CV

Ryan T. Woo

Incoming PhD Student in Computer Science

rtwoo@asu.edu
Tempe, AZ, US

Summary

Incoming Computer Science PhD student at Arizona State University researching intelligent tutoring and adaptive learning systems, knowledge representation, human-computer interaction, and immersive educational technology.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Computer Science
    Anticipated Start Spring 2025
    Arizona State University – School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence
    Courses: Committee Co-chairs: Ricardo Eiris (SSEBE) and Chris Bryan (SCAI)
  • B.S. in Computer Science with a Minor in Mathematics
    Expected Fall 2025
    Arizona State University – SCAI & School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences
    GPA: 3.75
    Courses: School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences

Work Experience

  • Research Assistant
    2025-05 – Present
    Arizona State University – Construction Workforce and Technology (CWT) Lab
    Develop learning analytics and immersive training tools that model learner engagement across NSF-funded projects.
    • HCC: NSF Grant 2436881 – Modeling Learning Engagement Using AI and Gaze Data to Improve VR Immersive Training
    • CUE-T: NSF Grant 2434429 – Addressing Hidden Curricula within Computer Science Education
    • iVisit: NSF Grant 2336507 – Situated Learning Experiences through Web-based Virtual Field Trips
  • Project Management Assistant & Research Software Engineer
    2024-08 – Present
    Arizona State University – IoT and Robotics Education Lab
    Lead development of AI-enabled educational platforms and coordinate multi-investigator collaborations.
    • Jupyter Textbooks – Extending JupyterLab into an edge-powered interactive textbook platform
    • RASQAL – Retrieval augmented schema-based question generation for adaptive learning
    • SAGE – Student Assistant for Guided Explanations (formerly ASU Instructor Assistant GPT)
  • Undergraduate Researcher (NSF REU)
    2023-01 – Present
    Arizona State University – Sensable Heatscapes and Digital Environments (SHaDE) Lab
    Investigate human thermal exposure and heat resilience using computer vision, visualization, and urban analytics.
    • OpenMRT: NSF Grant CMMI-1942805 – Human Thermal Exposure in Cities through novel sensing and modeling
  • Assistant Software Developer
    2022-11 – 2024-01
    Waybright Technology Academy
    Delivered teaching and learning infrastructure for a private K–12 institution.
    • Migrated the school to Canvas LMS with SSO integration and end-to-end course content transition
    • Initiated a Python, Django, and PostgreSQL student information system for records, enrollment, and transcripts

Service & Leadership

  • Chapter Director
    2025-01 – Present
    Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Student Chapter at ASU
    • Organized the chapter’s first student research symposium
  • Programming Module Lead
    2025-01 – 2025-12
    SCAI Desert CodeSprouts Workshop for Middle School Children
    • Designed and delivered hands-on programming curriculum for middle school learners
  • Project Sponsor & Product Manager
    2024-08 – Present
    Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) – Jupyter Textbooks
    • Guided multidisciplinary teams extending edge-powered interactive textbook experiences
  • Mentor, Judge, and Student Leader
    2022-01 – Present
    Arizona State University Student Organizations & Outreach
    • Judge for EPICS High (2024, 2025) and sunhacks 2024 hackathon
    • President & Director of Technology, Software Developers Association (SoDA) at ASU – organized InnovationHacks and Code Challenge events
    • Project Manager, EPICS Attendance Management System (Spring 2023–Fall 2024)
    • Curriculum Developer, 2Unify Education EPICS project
    • Technology Officer, SoDA at ASU (Fall 2022–Spring 2023)

Skills

Research Interests

  • Intelligent tutoring systems
  • Adaptive learning
  • Knowledge representation
  • Human-computer interaction
  • Data visualization
  • Computer graphics
  • Applied computer vision
  • Natural language processing
  • Cognitive science

