{"id":2585,"date":"2024-01-28T10:44:29","date_gmt":"2024-01-28T10:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/?p=2585"},"modified":"2025-06-27T20:46:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T20:46:56","slug":"idsc-welcomes-new-faces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/idsc-welcomes-new-faces\/","title":{"rendered":"IDSC Welcomes New Faces"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-2471\" src=\"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Sai-Himaja-Kodali-edited-sized-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Sai Himaja Kodali-\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Sai-Himaja-Kodali-edited-sized-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Sai-Himaja-Kodali-edited-sized-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Sai-Himaja-Kodali-edited-sized-320x320.jpg 320w, https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Sai-Himaja-Kodali-edited-sized-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Sai-Himaja-Kodali-edited-sized.jpg 355w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Sai Himaja Kodali<\/h4>\n<p>Data Engineer<strong> | <\/strong>IDSC Systems and Data Engineering<\/p>\n<p>Himaja is a Data Engineer with 3 years of experience in data processing and ETL. She earned a Master of Science in Computer Science from The University of Southern Mississippi and a Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Andhra University. Himaja has been actively involved in projects spanning different domains, from automation of administrative functions to data analysis. She is proficient in programming languages, Big Data technologies, and cloud computing: AWS. Her expertise lies in transforming raw data into actionable insights, driving decision-making processes effectively.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-2472\" src=\"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Thomas-Merrick-edited.jpg\" alt=\"Thomas Merrick\" width=\"288\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Thomas-Merrick-edited.jpg 288w, https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Thomas-Merrick-edited-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Thomas-Merrick-edited-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 288px) 100vw, 288px\" \/>Thomas Merrick<\/h4>\n<p>Senior Project Manager, XR Initiatives<br \/>\nAdjunct Professor<strong> | <\/strong>School of Communication<\/p>\n<p>Tom is a seasoned educator and technology enthusiast, he holds a BS in Information Engineering from Cornell and an MA in Independent School Leadership from Columbia. With 15 years of experience in education, including roles as a Math Director and School Administrator, Tom brings a unique perspective on technology\u2019s role in learning. His journey led him to accept a fellowship at Stanford University\u2019s Distinguished Career Institute, where he discovered the potential of VR to revolutionize education. He taught VR courses at Stanford\u2019s Virtual Human Interaction Lab and worked as an educator with Stanford Continuing Studies. At UM, Tom is passionate about teaching VR while exploring innovative ways to support faculty and students in harnessing immersive technologies for transformative learning experiences. His expertise and vision are integral to the University\u2019s mission of reshaping education through VR and AR. He currently lives in Coconut Grove with his wife and three children and is excited to be a part of the vibrant community at the U.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Sai Himaja Kodali Data Engineer | IDSC Systems and Data Engineering Himaja is a Data Engineer with 3 years of experience in data processing and ETL. She earned a Master of Science in Computer Science from The University of Southern Mississippi and a Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Andhra [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2473,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[334,1007],"tags":[1122,1097],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2585"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2586,"href":"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585\/revisions\/2586"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idsc.miami.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}