathaniel is his drive to come out of his comfort zone and work really hard towards his goals,” says Dr. Hana Khamfroush, assistant professor of computer science at the University of Kentucky and Hudson’s doctoral advisor.
Although Hudson first published research on social networks, Khamfroush said they both realized another topic would be a better fit for his dissertation. He has since been looking at using edge intelligence for smart city applications.
“In a nutshell, what I focus on is trying to design systems to make AI more accessible and effective,” says Hudson. “The AI base is very big and growing year after year, especially when you have things like smartphones and smartwatches that produce unquantifiable amounts of data. So, how do we transform that data into meaningful knowledge?”
Khamfroush was impressed with Hudson’s fearlessness to shift gears.
“I’ve seen other students where, if you tell them this subject may not work for five years of research, because it may not be deep enough, they become very hesitant and unhappy,” she says. “But Nathaniel was open-minded, seeing this as a chance to learn something.”
Hudson also stressed the importance of his many intersectional identities as a computer scientist. He is Black and a member of the LGBTQ+ community. At the University of Northern Kentucky, he was an LGBTQ+ student ambassador.
“I remember when I was younger how crappy things were without representation of LGBTQ+ people,” he says. “There have also been issues with some harassment in the past that led me to switch schools. It worked out for the better in the end. But I want people to know I am a member of the LGBTQ+ community, because I know how much that visibility matters.”
Hudson has not only focused on his research in his program but on building a more welcoming graduate student community in his department, particularly for students from underrepresented backgrounds. He has also participated in panels aimed at Black students interested in STEM.
Khamfroush additionally noted that Hudson has been mentoring undergraduate students in her lab with great success. Undergraduates twice nominated Hudson for an outstanding teaching assistant award.
“I pursued graduate school because I wanted to be a college professor after falling in love with teaching,” says Hudson, who was an undergraduate teaching assistant prior to his program. “I love that moment when a lightbulb flashes in a student’s head.”
Hudson says that he looks forward to more lightbulb moments with his own students as a professor.
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