Awards & Honors

  • Outstanding Undergraduate Student Poster
    2025
    Central Arizona-Phoenix Long Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) ASM Poster Symposium
    Recognized for research on learning engagement and immersive training.
  • Certificate of Excellence: Outstanding Innovation
    2024
    Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Program, Arizona State University
    Honored for innovative contributions to student learning support.
  • Generator Award: Outstanding Team Leader
    2024
    Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS)
    Recognized for leadership on community-focused engineering projects.
  • SUN Award
    2024
    School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, ASU
    For demonstrating leadership, innovation, and student success.
  • Most Creative Use of GitHub
    2023
    sunhacks
    Awarded for creative engineering at the sunhacks hackathon.
  • Devils Invent – 2nd Place
    2023
    Arizona State University
    Recognized for the Attendance Management System prototype, later continued through EPICS.
  • New American University Scholar (President’s Award)
    2021
    Arizona State University
    Merit-based scholarship for academic excellence.
  • Dean’s List
    2018-2025
    Arizona State University
    Multiple semesters of academic honors.

Publications

  • Explainable Human-in-the-Loop Segmentation via Critic Feedback Signals
    2025
    Submitted to IEEE/CVF Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision (WACV) 2026
    P. Shaeri, R. T. Woo, Y. Mohammadpour, A. Middel
  • Tri-Accel: Curvature-Aware Precision-Adaptive and Memory-Elastic Optimization for Efficient GPU Usage
    2025
    arXiv:2508.16905; submitted to ScaleOPT Workshop at NeurIPS 2025
    M. Sheibanian, P. Shaeri, A. Beigi, R. T. Woo, A. Keluskar
  • OpenMRT: Outdoor Thermal Exposure and Comfort Modeling using Street View Imagery
    2025
    Manuscript in preparation for the 25th Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Environmental Science (2025)
    A. Middel, P. Shaeri, R. T. Woo, S. Krayenhoff

Presentations

  • Using Facial Emotion Recognition to Improve Understanding of Learning Processes
    2025
    ASU Summer Research Initiative Symposium
    Tempe, AZ, USA
    Presented adaptive learning analytics leveraging emotion recognition.
  • OpenMRT: Image-Based Human Thermal Exposure Model for Ground-Level Simulation
    2025
    Urban Climate Research Center Symposium; CAP LTER ASM Symposium
    Tempe, AZ, USA
    Demonstrated thermal exposure modeling workflows for urban planning.
  • ASU Instructor Assistant GPT (SAGE)
    2024
    Co-Making the Future: China-U.S. Young Makers Competition
    Showcased AI-powered guided explanation tooling for instructors.

Teaching

  • ASU SCAI CSE 445: Distributed Software Development
    Fall
    Arizona State University
    Role: Instructional Assistant; Undergraduate Teaching Assistant; Grader
    Support project-based learning across distributed teams and mentor student Scrum masters.
  • ASU SCAI Robotics Camp for Middle and High School
    Summ
    Arizona State University
    Role: Camp Instructor
    Delivered robotics programming modules alongside Dr. Yinong Chen.
  • ASU SCAI CSE 310: Data Structures and Algorithms
    Spri
    Arizona State University
    Role: Course Support Staff
    Facilitated recitations and provided technical mentorship on advanced data structures.
  • Waybright Technology Academy: Intro to Audio Engineering
    Fall
    Waybright Technology Academy
    Role: Course Instructor
    Designed and delivered project-based curriculum on digital audio production for high school students.
  • ASU SCAI CSE 240: Introduction to Programming Languages
    Fall
    Arizona State University
    Role: Undergraduate Teaching Assistant
    Led lab sections and provided assessment support across language paradigms.
  • ASU SCAI CSE 205: Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures
    Spri
    Arizona State University
    Role: Course Development Assistant; Grading Coordinator; Grader
    Developed instructional materials and coordinated grading infrastructure for multi-section courses.
  • ASU SCAI CSE 110: Principles of Programming (Barrett Honors)
    Fall
    Arizona State University
    Role: Undergraduate Teaching Assistant
    Facilitated honors lab sections emphasizing computational problem solving.