Computing Science Faculty

Dr. Anthony Aighobahi is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Computer Science Department at TRU, who takes pleasure in teaching a diverse range of courses in Computer Science. He also enjoys researching and specializes in communication networks, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things. His recent projects include exploring innovative approaches to enhance connectivity and optimize network performance, as well as developing advanced techniques to secure data transmission on the Internet of Things. He has numerous publications in renowned journals and speaks at conferences and workshops.

Dr. Ajay Dhruv is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Computing Science at TRU, bringing over a decade of rich experience from both academia and corporate sectors. He holds international recognition, including the prestigious Bayer Scholarship, and his expertise spans statistical machine learning, deep learning, hyperparameter tuning, generative AI, fine-tuning large language models, recommender systems, and computer vision. Dr. Dhruv's impactful contributions extend beyond research to encompass authorship, corporate training, editorial roles, and mentorship.

Grounded in cross-disciplinary collaboration and community engagement, Dr. Jackson's research has spanned several fields including criminology, political science, gerontology, and public health. Originally working on computational simulations based on domain expert knowledge, he has shifted to applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning to social issues and gaming.

Vijal Jain is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Computing Science at TRU, with over a decade of experience. Her research focuses on cybersecurity, ethical hacking, remote sensing, computer vision, and machine learning. With a robust publication record, Vijal's work has earned esteemed awards, underscoring her commitment to excellence in academia.

Quan Nguyen is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Thompson Rivers University. His research explores the impact of generative AI on the learning experiences in computer science education. Before joining TRU, he was a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at UBC's Master of Data Science, where he developed and taught courses on statistical inference, machine learning, and technical communication. Previously, Quan was a Research Fellow in Learning Analytics at the University of Michigan, his research has earned competitive grants and best paper awards at conferences such as LAK18 and HCI International 17. He holds a PhD in Learning Analytics from The Open University, UK.

Dr. Nisha Puthiyedth, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Computing Science at TRU. Her research specializes in developing computational methods for analyzing biological data, particularly focusing on feature selection methodologies. Teaching is a significant aspect of her career, and she is dedicated to imparting knowledge across various Computer Science courses. She earned her M.Sc. degree from the University of East London, UK, and her Ph.D. degree from the University of Newcastle, Australia.

Dr. Musfiq Rahman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computing Science at Thompson Rivers University. His research interests are mainly in the areas of security and resource management in emerging wireless networks. Teaching is one of Musfiq's primary passions, and he enjoys teaching a variety of courses in Computer Science.

Dr. Mridula Sharma is a Computer Science professor with more than 25 years of teaching experience. She has been teaching in the TRU Computing Science department for the last 10 years and has been teaching online at Open Learning for seven years. She now works as a senior Open Learning Faculty Member, as well.

Dr. Yan Song is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computing Science at Thompson Rivers University, having recently completed her MSc in Data Science at the same institution, where she was awarded the Governor General’s Gold Medal and the TRU Medal for her academic excellence. She brings extensive academic experience, having previously served as an Associate Professor at Nanjing University of Science and Technology, and conducted postdoctoral research on workplace mental health using statistical and machine learning models at TRU. Dr. Song’s research interests focus on image and video content analysis, and machine learning, with numerous publications in leading journals and conferences.