Cassandra Marcussen
I am a Ph.D. student in theoretical computer science at Harvard University, advised by Madhu Sudan. In 2022, I graduated from Columbia University, where I double-majored in Mathematics and Computer Science.
I am interested in theoretical computer science, probability theory, and combinatorics. I like to think about problems related to property testing, information theory, error correction, and stochastic processes.
My email is cmarcussen-at-g-dot-harvard-dot-edu.
Research
Combinative Cumulative Knowledge Processes [ARXIV].
Anna Brandenberger, Cassandra Marcussen, Elchanan Mossel, Madhu Sudan.
Uniformity Testing over Hypergrids with Subcube Conditioning [ARXIV].
Xi Chen, Cassandra Marcussen.
Scramble number and tree-cut decompositions [ARXIV].
L. Cenek, L. Ferguson, E. Gebre, C. Marcussen, J. Meintjes, R. Morrison, L. Ostermeyer, S. Ramakrishna, B. Weber.
Bounds on higher graph gonality [ARXIV].
L. Cenek, L. Ferguson, E. Gebre, C. Marcussen, J. Meintjes, R. Morrison, L. Ostermeyer, S. Ramakrishna.
Presented at the Young Mathematicians Conference, 2021.
Uniform scrambles on graphs [ARXIV]. Australasian Journal of Combinatorics.
L. Cenek, L. Ferguson, E. Gebre, C. Marcussen, J. Meintjes, R. Morrison, L. Ostermeyer, S. Ramakrishna.
Data Preparation of the nuMoM2b Dataset [MEDRXIV]. Technical report.
A. Goretsky, A. Dmitrienko, I. Tang, N. Lari, O. Kunhardt, R. Rashid Khan, C. Marcussen, A. Catto, D. Mallia, A. Leshchenko, A. Lin, A. Raja, A. Salleb-Aouissi, Itsik Pe'er, R. Wapner, C. Gyamfi-Bannerman.
Teaching
At Harvard:
- Teaching Fellow for Essential Coding Theory (CS 229r) taught by Madhu Sudan (Fall 2023)
At Columbia, I was a Teaching Assistant for the following courses:
- Advanced Algorithms (COMS 4232) taught by Alexandr Andoni (Spring 2022)
- Introduction to Cryptography (COMS 4261) taught by Tal Malkin (Spring 2022)
- Analysis of Algorithms I (CSOR 4251) taught by Xi Chen (Summer 2021) and Alexandr Andoni (Fall 2021)
- Artificial Intelligence (COMS 4701) taught by Ansaf Salleb-Aouissi (Spring 2021)
- Discrete Mathematics: Combinatorics and Graph Theory (COMS 3203) taught by Ansaf Salleb-Aouissi (Fall 2020)
Other:
Seminars and Organizations
Research and Work Experience
-
Senior Thesis: Uniformity Testing over Hypergrids with Subcube Conditioning
-
Mathematics Researcher at the SMALL REU in Mathematics at Williams College (Summer 2021)
- Project: Algorithms and Complexity in Chip-Firing Games and Graph Gonality
- Advisor: Ralph Morrison
-
Research Assistant in Artificial Intelligence (January 2020 to August 2021)
- Project: Running Predictor of Preterm Birth using Machine Learning Techniques
- Advisor: Ansaf Salleb-Aouissi
-
Independent Developer in the Microsoft Research Reinforcement Learning Open Source Fest
-
STEP Software Engineering Intern at Google (Summer 2020)
-
AFE Software Engineering Intern at Amazon (Summer 2019)
Axioms
I firmly believe Federico Ardila's axioms:
- Axiom 1. Mathematical potential is equally present in different groups, irrespective of geographic, demographic, and economic boundaries.
- Axiom 2. Everyone can have joyful, meaningful, and empowering mathematical experiences.
- Axiom 3. Mathematics is a powerful, malleable tool that can be shaped and used differently by various communities to serve their needs.
- Axiom 4. Every student deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
Music
Outside of theoretical computer science and mathematics, one of my passions is music. I am a classical cellist, and I also play the piano and sing. I am currently learning the Bach Cello Suite No. 4, Variations on a Rococo Theme by Tchaikovsky, and the Chopin Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65.