Ming Gong

New York, NY | (682) 559-3699

Education

• Carnegie Mellon University
  2026 - 2031
  Incoming PhD – Electrical and Computer Engineering

• Columbia University
  2024 - 2026
  Bachelor of Science – Computer Engineering
  GPA 4.25/4.33

• Bard College at Simon’s Rock
  2021 - 2025
  Bachelor of Arts – Physics, Summa Cum Laude
  GPA 3.99/4.0

Skills

• Hardware/EDA: Cadence, Synopsys, Quartus, FPGA, PCB layout, SPICE
• Programming: C/C++, Python, System Verilog, MATLAB, Git
• ML: Pytorch, CNN/U-Net, LLM fine-tuning (SFT)
• Domains: Digital VLSI, mixed-signal/analog, embedded systems, signal processing

Experience

Teaching Assistant
Columbia University | Jan. 2025 - present

• TA for Embedded Systems (CSEE 4840)
• Former head TA for Fundamentals of Computer Systems (CSEE 3827)
• Developed and optimized exam problems. Created supplemental materials to enhance and extend lecture content.
• Disability Services notetaker for a variety of CSEE courses

Research Assistant with Dr. Xia Zhou
Columbia University | Jan. 2025 - present

• Implemented an Arduino-based system to monitor ECG under motion artifacts.
• Designed impedance sensing software and circuit to detect blood pulses.
• Fabricated and tested additional fabric pillow sensors to enhance reliability and functionality.
• Designed charger circuits to safeguard fabric pillow sensor control chips.

Algorithms Intern
Alibaba | Jun. - Aug. 2025

• Researched advanced search agent architectures and applied them to design a workflow for business development automation.
• Optimized tools for browser automation, webpage scraping, and summarization.
• Tuned multilingual LLMs, using SFT to improve translation quality.

Research Assistant with Dr. Katayun Barmak
Columbia University | Sept. 2024 - May 2025

• Utilizing PyTorch to train U-Net convolutional neural networks for polycrystalline grain boundary detection.
• Post-processed model predictions to create binarized images for data analysis workflows.
• Applied statistical methods to fine-tune models and compare different predictions against human hand tracing.

Physics Intern with Dr. Michael Bergman
Bard College at Simon’s Rock | Jun. 2022 - Jun. 2024

• Experimentally verified the effect of wavelength and grain size on longitudinal ultrasonic wave scattering patterns.
• Designed a Python program to locate and integrate the scattering echo amplitude, overcoming signal quality issues.
• Experimented with a new foil technique in high-temperature ultrasonic shear wave coupling.
• Submitted a paper in 2025 and a poster to the 2024 SEDI Conference. Currently working on one more manuscript.

Tutor
Bard College at Simon’s Rock | Feb. 2022 - May 2024

• Peer tutor in math, physics, chemistry, and computer science. Class tutor for Quantum Physics, Classical Mechanics, and Ordinary Differential Equations.
• Guided students on math and CS projects, offering outline planning and step-by-step hints.
• Developed strong communication, mentoring, and problem-solving skills.

Research Assistant with Dr. Xi Chen
Zhejiang University | Mar. 2022 - Jul. 2024

• Published a paper on predicting the physio-chemical properties of pure organic chemical species.
• Trained dense neural networks, convolutional neural networks, and decision tree models and compared the results.
• Collaborated on revising and editing academic papers in machine learning models.

Publications

• Gong, M. & Bergman, M.I., (2025). An Experimental Ultrasonic Method to Determine A Scattering Quality Factor, with Application to Earth’s Inner Core. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors.

• Cao, X., Gong, M., Tula, A., Chen, X., Gani, R., & Venkatasubramanian, V. (2024). An Improved Machine Learning Model for Pure Component Property Estimation. Engineering.

Awards and Honors

• Jonathan L. Gross Award for Academic Excellence (2026)
• Computer Engineering Award of Excellence (2026)
• Columbia Dean’s List (all semesters)
• Fisher Poster Session Contest, 2nd place (2024)
• Simon’s Rock Dean’s List (all semesters)
• SCUDEM VIII Outstanding Award (2023)
• Simon’s Rock Faculty Scholarship (2022)
• Center for Talented Youth Scholarship (2021)
• AP Scholar with Distinction (2021)

Selected Projects

• 8-bit VLSI Mini Processor
• FPGA Gaussian Elimination Accelerator
• Capacitive ECG Fabric Sensing Prototype

Courses

Computer Engineering:
Computer Networks, Embedded Systems, Computer Architecture, Advanced Logic Design, Digital VLSI Circuits, Advanced Digital Electronic Systems

Computer Science:
Advanced Programming, Advanced Systems Programming, Computer Science Theory, Artificial Intelligence, Networked Autonomous Systems, Operating Systems, C++ Deep Dive for C Programmers, Machine Learning

Electrical Engineering:
Solid State Devices and Matters, Analog Electronic Circuits, Random Signals and Noise

Mathematics:
Probability and Statistics, Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra

Physics:
Quantum Physics, Relativity & Cosmology, Classical Mechanics, Electrodynamics, Statistical Thermodynamics

Chemistry:
Organic Chemistry

Activities

Electrical and Programming Lead, Columbia Robotics Club
Oct. 2024 - May 2026

• Founding member of the Combat Robot Subteam.
• Coordinating with the team lead and programming team to design robot electronics and control software.
• Event supervisor for Robot Tour at the Columbia University Science Olympiad Invitational.

Executive Board, Columbia IEEE
Aug. 2025 - May 2026

• Maintained the Columbia IEEE website.
• Hosting Open Project Space, beginner-friendly Arduino workshops

Organizational Committee Member, Columbia Global China Connection
Sept. 2024 - May 2026

• Organizing social, cultural, and pre-professional events for Chinese students at Columbia.
• Collaborating with a team of 10 to manage GCC’s website and social media platforms.

Executive Board Member, Columbia Data Science Society
Sept. 2024 - May 2026

• Organizing data-science events and workshops for the Columbia community and the NYC area.

President, Simon’s Rock Robotics Club
Sept. 2021 - May 2024

• Established a team of 10 from scratch; planned and allocated team budgets.
• Lectured Arduino lessons for beginners.

Member, Simon’s Rock STEM Competition Club
Sept. 2021 - May 2024

• Conducted weekly math modeling sessions, dedicating 3 hours per week to lead a team of 5.
• Competed in SCUDEM VIII and won the Outstanding Award.

Interests

Electronics, Lego, combat robots; road trip, swimming, hiking, badminton, tennis

References

• Michael Bergman
  Emily H. Fisher Professor of Physics, Bard College at Simon’s Rock

• Xia Zhou
  Associate Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University

• Martha Kim
  Associate Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University

• Stephen Edwards
  Associate Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University

• David Vallancourt
  Senior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Columbia University

• Xiaodong Wang
  Professor of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University

• David Myers
  Professor of Chemistry, Bard College at Simon’s Rock

• Miha Habič
  Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Bard College at Simon’s Rock