Dr. Yugyung Lee

Dr. Lee is a full professor of Computer Science and the coordinator for the Ph.D. Program in Computer Science, MS  Data  Science,  and MS  Computer  Science in the  Division of  Computing,  Analytics, and Mathematics. She received UMKC N.T. Veatch Award in 2015 for Distinguished Research and Creative Activity, Excellence Faculty Research Award in 2020, and Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE) Fellowship in 2021 and 2022. Her research areas include AI, Data Science, Deep Learning/Machine Learning and Health informatics, software analytics, cognitive digital twins (AR/VR), and community engagements for social and neighborhood issues. She has published more than 190 peer-reviewed articles in journals and conferences. She is a co-director of the NSF IUCRC Center for Big Learning (CBL) and has been leading projects as either PI or co-PI sponsored by NSF, NIH, NEH,  and  NSA.  She was a PI for Open Collaborative Experiential Learning (OCEL.AI) for bridging digital divides in undergraduate education of data science, sponsored by NSF IUSE, and fostering and growing a diverse science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce to contribute to such innovation. She is co-PI of the GenCyber summer programs sponsored by the National Security Agency to host summer camps in 2021 and 2022 to provide young students with the skills they need to better prepare for a career in the fast-changing field of cybersecurity. She guided the AI and VR-based game platform Minecraft for Social Bots and Attacks, Secret sharing and blockchain, deepfake, and privacy.  

For cognitive digital twin studies employing augment/virtual reality (AR/VR), she has collaborated with over ten researchers from many disciplines, including the Medical School., the School of Pharmacy, the School of Education, the Department of Public Affairs, the Department of Communication and Journalism, the Department of Education. In addition, she works with several startups for military training through STTR/SBIR projects for the Department of Air Force. She was able to recruit females and under-representative students for her previous projects by working with Dr. Huan Chen at the University of Florida, Dr. You Li at Eastern Michigan University, and Dr. Yu Bai at California State University Fullerton, where 46.2% of the more than 40,000 students identify as Latinx, and Dr. Teryn Cha from  Essex  County  College  (46%  Black or  African  American,  27.2%  Hispanic or  Latino).    

She received the Outstanding Supervisor Award for UDICA Student Organization (2022) due to Active Supervising of the UMKC Hackathon Organization: every semester since 2014, with over 2000 students participating. She received the 2019 STEMMy Award for WiSTEMM Educator Celebrating women and was a mentor to the project funded by the Computing Research Association-Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). 

Under her supervision, more than 11 doctoral students, 78 MS thesis students, and 10 undergraduate research students have graduated. She has supervised over 30 female students conducting scientific research in data science and analytics, in addition to several (under)graduate students from underrepresented groups. Under her guidance, more than 10 students received the Graduate Assistant Funds (GAF) for female students. They attended the annual Anita Borg Grace Hopper Celebration, which connects thousands of women in tech globally on full scholarships. Several undergraduates received awards from the undergraduate research competition (SEARCH/SUROP) and continued their education in graduate programs. Specifically, three students have applied for NSF graduate fellowships under her supervision. Seven recent Ph.D. graduates (including 3 female students) are taking tenure-track faculty and data scientist positions at Oak Ridge National Lab and significant companies.