Video Transcoder
A FastAPI service that dynamically adjusts video resolution (360p–1080p) based on available bandwidth.
PhD Student · EECS · The University of Toledo
Afroza Nowshin
Researcher, Engineer, Educator
I am a third-year PhD student in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Toledo, advised by Dr. Samia Tasnim in the Reliable and Intelligent Mobile Networks (RIM) Lab. My work sits at the intersection of the Internet of Things, Human–Computer Interaction, and Machine Learning, with a focus on building systems that are both technically sound and genuinely usable.
About
I am currently a Graduate Research Assistant at the Reliable and Intelligent Mobile Networks (RIM) Lab, University of Toledo, where I work under the supervision of Dr. Samia Tasnim. Before starting my PhD, I spent several years as a software engineer across startups and social enterprises in Bangladesh, building web applications, dashboards, and data pipelines.
My research interests span the Internet of Things, Human–Computer Interaction, Data Science, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning, with a particular focus on Human–AI Interaction and Social Computing. I completed my B.Sc. in Computer Science & Engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
Alongside research, I serve as General Secretary and Event Coordinator for the ACM Women's Chapter at Toledo EECS, and I am a member of BWCSE (Bangladeshi Women in Computer Science and Engineering).
Research & Education
Main focus · RIM Lab
Data from the Physical World
Cyber-physical systems, IoT, and deep learning: sensing, denoising, and securing data from critical infrastructure such as water distribution systems.
Collaboration
People and Data
Human–computer interaction and social computing.
Collaboration
Language and Machines
LLMs, trust in conversational AI, and natural language processing.
Aug 2024–present
PhD Student, EECS, The University of Toledo
3rd year PhD student, College of Engineering. Supervisor: Dr. Samia Tasnim. CGPA: 3.799 / 4.00.
2018
B.Sc. in Computer Science & Engineering, BUET
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
Aug 2024–present
Graduate Research Assistant, RIM Lab
Reliable and Intelligent Mobile Networks Lab, University of Toledo.
2023–present
Independent Researcher
Reviewed CHI-2023 Late Breaking Work papers, CSCW-2024 unpublished posters, NSyss-24 papers, and Elsevier/MDPI journal submissions. Reviewed HCI literature with the UofT-based research group Third Space, under Schwartz Reisman Institute Fellow Dr. Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed.
2017–2018
Undergraduate Thesis: Content Caching in Named Data Networking
Analyzed probabilistic content-caching policy in named data networking through qualitative analysis.
IELTS 7.5 (R 7.5 · S 7.5 · L 7.5 · W 6.5)
GRE 302 (V 153 · Q 149 · AWA 4.0)
Professional Experience
Feb–Mar 2024
Volunteer Data Scientist, Omdena Hyderabad, India
Co-led model development for a mental-health solution using an LLM-based DPO approach.
Dec 2023–Jul 2024
Senior Software Engineer, BacBon Ltd.
Nov 2022–Nov 2023
Software Engineer, ADN Diginet Ltd.
Feb–Aug 2023
Volunteer Data Scientist, Omdena Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Data preprocessing on Python-based projects, including analyzing and merging UAPD and Tongzheng image datasets.
Mar–Oct 2022
Software Engineer (Contract), HOLO Tech Ltd.
Feb–Jun 2020
Software Engineer, mPower Social Enterprises Ltd.
Mar–Dec 2019
Software Engineer, Misfit Technologies
Nov 2018–Feb 2019
Intern, Misfit Technologies
Publications
Conference Paper
Physics-Informed Data Denoising for Enhanced IoT-based Water Quality Monitoring
doi.org/10.1109/COMPSAC65507.2025.00185Posters
Understanding the Perceptions and Practices of the Machine Learning Professionals in Bangladesh
doi.org/10.1145/3678884.3681920Workshop Papers
What is H.P. Lovecraft's Cat's Name: Syntactic Censoring in LLM Applications
Return of the Headless King: Panopticon, Surveillance, and Machine Intelligence
Writing
Software engineering and ML tutorials I wrote on dev.to before grad school, 2021–2024.
Projects
Omdena Hyderabad: Mental Health
Co-led model development for a mental-health solution using an LLM-based DPO approach.
Omdena Port Harcourt
Python-based data preprocessing: analyzing and merging UAPD and Tongzheng image datasets.
SmartBees
Market-research tool for real-time survey creation and analysis. Analyzed MySQL and DynamoDB data with pandas, NumPy, FuzzyWuzzy, and Bag-of-Words models; delivered insight reports for Uber and Unilever.
Holo
Front-end development for a ride-sharing app in Bangladesh. Built the public site, admin/BRTA dashboards with JWT auth, and a real-time map tracking system using React-Leaflet.
Bikri
Inventory, order, and customer-management tool for F-commerce sellers, with mobile-responsive order creation and CSV export for admins.
Alice
Social-media-based CRM tool with conversation management, a visual analytics dashboard, and jQuery-driven appointment booking.
Undergraduate Projects
LED LightSaber
Star Wars-inspired toy built with Arduino Nano and an IMU sensor.
Nachos Extension
Multiprogramming, priority scheduling, demand-paged virtual memory, and system-call programming for the Linux kernel, in C++.
Fastest Finger First Quiz System
ATmega16-based circuit that detects the first player to buzz in and scores their answer.
Tic-Tac-Toe (Android)
Two-player Android game connecting over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
Pac-Man
Desktop recreation of the classic arcade game, built in C with iGraphics.
Teaching
Fall 2026–present
Graduate Research Assistant, CS Educator Professional Development Initiative, University of Toledo
Create content, slides, and assignments for the "Teach CS" program, funded by the Ohio Department of Higher Education and run with Dr. Michael Toland and colleagues across UToledo. Its three PD courses train K–12 teachers in computer science and AI.
Fall 2024–present
Teaching Support, Python courses (Dr. Samia Tasnim), University of Toledo
Teach Python classes and help with grading.
Summer 2025
Teaching Assistant, 3-day Workshop for High School Students, University of Toledo
Mar 8, 2025
Instructor, “Computer Scientist for a Day!” (International Women’s Day), Imagination Station
With ACM-W, taught girls (age 5 to 8th grade) to write their initials in binary and introduced them to AI. Post
Dec 2021–present
Instructor, Python for Kids, Songjog | Connecting People
Mar 2024–present
Instructor, Data Analysis with R (online course)
Skills
Languages
JavaScript, HTML, CSS, C, C++, Java, Python, R, PL/SQL, Lex-Yacc, 80x86 Assembly
Libraries & Frameworks
React JS, React Native, Pandas, NumPy, spaCy, scikit-learn, TensorFlow, Beautiful Soup, FastAPI, Bootstrap, Flask, Django, LangChain, LlamaIndex
Data & Visualization
Seaborn, Matplotlib, Tableau, HighCharts, Generative AI, Docker
Databases
Oracle, MySQL, SQLite, DynamoDB, PostgreSQL, Neo4j, MongoDB
Embedded & Graphics
AVR Microcontroller, Arduino, iGraphics, OpenGL, JavaFX, NS-2
Tools
Git, Bitbucket, VS Code, PyCharm, IntelliJ, Android Studio, Expo, Trello, LaTeX
Volunteer Activities
- General Secretary & Event Coordinator, ACM Women's Chapter, The University of Toledo EECS
- Member, BWCSE (Bangladeshi Women in Computer Science and Engineering)
Get in Touch
I welcome inquiries about research collaborations, review requests, or teaching opportunities. The fastest way to reach me is by email.