As I head into the second semester of my junior year at Old Dominion University, studying Computer Engineering with a major in Modeling and Simulation Engineering, I’ll be continuing my education through an integrated BS/PhD pathway with a continued focus in Modeling & Simulation Engineering.

What excites me most at this stage is the structure and continuity the program provides. I look forward to continuing the research I’ve already been involved in, with the opportunity to gradually expand its scope over time. Beginning in my senior year, I’ll be able to start taking graduate-level coursework and have my research begin to count toward the doctoral track, creating a more natural and motivating progression between undergraduate study and long-term research work.

My interests center on modeling and simulation, software systems, and computational approaches to complex problems, with artificial intelligence as a central component and a particular interest in bridging classical and quantum computing paradigms. Rather than viewing these areas in isolation, I’m interested in how they can inform one another to support better reasoning, analysis, and decision-making in complex, uncertain environments.

Coming from a military background, I tend to think about engineering and research in terms of purpose and application. That perspective continues to shape how I approach my work and the kinds of problems I’m interested in pursuing, especially those connected to real-world systems and operational relevance.