Alumni Spotlight - October 2023
Tapadhir Das '18
Written by Rebecca Burkeen, Director of Alumni Relations
What a proud moment when a student becomes a teacher. Such is the case with this month's spotlight! Tapadhir Das ‘18 was born in Kolkata, India, and was raised in both Kolkata and Klamath Falls, OR. He spent most of his childhood traveling between these two places due to his parents’ employment. Tapadhir’s father worked at Jeld-Wen for 25 years, which is how his connection to Southern ˿Ƶ was established. Tap, as he is affectionately known, attended high school at Klamath Union and was involved in For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics, which helped him develop his interest in becoming a computer engineer. ˿Ƶ Tech’s proximity and reputation for being a university committed to preparing students for their careers attracted Tap and he enrolled in 2014.
During his four years at ˿Ƶ Tech, Tap was a dedicated volunteer and member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He spent countless hours giving back to March of Dimes, highway clean-up projects, FIRST Robotics, New Student Orientation, Music Garden, United Way, and CASA. He was also active as a lab assistant for his Computer Software Engineering Technology (CSET) classes where he helped break students’ code in CST 116. Tap also served as a Tech Ambassador in the Admissions Office during his senior year, giving campus tours and welcoming potential and incoming students. He credits professors Todd Breedlove, Troy Scevers, and Kevin Pintong for the support, education, and mentorship he received during his formative years as an undergraduate student.
While taking his Junior and Senior Project courses at ˿Ƶ Tech, Tap became interested in the research that he was conducting. That piqued his interest in research as a prospective career path. After graduating from ˿Ƶ Tech, Tap had a couple of job offers presented to him, but he was still interested in the research aspect of higher education. This passion for learning led him to enroll at the University of Nevada, Reno for a Master’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering. As a graduate student, Tap worked as a research assistant and his thesis was Think Smart, Play Dumb: A Game-Theoretic Approach to Study Deception in Hardware Trojan Testing. At this point, Tap knew he wanted to continue research and potentially seek a career in academia. He continued at UNR and earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering in May of 2023 with his doctoral dissertation, Modeling the Abnormality: Machine Learning-based Anomaly and Intrusion Detection in Software-defined Networks.
With three back-to-back degrees and a passion for his field, Tap has just embarked on his career as a university faculty member. He was recently hired as an Assistant Professor in the department of computer science at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA, teaching Introduction to Computer Science to freshmen, transfer students, and graduate students. Tap enjoys introducing and explaining concepts to his students, especially when he can witness those "light bulb" moments. Additionally, Professor Das incorporates portions of his own research, other technological developments, and new innovations into the curriculum to highlight where the future of computer science is heading and to excite his students about the field.
Tap describes his experience as a first-year professor by saying, "The first few weeks of teaching have been great, and it has been thrilling watching my students go from being completely new to the world of programming to being able to efficiently create their own programs in a short span. I am excited to see how they continue to develop into the next generation of computer scientists and engineers." Tap is also beginning his independent research lab at the university, where he intends to study the next generation of cyber-attacks and security solutions in fields like IoT, cyber-physical systems, adversarial machine learning, and autonomous vehicles. He is currently applying for external research funding as a Co-PI on a proposal to be submitted to the National Science Foundation. Along with his university duties, Tap is a member of IEEE, and serves on the program committee of multiple IEEE conferences and is a reviewer for various high-impact journals. With this career on the horizon, Tap acknowledges the crucial role that ˿Ƶ Tech has played in building the foundation for his future academic path.
Tap fondly recalls advice given to him by one of his ˿Ƶ Tech professors, Kevin Pintong, while Tap was feeling the pressure of academic intensity during his second year of college. Professor Pintong advised that, “if it was easy, everyone would do it.” This advice resonated with Tap and is the same advice he shares with the students he works with to this day. Tap also says that a degree from ˿Ƶ Tech will not only give you the fundamental skills that you can take to an industrial career, but it can also competently prepare you for other career opportunities like academic research. Although he has dedicated the past nine years to higher education and is now a professor, Tap enjoys taking time to keep his body as fit as his mind. He stays active by playing soccer and basketball and going on hikes. He enjoys spending his free time with his partner, family, and friends, and watching sports or going to games. Tap also stays connected with his fellow ˿Ƶ Tech alumni and professors, attending events, and maintaining those friendships that will last a lifetime. We certainly hope that Tap can find his way home and teach at ˿Ƶ Tech one day.
