Julia Gersey
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About Me
I’m a first-year Ph.D. student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Michigan, where I’m advised by Pei Zhang. My research spans Mobile Computing & Sensing, Embedded Systems, and Human-Centered Computing. I’m particularly interested in building sensing networks and multimodal systems to address environmental and community challenges.
I’m an incoming Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellow (DOE CSGF), which will support my research on a vehicular multimodal sensing system that combines vision and air quality data alongside high performance computing for real-time monitoring and analysis of rapidly changing urban conditions. This work aims to help cities respond more equitably and efficiently allocate resources where they’re needed most, particularly in areas affected by homelessness.
Outside of research, I serve as the Labz Editor for ACM XRDS Magazine, where I highlight student research projects from across the globe — email me if you’re interested in having your work featured!
Research Interests
- Embedded Systems: internet-of-things, mobile computing
- Sensing Networks: urban, environmental, and health sensing
- Human-Centered Computing: ubiquitous systems, real-world deployments
Selected Publications
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SenSys
‘Sniffing Out the City’ - Vehicular Multimodal Sensing for Environmental and Infrastructure AnalysisACM Conference on Embedded Networked Sensor Systems (SenSys), 2025. -
CCSCMW
ACM Midwest Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges (CCSC), 2023. -
SenSys
ACM Conference on Embedded Networked Sensor Systems (SenSys), 2022. -
RACS
ACM International Conference on Research in Adaptive and Convergent Systems (RACS), 2022.
Recent News
- May 13, 20225: Accepted to the Graduate Student Mentorship Training Course for UR2PhD
- May 8, 2025: Best Poster Award for ‘Sniffing out the City’ at ACM SenSys 2025
- April 9, 2025: Thrilled to receive a Department of Energy Computational Science Fellowship!
- March 10, 2025: ‘Sniffing out the City’ Poster was accepted to ACM SenSys 2025
- December 20, 2024: Accepted to Computing Research Association’s Grad Cohort for Women
- August 26, 2024: Started my Ph.D. at the University of Michigan – Go Blue!
- May 3, 2024: Speaking about AQIoT project at the ACM SIGCAS Work in Progress event
- April 2024: Honored to recieve the Baldwin Wallace University Woman of Achievement Award
- April 4, 2024: Honorable Mention for the 2024 NSF GRFP
- January 8, 2024: Selected as 1 of 55 Finalists for the NCWIT AiC Collegiate Award
Relevant Affiliations
DOE CSGF NSF Center for Pandemic Insights ACM XRDS Magazine UMich ECE Grad Workshop Mobile & IoT for Planet and Society Research Group (MOPS) Carnegie Mellon HCII REU Carnegie Mellon OurCS Women in Tech NASA Ohio Space Grant Consortium
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