New Faculty Q&A: Jacob Laurel

Jacob Laurel joined the School of Computer Science as an assistant professor this spring.

Laurel completed his Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the fall of 2024. He is interested in researching programming languages, specifically ones that manage a mathematical component.

“Such programming languages allow a programmer who doesn’t know calculus to create a machine learning model, and the programming language will automatically generate the code that can do the derivatives without the programmer needing to do it,” Laurel said.

Laurel said that he ultimately wants to push the limits of these programming languages' applications and capabilities.

Laurel is also excited to work with other faculty and students at Georgia Tech.

“Part of what drew me to this profession was the ability to work with smart and talented people. I’m also really looking forward to being able to mentor and cultivate the next generation of great computer scientists,” he said.

Image

What interested you about working at Georgia Tech?

Working at a top school that excels in multiple areas is immensely appealing since great collaboration opportunities exist. In addition, I was impressed by the collegiality between the faculty and the level of support for junior faculty.

What will your research consist of?

My research centers on programming languages, specifically program analysis. I aim to write programs that determine whether other programs obey specific properties automatically. Developers regularly write programs that compute derivatives (such as for machine learning) or probabilities (such as for statistics applications), so ensuring that these programs obey the correct mathematical properties remains a critical challenge.

How did you get interested in this field of research?

Having done my undergraduate degrees in math and electrical and computer engineering, I was looking for a way to combine ideas from both theoretical perspectives with ideas from systems and engineering. Programming languages are a natural bridge spanning the entire computing stack, so it fits my goals perfectly.

What are you most looking forward to in your new position?

Working with excellent students and collaborating with leading faculty across a range of areas is very exciting as a junior faculty. I'm also excited to explore new research directions in areas in which Georgia Tech excels.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I enjoy exploring nature to relax, and Georgia has tons of outstanding natural beauty. Additionally, I like to play the piano, especially jazz or blues.